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Buyer says Dodge dealer gave him wrong Charger, failed to notice for 2 months

Mistakes happen, and they happen all the time. But when that mistake means a customer doesn't get what he or she paid for, something's gotta give. That's what one Dodge Charger buyer claims he is trying to sort out with his local dealership. Two months after taking delivery, the owner (going by the user name Dakrbouncer4689 on Reddit) says he got a call from his local Dodge dealership reporting a little problem. He had ordered and paid for the Charger SXT (pictured above on the dealer lot), but was given a Charger SE instead. The SE being the lower trim level, this presented one set of problems – namely a $2,000 discrepancy in equipment, like a five-speed automatic versus an eight-speed, a 4.3-inch infotainment display instead of 8.4, heated seats, leather steering wheel, premium audio, remote starter and so on. The second set of issues is that the VIN number on the paperwork (including the registration and insurance papers) of course doesn't match that of the car itself. The dealer, having obviously made a rather large mistake, apparently called the owner in to sort out the mess, but according to the customer's account, things didn't go as smoothly. Instead of immediately working to address the problem, the salesman kept the owner waiting, acted like it was no big deal, and offered only to swap the cars with no compensation for the trouble. Fortunately, the manager proved more sympathetic and apologetic, and offered the customer three options: he could swap the cars (re-doing the tinted windows on the SXT that the customer had done on the SE and throwing in leather seats for free), he could keep the SE (with the dealership handling the paperwork, throwing in the leather seats, adjusting the price and refunding an extra $400), or they could cancel everything, return the car and part company. As we go to press, the Charger owner had yet to make (or at least share) his decision. But while the principle of caveat emptor makes us wonder how he managed to take home a different car from the one he paid for, clearly the salesman and the dealership made a pretty large mistake by presenting him with the wrong set of keys and letting him off the lot without double checking it all. News Source: Darkbouncer4689 via Reddit, World Car Fans Dodge Car Buying Car Dealers Economy Cars Sedan

Here's how to build the Hellcat-powered Dodge Magnum/Charger widebody wagon of your dreams

Dodge would undoubtedly offer a fire-breathing, Hellcat-powered variant of the Magnum if the model was still in production. It retired in 2008, and it's not coming back anytime soon, so Las Vegas-based tuner Jaye Fab is taking the matter into its own hands. It's developing a conversion kit that transforms an unsuspecting Magnum into a wide-bodied Charger wagon, and it plans to make it available to the public in the near future. If the name Jaye Fab sounds familiar, it's likely because it already made headlines in 2015 when it grafted the front end of a Charger onto a Magnum, gave the wagon a coat of can't-miss-it red paint, and drove it to SEMA. Its latest project takes the concept of a modern-day Dodge wagon a step further with a full body kit that includes wide fender flares and side skirts, among other add-ons. It's a work in progress, but we can already tell it's going to turn more than a few heads when it's finished. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. We don't know which engine the donor Magnum was powered by when it drove into Jaye Fab's shop. What's more interesting is the one it will leave with: a supercharged 6.2-liter Hellcat V8 from a Charger. The eight-cylinder develops 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque in its standard configuration, and we wouldn't be surprised if it picks up a few additional horses before Jaye Fab lets it loose on the streets of Las Vegas. The firm has done a stellar job at documenting the build on its Instagram account, and AutoEvolution learned it plans to make the kit available to Magnum owners who want a more modern-looking front end in the not-too-distant future. The mighty Hellcat V8 isn't included, but Mopar sells crate engines in search for tires to roast.

Question of the Day: Most heinous act of badge engineering?

Badge engineering, in which one company slaps its emblems on another company's product and sells it, has a long history in the automotive industry. When Sears wanted to sell cars, a deal was made with Kaiser-Frazer and the Sears Allstate was born. Iranians wanted new cars in the 1960s, and the Rootes Group was happy to offer Hillman Hunters for sale as Iran Khodro Paykans. Sometimes, though, certain badge-engineered vehicles made sense only in the 26th hour of negotiations between companies. The Suzuki Equator, say, which was a puzzling rebadge job of the Nissan Frontier. How did that happen? My personal favorite what-the-heck-were-they-thinking example of badge engineering is the 1971-1973 Plymouth Cricket. Chrysler Europe, through its ownership of the Rootes Group, was able to ship over Hillman Avanger subcompacts for sale in the US market. This would have made sense... if Chrysler hadn't already been selling rebadged Mitsubishi Colt Galants (as Dodge Colts) and Simca 1100s as (Simca 1204s) in its American showrooms. Few bought the Cricket, despite its cheery ad campaign. So, what's the badge-engineered car you find most confounding? Chrysler Dodge Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Suzuki Automotive History question of the day badge engineering question