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It's too early to be on LOL!, but if you are help a brother out?

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6.6K views 48 replies 24 participants last post by  540Oak  
#1 ·
Hey Gents, I'm experiencing an "I got an opportunity to get an SRT and I'm kinda terrified" scenario too.

So I can finally make this work, my wife is on board, and it's just a matter of the jump. But I'm about as conflicted as I've ever been on anything in life LOL.

Thieves: Not gonna lie, this is what terrifies me. Ours could be kept in a garage, we're blessed to live in a nice part of VA, but nevertheless, "wild teens" here in the US target and steal these cars. Yes, I know that's what insurance is for, but dear God, I still dread having to, heaven forbid, ever deal with it, and to be totally honest, if it were ever stolen and dogged, and recovered, I honestly would not even want it back after then.

Guilt: We are already SO SO blessed to have a beautiful 2023 Tow N Go. Am I being a selfish, self consumed a$$ for wanting this, when we already have such a nice DD? What got me here is, we've had two Scat Packs, and yeah, I sure miss that acceleration. But on the other hand I've already lived it, and voluntarily gave those up because I was afraid of those being damaged by vandals or hateful people in parking lots, and ultimately being stolen.

My Cray-cray love of nice cars: This is why I got rid of our widebody challenger and turned down the heat, and got a more sedate and practical RT. If I get a DD SRT 392, am I gonna revert to being a chronic worry wort, obsessing about its status when parked outside, when I go shopping, or me and my wife go out to eat?

I know no one here can "fix" these issues I'm struggling with, and to top it all off, I kinda fee guilty even considering all these issues to be "problems" in my life, in that it could not be more first world, and I thank God daily for all the blessings already bestowed upon us.

So Anyhoo, today is the go/no-go day for me on this, If you have thoughts of wisdom, or wanna give a brother a push, please do. I guess I should also mention that I've been a car nut since I was like eight year old, and yeah, I've been thinking about how to make it work financially to get a 392 DD for many, many months now.

Crazy call for help rant over now LOL! Whether I get it or not, still gonna stick around this great place,as I will continue to be a DD owner regardless.

And no matter what I do, I wish everyone here a blessed happy, safe, and prosperous New Year. Cheers Gents.
 
#2 ·
It sounds like your main issue/concern/hang-up is crime. Just need to critically look at how different the crime risk between the TnG and SRT is. As well as what can be done to mitigate if you're that concerned. If I recall correctly from what I've seen, the 2023 TnGs got the red calipers with SRT logos. If that's correct, exterior wise the only visual differences are the badges (Hemi fender and R/T rear vs SRT) and the rear spoiler. Interior wise, if someone checks before breaking in (which is rare when the intent is to steal the vehicle), it's pretty much the steering wheel and seat stitching logos that are quick to ID.

Basically, the TnG vs SRT indicators for crime potential are not that huge. If that concerned about crime, debadging an SRT will make the exterior no different from a TnG other than the rear spoiler. The bad thing for DDHC owners, is that the presence of that vehicle has reduced the desire (not eliminated of course) for thieves to target the DDSRT.
 
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#4 ·
Do not do it! You have a great car that is an SRT without another 110 ponies. Is 110HP worth it, I doubt it as your driving experience in Sport mode is absolutely phenomenal for spirited driving with the SRT suspension. If you do upgrade to an SRT and it is a 22/23 you can get the keyfob lockout which should calm your fears of it being stolen the easy way but you may have a busted window when they try. No matter what you do, I wish you luck and pure enjoyment with your choice!!!!! Happy New Year friend!
 
J
#5 ·
I am assuming that you’re getting a price deal to upgrade to the SRT. Have you test driven it?

I have to echo Vice-white regarding the additional cost for the extra 110HP. You already have the exhaust, suspension and braking, etc. I personally could not justify the $30k+ what the SRT were going for in S. FL over my R/T.

In the end, it’s your money and life is short so enjoy it. What ever decision you make will be the right one for you.

God bless and Happy New to my virtual DD family. :)
 
#47 ·
I also recommend getting a couple of Faraday pouches! One for each car fob! They're supposed to block the RF signal between your car and the fob! Supposedly, thieves intercept that signal, so that they have access to your car and drive off with it! Also, if they REALLY want it(like a HC), they'll break into the center console, and access the emergency transmission gear release, that puts it in neutral, and push your car away! Seen lots of vids about that, cuz I'm paranoid about mine as well...
 
#10 · (Edited)
Hi Gents, we are very blessed and can make it work. My wife, God bless her, was almost more excited about it than I was, so we took the plunge. Requisite pics. I'm very humbled and honored to be able to be part of the amazing group of souls here, and look forward to continuing to learn and grow with the DD community :)

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#11 ·
Hamsquatch said:
Hi Gents, we are very blessed and can make it work. My wife, God bless her, was almost more excited about it than I was, so we took the plunge. Requisite pics. I'm very humbled and honored to be able to be part of the amazing group of souls here, and look forward to continuing to learn and grow with the DD community :)
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Glad to see you made the right choice. ;)

I've got the same color combo, and I love it. The black on red is sweet. Of course, black is never easy to keep clean, but easily worth it.

Congrats & Enjoy!
 
#12 ·
omegafiler, I had a chat with the GM today, and he said there will likely be "shocking" price adjustments to 6.4 and 6.2SC variants of the DD during the 2024 last year they will be produced in the current DD. IMHO he's a good guy that didn't seem to engage in hyperbole, and importantly, he shared this info with us after we had completed the sale, and were waiting for the plates to be changed.
 
#13 ·
Oh yeah, I would be surprised if that didn't happen. Hah. They love making price increases throughout the year. But add in the final model year variable along with potential cooling off of interest rates toward the end of the year and it won't be long before these are either all gone or have ridiculous mark ups (again).

I'm still surprised some dealers are offering discounts as it is, considering there aren't exactly many out there. But as we've been saying, get one while you can!
 
#18 ·
I dunno. One of our Scats came with them installed, and the other Scat came with the metal/grippy bumps pedal overlays in a box in the truck for optioanl installation. I honeslty haven't had time to look at the few packaged goodies in the cargo area that came with this one, to see if any metal pedal overlays are included with this one.
 
#15 ·
I don't think I've ever seen SRT on the fenders, just on the grill and rear hatch.
 
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#17 ·
Hey Gents, it's got "SRT" in the grill and on the trunk, and "392" on each front quarter panel. The "SRT" badges are just about total black, and the "392" badges are very dark gray. Literally driven off the showroom floor where she thankfully lived at the dealer, so that's how she came from the factory.

I for one am so thankful that the "SRT" emblems in the grill and on the trunk are SO dark that they are barely discernable - I'm a "gray man" under the radar dude, and don't wanna stand out and draw as little attention as possible to it being an SRT vehicle.




.
 
#22 ·
davewear said:
Make the dealer instal them, the brake pedal is a nightmare!
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6104696 said:
The brake pedal was a b*tch, but I am not about to waste my time at a dealer for such a simple thing.
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To install the brake pedal cover, I just put a pyrex bowl with about 3 cups of water in the microwave for 3 mins to heat it up ... then I took the bowl out and dropped the chrome brake pedal cover into the bowl for a few mins. Note, I did NOT heat the water in the microwave with the brake pedal cover in the bowl (just my disclaimer here :ROFLMAO:)

Then I took the brake pedal cover out of the hot water and installed it by starting from the top and working my way down. I used a short flat head screwdriver for the very last bit at the bottom. It took all of 3 minutes to install once the rubber was warmed up and flexible from the hot water.

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M
#26 · (Edited)
FWIW, I have a LE buddy who knows a bit about the Mopar theft rings here in Atlanta. He says the main procedure is cloning keys by accessing the computer system of the car and using radio signals blah blah blah. That being said, I’m glad I put an ignition kill switch in our DD. I bought ours from CarCatCreation. It’s not as detailed as an IGLA, but it’s enough to hopefully make it a challenge to the thief. If it can stop them long enough so I can catch up to turn them into a vegetable it’s worth the money. Maybe you can do the same and ease your worries. It helped my worry for sure.
 
M
#33 ·
I was actually talking to my wife about this last night. I never gave it much thought, but the remote start does work on ours when the switch is engaged. When you get into the car after remote start you have to hit the switch to drive off. With the kill switch activated it doesn’t affect anything except that hit before driving. I don’t know why I didn’t think about that when answering @nunyabusiness. My fault. It’s not MY vehicle lol
 
#37 ·
Also, I'm going to have my dealer permanently lock or freeze my PCM like they did on our 20 Chally Scat Pack, which was done in response to a letter FCA sent out to owners about theft. It locks and/or freezes it in a way where you can no longer get another key programmed from the dealer, and have to buy a new PCM thingy or whatever to add a key in case you lose one. I spoke to my service writer and explained it was done on my Scat Pack, and he said he knew what I was describing, and they could do it on this one too.
 
#46 ·
Yeah, it's gonna be a couple hundred bucks. It's essentially for their time, which is okay by me.

I think when they did the WB SP it was free or close to it, but that was because it was in response to a letter I received from FCA at the time, suggesting it as an option.

I don't mind paying the couple hundred for them to do it to the DD, since my current service writer did me right so many times in the past when I had the TNG with them - he's a good dude and bent over backwards to accommodate me when I had the TNG in for the lift gate issue, and then the tire issue.
 
B
#42 ·
Hamsquatch said:
Hi Gents, we are very blessed and can make it work. My wife, God bless her, was almost more excited about it than I was, so we took the plunge. Requisite pics. I'm very humbled and honored to be able to be part of the amazing group of souls here, and look forward to continuing to learn and grow with the DD community :)

View attachment 130489

View attachment 130490
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Congrats on the new DD!!!

If you still have concerns about the "unwanted attention" I'd suggest de-badging the entire vehicle, including the calipers.
If the Calipers don't say SRT most novice thiefs won't know and the Pro's will get you if you if they want it almost no matter what.

I have a 22 5.7 Blacktop w/ T&G + Performance Package which honestly looks and feels like the 392 minus the Supercharger. (However it sounds identical, and I still have the Track & Sport modes which is enough for us.)
Somehow I found one with Black Calipers, so it doesn't attract as much attention unless I'm WOT. ;)

Even if you don't de-badge it, I still Highly Recommend to put a Ceramic Coat on the entire vehicle (wheels, calipers, and all); Makes it a LOT easier to keep clean and not have "swirl" marks which are highly noticeable on black.
 
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#43 ·
You can’t live your life in fear, get it if you can afford it and it will not strap you. Thieves, vandals & hateful people are everywhere. Just don’t be the douche who takes up 2 spots and I bet you’ll be fine. My wife daily drives a DDSRTHC in Tampa to Target, Costco, the mall, getting her nails done, etc etc and no one has messed with it. Alarm, GPS, Kill switch, neutral safety plate, dash cams, and use a club at “prime locations” and you’ll be fine. Thieves today are ready to steal cars with phones, they are not prepared to deal with a club….. they are not great, just an additional deterrent. Good luck whatever you do!
 
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