So long Hellcat......
 

Well it was time for a change. Some of you may be aware of the Hellcat nonsense I dealt with so I decided to change things up. If I'm wasting money, I need to make sure I have a perma smile. The hellcat was def a great hooligan mobile but like many things, it wasn't everything it was sold to be. So.... I got a C7Z.

Like many of my ideas, nothing is easy and I surely make it more complicated. I had a certain spec in mind and of course none could be found in the reasonable area. Local dealers weren't able to make a trade and ordering was not what I wanted to do. I spoke to all the high volume guys in the country and it appeared a dealer in Michigan had the car. I spoke to the lead corvette guy and oddly enough he offered me the most for the HC, knocked 12% off MSRP and even got me a few additional bucks off plus add ons. The deal made sense so off I went with my dad to get the car. My insurance is even $800 a year cheaper for the vette lol. It was a long but easy drive.

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****ing hate you right now.

God that thing is beautiful.

I'm wet.

P.s. finish my lights dangit and update your signature!

wow! That is freaking awesome. Very very jealous. Had you driven one before buying or just knew you wanted one? Congrats man, hope you enjoy it.

Very nice! Enjoy.

Congrats, bud. I really like this move.

I'm ready for the vanity plate poll.

Damn that looks great. Congrats!

When do the gloves and jacket come in????

Looks awesome man, love it with all of the black accents and wheels. I wish you had more road trip pics/details. That had to be a fun little adventure!

The inner hate is strong but congrats on the car!

Fuggin' Mopar

Funny Story:

i texted BLS yesterday about how my buddy traded in his M3 for a new HC Charger, and bls just responded with "today is an interested day. I did a thing"


and then came the pics of this animal. Glad you had a save trip back buddy. Part of me hates you so much right now, but like i said im so happy for you and glad the nonsense is over. i get LITRBOX would have been more fitting for that cat.

Congrats, those are beautiful cars

Well played man. Best of luck with it.

What didn't you like about HC? Was it the vibration issue?

Congrats!

awesome brian congrats on the purchase it must be fun to drive.

out of curiosity what was the hell cat nonsense? ive heard of the superchargers going on them after a few thousand miles.

Thanks guys! I'm doing a good job having multiple mid-life episodes.

The trip was interesting to say the least but here were some of the fun highlights.

- Detroit is an interesting place.
- My dad and I went to the biggest movie theater we have ever seen. Tickets were $6..... (not matinee). I'm still stuck on that. Saw Logan - Great movie.
- Ohio has beautiful rest stops. They were spotless and really well maintained.
- The Vette has a rather strict break-in procedure. The tach shows an amber highlight at 3500rpm, red at 4500 and thereafter. I hit the 500 mile mark, the dash changed and the pedal went to the floor. She scoots really well.
- The car is absolutely planted. The one problem is everything under 100 feels like you are crawling. Odd experience.



It was a combination of things. I have been chasing noise and vibration issues with the Hellcat ever since new. I've been to 4 different dealers over the course of the year and the last stint it stayed there for 43 days. There is a much longer story hear but the HC had the both rear hub bearings replaced, new differential, 5 new tires, multiple trips to road force tires/wheels, new transmission, and 2 driveshafts (one for TSB, other for breaking it at track). They thought the noises I was hearing were from the trans but I'm convinced it was the previously replaced rear diff. Every dealer experience pretty much sucked and FCA SRT customer care was a total joke. I could have dealt with the vehicle issues if they were actually taken care of by the dealer network/SRT customer service. FCA washed their hands of the issue so basically unless there was anything else wrong, the vehicle is "operating as designed".

I was looking to go after the Lemon process but after I got into the weeds of it, I would likely be looking at 6 to 12 months of frustration and likely some nominal cash settlement. This would easily be offset by car payments, insurance, maintenance, etc all while the car depreciates in value further. I'm not sure if you have seen the recent deals but some guys are offering $499/$599 lease deals on a HC with no/minimal $ down.

I bought the Hellcat to DD and have some fun just like FCA advertises. Drive to and from work, maybe slap on a set of sticky rubber and have fun at the track, then hit up the grocery store for errands. Only issue is if you try and use the power with a DOT DR, you will likely break the driveshaft. If you decide to upgrade the DS, then you put your drivetrain warranty at risk. Its warranty engineering at it's best and def a numbers proposition. How much is a stronger driveshaft? Hmmm. OK well how many customers will actually put on a set of DRs and race the car? How many of those will break the DS? Now how many of those that break will pursue warranty coverage? How many of those will actually get it covered?

If you look at the upcoming Demon, they just advertised it will have stronger rear diff, axles and driveshaft. I'm sure it has more power but it solidifies in my head that FCA saved a buck which is really dumb considering HC owners would have happily forked over a few more bucks to know the car is solid through and through.

In any event, Chevy DOES provide a full warranty if you track the car. Obviously if you do something really dumb or modify the car then they have an out but FCA does state clearly you are not covered for any damage due to racing.

Quick specs on vette for those curious.

Torch Red
2LZ equipment package
8spd auto
Transparent top
Adrenaline red/black interior
Stage 2 rear wing
Black wheels

update the sig...

This beast looks AMAZING! Of course that RED color is right up my alley. I am not a fan of SOLID Black wheels (love the way Chrome Wheels Pop) but these I could live with. You didn't get a Manual Trans for this Rocket? Now you have to get some Corvette underwear/ shoes/ shirts/ jacket etc. THAT'S the stuff to show your a REAL CORVETTE owner!:orlyflag:

Stage 2 wing! awww ye.

The black and red is killer, and what a load of **** from FCA. Glad you're back home in a chebby!

Congrats, Brian! Looks awesome!

Torch red FTW.

Thanks!! I'm thinking I need an american flag bandanna and matching pants. Something like this.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ClHfRY9VAAAsbTQ.jpg

The timing is extremely bizarre. Hopefully your buddy has a good experience with his new car. Keeping it stock or planning to mod it a little? I have a whole Diode Dynamics interior LED set (map, dome, trunk, under door, etc) all new in the packaging. Let me know if he is interested in them with a good discount.

Done

I'm usually not a red guy but this color combo drew me in. The red is showy enough so I wanted the wheels to be a bit more muted while following the red/black theme. My dad got me a hat, mug and K&N air filter to send me off right.

I thought that was a Ferrari at first. Lol Whats the engine/performance specs on that rocket?

Ferrari is out of my reach by a long shot. C7Z ratings are 650hp/650hp, 0-60 in the low 3's, 1/4 mile in low 11/high 10 territory, over 1g lateral grip blah blah. The Z07 makes it more of a track animal but I simply don't need it. I likely don't have enough talent for this car as is but I am up for the challenge.

2.9 60 and mid 10s with Dad mod