Looking at buying this Challenger.. Help, thoughts, comments..

[PlumCrazy340]

So I can get this challenger for $16500 and I am wondering if some of you pros can take a look at it in the link and tell me if it looks as good as I think it does.
Im not looking for a show car just something I can buy and drive.

link ; http://www.autabuy.com/Vehicles/Details.cfm?VID=641928&Year=1973&Make=DODGE&Model=CHALLENGER

Im taking a 5 year loan on this one and nervous about buying sight unseen but there is no e bodies in my area for sale.

Thanks

 

[ramenth]

$16,500 for a 318 car, even one that's done :dontknow: The car looks clean.

The biggest thing that jumped out at me was the Neverstart WalMart battery. Not exactly the kind of thing you'd see under the hood from a pro shop. That kind of thing just screams short cuts to me. The suspension full of Duralast parts? The quarters full of bondo? Sight unseen with a five year loan... I think I'd want to have it checked over really well by an independent party (maybe one of our members here would volunteer) if you can't get there yourself.

 

[moparleo]

Very sound advice . It is much more prudent to even pay someone to inspect and take more pictures. It is the details that make the cars real value.

 

[74 challenger]

that looks like the car on clist in january for $1500,someones uncle died and it was in rough shape.I was going to buy it but was sold the next day.Just recently seen a 72 challenger on clist in ga for $13000 was a 360 auto and was very sharp.I would keep looking if your taking a loan out why rush it since your going to pay for it for 5 years.

 

[PlumCrazy340]

Thanks guys I agree I missed a sweet 340 rallye car last year for 14k and waiting for another one. Honestly if I take the loan I want the car to be everything I want which would include a 340/360

 

[challenger6pak]

I've never had a problem with the Walmart battery. I used them in my trucks that went all over the US. If there would have been a problem, there is almost always a Walmart nearby.

 

[rbbruno3]

Not to get off onto something else but ,I have a mopar battery in one of my cars (made by interstate) most batteries are made by a big name company. On the car in question here my thoughts are body and paint. If body and paint are damn near perfect the car is worth 15,000. You can tie up 5-20K in paint/metal work in a heartbeat. Plus if the car is worth 15K it would probably be sold by now. Deals don't last long.

 

[BIGSHCLUNK]

Until recently Excide made wally batterys. They made them for wally and a gazillion other places. Jus sayin...........

 

[moparleo]

FYI Exide batteries are crap. Batteries made by Johnson Controls are excellent, they make Interstate, Auto Zone's Premium batteries, Pro-start, Bmw, etc... For the guy who drives his car. Walmart, Interstate have the most nationwide outlets for warranty purposes, of course the best warranty to have is the one you never need. Who wants a warranty if you always have problems.

 

[ramenth]

Wow, this thread got a little off topic. One off hand comment about a brand of battery... lol

I don't really care what manufacturer of battery you prefer, slamming a WalMart piece under the hood of a car like this simply screams "cheap" to me. So, they saved $20 on a battery... if that's the case, what else have they cut 20 bucks on? Yeah, that 20 bucks here and there adds up and could lead to major problems later on. I just used the Neverstart as an example to point this out.

Oh, and I could careless about a warranty in every town. When you dig deeper into WalMart products you'll find there's a reason a lot of WalMart's products are cheaper. A lot of times the manufacturers will run an independent line just for WalMart, made to WalMart specs, using parts (IE, cheaper and of lesser quality) they wouldn't ordinarily use in the manufacturing of products for sale in their own retail stores or websites or even for sale in WalMart's competitions' stores.

 

[challenger6pak]

I would not rate a car by the battery that is in it. I also would not spend that kind of money on a car that I did not see in person. For that kind of money I would look for a car that came with a 340 or larger motor from the factory. The market is down. Take advantage of it. Get a car that will hold it's value better than a 318 car due to the more desirable, larger factory motor.