Thinking about getting a new Charger

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sweetdiesel

aka SouRGassssssss
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No not an R/C charger, a Dodge Charger. :hehe:


I love the way the latest version looks, and have sat in one at a car show. But, after doing research on the 'net, it seems reliability is a mixed bag. Also, reliability for Dodge cars rank lower than most.

I haven't bought a domestic car since I was a teen. I used to have a '76 Chevy Malibu that was a complete POS. It used to leave me standed all the time and left a bad taste in my mouth for domestics. I'm willing to give one of the big three another chance, but I want to hear more opinions on Dodge.
 
I know they have gotten better but in 2000 I "had" a Dodge fullsize ram the the tranny crapped out on with 115 miles on it. It was replaced by the dealer. Couple months later....crapola again. The truck eventually was turned in under the lemon law and I will never own a Dodge truck again. I know cars are a diffent story......they do look really sweet.
 
you know man, i am an import guy all the way, the reliability of a toyota, honda, subi, is just outstanding! I've owned a couple domestics and they were always having problems but every toyota I've had, specially my corolla, has been perfect, i drove the piss out of my rolla for 5 years straight, put over 200k on the original engine and then swapped to a more powerful engine from a toyota levin, and never had any problems with either, at all! never....BUT now that I'm on the hunt for a new ride i also am looking at dodge, a srt4 neon to be exact. from all the stuff I've read on them so far, it seems that if you leave them stock and do regular oil changes they live long reliable lives. i talked to a old buddy this morning who used to drive an srt4 and he had upgraded to a 63 trim turbo and ran 27 lbs of boost to it for over 60k miles and never had a single problem, wich made my opinion of their reliability alittle more open....but its still a gamble, for me atleast, just knowing how domestics, atleast in the past, have been break down prone wich is not something i want to mess with ever....the new chargers are a sick car for sure, all i can say is if you keep it maintained well it prolly should be a good ride and since it would be new(ish) hopefully it will still have like a 70k mile warantee on it....
 
We did a 2 year test on Dodge Chargers 6 cyl, Dodge Chargers R/T, Chevy Impala's, Chevy Tahoe's, and Dodge Magnums. The Chargers/Magnum's were the lowest ranking in our fleet study. The units were always breaking down, and just seemed poorly crafted. (Dashboard cracking, stuff falling off) That stated, we test our vehicles HARD. I personaly had no part of the test, but have talked to the fleet manager.


FYI: Tahoe's had the best reviews. Better ratings for pursuit/patrol/control than any of vehicles tested. Including Crown Vic.
 
Thanks for the info alpine. That sucks to hear that the Charger fared the worst in your units study.

I have owned only imports after the Malibu. Everything from Nissan, Toyota, Land Rover, Honda, Audi, and Volvo. The next two cars I am considering are either the Mazda Mazdaspeed6 or the Subaru Legacy GT. But hands down I love the way the Charger looks much more than the others.
 
Dodge automatic trannies are junk. Always have been. But I suppose you can get a charger with a manual? I couldn't have it any other way. The only domestics I trust are 73-87 GMC/Chevy's and up till '91 with Blazer/burbons. I'm nutty for straight axle blazers. I'm no help.
 
Thanks for the info alpine. That sucks to hear that the Charger fared the worst in your units study.

I have owned only imports after the Malibu. Everything from Nissan, Toyota, Land Rover, Honda, Audi, and Volvo. The next two cars I am considering are either the Mazda Mazdaspeed6 or the Subaru Legacy GT. But hands down I love the way the Charger looks much more than the others.

I could find out the exace reasons they did so bad tomorrow. imma be stopping by LSP hq, and will pm u my findings.
 
I really like the look of the Dodge Charger Magnum, but unfortunately that Charger is just for the big lead/acid batteries.
 
Mazdaspeed baby, Mazdaspeed.

The Charger doesn't look half as good as the Challenger, respectively.

Your girls are little, go get an RX-8 :eek:). They'll fit in those little doors.
 
My buddy picked up an SRT8 and that car is SWEET! He's had it a little over a year I believe and drives a lot due to the nature of his job in technical sales. No issues to report on it yet. He's been very happy with it.
 
Definitely a buyers market for cars right now no matter what make you are wanting.
 
Well, with my experience of them (police crusers and the like) they seem to do very well. We put many miles on them and they keep ticking. We haven't had many issues with them and they have been beat pretty hard considering its always turn and go.

And they look freakin awesome!
 
I was born and raised a chrystler guy. They've got the looks thing down... But its also a depressing note that the new "hemi" isnt a hemi at all.. google it. Its something like the valves are 15 degrees off... and they are junk for performance... my omni could beat one in a light to light run.... thats right I said OMNI.
IMO look into either the MazdaSpeed 3 or 6. they look intimidating without looking "racey" or an older evo (7 or 8) AWD is the way to go!
man i miss being an auto tech.. er not really.... lol

*EDIT*
Stay away from those Wenkel powered lawn ornaments... The older ones were alright, but those RX-8s are nothing but headaches.
 
SD, i'm just throwing out another idea, but what about the Pontiac G8? i sat in one this past weekend and the backseat was surprisingly large (3adults could easily fit). as for engine, its a V8 that gets you about 23 mpg. i have no idea about its durability but you could always get the extended coverage. beside, it currently has 0% financing.
 
mazda speed6 for sure. Nice sporty car for a family man.

no way would i buy a domestic car.
 
Or get a big truck. :) plenty of room.
 
you can get a 2008 F250 6.4L Lariat 4x4 crew cab short bed for 35K in texas.
 
*EDIT*
Stay away from those Wenkel powered lawn ornaments... The older ones were alright, but those RX-8s are nothing but headaches.

aww, that's a shame. I love that car. I love the sound of a rotary, they are inexpensive, and they are probably the closest thing to a true sports car for the family man with only one vehicle.
 
If your going to go the big truck route, how about a King Ranch F series? F250 6.0 Turbo Desiel. Its an International engine, so its definitly reliable.. just DONOT put any aftermarket stuff on it. In my years as a med/heavy duty truck tech I've seen guys DESTROY those turbos... especially with that 6 gun tuner setup on it from banks... BAD STUFF FOR THE 6.0

yeah, I said that I was a chrystler guy by blood.. But I'd drop cash on an Super Duty any day...

Quote:
*EDIT*
Stay away from those Wenkel powered lawn ornaments... The older ones were alright, but those RX-8s are nothing but headaches.
aww, that's a shame. I love that car. I love the sound of a rotary, they are inexpensive, and they are probably the closest thing to a true sports car for the family man with only one vehicle.
The only way those cars look good if you put that greddy wide body kit on them... other than that they have a striking resemblance to the older eclipses...

A family sports car without being to cliche? MazdaSpeed 6 or SVT Contour (lol). They offer a sweet kit for the ZX5 focuses, at least for looks..
 
Thanks for the suggestions gentlemen. No big trucks for me, 90% of the time the vehicle will be for commuting 80 miles daily on winding twisty mountain roads. The other 10% will be for toting my two girls to and from pre-school and elementary school. I need something that gets at least 25+ mpg and have very good handling.

So far I am leaning towards the Mazdaspeed6 or the Legacy GT. I've driven the GT and it is a blast to drive. I'm going to test out a Mazdaspeed6 this week.

Not too big a fan of the look of the Pontiac G8 or the Mazda RX-8. I love the looks of the last gen RX-7 though.

I'm also considering a 3 series BMW but I heard owning one turns you into an instant @**hole. :hehe:
 
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