Gonna get me a car for Xmas (1 Viewer)

[BobbyPerry]

I'm gonna try and get a new car for Christmas. At least i am going to try and buy it b/w the 25th and the New year to see if i can get a good deal off one of the salesmen trying to meet his quota. Anyways, I'm looking at a Dodge Magnum right now. I have a 98 Grand Cherokee that is falling apart, and i want something with a little more space and a little more pickmeup. I'm thinking the Magnum fills those needs. Anyone like these?

 

[Jay H]

Do a search, there was a thread on the Dodge Magnum here not to long ago.

Personally, I'm not too fond of the looks of it, but it is sharp and different.

Jay

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Hey, you got a Hemi in that thing?

 

[Steve Schaffer]

So you've got a 6 year old Chrysler product that's falling apart and you're hot to trot to buy another Chrysler product?

 

[Alf S]

Last I checked, Chrysler and Dodge are not one in the same..two totally different companies with different automobiles.

Oh and for what it's worth..I say get that Magnum!!

 

[Phil_L]

My thoughts exactly Steve. Six year old cars shouldn't fall apart. Alf, Chrysler and Dodge are not totally different companies. Dodge is part of Chrysler and their care share a great deal. The dodge Magnum is in fact a wagon version of the Chrysler 300C. I would steer clear of anything from Chrysler. Maybe try a Toyota, Honda or Acura.

 

[JeremySt]

When's the last time you checked? The Diamler Chrysler group consistes of Maybach, Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star, and Setra. http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/

Jeep and Dodge have often shared the same engines...so if your Jeep fell apart.......

I would 2nd what Phil said. Steer clear of any Chrysler product.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

I'd 3rd that statement. While I'm sure all of us have had our bad experiences with one car make or another, my experience with the '96 Dodge that I owned up until a few years back was one that left a bad, sour taste in my mouth.

When the car was one year old, the head gasket went out on it. The entire U.S. was depleted of head gaskets for my Dodge vehicle. Fortunately, the dealership provided a loaner car because it took a month to get the parts in to repair my car. The rental vehicle was from Enterprise and for the month, $780 in rental fees were racked up - which the dealership covered. This incident was just the tip of the ice berg in regards to the other issues that popped up with that vehicle.

It will be a long, long time before I own another Chrysler product.

 

[Scott L]

Family has a 96 Town & Country and it's super. We take it on road trips a couple of times a year and it always works great.

And in case you didn't see it, Motor Trend named the 300 series the car of the year in the latest issue.



I think it's pretty neat.

 

[BobbyPerry]

I gave my jeep a beating though. I probably wouldn't do that with a new car. My Jeep has pretty much been a bum around beat up car since I got it. i wasn't sure how to take care of a car then. I just like the space and power the Magnum has to offer. i could use both of those features. Plus, I huess I just like the way it looks on the road. Also, I like to buy American.

 

[Bryan Ri]

I've heard great things about Tacomas....

 

[Joel C]

Wouldn't have been a Neon, would it? The head gasket on our '98 Neon went bad four times before I finally junked it earlier this year (and with ONLY 138K on it, and it was taken care of VERY well, with regular oil changes, transmission flushes, and maintenance).

My whole family has "gone Japanese" after that car, and other problems with various Fords, Chryslers, and VWs. We now have two Accords and my Toyota Prius.

Though I must admit, though it has needed some work over the years, we have a 1992 plain jane Cherokee that is still running with almost 200K on it.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Joel, Actually, it was on my 2.4L Dodge Stratus. The head gasket went out two times on my vehicle. The first time was the horribly long time and the 2nd one only took about a day to replace by the stealership. However, during the 2nd replacement, they failed to properly tighten the water neck - and I lost about a gallon of coolant over a 2-day period. Fortunately, I kept my eye on the coolant, so it never ran out and I was able to get the stealership to resolve the issue.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Well, at least you're better off than my brother with his $64,000 Cadillac escalade w/ onstar.

Day 1: New car brought home

Day 5: car wont start

Day 5 still: after putting the car on the charger it still wont start. dead battery ruled-out. Car towed to dealer.

Day 8: After three days of unable to start, dealer calls GM

The Problem?

Somehow GM thought that the car had been stolen (despite having never left the garage) and the On*Star system locked-out the electrical system.

Once again Big Brother and his electric eye network manage to make life miserable for everyone!

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Garrett, Gotta love that one. I wonder if OnStar would consider the scenario for their radio commercials?

Customer: "Hello, my Escalade won't start."
O.S.: "OK, let me check out the situation."
O.S.: "OK, try cranking it again."
Customer: "Nope, still doesn't start ... but, I am able to watch Sponge Bob on the DVD player. Go figure."
O.S.: "D'oh, I think I've found the problem. It appears as though your vehicle suddenly appeared on the list of stolen vehicles, so we disabled the ignition. Try it now."
Customer: "OK, it's now started and running. Thanks, OnStar ... for saving the day."

 

[Steve Schaffer]

There's a very long list of Motor Trend "cars of the year" that turned out to be lemons. The Magnum and Chrysler 300 are supposedly based on the last generation Mercedes E-class, not one of the most reliable models they ever made and instrumental in their downfall in the JD Power ratings.

They do have an undeniable appeal from a styling standpoint, the 300's rapidly becoming known as the "poor man's Bentley". They also are unique in being modern rear drive designs from an American nameplate.

I wouldn't buy one without the most comprehensive factory backed extended warranty available, however.

 

[BobbyPerry]

Well, i am going to be doing a lot of research in the next couple of weeks. I want to try and buy before the end of the year, so I need to find out what's what before I get anything. i am definitely leaning towards the Magnum at this point though.

 

[Scott Strang]

If you're wanting an "American" car I would recommend Ford or GM way before I would Chrysler. Compared to Ford and GM I've found Chrysler products to be far below them in quality and durability.

As far as types of vehicles I like Chrysler's offerings such as their trucks, Jeeps, etc. I bet that 300c with the Hemi would be a great roadtrip car. However I would be very reluctant to buy any of their products for fear of lack of support.

 

[Scott Strang]

Hmmmm. I think I almost turned japanese back in Jr High.

 

[Ray Chuang]

Joel C, you wrote:


Our family did that way back in the 1980's. I drive a Honda Civic HX CVT coupe, my stepfather is about to trade in his old Acura Legend L sedan for a 2005 Honda Accord LX sedan, and my brother drives a Toyota Prius.

I like Japanese cars because they use quality parts and generally are built very well quality-wise.