99 Chrysler 300M thoughts ...

[Bamfster]

Looking for some input on these cars. Middle son gets his license this week, and doesn't fit in the hand-me-down Saturn. I found a 300M really cheap, but it does need some work.

My initial once over:
rear brakes...pads and rotors
master cyl and booster (seriously hard pedal)
heater control unit failed
A/C compressor is seized

Overall it is straight and rust free, 160k on the clock, starts/runs/drives decent. 3 hundo is the price to me ( i know its worth at least that as a part out or scrap ) but Jake needs a car. Is it worth putting money into and how much more life is left in it?

I'll admit that my knowledge of the chrysler products is limited, so throw some ideas, thoughts and opinions at me guys.

[tedly]

Hmmm... LH platform, pre-hemi. What's the engine? I know one of those 6 cylinders was terrible about eating itself around 100 to 150,000 miles. Something about really small oil passages getting gummed up if the oil wasn't changed right on time. My buddy Bryan had a 99 Intrepid with that engine, that's how I found out. Thing was a PITA to work on in the driveway. Nice car once we got it running again though.

[milner351]

if it's the 2.7L V6 run the other way - that's the one that self destructs and there are NO replacements.... I called to find a take out engine at a local yard and the guy laughed... there just aren't any.

[tedly]

Yup, that's the one.

[Beagle]

I would rather a 300C with limo tint so nobody could see me driving it... but with your background you know it will get profiled.

Oh - hey - ask Bruab how he feels about working on the Pacifica and see if he bans himself for colorful language?

I guess it shows that I don't like FWD Fiats.

Ah, I'm full of .. edits .. today. If it's his first, might I recommend a truck? Something with easily replaceable fenders. S10 fenders are pretty easy to replace.

[BBR]

My sister had an Intrepid with the 3.5L V6 and drove it into the ground.

[tedly]

I would rather a 300C with limo tint so nobody could see me driving it... but with your background you know it will get profiled.

Oh - hey - ask Bruab how he feels about working on the Pacifica and see if he bans himself for colorful language?

I guess it shows that I don't like FWD Fiats.

Ah, I'm full of .. edits .. today. If it's his first, might I recommend a truck? Something with easily replaceable fenders. S10 fenders are pretty easy to replace.

Lol! Hey! Easy on the Fiats!
If it's not the 2.7, you might be OK. There's a few of them floating around the parking lot at work, they all seem to be in good condition. No idea what the mileage is though.

[Monk]

Have you thought about maybe a mid to late '70's vehicle?
Something you could work on yourself?

One of my sons drove a '74 Dart through high school......slant six.
Car looked good and was easy to wrench on.

[Bamfster]

It does have the 3.5, and according to the owner, regular maintenance was done .... maybe not as religious as most, but oil changes were always done. The story is that it was used for trips between CO and OH for college.

I get the part about easily replaceable body parts, but Jake really is an above average teenager. Ultra responsible w/a 4.4 GPA .... we joke that he's the mail man's kid, no way he got the smarts from me. The bonus is that this is the first car he's looked at and said he actually likes, plus he fits in it (6'3 & 230#s). He doesn't want a truck, and SUV is too much $$$.

As far as the profiling Beags .... you're right, he is an average white kid in a suburban neighborhood, and with the recent verdict out of Fla, I can see him being in the last category of people that cops can actually hassle ....

[Bamfster]

My sister had an Intrepid with the 3.5L V6 and drove it into the ground.

How many miles etc when it hit rock bottom?

[tedly]

Nothing's dinging the radar with the 3.5. If I remember right they were decent engines.

[Bamfster]

Have you thought about maybe a mid to late '70's vehicle?
Something you could work on yourself?

One of my sons drove a '74 Dart through high school......slant six.
Car looked good and was easy to wrench on.

He's selective on the old cars he'd drive, and his tastes are pricey when it comes to those. I have enough experience and mechanical ability that I can fix/maintain/rebuild on of these so that's not a real issue.

[Bamfster]

Nothing's dinging the radar with the 3.5. If I remember right they were decent engines.

And the only thing I'm coming up with in reviews/problems is the wonky HVAC controls and resistors ....

[Matt Cramer]

3.5s seem to be OK motors - biggest potential weak point is the transmission, and that sometimes appears to be from filling them with regular Dextron as they seem to need a specific fluid ("ATF +4", IIRC).

[38P]

A kid's first car is a sacrificial lamb in most cases. So safe and cheap-to-replace are paramount.

Given my loathing of FWD (I only own one -- an ancient SVT Focus) I find it hard to recommend any FWD to anyone outside of the daily snow belt. FWDs are harder to work on. Most FWD understeer like pigs (the SVT Focus is the only one I've ever driven with remotely good handling) FWD reduces the effectiveness of the throttle as a yaw-control tool. But they're cheap and disposable. They tend to get slightly better MPG. And they tend to be cheaper to insure a high-risk driver in.

The 300M is probably the most interesting of the Chrysler LH platform cars. But it's overshadowed by the later RWD LX platform cars. Much bandwidth has been spent lambasting the LH V6s. On the other hand, the M was nicely appointed and somewhat sporting, which gives it a leg up on some of the other Detroit 3 FWDs of the time period.

I'd be more likely to put my kid in a "bulletproof" old Police Interceptor (or maybe even a non-V8 Mustang with a bolt-in SCCA cage!) than any FWD. Some of the Chrysler LXs may also be getting cheap enough to consider (Mrs. Outsider has always been a fan of the Magnum, but I'd be reluctant to supply a kid with any car that will accommodate a bed) But one could probably do worse than picking an 300M as a sacrificial T-car.