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Picking Up Our New Scat Pack Friday - What Should I Know and Look For?

6K views 38 replies 14 participants last post by  Handy_Charger 
#1 · (Edited)
Yep,

We've traded my wife's 2017 Charger R/T Premium on a new 2019 Scat Pack. I made the deal over the internet and over the phone and have put down a $500 deposit. We go to pick it up Friday.

What should I look for during the test drive and what should we do right out of the gate to make sure this is a great car?





 

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#2 ·
If the dealer has not seen your wife's car as the trade in and the deal was made over the internet, I would make sure you get what you are expecting for the RT before you test drive the car.

Seen this all to often to get people into the dealership. Saleman: "After the used car manager looked and drove your car this is the amount we are willing to give you on a trade." Usually a low ball figure
 
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#4 ·
I have never test driven a car. lol :)


I take that back. When Smart cars first came out, you could drive them around cones in the parking lot at Home depot,
and then take them out on the road......presuming that you looked like you were ready to buy.
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I listened to their spiel.

I warmed the engine a bit and drove the smart car like I was in a parking lot autocross going for top time of the day.
I came back in.

With the keys firmly clinched in his fist, he said: "Thank you for coming out".
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I did not take it on the road

I guess I did not look like I was ready to buy. :)
 
#5 ·
With very few exceptions, the most dishonest and conniving people I have ever met have been car salesmen. :frown2:

Always be prepared for a new story and a new con when dealing with them.

Has anyone found a more dishonest vocation? >:)
 
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#6 · (Edited)
More dishonest?
Locally, tax and spend liberal democrats who turned this place into a sanctuary city...... lol
Then jacked up taxes. :(

Latest is a stormwater runoff tax:
"The size of your house is denying water to the earth, so you are hereby taxed based on square footage......"
I get no tax credit for the water that rolls downhill from next door. lol
Someone needs to tell those guys that when water rolls off my roof, it spreads out into my yard.
I don't know how they did without that tax for 50 years and then had to double it within a year...... lol
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Then with the "leftover" money the city bought tons of concrete and poured islands that motorists can hit
instead of driving straight across some intersections. lol we may soon have another tax to paint the islands yellow to cover all the black tire marks lol
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The mayors office says that within 200 years we will be under 3 feet of water.......having forgotten that
as of several years ago we have already been under TEN feet of water...but we don't know that yet.
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We have had no dishonest car salesmen run for mayor.... lol :)
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But dishonest lawyers who overbill for time? ....maybe.....
Some time back, if someone left a parking space downtown with 30 minutes left on the meter, you got that extra time. The City spent millions putting in radar posts that cut your time to zero anytime a car leaves, allowing the city to overbill for more than 8 hours during an 8 hour day. lol
I don't spend money downtown anymore.
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I drive over Gandy bridge and buy my license tags in the adjoining county where they have lower taxes,
and spend their tax money better. I try to fill up with gas, eat lunch and buy groceries there when I can....
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When people escape from high tax states...California, New York, Illinois and move to Fl,
I wish they would quit voting for the dishonest politicians who they just escaped from... lol
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Did you say new story and new con? lol
 
#7 · (Edited)
We didn't get to Fort Worth until around 6:30 pm. But she was there and ready to go.




And the only bad part is that folks that are not into cars probably won't even notice my sweetie got a new car.



As recommended by some of the members, I checked the factory air pressure after we left the dealership. And sure enough, the tires were WAY over inflated. We stopped at a truck stop and I got a cheap tire gauge and lowered the pressure down to 34 pounds.




Overall, it's very nice. And the dealership was one of the friendliest and least pushy we've dealt with. I took a check from my credit union but they were able to get me 2.95% which is very good. If left me enough room to get a 5 year/75,000 mile extended bumper to bumper warranty. Payment will only be few dollars more than what we were paying on the 2017 R/T.

We are going to LOVE this car!




So far I've got a few questions I hope someone can answer:

1. The fog lights look kind of plain to me. Is there a popular aftermarket fog light up grade?

2. There is a slight air rushing sound during highway driving. It sounds like it's coming from under the hood. You can't hear it with the radio on or a windows cracked open. Is this normal due to the air induction?

3. Our 2017 R/T was truly loaded with options. This new Scat Pack comes close but didn't come with the Technology Group package. Is there a way to reasonably add auto high beams and/or auto wipers to a car that didn't come with the Tech Package?


I'm hoping to get the window tinted today if my go-to tint lady can work us in.
 
#8 ·
Congratulations on your Brand New Scat Pack!!

This is truly a World Class Car.!! :beerchug:

I expect you and your significant other will come to love it more and more every day you drive it. :grin2:

Believe me, if you were my neighbor, I would notice this car right away. :nerd2:
 
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#9 ·
Spent most of today with my sweetie at a shop getting the windows tinted. It was stormy day, so that wasn't a bad thing to do.




We went with 15% on the back and 25% on the side windows. I would have gone with 50% on the front side windows, but my sweetie thought it would look better with the 25%. This is the "ceramic" tint that has a lifetime warranty and it looks great.

 
#11 ·
Nice choice on the tint. I went with 20% all around.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Sounds like you are fired up!
Glad you are having a good experience.
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To get the tire pressure right for my kind of driving, I paint a black wide stripe across the tread, side to side.
Paint which is cheap, will wear in the same pattern as the expensive rubber will wear.
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Wears in the middle= too much air for my kind of driving.
Wears on the edges=not enough air for my type of driving.
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Generally dealer wants lower air for a soft ride.
Tire mfg'r wants more air for longer tread wear.
I have heard before, that dealers put too much air in a tire to start.
Maybe that allows the customer to let it out.....which is easier that customer bringing it back to have air added.
After my second oil change, and since, I always ask dealer to leave my tire pressures alone.
Green valve caps indicate nitrous tire fill, but I have no other way to check it.
Nitrous pressure doesn't change very much compared to air, as the tires heat up from driving.
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Set tire pressure for whatever your wife wants. We all have to get along.
It's better to get along than to argue and win (but lose, long term).
Also women like to talk about things. Especially new things. Be a good listener without judgement.
Getting married is for life. Make it last. It costs 50% (or more) of what you have if you don't.
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With tint, FL has their own standard to be street legal.
I don't go looking for discussions with the cops.
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#13 ·
For me, That intake sound turned out to be the front window.

My rushing air sound went away when sitting still, I lowered the windows and ran them back up.
Front windows are more likely to make the sound.
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If moving, lower a rear window, THEN run the fronts down and back up.
Then raise that back window.
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This worked for me.
 
#16 ·
I agree, however, the very lazy prep teams at the last 3 dealers I have dealt with since 2013 have delivered my Dodge vehicles at 50 lbs. :frown2:

I just get my tire gauge out and decrease the tires to 32 lbs. >:)
 
#17 ·
14 April 2019

My sweetie thinks her headlights look yellow. Since I could not find a good application guide for headlight bulbs for a 2019 Charger Scat Pack, I pulled one of the OEM bulbs to look at it. It's a rather odd-looking Sylvania 9005 standard halogen bulb. In the daylight, it looks very yellow when lit. But brightness seemed okay in the Scat Pack projector housings.

I looked at several LED and HID choices. But I believe I'm going to keep it simple and try a set of German-made 60 watt HB3/9005 Osram Night Breaker Unlimited bulbs. These are around 4000K with very good reviews. It was a toss up between these and SYLVANIA 9005 zXe GOLD.

While I've personally had good results with zXe's over the last four years, the Osram have better reviews, better reported longevity and are half the price. Ironically, I believe that Osram is the European wing of Sylvania. I may do some HID's later if my sweetie is not happy with the Osram Halogens.




I also snagged her a cool license plate frame. This is an original MOPAR brand item.

 
#18 ·
Handy, you have the halogen projectors then. HID came in a package. Usually the Driver Confidence Group. The LED foglights definitely remind you that you have halogen projectors.
To your question about aftermarket fogs, I haven't seen any but don't know if they exist. There is an adjustment screw for them under the bumper. I have been meaning to fiddle with mine, but keep forgetting to.
 
#19 ·
Sounds like Handy Charger lives up to his name. :locked:

I used to do all of my own tune-ups, oil changes, radiator flushes and other work. Even replaced the camshaft on my 62 Chevy Impala 327 V8 with the assistance of a friend :rocker:

Now I just take my Dodge into a dealership and let someone who really knows what they are doing work on it.

Must be nice to be Handy. :beerchug:
 
#22 ·
Given the very high end tires and wheels on your SP, you may wish to pick up some Mopar wheel locks to protect your investment.:beerchug:
 
#23 ·
That's a great idea. The dealer had installed them on our 2017 R/T. The package was still in the wheel well. I guess I'll have to get my own this time. I'll call the local dealer with the VIN so I can order the correct ones myself. I believe there's an Amazon seller that has the Mopar wheel locks.
 
#27 ·
A good reason to leave your car unlocked too because door locks are just feel good items and someone can just bust the windwo and get in. Thanks, but wheel locks do help thwart theft. Faulty logic is not your friend.
 
#30 ·
Finally got the new LED headlight bulbs installed.

The OSRAM halogen bulbs I tried were whiter and brighter than the factory bulbs, but they still looked too yellow next to the factory LED driving lights and fog lights. So based on a recommendation, I got some of these off Amazon for around $40.




They seem to fit fine inside the headlight housings and there's room to tuck in the extra wiring and ballasts and still easily get the dust caps back on. I would have worried about the fans on these LED bulbs providing enough cooling while sealed inside the headlight housings. But other reports indicate that they work fine and the LED bulbs seem to last a long time. I guess we will see.


These look much better and match the driving lights perfectly. The halogen on the left is definitely more yellow and dimmer.




Night driving is definitely improved. However, we just had 50% tint put on the windshield. So I still believe there's less light coming through now than with the halogen bulbs before the windshield tint.




Overall, I'm very happy. At this price point, these are great bulbs. However, in the long run I may opt for some HID's to make up for the light lost due to the windshield tint. Or I may just remove the windshield tint if I can talk my sweetie into it. After all, this is supposed to be her car. ;)

 
#31 · (Edited)
Yesterday, I got in the Mopar wheel locks for the Scat Pack. To make sure I got the right ones, I call the local dealership parts department to get the part number. The dealership wanted approximately $66 for these. A seller on Amazon had them for around $34 with free Prime shipping. The other items in the photo include an original SRT red start button and an oxygen sensor tool kit for another project.




The owner's manual said to torque the lug nuts to 130 foot-pounds. But according to some FCA techs online, 110 foot-pounds is the right number for Scat Pack lugs. I checked the tightness prior to installing the locks and that does appear to be correct from the factory.




To make sure everything stayed pretty and new looking, I used a brand new 22mm socket that I covered with rubber electrical tape to avoid scratches on the Hyper Black alloy wheels. I did this with the wheel lock tool as well.




Per the directions, I've mailed in the registration to McGard so the number for these wheel locks can be electronically stored for dealer retrieval if ever needed. It's strange that you can't do this online.




The Mopar Wheel lock kit came with a special zip tie to go around the existing lug wrench so the wheel lock tool could be kept with it. However, the Scat Pack doesn't come with a spare tire or lug wrench, so I just put the tool in the glove box. The removed lugs went back into the wheel lock package and where placed in the wheel well in the truck per the instructions. ;)

 
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