hello, i just purchased a 2011 dodge challenger srt-8, automatic with 3092 miles on it. i am picking it up in an enclosed trailer to haul it home in. the owner i bought it from only put 500 miles on it in the 4 years he owned it. my question is, should i run full synthetic oil in it, (what grade oil),original dodge oil filter or aftermarket oil filter, and should i change every fluid in the car now or follow the owners manual’, schedule? it has been stored in a heated garaged by the last owner. i am at least changing the motor oil before driving it. just not sure about the anti-freeze, trans, rear end,brake fluid, and power steering fluids. to me this is my first new car in my life. i have always bought cars with high millage on them and had every fluid changed before using them myself. I’ve had great success doing this. any thoughts would be appreciated. thanks and have a great day.
per the Owners Manual https://cdn.dealereprocess.net/cdn/servicemanuals/dodge/2011-challenger.pdf: 5W-20 (assuming you have the 5.7L engine). Synthetic is not required, you can certainly run it if you want to. You don’t need to use a filter bought from Dodge, any aftermarket that meets or exceeds OEM specs is fine. Considering the extremely low milage and age of the car, unless the original owner can give you records showing exactly when the fluids were last changed, I would change all of them.
This is an excellent idea, and congratulations on your new car! If you didn’t have the car inspected by your own independent mechanic prior to purchase, I would do that as well. It’s likely not as critically needed given the low mileage, but they can check the integrity of rubber parts that will be affected whether the car is driven or not (likely not as much of a problem since it was kept in a heated garage, but still, better safe than sorry!)
Thank you for the quick reponse and the info. It actually has the 392 ci engine(6.1 or 6.4? not sure). I kinda of was thinking along those same lines, so I guess
a will change all the fluids. My stepson is my wife and I’s mechanic, so he does all our daily driver repairs and maint. I just work on my old toys. So I’ll get him to take care of all the fluid changes. Thanks again, and just want you to know I can’t wait
till sat comes around and I get my paper with ray’s column in it. it is awesome. I never heard them on the radio and just now found you’s on the internet, so I have a lot of catching up to do.(LOL).
I think it’s still 5W-20…it’s was the smaller engine that was 5W-30.
What’s nice about the website is that they have all of Ray’s archived letters there for viewing (and back when Tommy was still alive and they did the column together). Ray doesn’t get on the forums (as far as we know!), but there are a ton of good people here (professional mechanics and DIYers alike) that are happy to give free advice if you need help in the future!
Others may or may not agree, but I would consider new tires and new serpentine belt.
I would agree about serpentine belt and fluid changes (at least the big 3- oil, coolant, tranny fluid). Serpentine belts get weak spots over time if not used (where they make extreme angles over pulleys). There is no way I would run anything but synthetic oil in any new car, let alone one that you may want to keep forever like this one. There is plenty of room for argument from everyone, but I still favor the original Mobil 1 (not the extended or annual protection nonsense). Also, I always stick with OEM oil filters. ACDelco for GM, Mopar for Chrysler. You can normally find them on amazon and other places.
Change the brake fluid! It absorbs water over time and this car has a lot of time on it.
It is a shame the previous owner didn’t enjoy this car. I believe you will!
Thanks for the response. Everybody has been great to help me. and I will be changing all fluids and the serpentine belt.
OEM oil filters are just regular oil filters that have the car maker’s label printed on them. It’s not like they have a special oil filter making lab where they make uniquely-awesome filters. 
A normal oil filter that fits the car will be fine.
In addition to coolant, transmission, and engine oil I’d also at minimum inspect the radiator hoses. 8 years is a long time to be sitting.
Thank you, for the reply
Thanks, will do
I have a 2009 Challenger R/T with the 5.7L V8.
Seems like somewhere I read that the cylinder deactivation system works better with synthetic oil. Assuming I didn’t imagine that…
You might want to do the same with yours. I put 5w-20 synthetic in mine.
Thank you, I will look into it.
Just preference…
I was wondering about that. I assumed moisture (mostly) got in thru the wheel cylinders.
Thanks for the info. Will be going to mobil one oil and probably mobil filter also.
I thought I should because of it’s age. thanks
Moisture gets in through every bit of rubber in the system. Hoses, cap seals, the like.
The German TUV, their auto safety and inspection org, requires fluid moisture testing during inspection. 4% is a fail and you can easily see that in 2-3 years no matter if the car was driven or not.
Both excellent choices. The Mobil 1 oil filter (in the spec’d size) is a clone if the ACDelco UPF48, which is spec’d by GM for the dry-sump corvette.
There’s never anything wrong with changing fluids and I would do
the same. (Actually, I did, on a PU that’d been put up like your
car.) I was simply asking b/c I thought water mostly entered via
wheel cylinders.