Maryland YouTuber buys cheapest Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye for $19K, but fears he's just taken an L
- Maryland man buys cheapest Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye
- It sent him back just $19,000
- It was also the most damaged Hellcat he’d seen
Published on Jan 10, 2025 at 4:48 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Jan 13, 2025 at 2:57 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
A Maryland-based automotive content creator just bought the cheapest Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye he could find.
It sent him back just $19,000.
His ultimate goal was to strip enough good parts from it to build a 6.2l Supercharged Redeye engine for ‘free.99’.
However, as well as the cheapest, it’s also the most damaged.
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Cheapest Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye
ScrapLifeLee, aka Lee Carter, is perhaps best known for ‘turning automotive nightmares into dreams’ – although he admits that he occasionally does the opposite.
But because this cheap example of the Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye is already so damaged – he thought the only way was up.
“It’s one of the worst wrecks we’ve ever tackled,” Carter said.
He bought it to provide enough working parts to help him build a 6.2l Supercharged Redeye engine without spending more.
His plan was to reuse and resell other parts.
The damage
Aside from his $19,000 expenditure, the damage included a side with a bent frame and other structural issues.
“This car is totaled beyond repair,” he said – although cars like these can occasionally be brought back from the brink.
This teen who purchased a totaled Tesla for $13,000 gave a full cost breakdown on how much it cost to restore.
Back to the Dodgem and thankfully, despite the damage, many valuable parts remained intact.
These parts included the gauge cluster, brake components, and other miscellaneous parts.
Carter did the math and estimated he could recover a significant portion of the purchase cost from selling them.
“The gauge cluster alone is worth over $1,000, and with the engine and brakes, we’ll easily recoup our investment,” he said.
Fortunately for ScrapLifeLee, the all-important Redeye engine and drivetrain appeared to be in excellent condition.
He had initial concerns over minimal damage but on further inspection, he found that it could be repaired in a cost-effective way – unlike the cost of repairing a Bugatti.
His experience is testament to both the risks and rewards of buying salvage cars.
“Buying salvage cars is a gamble, but when the parts are this valuable, it can really pay off,” he said.
Experience tells us that even a totaled Boss 302 Mustang bought for ‘pennies on the dollar’ can come with unexpected positives.
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
