- An 811-mile 2023 Dodge Challenger R/T failed to meet reserve.
- The seller expected rising values for last-year V8 Challengers.
- Despite low miles and options, bidders weren’t impressed enough.
It’s no secret that the car market isn’t what it was just a year ago. Sure, prices for new vehicles remain stubbornly high, but nearly-new used cars aren’t holding their value the way they once did. We’ve already highlighted how some low-mileage enthusiast models, cars once considered safe bets, have taken a serious hit on resale.
Today, we’ll show you what happens when the car in question is a few rungs down the trim ladder. This Dodge Challenger R/T is still quite nice, but not nearly nice enough for buyers to pay what the seller wanted.
Read: Cybertruck Owner Took A $76,500 Depreciation Hit After Just 4,600 Miles
First, let’s break down what exactly we have here. This isn’t a Scat Pack, it isn’t a Widebody, and it isn’t any form of the various Challenger Hellcats out there.
Instead, it’s a humble, albeit perfectly enjoyable, R/T trim from 2023. That means it comes with a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 that makes 375 horsepower (279 kW) and 410 lb-ft (555 Nm) of torque. What sets this particular car apart, though, is its mileage. With just 811 miles (1,305 km) on the clock, it’s barely broken in.
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Sure, an R/T, even with ultra-low mileage, might not seem like much next to other Challengers boasting bigger numbers and badder badges. But this is a straightforward, dependable, and genuinely fun muscle car. Oh, and it has one more thing going for it. Unlike plenty of the other, more powerful Challengers out there, this one has a six-speed manual transmission.
Read: Dodge Challenger Hellcat Prices Are Crashing And Buyers Are Loving It
It’s loaded too, carrying the Plus Package and Technology Group, adding HID Air Catcher headlights, rain-sensing wipers, heated and ventilated front seats, and a heated steering wheel. A sunroof, limited-slip differential, Alpine sound system, 20-inch wheels, hood pins, louvers, and a performance suspension round out the build.
But even with all that going for it, and the seller’s optimistic reminder that “Challengers are no longer being produced. Their prices have been steadily rising”, the bidding crowd wasn’t convinced. The top offer landed at just $29,500, a far cry from the car’s original MSRP of $49,660.
The fact that it had OEM Mopar hood pins drilled in probably didn’t help its case either. While functional, details like that can be polarizing, especially for buyers looking for a cleaner, more factory-fresh look.
Comments during the auction mirrored the reality check: “The market for these is not what it was,” one user wrote, and the numbers backed it up. Whether values climb later is anyone’s guess, but this auction showed that even end-of-the-line V8 Challengers aren’t guaranteed a big-money sendoff.
