Potential new buyer, Reliabililty issues

[Complicated]

Hi everyone, I posted this message on the 300cforum. Sorry for the repeat to some of you but I am just trying to as much responses as I can. Thank you in advance.

Hi everyone, as you guys can tell FROM my screen name I am a complicated person. This is because I am a very picky person when it comes to cars. Let me first start off by saying that in the past 8 years I have had nothing but problems with my last 2 cars. First car was an American car and second is a Benz. Between the 2 I have been to both dealerships over 50 times with all kinds of issues. I am frankly sick of problems and reliability issues. This is why I need all your help please.

1) When I first saw the 300C I fell in love with it. The style, power, size, and looks. However being that it is a combination of both American and German build I am extremely nervous about buying this car. Now that the car has been out for a couple of months, do you guys think most of the bugs have been fixed? Im really scared of jumping INTO this car and HAVING all kinds of issues. I just don't have the heart to deal with issues any more.

2) I test drove the 300C last week. It was a fully loaded car minus the navi. Loved it and I know one of the issues was the right pull. However I could not duplicate the issue with my test drive. That was a good thing. I loved the car, I mean this was the most comfortable ride I have ever drove. However when we stopped at a traffic light I felt the car shaking a little and then when I stepped on the gas it went away. I know some of you stated there is an issue at idle. That's what scared me. I checked the built date and it was 7/04. Has this problem been fixed on more recent built dates?

3) Guys, im sorry for the long post but I love this car yet it scares me at the same time. What I need is honest opinions FROM all of you. Should I buy it now because I do need a new car or should I just go buy a Japanese car and wait 4 years till this car has most issues resolved? What really scares me is also some of the stories about the car not starting, is that still an issue?

Thanks everyone for your time and patience. Any input would be helpful.

[Cucamonga Red RT]

I strongly recommend that you DO NOT buy either one of these cars . You sound like you will have buyer's remorse, or at least in short time find something wrong with it, enough to have you living at the dealership. After all, it is a first year model with enough kinks yet to be wroked out.

Don't get me wrong, I see absolutely positively no fault with the cars, I have an RT, and love it, right pull or no right pull. But my ability to tolerate some level of in perfectionmay be higher than yours.

Just my 2cents which is worth less than 1 cent.

[schmeky]

Complicated,

I have owned many different brands of cars, i.e., chevy, pontiac, toyota, volvo, and acura. I am an engineer and hold a mechanical patent. I love anything mechanical/electrical. Grow up and understand that although good, japanese ain't perfect. My wifes 00 Acura RL has been back to the dealer several times for a faulty sensor. My nieces Accord has had lots of problems including the transmission. My first volvo (93, 850) was a piece of sh_t.

M/B benz has the best 5 speed AOD on the market. Chrysler has a great engineering masterpiece in the 5.7 hemi with MDS (many are now copying this including Honda). The chasis is a proven, solid design that feels as though it was carved FROM a solid block of billet. in 12,400 miles, my RT has been 100% reliable and just gets better with miles.

The idle shake you mention was apparent on my RT at first but has since disappeared and idles so smooth you have to look at the tach now. Just the opposite is true of my wifes Acura, at first it was dead smooth, now it has an extremely perceptible shake at idle (with its high tech hydraulic engine mounts).

You said 2 vehicles and over 50 trips to the dealer?? Sounds like a 69 Maverick or a Yugo.

Bottom line is quit worrying, with a 7 year 70,000 mile warranty and the newer lemon laws, its the best time to buy any vehicle now. Your first impression was right. Go for it, I did, and I don't regret it.

[DavidA]

I have to agree to a point. Yo may be complicated, but are you forgiving? You have to remember that these 2 cars, great as they are are still mid-priced autos. They are mass produced and, in their basic form, are designed to compete with the likes of Taurus, the new 500, camery and other mid-ppriced cars.

As a mass produced car, they are apt to have some flaws such as cheapish plastics, plastics in large doses, and some quality issues. I have an RT and love it. I can't really find any fault with it other than perhaps the over abundance of rubbery plastic. The car is tight, fast and powerful, and with all the options, extremely comfortable. At night, it's a little hard to see the rear end, so I am installing a parking assist system to end that issue.

I guess the point of all this is to say buy it IF you can overlook some of the designed in flaws. If you are going to grumble at these things, then forget it. Mercedes has a quality issue of late that is hurting their reputation, while Dodge and Chrysler are going the otehr way in quality --- UP. I don't think there is a perfect car out there, but as far as I;m concerned, I have 2 of the best -- the Magnum and the T-Bird. Both have unique style, have both been trouble free, (43,000 miles on the Bird), and both are plenty fast. Enjoy the ride, I certainly do.

[Blanchman]

Have to agree with the jist of this conversation. My RT appears to be built very well. Only time will tell. It is a first year model car, so you never know what may crop up. That said, I am totally blown away by this automobile. I have a really hard time believing that Chrysler has produced an automobile such as these !!! And at this price point.

I was mainly woo'ed over by the fact that Chrysler used some MB technology, especially where it could count the most. Especially the transmission. Alot of problems have been occuring in the transmission area across the automobile spectrum. Noone is immune to these problems. I believe it is because the engines are churning out more power than the transmissions can handle. This should not be the case in the Magnum or 300C, as this transmission was enginerred for a V12.

I would also like to comment on the MYTH that foreign cars are more reliable. It simply is not the case !! I have talked to plent of people over the years who have problems with their cars. The real difference is in the way the dealers treat them. The foreign auto dealers bend over backwards to help the customer, because they know how important it is. American dealers are not like that.

"Oh, so you had to REPLACE your transmission, eh?? "

"Well, yea, but it was OK, because they gave me a loaner car, filled it up with gas, and washed it to boot"

[BrilliantBlackHemi]

Our family has a driveway full of Chrysler products and we have no reliability issues what so ever. Pre 1994 it was a lot of 1980s GMs that were supposed to be the worst autos to own, also with little to no problems. Maybe it's luck, or maybe it's just good maintenance, but our family is a big test case for domestic cars being reliable as the myths of the foriegn cars.

What I always hear is Jaguars, BMWs, Volkswagens, and Volvos in the shop all the time, and the guys at work touting their 250,000 mile Hondas. I usually get bored of a car before I get 100,000 miles let alone keep one for 250,000. Perhaps if you own a Honda and they are all the same year and year, with no awesome styling, like Chryslers, you tend to keep it, since there is no motivation to upgrade. :lol:

[Glazeworld]

I bought my Dodge Magnum on the same day that my dad bought his Acura MDX, and he had to take his MDX INTO the dealer for warranty work a month before my car was taken in to the dealer. He had some transmission problems and I just had a small problem with my navigation unit. I've reached 8500 miles on my Magnum and I push it hard. So far, it's been a gem. I almost bought an Acura TL, but I've seen how expensive maitenence on an Acura can be, so that's just one more reason that I'm happy I bought my Magnum.

[Blanchman]

HaHa Brilliant,

You remind me of my OTHER story.

Wife banged up the Jaguar once, so had to shop it. Insurance said, wow, a Jaguar, get whatever rent-a-car you want. Well, all they had was an up-scale Toyota Camry. Jeez, what a POS. I can't describe the feeling I had in that stupid vehicle. Now, I well agree it is probably one of the best built, most reliable cars on the planet. But, what a POS !!!! No feeling whatsoever in this vehicle. Steering had absolutely no feel, gas pedal was like an ON/OFF switch, and brakes sucked. This car is absolutely devoid of any character whatsoever !!!

Yeap, I traded it in on a Buick RoadMaster. LOL. Now that car had some character. Ohhh, was feeling so much better after this....

So, it comes down to this. Need transportation, but a Acura or a Toyota, or a Honda.

Need to feel alive? Buy a Dam Hemi !!!!!

[Tzar007]

Complicated,

It seems to me your experience is not representative of the majority of car owners. 50 times to the dealership for problems! I have own a couple of cars in my life of different brands and it has never been that bad.

There is also another point mentioned by others here: the level of tolerance for reliability issues varies greatly FROM one person to another. For some people, a couple of trips to the dealer for warranty work over a couple of months or years might not be anything to sweat about. No car is perfect, they all fail at one point or the other. However, for some other people, just one trip to the dealer for non-maintenance related work is already one trip too many. They believe that for the price they have paid, it should 100% bug-free for the duration of the car's life, or at least the warranty coverage duration.

Talk to any mechanic about it, and they will confirm to you that some people complain about anything and everything about their car, forgetting all the positives, while some others rave about anything and everything, forgetting all the negatives. It's a question of perspective.

For now, the LX platform is in its first production year. It's much too soon to draw any meaningful conclusions about long term reliability. What you will find for now is anecdotal evidence that does not really prove anything.

[snickle]

5000 miles on my RT. 0 problems. The best built US car I have seen in a while.

[threefortyduster]

I strongly recommend that you DO NOT buy either one of these cars . You sound like you will have buyer's remorse, or at least in short time find something wrong with it, enough to have you living at the dealership. After all, it is a first year model with enough kinks yet to be wroked out.

I'm with him. I think that you will LOOK for something wrong with the car, so that you dont disrupt your last experiences. You seem like the type that will take the car back to the dealership for warranty work when the tire pressure drops a bit.

[1cobrakid]

I've had some little hassles like a shorted dome lite and a creak in the rear suspension. Nothing major, but I've been at the dealer way too much because they cannot get a handle on the problems without 5 trips back. I love the car and havn't had problems of any gravity, but the overall experience hasn't been that great.