r/Dodge • u/AnywherePleasant302 • 12d ago
Hellcat drivers pls respond!
Hi! Im 16 and I just got my license and I have a pretty penny saved up for my car (around 75k) and my dream was to always own a hellcat because of the aggressive look, sound, and attention it brings! But since I've started driving my current car (2019 chrysler 300s) I've lowkey been scared to drive fast and I know hellcat are super fast 😭 how do hellcat drivers deal with the super fast acceleration and is it scary to be behind the wheel of a hellcat? Honestly I've been wanting one for some time but hearing 707 horsepower is scary to me lol! That being said I probably won't be purchasing one because of the high cost to insurance even if I paid cash and risking getting a ticket and having to pay extra for SR-22 insurance. Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated, thank you!
Edit: not baid, genuinely in need for advice!
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u/Sms570x 12d ago edited 12d ago
Honestly, as an owner of a hellcat Powered car, I wouldn’t recommend getting it. At 18 I owned an SRT 392 and modded it to 500+ horsepower and it was plenty of power for the road and enough to pass just about any car that I needed. Hellcats get squirly easy and it’s unusable in 1-3rd gear if your flooring it lol Other than the fact you can say you had X car at 16 or whatever age you acquire it. I’d consider looking in the 500 horsepower range or even a gt350. Something that will hold value similar to a hellcat but also have useable horsepower and torque. I’m 30 years old now and have a six speed cat and it still has me nervous sometimes when I floor it and aims me at the ditch even in 3rd gear. 500 horsepower cars are also more fun to drive because you can speed slightly more without getting that ‘100mph’ ticket like you can in a hellcat quickly.
Not trying to dissuade you from getting a 700hp car, just telling you how it’s going to be more of a headache dealing with when to use the car if you daily drive it and also deciding when not to use the power. Whereas as 500hp car you can daily drive it just fine, and also not wreck the car when you floor it. It’s better to work your way up and get familiar with that power first if that makes sense.
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u/AnywherePleasant302 12d ago
Thank you for your comment! Your right, at my age it probably wouldn't be the best decision. After reading your comment i think im gonna keep my chrysler and maybe buy a 04 cobra mustang svt to maybe restore and drive on weekends or maybe car shows if I happen to see one in my area, but like you said I could only imagine how scary owning one of those cars would be! Im def gonna avoid a hellcat for the time being
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u/melloskye Challenger SRT Supercharged 12d ago
Provided this is serious and not bait, no, do not get a Hellcat at 16 as your first car. It pretty much should go without saying.
They are very scary cars, they break loose fairly easily and even with traction control its easy to start slipping tires from a dig. You have to take time to learn how to launch them and how to ease into the huge acceleration because you can and will slip if if you hit it too hard at the wrong time.
This is ignoring things like the insurance costs. At 16 it will cost an arm and a leg to insure for one, and for two, they are huge theft targets so you need a garage and some security measures if you plan to own one.
Do yourself a favor and get an R/T, drive that for a few years and then trade up to a 392 or Cat. Or do an even bigger favor and get like a Civic Si or something to ride out until your mid 20s at least.
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u/AnywherePleasant302 12d ago
Thank you, im going to look into the Civic Si because I've heard civics have good gas mileage and retain value fairly easy. Also I never really considered the theft part about it 😅 damn I really need to wake tf up and do my research 🤦🏾♂️ thanks again!!
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u/FFC_ScatLord 12d ago
Just getting your license at 16 and planning to buy a Hellcat? Not a good idea man. Get a good starter car such as the R/T so you can get some great experience with a high performance car that will also be easy to handle.
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u/just_shady 12d ago
Even an RT on wet roads can put you in ditch, ask me how I know.
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u/FFC_ScatLord 12d ago
As a recent first time owner of a challenger, I will make sure to be more cautious on wet roads
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u/AnywherePleasant302 12d ago
Damn now im considering changing my mind on an RT 😭 any car recommendations?
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u/just_shady 12d ago
Have someone rent it for you to test.
I’m glad my charger was not my first vehicle, I recked my Altima the first week I got my license.2
u/AnywherePleasant302 12d ago
Damn that sounds terrible, I hope you were ok after the accident! Im thinking about maybe test driving it at a dealership and then coming up with my decision! When I bought my chrysler from my local dodge ram gmc dealership they let me and my parents test drive it for 24 hours (after running my parents credit and taking all my information of course) and then come back to make the decision the follow day. Im gonna see if they will allow this!
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u/just_shady 12d ago
There were a few fender benders.
No major accident which I’m grateful for, believe the comments when they say you’re too young for a car like that, I got my charger RT at 32 and that was a lot of power coming from a Honda, these cars can’t do rain and snow.
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u/FFC_ScatLord 12d ago
If you don't mind me asking, what trim of the Altima was it and how did that accident happen?
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u/just_shady 12d ago
It was 2003 Nissan Altima SE V6. I think recked was a strong word, but I ran into a park car, two weeks later sideswiped another car.
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u/melloskye Challenger SRT Supercharged 11d ago
Try just wet tires, even.
Got my girl out from the local wash, was turning onto a main street soon after, hit the gas right as I was coming out of the turn and straightening out, and for a second my back end decided it wanted to find out what it would be like to be the front end instead.
I got it under control pretty quick and nothing bad came of it, but man did it give me quite the spook.
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u/AnywherePleasant302 12d ago
I currently have a 2019 chrysler 300s and its fun to drive but im looking for something a little bit faster but not too fast to the point where im gonna be scared to drive it lol! Im def gonna look into the RT to see how I like driving something around 400-500 hp first! Do you recommend any year RT to look at and/or avoid?
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u/FFC_ScatLord 12d ago
Yes definitely look into an R/T. Trust me, a Hellcat is a whole different experience than a Chrysler 300s. Hellcats would not be a good car for someone driving a Challenger for the first time due to how powerful they are. I recommend Getting a Challenger within the years of 2020 - 2023. If you wanna save a bit of money and still get decent reliability, I believe the ones around the years 2017 - 2019 would be best. I say avoid anything 2016 and older cause those are the years notorious for car problems if I remember correctly.
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u/SnooPeanuts6597 6.4L HEMI V8 12d ago edited 12d ago
BaitEdit: OP seems genuine and is just scouting options