FCA Is Having To Warn Its Own Customers About Dodgy Hellcat Dealers

In what is sure to be a shock to absolutely no one anywhere, it turns out a bunch of car dealerships in America have been conducting some shady behaviour. Specifically, they have been taking orders on SRT Hellcats that they’re in no way guranteed to actually be able to provide.

You see, the problem is that chucking a 707hp V8 into a badass looking car and making it damn affordable makes the Callenger and Charger Hellcats mighty appealing. Dealerships have seized this opportunity to make some quick cash by accepting orders, and in many cases taking deposits, on cars before they arrive on the forecourt.

That wouldn’t normally be a problem, but the Hellcats aren’t high volume cars, and Dodge’s parent company FCA limits the number of cars a dealership can receive. Here’s how it works, via Car and Driver:

Ranieri explains the basic decision matrix FCA uses to determine which dealers will receive a Hellcat. Basically, it breaks down like this: Eligible dealers can receive a maximum of one Hellcat per month. Priority is given based on the number of Dodges a dealership sold in the previous 90 days. If a dealership currently has a Hellcat on the lot, or had one sitting on the lot for more than five days in the past month, it’s not eligible for another.

With this in mind, it’s the dealership’s responsibility to only take orders for cars it can reasonably expect to be able to deliver. FCA has become concerned that a number of scumbag dealerships are taking orders “without regard to available supply, and without advising their customers that orders may not be filled, if at all, for many months or longer.”

According to the FCA blog, here are the questions potential customers should be asking before placing a Hellcat order:

1. Is the dealer an authorized Dodge dealer?
2. How many Hellcat orders does the authorized dealer have pending and where would I be on the list?
3. Based on the dealer’s prior 90 day Dodge sales and previous Hellcat scheduling, when can I expect to receive my Hellcat order?
4. Does the authorized dealer require a deposit for a Hellcat order?
5. Is the deposit refundable and at what point in time? Please consult your state law governing the vehicle orders and the return of deposits.

It’s great to see a manufacturer tackling an issue like this head on in public. Not only will it discourage other dealerships from conducting shady practices through fear of being shamed by FCA, it also gives customers confidence that if they have any problems or doubts, the big guys have their back. Props to FCA, for it comes out of what could easily be a massive PR blunder looking like the good guy.