Dodge Challenger Hellcat Jailbreak Owner Says Dealer Totaled His Car, Then Offered to Waive Markup on New One

Taking your car to the dealership for routine work isn’t supposed to end with an insurance claim. Unfortunately, that’s what one Dodge Challenger owner says happened after dropping off his SRT Hellcat Last Call Jailbreak for service recently.

A man named Robert Hill posted on his Facebook page that he brought his Challenger to Matt Bowers Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Louisiana on July 3 for routine maintenance, with his story later being brought to broader attention by Carscoops. He says he then spent roughly six hours waiting at the dealership … before receiving some rather devastating news.

Hill said that he was told by the general manager of the dealership that an “unqualified lube tech” took the 717-horsepower muscle car for what the general manager described as a “test drive,” before crashing it. Photos shared on social media (you can see them here) show a Sublime Green Challenger with extensive damage to the front end; the impact appears to have been severe enough to set off all the airbags.

According to Hill, the manager told him that even though the dealership claimed they are under no obligation to do anything, they wanted to “help out,” and would sell Hill another, similar car at MSRP—rather than with the dealer’s usual $25,000 markup above sticker price. (It’s not clear if this replacement was meant to be a new, never-titled car or a used Hellcat, but since the models went out of production in 2023, chances are any car being offered at MSRP was used.)

The story ends on a brighter note, however. In an update to his Facebook post, Hill said a senior representative from the company (it’s unclear whether he’s referring to the Matt Bowers dealership or Stellantis) contacted him and apologized, explaining that he believed the situation was already being handled. That representative is reportedly investigating whether additional compensation can be provided, and whether another deal can be arranged for a comparable car.

For now, the owner says he used part of his insurance settlement to purchase a more affordable vehicle, rather than stretching his finances to replace the Challenger. He says he plans to use the money he saves for a down payment on a house.