I'll definitely keep mine. A great car is a great car! Take the 90's style Impala SS (not the crappy new one) or the still beautiful 300ZX. Both were, and still are, great cars and I would love to own either one. I've been shopping for a good deal on a 300ZX for use as an occasional commuter car/toy (Due to a lease expiring, I will be moving from where I work now, which used to be a fairly high-end corporate office for my company, directly out to a steel mill) and they have held their value well. My wife freaked when she saw me looking at 1990 300ZX twin turbo models that were in the 20K range! Supply and demand! The 300M was, is, and will always be a great car! Of course, I've also looked at another M to serve the purpose as well, but that's a harder sell to my wife!
I agree with you wholeheartedly. Re/the 300ZX, if memory serves me correctly they made some improvements in the later years that were worthwhile (to the mechanicals) so give preference to those years. Funny how one in good shape looks better than most of what's out on the road now, and I'd bet performance is still in the ballpark with current offerings.
Regarding the 'M fading, was going through my old Car and Driver mags last night, and looked at an issue where they compared a 2000 M to the 2000 Acura TL. In Y2K, the TL was given a 5 speed auto (4 speed previously), and a few other updgrades. The M lost to the Acura by one point in the evaluation process. The score was something like 97 to 96. The M was judged to have the better brakes and transmission (yes the 4 speed better than the Japanese 5 speed), while the TL scored better for engine sophistication (variable timing) and fit and finish and I think refinement. Note that the '99 M outpointed the '99 TL. The difference is that Acura continued making incremental improvements that kept the press and public interested, while Chrysler did nothing and then actually started taking content OUT of the car. No need to mention which strategy worked better. Bottom line; the M was judged a better car in '99, roughly a tie in '00, whereas at this point in time the TL is better and still selling well whereas the M has faded sales-wise. But it's still a great car I think most of those that actually own one and drive would agree (with the exception of Pster who has had the car from hell).
I agree with Dustin and Bluesky on the evolution of the 300M from very good ('99) to good ('04). Once DC decided that the model was to have a 5-year life (in '01, I believe), they stopped improving and began decontenting. At least they reduced the MSRP at the same time.
With the exception of a few isolated cases, the 300M proved to be reliable and had very few "new model bugs". The first year Lincoln LS (2000), by comparision, was a failure from that perspective.
When I began shopping for a new car this year, it became evident, in my opinion, that the 300M still offered the best value for the money. There were cars out there that were appealing, but not at a price I was willing to pay. So I purchased our 3rd 300M (we still have 2). I still think it is one of the most attractive cars on the road...
good points! I am actually also considering the 2003 TL in addition to the G35 as a replacement for the "300M from Hell" (I like that...). Acura has improved on the original 1999 TL, with the added benefit that now that it to will become a "dinosaur", the price is much better. 2003 TL's now TMV at $500 over invoice......for the S Type.....
Ive noticed lately that I have a ticking noise comming from my engine. Its only noticable when its in the garage, or next to a building (like a drive up window)... I opened the hood and tried listening to figure out where its comming from... it sounds like its comming from under one of the coil packs on the top of the engine... I can feel a tapping corresponding to the ticking coming from one of them, the others have no tapping feelings... Anyone know what is wrong ?
I know the sound your talking about, and this sounds similar but it only hapens when the engine is running... like once a second at idle, and if you hit the gas it speeds up...
Thanks fastdriver for the URL for Mark Roberts. I knew you or ruski would come through with the answer. Boy it has been a long time since I went to his web page. It was way back when I was shopping for a 300 for my wife. that was back when i was looking for a 2000 model. I am in the market for a 2004 turbo PT Cruiser for myself. The dealer in Ontario, CA where I got the 300 has been getting a few truck loads of the 2004's in. Would you believe a little over a year ago the dealers in the area were marking the PT's up $10,000 over MSRP and getting it? The 300 has been a good car. The dash turned up with a crack in it a couple of months ago but the dealer replaced it under warranty although the car was out of warranty. I told them it pays to be nice to people since I may buy the PT from them if we can agree on a fair price. Thanks again for going to the trouble and finding me Mark's URL.
No problem. Glad I was able to find it so fast for you.
All-
Saw my first Crossfire on the road tonight! Just happened to go by the "award-winning 5-STAR" this afternoon and noticed that the Silver Crossfire that has been sitting in the same place for weeks was now gone. Tonight, while I was on I-95, that SAME Crossfire was in front of me. I know it was the same one because it had one of those ugly dealer frames around the license plate! Why people let the dealer put those things on is beyond me. The ONLY car that I ever had any dealer ID on it was Christine because it was a nice silver sailboat- the dealer's logo!
A prediction- the first thing that's going to break on the Crossfire is that silly "spoiler" that pops up and down according to your speed. The one I was behind must have gone up and down about 6 times at least because we kept hitting traffic and had to slow down.
Anyone see the new commercial for the Pacifica? They say "it goes well beyond the SUV"! SUV? They should have said- it goes beyond the station wagon! ;-)))
Fast--The driver can manual that spoiler to the up position and then it stays there until he brings it back down manually. It only moves on its own when it is in its automatic mode. So the answer to the up and down is to set it manually. I thought it was rather flimsy when I took my test drive and walk around. I agree it will probably be the first piece to go kaput one way or another.
Fast--A guy on the Crossfire forum states that if the spoiler gets jammed in the down position, the car will not go over 58 mph which is the deployment speed. How about that for a governor?
Intrepidspirit said exactly what I was thinking. It makes you wonder at what point they started to think that the line (in it's current form, not the 300C) would be discontinued.
iRotors-Someone here a while back (I can't remember who and I'm too lazy to look it up!) asked what the club (Chrysler 300M Enthusiasts Club, www.300mclub.org )discount was for iRotors. I ordered mine yesterday and they are $249 for a set of 4, and the club discount is free shipping, which was about $27 in my case. They also had free Zinc plating ($50 value) through July. That's not a bad discount and well worth joining the club to get access to the codes and phone number needed. The discount alone would cover the club membership and leave 10 or so bucks to boot! Maybe they'll show up by the end of next week. It takes a couple of days to process the order and about 5 days to get from California here to Alabama. I received my silver caliper paint yesterday and I already have my EBC Greenstuff kevlar brake pads. Looks like I might have a nice project for next weekend. Maybe I can get my intake kit ordered and do everything at once. As always, I'll report on them when they come in.
I forgot to tell you guys that because I was a member of this club I managed to save a little over $500 on the parts I ordered to fix my car... Familyparts gives a 20% discount for Car club members
ya, I hear you. Guy at the office had his tranny in his TL replaced too....I am by no means sold onthe car yet. I drove in one this morning and I think it is actually smaller inside than the new Accord!
Finally got everything straightend out with the Ins co, and the body guy... Have all the parts on order... I ended up ordering quite a bit...
Special Front Bumper Special Rear Bumper Special F & R L & R Rocked Panels Special Signal Mirrors Rear Spoiler Avalanche type Hood Scoop (2) new 20" Rims (they got bent)
The body guy will mold the hood scoop in for an extra $200, and paint the rest of the car for an extra $800... It will go in as soon as all the parts arrive... Definately will be better than b4
LOL....IF that's the case, I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of slow-moving Crossfires. I don't think that's true though because you said that it could be turned on or off. If it's off and DOWN, how is that different from JAMMED and down?
my TL-S has moods too. Sometimes it rocks, sometimes it does not want to play hard. Like all day today - I need to pass someone and it just wants to take it easy. Doesn't it know that I am rushing?
I agree w/Dustin and Intrepid that the M is still a great car, and it would be on my list if I was shopping for a car. There hasn't been much opposition to this position here on the board.
Pster, $500 over invoice is allright, but some people have been getting that for the past year or so. If you want the car, I would think you might even get a rebate once the '04s come out. Acura has given rebates on the RL in the past. Also, re/the tranny, at least Acura would be more likely to stand behind their product than Chrysler. In any event, it's a nice car and happy shopping. If you're one of the guys (like myself) her who loves red, check out the Accord 2-door in red; it gleams! And the 165 HP 4 cylinder gets incredible mileage (24/34) and moves quite well; my mother has one.
Crossfire; I've been looking but have yet to see one! But I see a lot of Lexus SC430s, which cost double or more of the Crossfire; go figure.
Dustin, it was me who inquired about the rotors. That's a great deal you got ($249 for 4); I think the OEMs were more than that at my local dealer when I priced them. But you posted on 08-01, and stated the free zinc runs through July; did you mean August? I don't know diddly about rotors; is the zinc to improve looks and resist rusting? Does it have any other effects? And what was used as the base for those rotors, perhaps the OEMs? Did you compare them to the OEMs? I don't belong to the 300M club as I've been happy w/this board; but I'd considering joining to get those rotors. What does that cost if you don't mind my asking.
Ajpii; what is a "Car Club Member" which enabled you for a 20% discount? I need some parts and wouldn't mind that.
Collided w/a shopping cart @ local store which put a quarter sized hole in rear right tail lamp cover. Calling local dealers I found out that one can't replace the plastic cover, but most buy an entire tail lamp assembly. Price at one dealer was about $250, another was $170. Need to decide whether to put some epoxy or goop to fill hole and keep water out or just chuck the money at the parts man... Maybe I'm just cheap but it seems a waste of money to fix a little hole...
Do the 300M Specials have extra panels on the bottoms of the doors ? I always though they were the same exact doors as a regular M but I saw a picture of a car that really looked like there was a panel added to the door.... Whoever knows , let me know asap, I may have to add to my parts order...
The headlight covers on my '99 300M are very dull and dirty looking. I don't know if they can be cleaned on the inside to improve them, or if they can simply be replaced. If replacing the covers, is that an easy project? It would sure improve the looks of my car if it had flawless headlight covers.
First the Bad news.............. I went out to my 300M in my San Diego apartment parking lot this morning and discovered that sometime overnight someone had hit it hard enough to move the rear of the car about 2 feet! Looks as if the damage is limited to the plastic bumper cover. I was somewhat upset, to state it mildly! Now for the Good news.....After surveying the damage, getting more and more upset, I found a nice, apologetic note shoved into the driver's door gap. It turns out the driver that hit my car works for the Protective service that patrols the apartment complex at night. I talked to the guy and he was very nice and has since had his company's insurance adjuster contact me. Now, can anyone in the San Diego area recommend a good, reliable body shop, preferably somewhere fairly near the Carmel Mountain Road area? I'm here in San Diego temporarily and don't know the area well, so I'd like to find a shop near where I'm living and working.
Lynn Flowers McKinney, Texas (temporarily in San Diego)
<OffTopic>I would get the G over the TL. Space inside is about the same but the G just "feels" better. The trany issue would scare me off the TL. I think ruski and fastdriver have had new tranies. The problems with the G are limited to fast break wear and rattles. I would rather have those types of problems than tranny probs</OffTopic>
I just replaced the tires on my 300M with with Yoko YK420's I like them a lot so far but will withhold judgement until after my 450 mi commute this week.
jrease - Unfortunately, the headlights are one complete unit so you cannot replace just the lense, nor can you clean it from the inside. If the dullness is on the outside, there are some plastic polishing kits that may help. This did not work on my 99 headlights, however. They were not only pitted on the outside, but had some sort of glazing, crackling on the inside. I ended up purchasing an almost new set from a club member who replaced his with HIDs. They run approx. $260 each new. I immediately put the Stoneguard covers on the lights to at least eliminate any future pitting on the outside.
lflowers - Sorry I can't give any recommendations on a good body shop in that area. Fortunately I haven't needed to use one on quite some time (knock on wood). Poway may be a good area for you to investigate as well. Check with SDMike or Glennbp if you haven't already.
I don't know if they will extend it through August, but I called and ordered my rotors on July 31st, and the website stated that the zinc plating was free through the month of July. I assume that it's a rust inhibitor. You can join the club at www.300mclub.org. $14.95 and worth every penny. I helped found it (I'm member #3)and served as secretary for a couple of years and I can say without hesitation that it's a fantastic group of folks running it, and it's full of helpful and friendly members, a lot of which post here.. It's a great resource in addition to this board. Lots of cool 300M club shirts and hats too! As for the rotor base, I don't have any idea. I have Brembos on now, and they were about $45 each at AutoZone a couple of years back. I put them on to replace the original OEM rotors that had warped. the Carbon Metallic Performance Friction pads I have on now have gouged their surface incredibly. Instead of replacing them with plain rotors, I opted for the iRotors. Not a lot of price difference. You can get a lot of other discounts through the club, and possibly sign up your local dealer (if they aren't already participating) to give discounts to club members as well. Lots of members get a good discount from their local dealer this way.
ajpiii, Yes there are side moldings on the Special. And they make it a real "special" event when you need to use the jack. But in spite of that, if you're getting the front and back cladding you probably should get the sides too.
I ordered the Front & Rear Bumpers, and the Rocker panels for the sides... What Im unclear about is if there is something stuck on the doors themselves. I saw a picture that looked like there was extra cladding on the bottom of the doors in addition to the rocker panels below them...
Over the weekend we took our first trip with my new 2003 300M.
Some observations:
1. Gas mileage was much lower than expected @ 21.2 mpg. However, the car had only 700 miles on it at the beginning of the trip and 1500 at the end. So the engine hasn't been truly broken in to yield maximum gas mileage. Plus we got into some horrible traffic jams coming and going on the 101 freeway, which definitely ate into the gas mileage -- it was a very busy weekend. But it sure was fun driving up and down the Monterey Peninsula, 17-mile drive and over to Pebble Beach with the sun roof open and the cool sea air! We saw a lot of Sebring convertibles making the same journey...
2. I noticed, when using cruise control, that the car would downshift on relatively minimal grades, speed up past the set cruise speed and settle back to the cruise speed. I have never noticed this on my 2000 M or my wife's 2001. I recall reading an article about the Pacifica doing the same thing, but they blamed it on the 3.5L engine being under-powered for the Pacifica's weight. I wonder if they have might have programmed the computer to downshift at certain resistance points for the Pacifica and decided the new settings would be good enough for the "lame duck" 2003/2004 300M's? Kind of a "one size fits all" philosophy...
3. With my accumulated gas mileage running low on the trip, I thought I would check the real-time gas mileage on the overhead center to see if it was improving. Bingo! I found something to add to my list of decontented features -- no real time display! Both the 2000 and the 2001 have this feature...
The decontented features may or may not have affected my decision to buy my 2003 M, had I known about them. However, I really don't appreciate finding them in this way. I truly believe car manufactures should be required, by law, to list all additions and deletions in continuing model vehicles, so the car-buying public is not deceived at the time of purchase. We should not have to personally inspect the hundreds of working parts in a car to determine if something has been subtly removed...
Getting down off my soap box for a minute, I still love my M!
But I just hope I don't find any more decontenting in it...
I had almost identical problem with 300M. No sound, radio station light stays and battery died overnight. Corrected briefly after jumping but then recurred with CD light staying on, no sound. CD could be inserted and ejected for amusement. My 1* (i.e. says *****) dealer said it was the CD player and will take at least one week to order. I said in this case, disconnect the CD player so that I will have a functional radio. I was told that the mechanic said this can’t be done. I said this was nonsense but did not have time and energy to pursue with DC. So, 2 weeks later still without radio or CD but at least battery now holding charge. Will seeeeee.
Otherwise, no significant problem with 300M X 2 years except occassional light show.
Dustin, thanks for the info. Sounds like a real good deal. Couple of more thousand miles and I'll be buying these things...
Intrepid, any plastic painted wheels? (Warning, cheesy humor ahead) And did you look under the hood? It's a bad sign if you see a squirrel on a treadmill where the 3.5 engine used to be.
Kind of frustrating to watch a formerly promising, formerly American automaker go down the tubes before your very eyes under the tutelage of someone named Dieter. But it took an American CEO to sell out DMX and its employees; can't blame the Euros for that. I think American CEOs beat even lawyers for grand theft (sorry to all you legal eagles out there--I know most of them are not sleazes, but the ones that are are VERY sleazy and cover a lot of ground). Back to your normal bat-channel now.
They de-contented 4 m.p.g. on each new 2003 as it rolled off the Brampton assembly line.
Last call for the Woodward Dream Cruise. August 16 in Detroit. You can check the WDC site for info on the Cruise, and the Club site to see what we will be doing. All M's and their owners are invited to join in the fun. Still rooms available at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Southfield [248] 350-2000. We Cruise the 16 mile route as a group on Saturday morning. Be there or be square.
My custom sunshade came in yesterday and in a word, WOW! It is a felt-like material on the side facing the interior and a silver material on the side facing the sun. These are laminated to a lightweight but rigid foam core. The space between the individual panes where the shade folds up are sewn. It is an amazingly accurate fit, and the stiffness of it helps hold it in place better than anything I have seen. The storage case is a vinyl sleeve about a foot too long tha the shade slides into. It has a velcro tab at the top to hold it closed. Nothing impressive there, but it does the job and seems like it would be very protective. All in all, I would give this a 10 out of 10. The extra cost was worth it for the value I received. The fact that it is sturdy, obviously high-quality, and custom made specifically for the M make it a must buy. I ordered it from www.autosport.com (they have two custom fit models. Make sure you get the fold-up sunshade and not the roll-up one. It doesn't look as good.) but it is made by www.covercraft.com , the company that makes the car covers for most catalog merchants. They make a pretty decent line of items. I am going to have to go from parking in a deck to parking outside during the day an I'm looking at buying one of their NOAH covers. Anyone have any experience with one? The brocure that came with my order has a 300M pictured in the car covers section with a custom cover partially on it.
Rotors-UPS says they will be here Thursday! I hope the rain will let up and I can get them and my pads installed this weekend. We are having an extremely wet and cool summer. It's August 5th, and we've already gotten the amount of rain that we would have in a normal year!
Thanks for the response. My car went into a decent 5* dealer- they said internal problem with the radio- had a new radio shipped and installed the next day- actually did a pretty good job. I did notice on the new radio the button on the far right says "mode" on my old radio it said "CD/Tape" but otherwise looks exactly the same. This must just be a subtle difference in the radios over the years- mine is a 2001. But actually raises the question- I had the upgraded sound system- is the radio the same for the standards system ? just a different amplifier/speaker setup??? Can I be reasonably sure the new radio I got is the 'upgraded' model?
I think you're somewhere in Alabama, right? Me, too. You're right about our weather...haven't seen a summer here like this before. Have hardly had a chance to wash my 300M.
Well, after 34 mos & 35,500 mi on my 2001 M I need to make the extended warranty decision and the numbers make it a toss-up, so of course, I come to the great hall of collective 300M knowledge for input.
The facts: My M is early (i.e. Oct.) 2001 model year so it only came with the 3/36 and not the 7/100 (powertrain) basic warranty, which I believe the later 2001 M's got. Therefore I am unable to take advantage of the (fairly reasonable) deal from DMX to upgrade the 7/100 (powertrain) to a 7/75 Added Care warranty. (On the other hand, however, I do have a chromed shift knob.)
This means that if I want to buy the regular DMX 6yr/75000 $50 ded. "Added Care" extended warranty from Melton sales (with their 25% discount) it is going to run me about $1300.
So I have to ask myself if the next 36000 mi (and I will likely keep the car that long) are going to bring me $1500 (say, 1300 + 4 visits at 50 ded. each) in repair bills that this warranty would have covered.
The good news is that 2001's seem to be some of the more reliable M's out there, and my warranty repairs have been fairly few so far (dealer - actually a good 5 star- replaced my front rotors just under 12, radio has been changed out, BCM flashed once and trans re-set twice, seat bolt recall & driver seat travel adjusted once). I even still have the original window motors. But on the other hand anyone who reads this board has seen their share of stories (and not only from Fastdriver) about reliability.
So please let me know what you think, especially you 2001 owners and those of you in the 40-70000 mi range who have already been there. (Fast, I can already quote your answer so I will spare you from responding.)
As always, appreciate the advice this forum has to offer. Thanks a lot.
Mine is a 2000 M, just turned 70,000 miles, and I'm beginning to think I wasted the money I spent on the 75,000 mile extended warranty. Maybe it was worth it for the "peace of mind"! I've never used the extended warranty (knock on wood).
Although mine is a '99 I have "been there" in terms of mileage. I bought w/ 42k on the dial and now have almost 87k. I never had a warranty but the total of my could have been warranty repairs is about $365. Replaced idler pulley, $135 in A/C work, and the tranny sensors have been the only repairs. I say pass on the warranty (unless a big repair would put you in a financial crisis) because the odds are you won't get your money's worth. Obviously, extended warranties are big money-makers.
I bought one of the car covers from Covercraft about a year ago; it was one of their top end designs and I think it had the word Noah associated with it, but not sure. Whatever it's called, the material was made by 3M and I want to say "Evolution 3", or something like that. It is lightweight, breathes well, waterproof, and protects well. When I have it on overnight in the winter, frost does not form on the car, thereby preserving the paint lustre. I was happy with their service (received it fairly quickly), the added lock and cable I purchased with it, and the cover material and fit. I would suggest just picking the material from their website that looks like it best suites your particular needs (the website is pretty informative) and go with it. 3M makes terrific products (where would we be without yellow stickies?) and that evolution 3 is excellent IMO.
BTW, thx for info on sun shade. Mine doesnt' fit well and isn't rigid enough; I'll probably pick one of these up. I'm not worried about the dash not being able to take the sun, but rather I like the way it decreases the heat factor when I get into the car on a hot day. Also, the NorthEast also had an amazing amount of rain in May and June, but it's gotten better in July. Hard to believe Fall is just weeks away!
Kupper, I have a '99 w/75K, and I would advise against buying that for $1300; it's not even a close call. My feeling is that once these cars get an initial bug or two out of them (window motors in particular) they are quite reliable. Be aware that the transmission input or output sensors sometimes fail (mine failed at 72K), but the car still runs on "limp" mode, and the sensors only cost about $20 and can be replaced yourself fairly easily. These engines are very reliable IMO based on few problems on this board. Serious tranny problems are also fairly rare I think. If you get a car like Psters, you might as well kill yourself now or junk it... just kidding Pster. The lemon you got made a deep impression on me...
Hope you post some pics like last year. It was nice to see the cars, the shine, the people and of course ottowrkr.
kupper25-
"....I come to the great hall of collective 300M knowledge for input."
This USED to be the great hall of collective 300M knowledge at an earlier point in time. There was NONE better. It was one of the most active topics in all of Town Hall, if not THE most active topic UNTIL the posters were driven out to greener pastures by the big kahunas! You couldn't miss this topic for a weekend or you'd have hundreds of messages to read. No more. So sad. Everyone helped everyone else out when a question was posted.
Anyone replace their OEM struts on a non-PHP 300M with Monroe struts? If so, did you get Reflex or Sensa-Trac? Comments on ride and handling with new struts compared to ride and handling of your M when it was new?
The ride in our 300M was good the first couple of years and 12K miles, but since then it has been very rough. Clangs over pavement holes, especially at lower speeds.
With 22K miles on it we reached our limit last week. First, my mother-in-law rides in the M for the first time in a year and a half and tells the wife that it feels like the M's shocks are gone. Then we rent a full-size GMC pick-up for some major transport work and it rides smoother over our rough local roads than the M. Gotta get a decent ride out of the M. Can't afford to sell it an buy new at this time.
Fast--The Prez took some great video last year, and I am sure there will be pics. Unfortunately, I only have a 35mm camera--I'm digitally challenged-- so I probably won't be taking too many pics and I have no capability to post them on the net, I always have to beg someone else to do it for me [usually SDMike] and that gets tiresome. Anyway, I feel confident we will have some pics to put up. And you know... most of CT is only about 720 miles from the Detroit area, just a short one day jaunt...so you could always skip work Friday and cruise with us on Saturday.
I have a 2001 and I've never had a problem to date. I bought mine in March 2001, no long warranty either. I believe the 'remaining' 2001's got a 7/70 warranty when the 2002's came out. Like August 2001 and on. Anyways, I have no plans in buying the extended warranty since this car has been MORE reliable than my last 5 [non-permissible content removed] cars I owned. The only thing I wish I had was insurance on maintaining its RESALE value. Resale value is this cars worst enemy, not repairs. Hopefully when the 300C is introduced the 300M's resale value won't decline as fast as Oldsmobile cars did. Since for all intensive purposes the 300M will be dead..........so sad.
Maybe it's your tires? Check you wear, & pressure lately? You should not need new struts at only 22K miles. Or maybe it's a bad strut, which should be covered under warranty if you are still in it.
I too have the short warranty 300. I bought in July about a month before the longer warranty was available(that sucked). Just yesterday my check engine light came on. The car ran fine I think it was a loose gas cap after I tightened it and drove it some more it went off this morning (whew!) my 300 has not been that relaible I will list below the problems I have had. While most are minor the terrible dealer service has turned me off most of my problems took 10k miles+ to get them to fix. All that said I would not buy an extended warranty unless it ran out to 100k mi+ The most expensive things here I have heard about failing are the A/C and tranny's but those are usually high mileage vehicles.
Problems: 1) 2 Window motors replaced (Fixed) 2) Driver seat movement(fixed) 3) Clunk in steering column (had R&P, steering shaft, cv boots, and ball joints replaced before it was fixed) 4) Leather tearing on seat (fixed) 5) leather wearing on steering wheel (Refused to fix) 6) whine, rough idle (never fixed) 7) burned out tail light (fixed) 8) check engine light came on (not fixed but went away)
I was curious to know if you have a 01M? I have a problem with my drivers seat leather. It looks like the leather is separating around those tiny holes in the leather. Is this what happened to yours? I have not taken it in yet, but will soon. I only have 19000 Kms on this car, so not many miles if you do the math. I also have very, very slight movement of my drivers seat, and I have had the recall done about a month ago. Any help appreciated.
Yup, '01 300M early build 12/00 or 1/01 with the chrome shifter. My seat had little vertical tears coming from the front seams sort of like this. _____________|________|________| ------------------------------------------------------
My driver seat rocked a bit also. They replaced different bolts (on the actual track not recliner bolts) than the recall and the problem has not resurfaced. I think this might be common in cars with easy entry features because I had the same problem with my infiniti.
Thanks for your input, I must take mine in some day and have it looked at, other than what I mentioned I have had no problems with this car unless you count the time I lowered my garage door on my roof as I was driving in, but a trip to my dent guy and a power buff, took care of the problem. Thanks!!!!
Comments
I agree with you wholeheartedly. Re/the 300ZX, if memory serves me correctly they made some improvements in the later years that were worthwhile (to the mechanicals) so give preference to those years. Funny how one in good shape looks better than most of what's out on the road now, and I'd bet performance is still in the ballpark with current offerings.
Regarding the 'M fading, was going through my old Car and Driver mags last night, and looked at an issue where they compared a 2000 M to the 2000 Acura TL. In Y2K, the TL was given a 5 speed auto (4 speed previously), and a few other updgrades. The M lost to the Acura by one point in the evaluation process. The score was something like 97 to 96. The M was judged to have the better brakes and transmission (yes the 4 speed better than the Japanese 5 speed), while the TL scored better for engine sophistication (variable timing) and fit and finish and I think refinement. Note that the '99 M outpointed the '99 TL. The difference is that Acura continued making incremental improvements that kept the press and public interested, while Chrysler did nothing and then actually started taking content OUT of the car. No need to mention which strategy worked better. Bottom line; the M was judged a better car in '99, roughly a tie in '00, whereas at this point in time the TL is better and still selling well whereas the M has faded sales-wise. But it's still a great car I think most of those that actually own one and drive would agree (with the exception of Pster who has had the car from hell).
With the exception of a few isolated cases, the 300M proved to be reliable and had very few "new model bugs". The first year Lincoln LS (2000), by comparision, was a failure from that perspective.
When I began shopping for a new car this year, it became evident, in my opinion, that the 300M still offered the best value for the money. There were cars out there that were appealing, but not at a price I was willing to pay. So I purchased our 3rd 300M (we still have 2). I still think it is one of the most attractive cars on the road...
Ive noticed lately that I have a ticking noise comming from my engine. Its only noticable when its in the garage, or next to a building (like a drive up window)... I opened the hood and tried listening to figure out where its comming from... it sounds like its comming from under one of the coil packs on the top of the engine... I can feel a tapping corresponding to the ticking coming from one of them, the others have no tapping feelings... Anyone know what is wrong ?
No problem. Glad I was able to find it so fast for you.
All-
Saw my first Crossfire on the road tonight! Just happened to go by the "award-winning 5-STAR" this afternoon and noticed that the Silver Crossfire that has been sitting in the same place for weeks was now gone. Tonight, while I was on I-95, that SAME Crossfire was in front of me. I know it was the same one because it had one of those ugly dealer frames around the license plate! Why people let the dealer put those things on is beyond me. The ONLY car that I ever had any dealer ID on it was Christine because it was a nice silver sailboat- the dealer's logo!
A prediction- the first thing that's going to break on the Crossfire is that silly "spoiler" that pops up and down according to your speed. The one I was behind must have gone up and down about 6 times at least because we kept hitting traffic and had to slow down.
Anyone see the new commercial for the Pacifica? They say "it goes well beyond the SUV"! SUV? They should have said- it goes beyond the station wagon! ;-)))
fastdriver
iRotors-Someone here a while back (I can't remember who and I'm too lazy to look it up!) asked what the club (Chrysler 300M Enthusiasts Club, www.300mclub.org )discount was for iRotors. I ordered mine yesterday and they are $249 for a set of 4, and the club discount is free shipping, which was about $27 in my case. They also had free Zinc plating ($50 value) through July. That's not a bad discount and well worth joining the club to get access to the codes and phone number needed. The discount alone would cover the club membership and leave 10 or so bucks to boot! Maybe they'll show up by the end of next week. It takes a couple of days to process the order and about 5 days to get from California here to Alabama. I received my silver caliper paint yesterday and I already have my EBC Greenstuff kevlar brake pads. Looks like I might have a nice project for next weekend. Maybe I can get my intake kit ordered and do everything at once. As always, I'll report on them when they come in.
Special Front Bumper
Special Rear Bumper
Special F & R L & R Rocked Panels
Special Signal Mirrors
Rear Spoiler
Avalanche type Hood Scoop
(2) new 20" Rims (they got bent)
The body guy will mold the hood scoop in for an extra $200, and paint the rest of the car for an extra $800... It will go in as soon as all the parts arrive... Definately will be better than b4
LOL....IF that's the case, I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of slow-moving Crossfires. I don't think that's true though because you said that it could be turned on or off. If it's off and DOWN, how is that different from JAMMED and down?
Time will tell.
fastdriver
Pster, $500 over invoice is allright, but some people have been getting that for the past year or so. If you want the car, I would think you might even get a rebate once the '04s come out. Acura has given rebates on the RL in the past. Also, re/the tranny, at least Acura would be more likely to stand behind their product than Chrysler. In any event, it's a nice car and happy shopping. If you're one of the guys (like myself) her who loves red, check out the Accord 2-door in red; it gleams! And the 165 HP 4 cylinder gets incredible mileage (24/34) and moves quite well; my mother has one.
Crossfire; I've been looking but have yet to see one! But I see a lot of Lexus SC430s, which cost double or more of the Crossfire; go figure.
Dustin, it was me who inquired about the rotors. That's a great deal you got ($249 for 4); I think the OEMs were more than that at my local dealer when I priced them. But you posted on 08-01, and stated the free zinc runs through July; did you mean August? I don't know diddly about rotors; is the zinc to improve looks and resist rusting? Does it have any other effects? And what was used as the base for those rotors, perhaps the OEMs? Did you compare them to the OEMs? I don't belong to the 300M club as I've been happy w/this board; but I'd considering joining to get those rotors. What does that cost if you don't mind my asking.
Ajpii; what is a "Car Club Member" which enabled you for a 20% discount? I need some parts and wouldn't mind that.
You also get free shipping on any order over $200
http://www.familyparts.com/id18.htm
Now for the Good news.....After surveying the damage, getting more and more upset, I found a nice, apologetic note shoved into the driver's door gap. It turns out the driver that hit my car works for the Protective service that patrols the apartment complex at night. I talked to the guy and he was very nice and has since had his company's insurance adjuster contact me.
Now, can anyone in the San Diego area recommend a good, reliable body shop, preferably somewhere fairly near the Carmel Mountain Road area?
I'm here in San Diego temporarily and don't know the area well, so I'd like to find a shop near where I'm living and working.
Lynn Flowers
McKinney, Texas (temporarily in San Diego)
I just replaced the tires on my 300M with with Yoko YK420's I like them a lot so far but will withhold judgement until after my 450 mi commute this week.
Unfortunately, the headlights are one complete unit so you cannot replace just the lense, nor can you clean it from the inside. If the dullness is on the outside, there are some plastic polishing kits that may help. This did not work on my 99 headlights, however. They were not only pitted on the outside, but had some sort of glazing, crackling on the inside. I ended up purchasing an almost new set from a club member who replaced his with HIDs. They run approx. $260 each new. I immediately put the Stoneguard covers on the lights to at least eliminate any future pitting on the outside.
lflowers -
Sorry I can't give any recommendations on a good body shop in that area. Fortunately I haven't needed to use one on quite some time (knock on wood). Poway may be a good area for you to investigate as well. Check with SDMike or Glennbp if you haven't already.
Yes there are side moldings on the Special. And they make it a real "special" event when you need to use the jack. But in spite of that, if you're getting the front and back cladding you probably should get the sides too.
Some observations:
1. Gas mileage was much lower than expected @ 21.2 mpg. However, the car had only 700 miles on it at the beginning of the trip and 1500 at the end. So the engine hasn't been truly broken in to yield maximum gas mileage. Plus we got into some horrible traffic jams coming and going on the 101 freeway, which definitely ate into the gas mileage -- it was a very busy weekend. But it sure was fun driving up and down the Monterey Peninsula, 17-mile drive and over to Pebble Beach with the sun roof open and the cool sea air! We saw a lot of Sebring convertibles making the same journey...
2. I noticed, when using cruise control, that the car would downshift on relatively minimal grades, speed up past the set cruise speed and settle back to the cruise speed. I have never noticed this on my 2000 M or my wife's 2001. I recall reading an article about the Pacifica doing the same thing, but they blamed it on the 3.5L engine being under-powered for the Pacifica's weight. I wonder if they have might have programmed the computer to downshift at certain resistance points for the Pacifica and decided the new settings would be good enough for the "lame duck" 2003/2004 300M's? Kind of a "one size fits all" philosophy...
3. With my accumulated gas mileage running low on the trip, I thought I would check the real-time gas mileage on the overhead center to see if it was improving. Bingo! I found something to add to my list of decontented features -- no real time display! Both the 2000 and the 2001 have this feature...
The decontented features may or may not have affected my decision to buy my 2003 M, had I known about them. However, I really don't appreciate finding them in this way. I truly believe car manufactures should be required, by law, to list all additions and deletions in continuing model vehicles, so the car-buying public is not deceived at the time of purchase. We should not have to personally inspect the hundreds of working parts in a car to determine if something has been subtly removed...
Getting down off my soap box for a minute, I still love my M!
But I just hope I don't find any more decontenting in it...
Otherwise, no significant problem with 300M X 2 years except occassional light show.
Intrepid, any plastic painted wheels? (Warning, cheesy humor ahead) And did you look under the hood? It's a bad sign if you see a squirrel on a treadmill where the 3.5 engine used to be.
Kind of frustrating to watch a formerly promising, formerly American automaker go down the tubes before your very eyes under the tutelage of someone named Dieter. But it took an American CEO to sell out DMX and its employees; can't blame the Euros for that. I think American CEOs beat even lawyers for grand theft (sorry to all you legal eagles out there--I know most of them are not sleazes, but the ones that are are VERY sleazy and cover a lot of ground). Back to your normal bat-channel now.
Last call for the Woodward Dream Cruise. August 16 in Detroit. You can check the WDC site for info on the Cruise, and the Club site to see what we will be doing. All M's and their owners are invited to join in the fun. Still rooms available at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Southfield [248] 350-2000. We Cruise the 16 mile route as a group on Saturday morning. Be there or be square.
Rotors-UPS says they will be here Thursday! I hope the rain will let up and I can get them and my pads installed this weekend. We are having an extremely wet and cool summer. It's August 5th, and we've already gotten the amount of rain that we would have in a normal year!
The facts: My M is early (i.e. Oct.) 2001 model year so it only came with the 3/36 and not the 7/100 (powertrain) basic warranty, which I believe the later 2001 M's got. Therefore I am unable to take advantage of the (fairly reasonable) deal from DMX to upgrade the 7/100 (powertrain) to a 7/75 Added Care warranty. (On the other hand, however, I do have a chromed shift knob.)
This means that if I want to buy the regular DMX 6yr/75000 $50 ded. "Added Care" extended warranty from Melton sales (with their 25% discount) it is going to run me about $1300.
So I have to ask myself if the next 36000 mi (and I will likely keep the car that long) are going to bring me $1500 (say, 1300 + 4 visits at 50 ded. each) in repair bills that this warranty would have covered.
The good news is that 2001's seem to be some of the more reliable M's out there, and my warranty repairs have been fairly few so far (dealer - actually a good 5 star- replaced my front rotors just under 12, radio has been changed out, BCM flashed once and trans re-set twice, seat bolt recall & driver seat travel adjusted once). I even still have the original window motors. But on the other hand anyone who reads this board has seen their share of stories (and not only from Fastdriver) about reliability.
So please let me know what you think, especially you 2001 owners and those of you in the 40-70000 mi range who have already been there. (Fast, I can already quote your answer so I will spare you from responding.)
As always, appreciate the advice this forum has to offer. Thanks a lot.
I've never used the extended warranty (knock on wood).
Lynn Flowers
I bought one of the car covers from Covercraft about a year ago; it was one of their top end designs and I think it had the word Noah associated with it, but not sure. Whatever it's called, the material was made by 3M and I want to say "Evolution 3", or something like that. It is lightweight, breathes well, waterproof, and protects well. When I have it on overnight in the winter, frost does not form on the car, thereby preserving the paint lustre. I was happy with their service (received it fairly quickly), the added lock and cable I purchased with it, and the cover material and fit. I would suggest just picking the material from their website that looks like it best suites your particular needs (the website is pretty informative) and go with it. 3M makes terrific products (where would we be without yellow stickies?) and that evolution 3 is excellent IMO.
BTW, thx for info on sun shade. Mine doesnt' fit well and isn't rigid enough; I'll probably pick one of these up. I'm not worried about the dash not being able to take the sun, but rather I like the way it decreases the heat factor when I get into the car on a hot day. Also, the NorthEast also had an amazing amount of rain in May and June, but it's gotten better in July. Hard to believe Fall is just weeks away!
Kupper, I have a '99 w/75K, and I would advise against buying that for $1300; it's not even a close call. My feeling is that once these cars get an initial bug or two out of them (window motors in particular) they are quite reliable. Be aware that the transmission input or output sensors sometimes fail (mine failed at 72K), but the car still runs on "limp" mode, and the sensors only cost about $20 and can be replaced yourself fairly easily. These engines are very reliable IMO based on few problems on this board. Serious tranny problems are also fairly rare I think. If you get a car like Psters, you might as well kill yourself now or junk it... just kidding Pster. The lemon you got made a deep impression on me...
Hope you post some pics like last year. It was nice to see the cars, the shine, the people and of course ottowrkr.
kupper25-
"....I come to the great hall of collective 300M knowledge for input."
This USED to be the great hall of collective 300M knowledge at an earlier point in time. There was NONE better. It was one of the most active topics in all of Town Hall, if not THE most active topic UNTIL the posters were driven out to greener pastures by the big kahunas! You couldn't miss this topic for a weekend or you'd have hundreds of messages to read. No more. So sad. Everyone helped everyone else out when a question was posted.
Life goes on.
fastdriver
The ride in our 300M was good the first couple of years and 12K miles, but since then it has been very rough. Clangs over pavement holes, especially at lower speeds.
With 22K miles on it we reached our limit last week. First, my mother-in-law rides in the M for the first time in a year and a half and tells the wife that it feels like the M's shocks are gone. Then we rent a full-size GMC pick-up for some major transport work and it rides smoother over our rough local roads than the M. Gotta get a decent ride out of the M. Can't afford to sell it an buy new at this time.
Problems:
1) 2 Window motors replaced (Fixed)
2) Driver seat movement(fixed)
3) Clunk in steering column (had R&P, steering shaft, cv boots, and ball joints replaced before it was fixed)
4) Leather tearing on seat (fixed)
5) leather wearing on steering wheel (Refused to fix)
6) whine, rough idle (never fixed)
7) burned out tail light (fixed)
8) check engine light came on (not fixed but went away)
I have 39k on my 300 right now.
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My driver seat rocked a bit also. They replaced different bolts (on the actual track not recliner bolts) than the recall and the problem has not resurfaced. I think this might be common in cars with easy entry features because I had the same problem with my infiniti.