Enthusiast Car Buying Roundup: Big V8 Hotness

Dodge Challenger Hellcat

Welcome to a new series at RFD where we go car shopping.  For you!  OK, it’s also for us, as our crew (squad?) is almost always in a state of flux when it comes to the cars that are in our driveway.  And yes, this is the first one, so it’s only a series if we do another one.  But I’m the God damn Editor-in-Chief so I can call it whatever I want.  Got it?  Good.  Let’s go shopping!

Scope

For the most part, these will constitute nationwide searches on cars.com.  There are lots of other great sites out there to search for your next ride, this just happens to be one of the largest and one I use regularly.  Go see Doug and our other friends over at Oversteer for some cool Autotrader stuff!  So sit back, dream big, and maybe you’ll see something you want.

For this iteration, we’re focusing on big bad V8 hotness.

Dodge Charger Hellcat

Lowest Price: $53,812 (2015 with 20,421 miles)

The Hellcat has been the defacto big V8 badass and prices for used models are holding their own, but getting lower.  A new 707hp sedan will start you out at $67,645.  Or you can head to the used market for something like the options below.  All are low mileage and still under warranty.

Charger Hellcat
Dodge Challenger Hellcat

Lowest Price: $47,799  (2015 with 25,389 miles)

Or, if you don’t need a 4-door, but do want a manual, you can save yourself some cash and spring for the Challenger Hellcat.  Prices, from a depreciation standpoint, are generally consistent with the fact that the Challenger is a few grand cheaper than the Charger, starting at $64,195 brand new.  However, the delta between new car MSRPs is about $3500 off the dealer lot, but you can pick up similar year/mileage Challenger roughly $5000 less than the cheapest Charger.  Plus, if you’ve ever been in the back seat of a Challenger (some of you were conceived in the classic version I’m betting) you know that it’s roomy.

Dodge Challenger Hellcat
Chevrolet SS

Lowest Price: $28,672 (2014 with 57,473 miles)

As our buddy Tom over at Jalopnik just posted, you can get a brand-tire-spanking new SS for 20% off MSRP.  If you can find one.  If you can’t, there are some nice options on the used market.  Opt for the automatic, and you can get a 2014 as low as $28,672.  Considering the reliability of the platform, 57K miles is just getting started.  Opt for the manual 6-speed transmission and you’re jumping up considerably, at $37,988 (2015 with only 1100 miles).  At that point, you might as well go find one of those 20% off new options.

Chevrolet SS

Cadillac CTS-V

Lowest price: $69,980 (2016 with 15,657 miles)

A new CTS-V is a monster; 640hp, 3.7 seconds to 60 and will do 200 mph.  But, it’ll cost you $85,995.  If you’re looking in the used market, obviously you can save a bit.  What you are looking at below is basically a new car, and will only cost you around $70K.

Cadillac CTS-V
Or if you want to go older, you can save even more.  If you ignore the folks trying to get $60,000 for their manual CTS-V wagons, you’ll actually find that the previous generation V, with its big ole 556 hp 6.2L V8 can be had for as low as $37,878 with 54,071 miles.  Ignore the first one unless you are brave, it’s got some title issues.

Cadillac CTS-V
Audi S4/RS4

Lowest price: $17,900 (2006 with 48,700 miles)

I always had a soft spot for the B6 and B7 S4.  While not quite as mod-friendly as the B5, with it’s turbocharged drivetrain, it was a great grand touring sedan.  Add in some minor mods and it also sounded pretty badass too.  Ante up for a used offering like ones below, all of which are under 60K (and almost 50K) miles and you’ll get a lot of cars for under $20,000.  The results below were massaged a bit, manuals only, no convertibles.  They’re ugly.

That second option looks oddly like a group of people.  I’d skip that one.

Audi S4
Want to get a little crazy?  Get a little stupid?  Well, save your money, this could get expensive.  Well, not starting out, these RS4 sedans (convertibles were removed because they are still ugly) are cheap as hell.  They’re also high mileage and I very much do not recommend buying any of them.  If you do, let us know, it will be a hell of a ride.

Audi S4

Mercedes Benz C63 AMG

Lowest price: $36,481 (2013 with 47,333 miles)

Few do crazy V8 like AMG.  You also get a 6.2L V8, like the CTS-V, but it’s only 451hp.  Still enough to roast the rear tires, and all for under $36,500.

Mercdes Benz AMG C63

BMW M3

Lowest price: $18,995 (2008 with 110,753 miles)

What else do I need to say about the E9X M3?  We own one, you can read about it here.  At the time, Josh’s E92 was one of the cheapest in the country.  It’s still going strong.  So how about investing under $20,000 on something like this?

BMW M3

Thanks for coming, next time we’ll tackle some other enthusiast segment.  Leave a comment if you want something specific!

 

Header image: Motortrend

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  1. I’d like to say that my journalistic integrity kept me from posting anything Mustang related. But I just forgot. . The GT350 is still stupid expensive (and worth it). You can get a pretty decently priced GT500 that’ll do 200 mph. The Boss 302 is a very solid buy as well, should hold its value over time.

    Me? I may just get a nicely spec’d GT Premium as my daily driver.

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