Chrysler 300M

kosh_2258

Spare us, please. It's beginning to sound like a skipping CD.

The M your parents had sucked. It got wrecked. It sucked even more after that. They got rid of it and bought a Generic Motors vehicle. You REALLY like it - until something goes wrong with it, then god help the Avalanche group.

beach15

You know guys, I could go on again, but it's not worth it. Actually, I'm having quite a good time with the very enjoyable people on that, um other "vehicle" we own's club site, and also that the "vehicle" is perfect so far. Don't even try to put age in this, that's just pathetic.

kosh- Yeah, it is a little like a skipping CD, but not me, it's you guys and your responses! This board is for opinions and help. I gave my opinion, end of story.

Pat- Sorry for the ruckus I seem to provoke every time I speak a word on this board, it's weird that it only happens here...

beach15

By the way, ask anyone I know, and they'll tell you of my dislike for most of GM's crappy products. Most of them are sub-par to say the least with horrible build quality, cheap materials, are very unreliable even though they're new, and are poorly designed. Take the new GM mid-size SUV's for example. Constant problems like dying on the highway, not starting, 4wd systems going out, loud squeals, squeaks & rattles, some bad engines, etc. They also are not all that solid and are buitl from some rather cheap stuff. Then, you have the Chevy Impala. Great car as far as reliability and overall quality, but why is it so poorly styled? You look at the monstrosity and wonder when they're going to take the camouflauge off, and revel the actual car. I still don't believe to this day that they made it as ugly as they did, but it still sells extraordinarily well. So well in fact, that they've been increasing production almost every month just to meet the demand.

But, then there's GM full-size trucks & SUV's. Ahh...this is where they spend most of their $$$ and it shows. Look at or drive any of them, and you'd be impressed (probably not any of you guys though, hating both GM and trucks).

Well, I must make my forewell! Good-bye, I'll be back someday, maybe when the new 300N is out (what the heck is taking DC so long with new products?), and I can go for a little spin in one, I might fall back in love with Chrysler. But for now, I'll just keep admiring the style & design.

toms99

beach15 wrote "Don't even try to put age in this, that's just pathetic"

Well, c'mon...when you talk about "My mommy's car" and "my dad's opinion", etc. etc. doesn't that kind of *invite* questions about your age, maturity, etc.?

And praising a LeSabre's "comfy-ness" is OK I guess but you neglected to mention the price for that comfort is a vehicle that handles like a boat...

kosh is right on target. Your mom bought a lemon. It happens. Yes, even the import boards (Acura, MB, Lexus, BMW) have sufficient documentation to suggest that any manufacturer produces a lemon now and then. No car brand has a 100% perfect track record. Period.

cmyers300m

First off, I can't believe you would be surprised of the responses you got since you did dog the 300M on the 300M Town Hall page, sorry. But really, you had problems with yours and you're a bit bitter and that's understandable. I'm not going to rag on GM since I've never owned one, but my 300M is perfect in every way. I've never had any repair problems, rattles, quality issues, nothing. I still believe every car mfg. has bad apples out there, and you were just unlucky with the one you received.
SECONDLY, the 300M is not a real fast car but it's not meant to be a boy racer. It's just FUN to drive. But again, if you're comparing them to the TL-S and G35 in 0-60, those two cars are MID SIZE near luxury cars. The 300M is a FULL SIZE near luxury car, which is why you don't see it compared to those in the car magazines. That in consideration, the 300M does VERY WELL up against cars that ARE SMALLER than it. Only slower by a couple tenths of a second, big deal.
But really, we drive what makes us happy, OUR 300M's! I hope your Avalanche does that for you.

ottowrkr

Seeing you guys stick up for the 300 like you do is great.

sdmike2

I guess I'm just tired of seeing the same three paragraphs of complaining for the 20th time..each closed with a comment about how nice the car looks. There are cars bigger, faster, smaller, slower, more reliable, less reliable, more expensive, less expensive, etc., etc., etc., than the M. Everyone has their priorities in what's important. I believe that most happy M owners enjoy the combination of looks, comfort, handling, reliability and performance at the price we paid. I know I am. I've had the benefit of driving hundreds of different cars over my last 5 years of work, including Maximas, Intrigues, Caravans, SUVs, trucks, RWD sports cars, land yachts and others...and I'd buy my car all over again because it meets my needs for size, sportiness, speed, handling, and comfort at $30k. You want speed, go get yourself a damned Corvette and pay an extra $20k, or a Trans Am with a 5.6 liter engine and uncomfortable/unclassy interior, or an Impreza WRX or IS300 without the room for three adults in the back. You want tires that can be inflated from inside, get a hummer. You want something that can stand on it's rear wheels, get an old GTO. My 300M is perfect...for ME. I'm just tired of the same old complaining about the car's shortcomings. I'm glad beach and his mom finally found their soul mate in that truck, but I think it has to be like dating.....poor taste to continually badmouth your ex-girlfriend just because you didn't get along.

ok...so maybe that was four pennies instead of two.

sdmike2

Sorry bud. It looks harsh, but it's just been a gradual build-up over quite some period of time. The first dozen complaint tomes we tried to help with the problems and provide support and assistance. The next handfull we just offered our condolences. The next pile we just rolled our eyes and basically ignored it. After that it's just been building to the breaking point.

fedlawman

I understand where you're coming from. Over on the Buick Rendezvous board, we just ignore folks with the same old ignorant comments...

But I know it gets old.

Brian

denverm

I would bet that virtually everyone who has been here a while and has read a lot of his posts hoped that he would disappear once his family sold their M, and we still wish he would now.

no1trust

This time around I'll hit Tucson from (downtown) Phoenix, maybe try that Durant's again (quaint place). My liege has serious problems dealing w/mountain curves so I'll probably do Sedona solo next time. Now if I can rent another 300M I'll be happy (reserved a Lincoln LS as backup just in case).

sdmike2

I guess my biggest frustration was that for as much as we tried to offer assistance and recommendations on how to correct issues, deal with service departments, contact the regional DC rep, etc., he/they seemingly didn't follow through on any of it yet kept posting complaints. As much as beach thinks it's a non-issue, I would offer that it's just youth and overexcitment leading to most of it. I guess that's why I feel more sorry for him/them than I do anger.

Mike

pat

The person who said "This is the 300M 'town hall' forum, not the 'owners forum.'" hit the nail directly on the head. Follow the link at the top of this page to the Owners Club. There are a number of discussions there where all of you are entitled to expect posts only from actual owners of the 300M.

There are a few folks hanging around here who no longer own a 300M for their own reasons. It seems they hang around because they enjoy the company here. What's the big deal? This fact seems to me to be a compliment to all of you.

As long as messages remain within the terms of the Membership Agreement, the Town Hall welcomes them.

You folks who don't want to read negative comments about your vehicles need to investigate and utilize the Town Hall 300M Owners Club linked above.

And of course every one of us ALWAYS has the option of simply ignoring a post we find irritating. Most often, that IS the wisest choice.

Thanks.

Pat
Sedans Host

sdmike2

I remember on a family station wagon trip (1970 Ford LTD with a 390 V8) stopping at something called "Slide Rock". It was in the mountains somewhere in Arizona. The name Sedona rings a bell, but it might just have been another town we passed on the way. You AZ guys familiar with Slide Rock? Where is it exactly?

sdmike2

We started all this just so we'd hear from ya. How's it going?

pat

Going just fine thanks, 'til this!! ;->

sdmike2

I have a copy of Consumer Reports automotive issue and they don't have good things to say about the GM SUVs and trucks referred to by beach15 as where they "spend their money". The Chevy Blazer, S-10, Silverado, Suburban and Tahoe have, in all cases, got terrible scores in reliability or customer satisfaction. The Avalanche and "Trailblazer" (an updated Blazer) are new models and don't have any ratings yet. The Buick Rendezvous is new and doesn't have any ratings yet, although it didn't do very well in the crash tests. The Caddy Escalade is also new...and also costs over $50k (ouch!). The GMC Envoy is new, but the Sierra 1500 pickup, Sonoma pickup, and Yukon SUV also suffer poor reliability and customer satisfaction ratings. The Oldsmobile Bravada is new and did well in the crash test, but there is no information yet on reliability or satisfaction. However, this this is the last new model for the defunct Oldsmobile brand. The Pontiac Aztec has decent reliability and good customer satisfaction, although I wouldn't call it a "full sized" SUV. The cute little "Vibe" is also new, as is the Saturn VUE. I think I got all of the GM brands except maybe Hummer and Saab if you count them as more than just a buyout. One thing I can certainly say for GM is that they're coming out with new stuff. Hopefully they fare better than the poorly rated cars of other past and existing models.

Mike

sdmike2

Good to hear. I don't consider "this" to be anything important enough to worry about. You put a couple hundred people in a room for a while together and some people are bound to get on other people's nerves. Just human nature. Good thing we can't vote some people "off the island", huh?

Mike

pat

sdmike2

Just for comparison, here are the SUVs and pickups that Consumer Reports rates with decent reliability and/or customer satisfaction: Acura MDX, Ford F-150, Honda CR-V, Infinity QX4, Isuzu Trooper, Lexus RX300 (top rated SUV in all categories), Lincoln Blackwood pickup, Nissan Xterra & Pathfinder, and the Toyota 4Runner, Highlander, Land Cruiser, RAV4, Sequoia , Tacoma and Tundra (whew!) . Seems like a real foreign bias, but they also have poor ratings for BMW X5, Hyundai Santa Fe, Isuzu Rodeo, Mazda B-series pickups, Mazda Tribute, Mercedes M-Class SUV and the Suzuki Vitara. Oh, Jeeps didn't do very well either.

Ok...enough about pickups and SUVs. You guys will send me to the pickup and SUV boards if I keep it up.

sdmike2

CU considers the 300M an "Upscale Car". Like an IQ test with the mean being 100, the predicted reliability of the cars in this class are rated with a "0" being average and any score higher being better than average, and any score under being worse than average. Here are the ratings for cars in this category. Infinity I35 (+80, 80% better than average), Acura 3.2TL (+50), Mazda Millenia (+40), Saab 9-3 & 9-5 (+25), Lexus IS300 (+10), BMW 3-series (+10), Chrysler 300M (+10), MB C-class (-5), Lincoln LS (-20), Volvo V70 (-35), Volvo S80 (-40), Olds Aurora (-70).

For our CL friends, in the "coupe" class the CL scores a +40, with the Camry Solara a +35, Monte Carlo (+20) and MB CLK (-94!!) trailing.

The best rated GM SUV or pickup is the Chevy S-10 (4 cylinder only) which scores a (-5) in the compact pickup truck category. I can't find the avalalance anywhere in these ratings.

bmadden1

If your Av is so silky and smooth, why do you have a post in the Av owners: Problems and Solutions board talking about a rattle on your Av????

sdmike2

ok...here's how the 300M rates in various categories, according to Consumer Reports. Take their information any way you want (some don't put much stock in their opinions...others do).

Safety Assessment: Good+ overall CRSA score, very good "accident avoidance" score. Only the Infinity I35 scored higher in accident avoidance. Peers were the Volve S80, Lincoln LS, Aurora, I35, Avalon, Bonneville, LeSabre, and Concorde LXi. Part of the comments were "secure handling"

Overall Rating: Good+. Only the Diamante was lower in this class that included BMWs, Lexus, Saab, MBs, Audi's, Acuras, etc. The highest "Upscale Sedan" was the BMW 330i. The Lincoln LS V6 scored a "very good", as did the Aurora 4.0 (ick).

Reliability: See earlier post

sdmike2

If I heard rattles that often I'd probably have the doctor check ME for loose parts! I had a strange "thunk" at acceration with my M a couple of weeks back. My first thought was "rut roh", but I soon discoverer a 1 liter bottle of water that my wife put in the trunk. Upon acceleration it would roll to the back and go "thunk". Maybe beach15 will get lucky and discover that his mom is keeping his old baby rattle on her keychain for sentimental reasons.

pat

Uhhh, I don't really think the Avalanche is on topic here, so let's ALL of us let it go. If any of us have comments to make about that vehicle, we can certainly do so in any of the discussions focused on that vehicle.

I am directing these comments towards EVERYONE.

Okay?

(If this is NOT okay with anyone, drop me an email - I don't want to get into this way off-topic discussion here!)

Thanks.

Pat
Sedans Host

bmadden1

LOL at your last post.

easyrider300m

. "Great car as far as reliability and overall quality, but why is it so poorly styled? You look at the monstrosity and wonder when they're going to take the camouflauge off, and revel the actual car. I still don't believe to this day that they made it as ugly as they did"

now substite Beach's favorite TRUCK in the above statement (I wont mention the name per Host's order) and it then makes even more sense......yes, Pat..I will now stick to the topic of this board from this point forward.

I feel much better now that I am finished venting...

PS: saw a beautiful yr 2000 silver 300M up in Saugus, MA today on my service route.... it had the double tipped dual exhaust, mudflaps, spoiler and was updated with the 2001 rear tailights---I couldnt resist ringing the doorbell and then introduce myself. I left a 300M Enthusiasts Club card with them and maybe we will soon see him on this board and at Da Club.

Easyrider300M

sdmike2

I've decided that northern San Diego has more Ms per capita than any other city. Yesterday I drove 5 miles to my doctor's appointment and I saw FIVE of them. None of them were mrl859 or glennbp either!

km99cobra

Funny thing happened when I went to pick up the Special today, after the last two weeks of negotiating, haggling, locating, etc. Went to the dealership first thing in the morning to pick it up, finish off the paperwork and all that fun stuff. The sales guy went to bring it around from the service prep area and after about ten minutes I see him walking to me shaking his head. The car wouldn't stay running. It would start and then immediately stall. They thought it was a bad chip in the key so he went and got the other one and it did the same thing. Of course, it was Saturday and no one from the 5 star service department was there. They are going to look it over on Monday and give me a call when it's fixed.

Now, the $32,000 question - What would you do? Accept the car after it's fixed or ask them to find one without any electrical gremlins or walk on the deal? I'm tossing around all three options. I HATE electrical problems!!!! Could it be something simple, I hope??

ruski

I guess if you drive like a granny, then it is slow.

You need to take it up to 80 and punch it and don't chicken our when you see 100 flash by. That's where all the 300M's power.

Actually to think of it, even at low speeds I usually was the first one from the traffic light. So it is not as powerless as Beach thinks it is. Beach, maybe in your 300M the floor mat curled and got bunched up under the gas pedal?

A 300M will sure blow away an Avalnanche any time, at any speed. That's good enough for me, cause I will always be able to run away from the rednecks. Oops... I don't have a 300M anymore... but my current ride is not a slouch either.

Oh, and if that LeSabre has great brakes... I am a friggin' prima balerina.

beach15

Well at least I kept you guys both mad and busy all day! I guess I'm still the pathetic one even though you all sat here all day posting angry replies to my comments. Oh yeah, to whoever it was who came off with that, "mommy" & "daddy" stuff, really funny if a bit rude. The only reason their included in some of my posts is the fact that they were the main drivers of the M, and I was the one who came on places like this on the net.

Note: Thinking about what I posted today, I figured I should clarify what I meant about the M's power. It may not be that it's really lacking in power, but rather, it's the somewhat lazy throttle response. When you push it, of course it's gonna get-up and fly, but otherwise, it's a bit sluggish. Jeez, enough of that...now I'm starting to sound a bit like a broken record.

Pat- Thanks for the little reminder you posted about this being the "Town Hall" board, just my point.

Now enough, my terrible offenses have passed, it's been a whole 24 hours, just shut up!

beach15

Washed the big black beast today as my usual weekend clean-up and the one side in the sun wasn't looking too great. I waited until the sun had gone down for the most part and went out with Klasse All-In-One, applying a single coat again all over. Then, I went and applied the High Gloss Sealant. All there is to say, is WOW! The pure black had such a deep glow to it and was so slippery! I was going to go for Zaino originally, but this stuff imported from Germany is just amazing!

Anyone other than Fed use this stuff?

Fed- Has your Concorde Limited come in yet? I think I remember reading that you found out it was Steel Blue, but what about any other options? Are you itching with anxiety!?

sdmike2

Hmmmm...I would give them the choice of getting you a brand new one, throwing in some goodies (come up with $500 worth of stuff you might like), or extending the service contract. It's probably something small and it will probably get fixed easily, but it presents an opportunity to get a little more for your money.

300michael

I have had a couple of GM's in the past last was a 85 Olds Ciera. Nice but must have put in 5 alternators in that baby in five years. And steering went out so I sold it.

300michael

Slide Rock is about 15 miles north of Sedona.

toms99

When I picked up my 99, the sales guy drove it out of the prep area and lowered the driver's window. I got in and it wouldn't go up! Of course, it turned out to be the famous window motor problem...extremely common and easily fixed. But back then when the cars first came out, no one knew this was a common problem, so I was facing the same decision. I picked up mine on a Saturday too. But wouldn't you know...after several tries the window went back up. I thought, oh gee..when I come back on Monday for service it's gonna be "can not replicate" but my sales guy wrote down on the invoice he had experienced the problem himself and there was no hassle.

BUT...window motors are one thing....engines that die are another! The good news is that something so blatant and obvious and replicable is PROBABLY easily fixed...

And since you haven't actually taken delivery yet, see what they say was (is) wrong with it. If it turns out to be a part easily identifiable (computer, etc.) and easily replaced, I'd take delivery. If their explanation sounds at all fuzzy, I'd consider walking...

fedlawman

After three new Honda's, a Nissan, and a Mazda, this is my first new American car.

I bought the Buick because the high build quality, attention to detail, and thoughtful design blew me away. Now one year into ownership, the Rendezvous has exceeded all of my expectations. Despite being the most sophisticated and complex car I have ever owned, it has also proven to be the safest, most comfortable, and most trouble free.

If GM keeps building cars like this, they will soon be toe-to-toe with the imports.

sdmike2 - Don't get me started on crash tests! There are a few Joan Claybrook / Ralph Nader disciples wandering around town hall, and I've had some run-ins with them.

beach15 - Still waiting. I know it's blue, but is it Steel Blue or Deep Saphire Blue Pearlcoat? I'll hopefully find out on June 10th! Of course, in order to preserve my undercover identity, I could tell you, but then I'd have to...on second thought, you probably already know too much. Where did you say you live? No, don't tell me, I'll find you...

km99cobra

Thanks for the feedback. It's going to be interesting on Monday. The owner of the dealership is a real you-know-what. His only words of encouragement to the salesman after they discovered this problem was "see, we shouldn't have come down that last 1%". He's pissed because we agreed on a deal that's about $150 over invoice. Never said a word to me this morning, acted like I wasn't there. And they've got Five Stars!! ;-P I'm sure he'd be relieved if I walked. We'll see if it's something simple, and then maybe we'll negotiate some more, just to make it fun, LOL.

300michael

Like anything (Beach is a case in point) every manufacture makes lemons. My Ciera was the worst of all my vehicles. But even it was pretty good except for the problem with the Alternators. I have purchased my first foreign vehicle (Honda) and it seems to be pretty good also, but no better then my last 8 American vehicles (Ford, Meceury, Olds, Dodge and Chryslers. I do not think the domestics are that far behind the imports anymore.

fastdriver

sdmike2-

"Good thing we can't vote some people "off the island", huh? "

LOL.....I would have been LONG gone! ;-))

fastdriver

fastdriver

Haven't visited this site for some time, but it makes for interesting reading.

http://www.allpar.com/model/upcoming.html

fastdriver

fastdriver

Good advice to keep in mind for ANY make car.

http://www.allpar.com/ed/scams.html

fastdriver

fastdriver

More good reading for a rainy day.

http://www.allpar.com/ed/scams.html

fastdriver

sirharper

I've now had my 2000 M for 2 years WITHOUT a single unscheduled maintainance! NOTHING has gone wrong with it.

Quality critics, Toyota owners, and Beach...put that in your pipe and smoke it! lol

Fastdriver, thanks for the read and I couldn't agree more with it. My last interval recently passed and I took the list of scheduled items and made a few edits...The exhaust inspection - nope, they don't need to look at my Borla. Throttle Body cleaning - nope, I'll do it myself and make the TB better while I'm at it. Adjust and tensions belts - nope, 300M is spring tensioned. I did have the brakes cleaned - call me crazy but I saw a little value in it. Replace Air Filter - nope, my K&N is just fine. etc, etc, etc....

mikeyjohn

If it was me, I'd walk or run to another dealership, because of the response you got from the dealer principal. By the way they are all 5 star dealers, check their signs, you can't remove them. You are in the drivers seat, and if they want your business they will get down on bended knees an make you happy, If not then walk!!!!!!!!!

achance

The bodyshop guy wants over 400 bucks to put in my billet grill and fill and repaint the front license plate area! WOW!!!! I almost fainted when he gave me the estimate. Guess I'm going to have to steel my nerves and use a drill on my baby after all. I don't think I'll fill the l/p holes, just smooth them out and put on a little touchup paint. Any words of wisdom?

uxca300m

There was a scheduled Mopar shown/shine and swap meet to-day scheduled in the Brampton plant parking lot to-day .Prizes, goody bags, DJ, vendors, hot dogs etc.I spent a couple hours on Saturday washing and Z'ding "Beast:. It started to rain around 3 a.m this morning and is still coming down at 11a.m. The ad said rain or shine but who wants to drive 30 miles and show up with a dirty car. Maybe next year. Sigh!

fastdriver

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

fastdriver

glennbp

Here's a possible solution that I did on a previous car with the same problem. I got a couple of those push in plastic plugs and painted them body color. Very easy to do. Then I plugged em in the l/p holes. Looked factory, like it was meant to be that way. It all depends on what look you're after. Another guy made the holes about 2" in diameter and installed a pair of recessed European HID driving lights. Looked pretty cool too!

sdmike2

Don't feel sorry for the dealer. He's making over $1,000 on you at that price with his "dealer holdback" which is 3% of invoice (or is it MSRP?). Either way, he's doing fine. If they don't want to do the deal...walk.