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Fellow Canadian's Who Ordered a Hellcat

55419 Views 239 Replies 50 Participants Last post by  Cruisin1966
I was just wondering if anyone has an update on the status of their HC who got a VON when ordered? I ordered July 23 when my dealer call and said he was able to place an order. I called my dealer on Friday and he said no change in status still in B something status. Dealer has been family owned for over 55 years and has a Five Star Status (highest quality service rating awarded by Chrysler Canada), got an email from area rep and said they were going to build 3 HC per month for western Canada with first ones going to Vancouver and with the amount of orders for HC it might take 3 years to get one.I talked to the dealer in Ontario where I bought my Yellow Jacket and said they would get one HC but it would be about a month before they could option it, and he said they would build 50 HC for Ontario. If anyone would like to add to this, true or false, I would appreciate it.
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Hemikid, nice to hear someone from SK actually getting somewhere. Where did you order yours and with what options?
I ordered from Southey Motors in Southey........Merv Ritter, owner, excellent gentleman to deal with. Sublime ,A8, upgraded Nav, Performance tires, Black Laguna and red seat belts.
I ordered from Southey Motors in Southey........Merv Ritter, owner, excellent gentleman to deal with. Sublime ,A8, upgraded Nav, Performance tires, Black Laguna and red seat belts.


Congrats! Are you picking it up when it comes in or are you leaving it there till the weather is better? Wouldn't mind meeting up with you to see this elusive cat!
Congrats! Are you picking it up when it comes in or are you leaving it there till the weather is better? Wouldn't mind meeting up with you to see this elusive cat!
Not sure yet, :dunno: might rent it to the dealership and let them rope it off in their showroom for awhile :lol::lol:
I ordered from Southey Motors in Southey........Merv Ritter, owner, excellent gentleman to deal with. Sublime ,A8, upgraded Nav, Performance tires, Black Laguna and red seat belts.
I would also like to see it once you have picked it up, I'm in Grenfell so not far away. I ordered from Indian Head with the black satin hood but I doubt that mattered even though I ordered an hour after the banks opened. I'm surprised you were able to get one that early through a small town dealer that has a low volume compared to city dealers. My brother knows Merv in Southey and I'm considering starting over and ordering elsewhere to see if that helps. As I've said before, I'm in no hurry I just want to know IF I'll ever get one.
Not sure yet, :dunno: might rent it to the dealership and let them rope it off in their showroom for awhile :lol::lol:


Lol, might be tough to do, pretty small show room.
I would also like to see it once you have picked it up, I'm in Grenfell so not far away. I ordered from Indian Head with the black satin hood but I doubt that mattered even though I ordered an hour after the banks opened. I'm surprised you were able to get one that early through a small town dealer that has a low volume compared to city dealers. My brother knows Merv in Southey and I'm considering starting over and ordering elsewhere to see if that helps. As I've said before, I'm in no hurry I just want to know IF I'll ever get one.


I bought my SRT Jeep with Mark at Indian Head. Was gonna order a Hellcat but I kinda want to wait for Plum Crazy. Then the price of the Vipers dropped so I am not sure what I want to do. I think I will wait till the dust settles on the Hellcats. Hopefully, 2016 will have the color I want and much easier to get.
What I don't understand is that there are a number of sold orders that are not being filled while a small dealership In Campbell River, BC has one in their showroom, unsold with a $20,000 mark up. I tried to buy a Scat Pack Shaker from them and they said they would have to charge me a premium over MSRP if I wanted one. The salesman said the only way they got the Hellcat was by taking 10 hard to sell vans that they were going to have to sell at cost or a loss to move to get the Hellcat, so they had to make their money on the Hellcat. When I spoke to them last year they said that they didn't even qualify to get a Hellcat this year. So makes me wonder.
What I don't understand is that there are a number of sold orders that are not being filled while a small dealership In Campbell River, BC has one in their showroom, unsold with a $20,000 mark up. I tried to buy a Scat Pack Shaker from them and they said they would have to charge me a premium over MSRP if I wanted one. The salesman said the only way they got the Hellcat was by taking 10 hard to sell vans that they were going to have to sell at cost or a loss to move to get the Hellcat, so they had to make their money on the Hellcat. When I spoke to them last year they said that they didn't even qualify to get a Hellcat this year. So makes me wonder.
I'll tell you why. It's because they lie.

They put the car in as a customer order, use either someone on their staff or an employees' friend, family, to "fake" it as a customer-sold order, and when it gets to the dealership HallelujahMOTHERMARYJESUSANDJOSEPH! the order "falls through" on some technicality BS, and PRESTO! Hellcat on the showroom floor. With a markup!

Meanwhile, genuine customer orders are still not delivered. Hell, some of our guys in our local club don't have freaking VINs, despite having orders in on the day order banks opened.

Meanwhile, FCA starts posting "here's how allocation works" blog entries and news stories, and blaming dealerships who have tons of orders in, because most of those dealers are ones selling @ MSRP (or close to), and everyone on the forums / internet is flocking to those dealerships that actually order and sell the car to enthusiasts without markups.

As long as the allocation system favors volume dealers / sales in any way, shape, or form, it's destined to fail.

If FCA was serious about getting these cars into the hands of their loyal, enthusiastic customer base, they'd find a way to do it.
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I'll tell you why. It's because they lie.

They put the car in as a customer order, use either someone on their staff or an employees' friend, family, to "fake" it as a customer-sold order, and when it gets to the dealership HallelujahMOTHERMARYJESUSANDJOSEPH! the order "falls through" on some technicality BS, and PRESTO! Hellcat on the showroom floor. With a markup!

Meanwhile, genuine customer orders are still not delivered. Hell, some of our guys in our local club don't have freaking VINs, despite having orders in on the day order banks opened.

Meanwhile, FCA starts posting "here's how allocation works" blog entries and news stories, and blaming dealerships who have tons of orders in, because most of those dealers are ones selling @ MSRP (or close to), and everyone on the forums / internet is flocking to those dealerships that actually order and sell the car to enthusiasts without markups.

As long as the allocation system favors volume dealers / sales in any way, shape, or form, it's destined to fail.

If FCA was serious about getting these cars into the hands of their loyal, enthusiastic customer base, they'd find a way to do it.
The articles that FCA posted are for US. Canada is completely different and runs on a different allocation program.
My dealer ordered a HC in the dealer name for stock back in July, I cancelled my first order from another dealer and bought it. They now have 2 more HC allocations that are unsold and are being built now.
I am also aware of another dealer who has a stock order in for a HC, again in the dealer name and unsold.
It is all based on volume, the big dealers in the major centers are getting the cars
The cars are available at MSRP
I'll tell you why. It's because they lie.
Maybe in the US man, but in Canada... very diff like Nobrakes was saying.

They are very much making dealers buy 10-20 Dodge Sprinter Vans if they want a Hellcat.

Also, when ordering in Canada - they require a name, order form, deposit and often license scan. It's not made up names etc.

FCA aren't idiots. People might not like the way things are going, and I agree.. should be like FCA USA rules but right now, they're not.
The articles that FCA posted are for US. Canada is completely different and runs on a different allocation program.
Maybe in the US man, but in Canada... very diff like Nobrakes was saying.

They are very much making dealers buy 10-20 Dodge Sprinter Vans if they want a Hellcat.

Also, when ordering in Canada - they require a name, order form, deposit and often license scan. It's not made up names etc.

FCA aren't idiots. People might not like the way things are going, and I agree.. should be like FCA USA rules but right now, they're not.
My point is that dealerships lie. Multiple dealerships have said to my face:

- there's only 20/50/10/100 Hellcats coming to Canada for 2015 / until the end of time. The recall already has 148 built for Canada.
- there's no 2016 run; 2015 is it. Many insiders have posted that LA is on the roster to at least 2017.
- Canada has a "lottery" system for which dealers get a Hellcat, which is direct contradiction to "take 20 Sprinters". I've also been told the US allocation process now applies to Canada. Which is it?
- no dealership will charge MSRP, while meanwhile, a handful of customers have paid MSRP and either gotten their cars, or the cars are in transit.

Canada's allocation program, if is it different and based on "buy X to receive Y" is just as broken, if not more so. If that's the case, why are Duncan and Campbell River getting Hellcats, but not Vancouver or Kelowna?

Customer-sold orders, with real $$$ behind them and a customer committed to buy should be honored on a FIFO basis. Dealers' lot cars should not be put ahead of them, especially at launch.

This makes it very clear that the dealers are FCA's customer and priority, while the customers have to wade through deceptive dealers, uncertain deposit conditions, and confusing blog posts about the logistics of ordering a vehicle, just to get it before summer.
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. . . Canada's allocation program, if is it different and based on "buy X to receive Y" is just as broken, if not more so. If that's the case, why are Duncan and Campbell River getting Hellcats, but not Vancouver or Kelowna?
Just to clarify for us Canucks:

The "buy X to receive Y" is for the Charger only. Sometimes it's Promaster vans, sometimes Fiats, other times it's a large number of Darts.

The Challenger allocation is more "random" based on sales to some extent and the rest is as much the relationship (or squeaky wheel syndrome) between the dealer and the area rep.
VON 32072709 Ordered Aug 8/14, to VIN FH818625 March 9 2015


New Brunswick, Canada
Black Tri Coat, Auto, Laguana Sepia, Nav.

Won the Canadian draw Friday at 4 pm March 6 when I received an e-mail from my Dealers GM that he had allocation for me from the District Rep for a May build. Likely will get it in June or early July. No problem with me as we have so much snow here I will likely be riding my Turbo 320 HP Snowmobile until May sometime !!!

FYI ; Dealer Rep required info on me from the dealer before issuing the VIN. Guess I passed the test.

Looks like Dodge / SRT is trying in Canada at least to fulfill the early real customer orders.

My dealer is a small one in a small province. They had my Challenger Hellcat order & ordered a Charger HC for Stock.
I specifically told my dealer to not submit to any contingent allocation requests from FCA and they were not asked to take any slow sellers.

It has been a weird process but I expected something like this based on the way the Grand Cherokee SRT sales went in Canada in their first year as posted by a member who ordered one.

All good for me at the end of the day with delivery likely a month later than I requested.
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How' 'bout Parksville BC??? And what about Southey Sask??( less than 1000 pop.!!!) Merv Ritter gets every special Mopar he wants...how??? Regina couldn't get one, don't know about Saskatoon.... My buddy in Moose Jaw orders all of his new stuff through Merv, that no other dealership either wants to or can order. I don't know how it works, but some people are fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time.(Me??) My Hellcat was on the dealership floor for 2 weeks, so how did I end up with it? I mentioned I saw the Parksville Hellcat on the Hellcat forum, not a single soul commented, which leads me to think no one knew about it either. My personal opinion is that FCA is creating a demand that is impossible to keep up with at the moment. I also believe whoever puts up his money for one will get one....eventually. I do know one thing about some of the larger FCA dealerships on the lower mainland and on the Island....on a Saturday afternoon, I haven't seen more people buying cars than in Duncan BC. So maybe it goes by sales per population or something, But in Vancouver I could not get a deal like I did on the Island on my 3 Challengers in the last 11 months....some of the big dealerships are just too arrogant and don't care if they lose a sale. I don't even know if I have a point, but just speaking from my own experiences .


Mark
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Actually Mark you made a very good point.
Dealers are ranked by penetration rates in their zone by most auto manufacturers in Canada
Appears credence /allocation is being given to dealers with good penetration rates from what I see here in N.B. & from what you have seen.
Mom & pop stores charging reasonable prices not getting screwed in this country anyway.
Glad I went the route I did. Took 7 months to get a VIN but I expected 5 or 6 months when I ordered.
BTW my dealer received no pressure from Chrysler to take slow moving product to secure my allocation.
They did have to send in the signed sales contract with my info on it & proof of my $5,000 deposit in August before the VIN was issued & car went to D status though.
Shady dealers I'm sure submit false "sold orders" but it appears Chrysler is trying to get the Hellcat into real customers hands at this point in the process in Canada anyway..
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How' 'bout Parksville BC??? And what about Southey Sask??( less than 1000 pop.!!!) Merv Ritter gets every special Mopar he wants...how??? Regina couldn't get one, don't know about Saskatoon.... My buddy in Moose Jaw orders all of his new stuff through Merv, that no other dealership either wants to or can order. I don't know how it works, but some people are fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time.(Me??) My Hellcat was on the dealership floor for 2 weeks, so how did I end up with it? I mentioned I saw the Parksville Hellcat on the Hellcat forum, not a single soul commented, which leads me to think no one knew about it either. My personal opinion is that FCA is creating a demand that is impossible to keep up with at the moment. I also believe whoever puts up his money for one will get one....eventually. I do know one thing about some of the larger FCA dealerships on the lower mainland and on the Island....on a Saturday afternoon, I haven't seen more people buying cars than in Duncan BC. So maybe it goes by sales per population or something, But in Vancouver I could not get a deal like I did on the Island on my 3 Challengers in the last 11 months....some of the big dealerships are just too arrogant and don't care if they lose a sale. I don't even know if I have a point, but just speaking from my own experiences .


Mark
Saskatchewan and Manitoba are the 2 provinces that gets the most screwed on this. They are considered western canada and have to fight against BC and Alberta to get cars. The fact that Alberta beats Quebec by about triple also makes me wonder. It seems like they send it where more money can be taken from people (Alberta high markups - oil driven) and the quickest (Ontario only a few days delivery)
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Can't argue with any of your statements
Canadian Allocation

My dealer has two accepted orders built and shipped in transit to them. They are not a great huge dealer. They have another on order. And I haven't seen any sprinters on their lot.
They did say getting a car built once your order is accepted is closer to a Luck of the draw than any other preplanned system of allotment as some people have said.
People paying MSRP are or more are crazy. This car I have purchased will come at my normal purchase discounts or they will not sell me another Ram or Town and Country or any other car for that matter. I have purchased more than the average guy has at this dealer, so I would hope it comes in and less than MSRP will be my expectation.

Let's not forget as well a current Canadian car is cheaper today than a American purchased car. My MSRP at $68,900 will be $54,400 US
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My dealer has two accepted orders built and shipped in transit to them. They are not a great huge dealer. They have another on order. And I haven't seen any sprinters on their lot.
They did say getting a car built once your order is accepted is closer to a Luck of the draw than any other preplanned system of allotment as some people have said.
People paying MSRP are or more are crazy. This car I have purchased will come at my normal purchase discounts or they will not sell me another Ram or Town and Country or any other car for that matter. I have purchased more than the average guy has at this dealer, so I would hope it comes in and less than MSRP will be my expectation.

Let's not forget as well a current Canadian car is cheaper today than a American purchased car. My MSRP at $68,900 will be $54,400 US
Orders for what? Chargers or Challengers?

I'll assume with your comment on the "sprinters" (actually Promaster vans), you were referring to Chargers.

Your dealer has agreed to "buy" multiples of a particular vehicle in lieu of these orders. There is no other way to get these orders filled. It may not be the Promasters, but it could be Fiats, a bunch of Darts, or some have mentioned two-wheel drive trucks (4x4's are infinitely more desirable around here).

Around Calgary, the average asking price (if not a lottery or auction, re: Eastside Dodge) is $90,000 for the Challenger (similar numbers are being reported on the Chargers around here) and I was reminded of that when my dealer told me MSRP and not a penny less on mine. The Charger I had ordered (potentially built this week) has been pulled to be offered to another customer in lieu of never getting his Challenger order filled this year.
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