Dodge is trying to do something difficult right now. It’s trying to establish a new era of electric muscle right as multiple manufacturers are cooling their enthusiasm for EVs. Meanwhile, its dealers are still trying to shift a whole bunch of old Dodge Chargers that are getting increasingly long in the tooth. It’s an awkward situation which you can likely take advantage of. Don’t worry, I won’t tell your mother.
The stats from CarEdge tell a sorry tale. Just 989 Dodge Chargers have been sold in the last 45 days, while 6,857 remain on sale. That adds up to around 312 days of supply—basically, there are enough Dodge Chargers sitting around to last well into 2026. Some of these are even 2023 models which should have been gone long ago.
This means dealers are sick of these cars languishing on the lots, and you can get yourself a nice Dodge Charger on the cheap. V6, V8, it doesn’t matter—there are deals to be had for old ponies right across the land!
Let’s start with the cheapest of the lot—the Charger SXTs. Buy one of these, and you’ll get yourself a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 under the hood. They’ve got a fussy oil filter housing, but they make decent power. They’re good for 300 horsepower, and the EPA says your V6 Charger will allegedly hit 30 mpg on the highway.
Head over to LAX Dodge in California, and you can get yourself a Charger SXT in white for just $24,900. That’s a full $11,425 off MSRP—no surprise given it’s been on sale since October 2023. It’s the most anonymous-looking car you can find, so much so that it almost draws more attention. Meanwhile, if you prefer orange, you can hit up Autonation Dodge in Houston. They’ve got one listed for $24,995—over $13,000 off the $38,010 MSRP. You’ll find similar deals in Virginia and Louisiana, too.
V6 muscle, is there such a thing? If so, it can be had for under $30,000, all day.
“But Lewinberg!” you cry. “I lust for the cylinders, eight!” That’s no problem, for you’re very much in luck. You’ll want to consider the Dodge Charger R/T, which comes with the 5.7-liter Hemi V8. Good for 370 horsepower, it’ll give you an exhaust note that you think commands respect from other motorists.
You can get a Charger R/T awful cheap if you head down to City Dodge in Wisconsin. They’ll hook you up for $35,990—that’s $14,550 under sticker. Again, no surprise given this 2023 model has been hanging around for 469 days now. Over at Northland Dodge in Michigan, they’ve had one for 608 days, so they’ll slash a full $16,015 off the MSRP. You’ll find compelling but lesser deals in California and Florida too.
If your lusts are for ever greater horsepower, consider the Scat Pack. 6.4-liters of Hemi fury will net you 485 horsepower, more than enough to let you smoke the tires obnoxiously at will.
There are a handful of deals on these, but they’re thinner on the ground. Bergey’s Dodge in Pennsylvania will do you a silver one for $60,890, over $8,000 under sticker. It looks like it’s still got the pink splitter guard, too, which contrasts nicely with the grey paint. Kunes Dodge in Illinois has one, too, and they’re wiping over $11,000 off the original MSRP of $73,470. You can score some cheap examples in Maryland and Wisconsin, too.
The cheapest I found, though, was over at Auto Gallery in Georgia. You’re paying $49,995 for 485 horsepower. Good deal? You be the judge.
Just don’t get your hopes up at finding a bargain-basement Hellcat out there. The most desirable Chargers were all snapped up long ago, and the halo models still hold their value. Particularly now, given they represent the end of an era.
Ultimately, we’re at a transitional moment in the history of the Dodge Charger. The seventh-generation model lasted 12 long years, officially dying out for the 2023 model year. And yet, you can still find them for sale all over the country—with prices dropping off harder the older they get. Dodge still has the cheapest muscle car on sale, but for how much longer, it remains to be seen.
Image credits: Cars.com via screenshot, Dodge
Avoid the “dime a dozen” cars..
Widebody 6.4L is the sweet spot of these cars, even over the Hellcats, IMO (as the former vehicle dynamics engineer at FCA for these cars).
I too have been tempted by the siren song of the heavily discounted, long languishing, older model year car. However, when you account for the fact that, despite being “new”, it’s value is based on not just miles, but model year as well, the deal may not be nearly as sweet as it might initially seem. KBB doesn’t care if you just signed off on your “plum crazy” 2023 Challenger last week, they still call it a two year old used car and hence a significant value hit.
I had a previous Gen charger for a couple weeks while a personal car was in the body shop from a tree branch fall. It had the 2.7, which was a dog. But i liked the rest of the car. It did well in the snow, handled decently, a bit big for the account of actual space.
If i were to get a new charger, it would be a basic spec in gray. Everyone thought i was an unmarked cop and people actually got out of the left lane
I am so happy to find an article about Chargers so I can vent about the one I had last week as a rental on Kauai. Pretty much a base model in the Thrifty fleet. And all I can say is what a piece of excrement it was.
The accelerator pedal was one of the least linear I have ever applied a right foot to. Trying to pull away smoothly from a stop or creep over speed bumps, it was nothing or not much for the first few mm of movement and then semi-neck-snapping power. At first it was annoying as hell and later in the week, rather than let it ruin my vacation, I would just laugh when it did that.
The HVAC system was very old school. No thermostat and no digital display of the set temperature. Just buttons to make it warmer or cooler. Winding around the island there were times in deep shade for a stretch where the cabin got too cold and then back in the sun, too warm. Some may prefer the simplicity but compared to my own car and the Chevy Malibu we rented on Oahu, it was simply crude.
The stereo had thumping bass. I went into the equalizer settings and was surprised to see it set at about 20%, expecting it to be at 100. The treble was cranked up to 100; I guess to compensate.
The steering was the numbest I have dealt with. In parking lots, it was effortless. It weighted up with speed but gave less than zero feedback.
You could lock the car from the outside with a button on the door, but it wouldn’t unlock except by using the key fob’s unlock button.
Parts of the front-end aerodynamic bits hung so low that from the scraping sounds I thought perhaps part of it had been damaged and fallen, but a quick survey showed no loose attachment points, so I don’t know about that.
I don’t care how far the prices fall, there is no way I would ever buy or lease one. If offered one as a rental in the future, I’ll ask for something else.
GM=button on the door locks and unlocks, but Chrysler=button on the door only locks. If you want to unlock, it normally does it when you put your hand under the handle. Once you get used to it, it’s better since there’s no ambiguity about whether you have just locked or unlocked your door.
Maybe something was off with this one’s handles because I did the hand on/under the handle drill (on both front doors) out of habit with my Accord.
I’ve driven cars where the accelerator pedal calibration is initially aggressive to give the impression of power. That’s annoying too, but easier to adjust to.
I also had the misfortune to rent a base Charger last year. My experience was the same as yours. I felt like I was driving a 1979 malaise era car the entire time we had it. Now, having rented one, I’d never buy one. Plus, I’m sure I told at least 10 people that those cars were garbage. I wonder if auto manufacturers realize that putting low optioned cheaper models into rental is probably not the best way to advertise?
I used to travel for work about three weeks a month, on average. I rented a lot of cars. Most were, just meh. Not obnoxious, not phenomenal. Just an appliance to get where I needed to go. A car would have to be awful or very good to stand out.
That Charger was the worst thing I’ve driven in years, if not decades. The Malibu the week before was one of those “it’s ok” kind of cars.
OTH, I rented a Kia Soul in Toronto and was really impressed. I had a friend who drove a Scion xB back then and it had a very similar vibe to it. It was competent on the freeway and fun around town.
i don’t care how much it’s marked down, i’m never going to pull the trigger for something in sublime or go mango.
But what if it’s in Statutory Gr- uh… Plum Crazy?
i have a scat pack poster in my basement. im not a high impact hater, i swear!