Chrysler 300M

18788909293507

Comments

  • 300m_vt300m_vt Member Posts: 32
    I thought my registration and insurance was bad here in VT. Presently paying $43 a year for the Registration, $474 a year for Insurance (Comp & Collision). So far with 9200 miles getting average of 20.1MPG (40/60). No problems on my Black Clearcoat Y2K, PHP
  • grunschevgrunschev Member Posts: 106
    As I posted earlier, the car is at the dealer's today for the 30k service. They called and told me when changing the oil they discovered the drain plug was stripped. $160 parts, $220 labor to fix. And so we begin the fight with Jiffy Lube and the dealer....

    And as I was typing this, the Jiffy Lube guy called and will pay for the repair (but not at the Chrysler dealer because they charge too much). [Sound of me picking my jaw up off the floor] The Jiffy Lube guy says this is a common problem with these cars as the pan is aluminum and it is "too easy" to overtighten the plug.

    Igor
  • mykemmykem Member Posts: 203
    Chat Chat...

    To-Nite. 10PM eastern? Sounds right.

    9 Central, 8 Mountain, 7 Pacific, 6 Alaskan, 5 Hawaiian/Aleutian.

    If I'm not around talk amongst yourselves. Believe me I'm not ignoring you! :)

    -m
  • phases78phases78 Member Posts: 471
    my average reads 15.5???? now, i did reset everything a couple weeks ago when i did the duals, and ive been driving like a madman since. when i fill up it says between about 270. i filled today and im going to attempt to drive like a sane man, see how it does, plus those new sparkies SHOULD help.....
  • lonestarsledlonestarsled Member Posts: 226
    "Quit screwing around and get" an oil filter wrench!
  • phases78phases78 Member Posts: 471
    u konw i mentioned this 2002.5 special/limited edition and my dealer said he has no clue what i'm talking about. he said all he's got word on is that they're phaseing out the LHS and making a limited edition concord to be somewhat like it, cuz its not selling well. he says when people have not to much to spend they go for the concorde, and when they have enough for the LHS, they generally just go with the M. no complaints here. still only seen 14 M's on the road my whole life lol
  • beach15beach15 Member Posts: 1,305
    I was just looking to see what new 300M's had arrived at a dealer in Virginia, and discovered a new option. The car has an MSRP of just over $33,000 and in the options sheet, Daytime Running Lamps are listed for $40. I don't think I have heard anyone else on this board that knew anything about this yet but I have known of some who have added it to their car. If you'd like to see the page, click the link below:


    New Silver 2001 300M

  • tucsongiltucsongil Member Posts: 116
    Mikeyjohn, the price is just for one year of registration. No insurance, just one year of registration!

    It is bad news over here in AZ and these rates reflect what I believe is a 10% rate reduction from about two years ago.

    I guess we here in AZ are "Sheep to be Sheared" by the state government on this registration issue! But this is the same state government that lost(what I believe) was $400 million on a alturnative fuel bill for trucks, just this past year!(this is where you have a Natural gas line and tank added to your truck and the state sends you back a check for alot more than what you payed to add the second gas line) It was all a fruad! Great people run the government here in AZ!

    BTW, I did pay $600 for the first year registration when I bought the car new!
  • 300michael300michael Member Posts: 1,815
    See you there
  • grunschevgrunschev Member Posts: 106
    If I get an oil filter wrench, will that prevent whoever changes my oil stripping the drain plug? You lost me on that one! I've never had any difficulties at all with the oil filter. Heck, I've never even laid eyes on it!

    Igor
  • phases78phases78 Member Posts: 471
    what was the www addy again i cant seem to get it right i thought it was www.300mclub.com
  • mykemmykem Member Posts: 203
    www.300mclub.org :)

    close though!!

    -m
  • grunschevgrunschev Member Posts: 106
    Here's what I've paid for license plates so far:
    594.14 in May, '99
    464.82 in May, '00
    374.69 last month.

    Insurance has averaged $541 for six months over the same period (started higher, went down, then back up).

    According to my spreadsheet, I've averaged 22.13 mpg for the life of the car (31558 miles at last fill up); the last ten tanks have averaged 23.85 mpg. I've spent an average of $1.50 per gallon, but haven't seen gas that cheap since my fill up on 12/30. I have (almost) exclusively burned 89 octane. My best tank was 27.8 mpg, worst was 16.9.

    Igor
  • lonestarsledlonestarsled Member Posts: 226
    I will send out a humor alert next time complete with illustrations.....for the humor impaired. LOL!!!!
  • mikeyjohnmikeyjohn Member Posts: 365
    You date yourself about the early 60's in Ontario, I am also from there and it was called the Motor Vehicle Branch. Times have changed even the prices, but now you only have to renew the registration and the plates last forever or until they fall apart. Also tuscongil, we had the same program here in Alberta for Natural Gas conversions, but with several serious accidents, the government got out of this. All our police cars were converted from the factory and the hot rodders loved it because our cars had no guts, but we were lucky that Motorola was still fast. I noticed that our gas prices have dropped a couple of cents to-day, so I guess there is a god!!!!
  • murphy24murphy24 Member Posts: 16
    My wife and I posted a message about 2 days ago about our Cranberry 300 with excessive
    "chipping" over the entire car. Its a great car otherwise and we love to drive it . We didn't get any responses from anyone here, but we thought that we'd let everyone know whats being done about our problem. After getting the cold shoulder from my salesman, I called Chrysler's customer assistance number.
    an hour later my 5 star dealer was on the phone asking me when I could bring the car in for an "inspection". We took it in yesterday and was told by the body shop manager that he would notify the DISTRICT manager because he'd never seen anything like it before!
    So far thats all thats happened but we should
    hear from someone soon (we hope)
    I'll post more info as it happens.......
  • phases78phases78 Member Posts: 471
    man that sucks...... good thing dc is trying to do something for you, keep us informed man!
  • avalanche165avalanche165 Member Posts: 558
    good job with the dealer, i had 4 k on the car and was getting chips. it wasn;t that bad tho and i drove like a maniac, hey i was 16 what do you expect. later when i started displaying some self-discipline while driving, paint chips no long occurred. BUT, around 25k (2 years exactly with the car), i got some crazy chippage. like real bad, and i drive nice and easy now, except when racing. it was like peeling, dealer turned shoulder on me as usual. but buddy of mine at dealer said this isnt the first time someone has come in with this color. he said they've had a couple arguements with owners at the dealership, and all were with Bright Platinum Metallic. but when i got the car repainted, never had a chip again. chrysler factory paint is good, but i think something was wrong with the specific color paint. what color do u have?
  • rschellerrscheller Member Posts: 42
    When I had my 30K service done last January, the dealer had to replace the oil pan for a stripped drain plug. They said it happens quite often and paid for it out of their pocket.


    They didn't even ask if I'd had my oil changed elsewhere.


    Tell them you're not gonna pay it.


    Rick

    The Consummate 300M Pages

  • dustinnewtondustinnewton Member Posts: 242
    I missed your original post but know what you mean. I just bought a hood bra because I was getting some chips on the hood. I live in cental Alabama and they but about 20 tons of gravel and sand to put on the roads for our annual 1" snowfall. They used to just use sand, but now they use gravel for some reason. Of course, that makes a rock-throwing mess in dry weather. I quit driving to work on the interstates for just that reason. Good luck with DC and definitely do keep us posted.

    Speaking of things on the road, I was caught in traffic for an hour one day a week ago and I though it was just a normal wreck. I got to the site of the accident and one of those 18 wheelers that goes to the chicken processing plants to pick up the leftover *parts* had overturned on a major stretch of interstate downtown. It was 94 that day, and the wreck happened in the morning. It was 5:30pm by then and they were still cleaning up. There was a 100 yard strecth of 2 lanes of road that was knee deep in rotting chicken parts! I have seen a lot of things spilled on the roads here (the best one was the Budweiser truck that turned over and spilled its' load. Two people were hit by cars as they darted through traffic to pick up beer cans!), but that takes the cake! There's something about Alabama and roads that's just plain weird. Ladders (everyday, believe it or not), couches, refrigerators, cows, horses, goats, chicken parts, beer in cans, christmas trees, you name it and it's blocked traffic at some point or other. We do know about rope down here so I'm not sure what the problem is.

    Insurance-Be happy. When I was 16 and got my nice new Wolfsburg Edition Volkswagen Scirocco, my insurance was $1800 a year, and that was in 1986! A male, non honor-roll student with a fast car gets hit HARD with insurance! I even had a company drop my coverage when someone slammed into the back of me. It was the other driver's fault, and my insurance company didn't have to spend a penny, but they dropped me anyway.
  • sdmike2sdmike2 Member Posts: 2,909
    So now you're a 30 year old male, non honor-roll student with a fast car. lol! Rotting chicken parts...that has to take the cake. My guess is that the whole area was pretty ripe. Did you hose down the M after driving through it? Ick. Our best one out here in CA in recent memory was the armored car that tipped over and dumped out hundreds of bags of quarters in LA! Quarters everywhere. Even better, I think it was in Compton or someplace similar where a handfull of quarters had real value. ;)
  • intrepidspiritintrepidspirit Member Posts: 662
    I had to date myself with a reference to the early 60's -- otherwise who would believe the $6 registration (I think it was $6 -- I haven't taken my ginko biloba today)! LOL...

    I guess a lot of things have changed besides the prices. Back then, new cars were rusting out from the inside within 2-3 years (especially Fords) and I don't think you could probably read the plates after more than 2 or 3 years of exposure to all the salt on the roads in the winter, so they just gave you new ones each year.

    BTW, I'm not entirely over the hill...if Roger decides to hold an annual tennis tournament for the 300M Enthusiasts Club, I fully expect to win it... :)
  • tj300mtj300m Member Posts: 31
    Thanks Igor for backing up my mileage claim. SDmike had me thinking I needed to submit to a voluntary drug test here at work ;) Although there are days where I would like to one more time......
  • intrepidspiritintrepidspirit Member Posts: 662
    Gas mileage can vary so much depending upon the type of driving and the driver.

    I have tested my 8.5 mile trip to work several times. I generally take city streets (they call these "surface" streets in California -- like the freeways were underground?). If I drive in my Mr. Hyde mode (easy acceleration, coasting without my foot on the gas pedal when possible) and I am lucky with the lights, I can get as high as 26.5 mpg for the trip. However, if I drive the route in my Dr. Jeckle mode (jackrabbit starts, quick acceleration, darting between lanes, braking) and I am unlucky with the lights, I can get as low as 15.5 mpg for the trip. So I fully believe that all the claims I hear in this forum are possible, depending on the conditions and how you drive! :)
  • scotianscotian Member Posts: 1,064
    has earned its stars. A couple weeks ago I brought my car in for a laundry list of warranty stuff, and I wanted them to find the source of a low grumble from the rear suspension that was really bad for a while. By the time I got around to bringing it in, the noise had all but completely vanished, so they didn't find anything to fix. However, when I got it back that same day, I discovered a new loud squeak coming from the front of the car that was related to turning the steering wheel. I assumed that they probably had done something, but it might have been a coincidence, but in any event it was still under warranty. So I waited a while for the replacement inner door panel to come in from the manufacturer (cracked armrest). Of course, by that time the squeak had all but disappeared!

    Today the dealer shop called and said they finally were able to hear the squeak and determine the cause -- faulty bearings of some sort. They'd never seen this before. So even though I'll be without my M for another day, that squeak will be gone. I'll try to post a better description of the part that broke when I get my car back in case anyone else experiences it.
  • jona57jona57 Member Posts: 194
    I have a 2001 M with the 4-CD Infinity system and am somewhat disappointed with the bass response. I generally listen to jazz & I am not looking to rattle the neighborhood's windows. Using the balance & fader controls to isolate the individual speakers, it seems to me that the front door "woofers" and the rear deck 6X9's are lacking. Has anyone upgraded these WITHOUT going the subwoofer-enclosure route?

    JonA
  • rogor2krogor2k Member Posts: 385
    Dustinnewton added 2 bazooka speakers in the trunk and seems to be very happy with the results. They take up very little trunk space mounted just in front of the trunk opening. I'm sure he'd be glad to share his installation experiences and results.
  • fuzzywuzzyfuzzywuzzy Member Posts: 958
    You can replace the speakers, but each speaker is crossed overed at the amp. For example, The 6.5's in the doors, are just 6.5" woofers sent bass from the X-over in the amp. There 6X9's are the same. You would need to upgrade these. Problem is a full range coax speaker will not use the high frequency parts of the speaker. So you would need to get just 6.5" woofers, & 6X9" woofers only. These are hard to find sold seprate.
  • chrysler17chrysler17 Member Posts: 1
    I have the decision between a Chrysler Sebring Convertible Limited or a 300M, they are both the same price. Which car do you think is better and why? I am really in limbo on this decision. Any comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
    Also, if given the color options of Steel Blue, Stone White, or Sterling Blue Satin Glow(for the convertible) what color looks the best in your opinion? Thanks a lot and I'll be looking forward to your responses.
  • brandinibrandini Member Posts: 3
    Since father's day is coming up, I've been listening to my dad's complaints lately. One thing he wishes he has is some HID lights for his M. So I went online to find some and www.autostockinc.com had a set for the low beams, high beams, and foglights. Since they have a 30 day return policy and no warranty was mentioned, I decided to turn to you for advice on where to find replacements. I think I just might try Wal-Mart and see what they have.

    -Brandon
  • murphy24murphy24 Member Posts: 16
    Well here's todays update: I recieved a call from my dealerships bodyshop manager informing me that the district manager has reviewed our situation and refuses to fix our car, period. The district manager says that its not a factory defect but wear and tear!?!
    How can she say that without even seeing the car?!?!
    However my DEALERSHIP has offered to repaint our car if we pay half of the material cost (it comes to about $150 for the paint) and they will wave the labor cost. I told my Dealer that I would call him back, and I got on the horn with DC and gave them a "healthy" cussing out!! The rep that I spoke with at DC informed me that this will now go over the district managers head to her boss and that I should hear back from them in about a week.
    I have a feeling that this is going to get ugly.....
    By the way thanks for the support that I've gotten from here : ) more to come.....
  • fuzzywuzzyfuzzywuzzy Member Posts: 958
    Well after talking to them, They basically told me no refunds period! They said the unit might be bad, & offered to fix it, but no refund. They also said they have no reported problems with the unit. Bull! Get this... They said that on the LAST page of the instructions it says you have to turn the unit on whenever you start the car, before putting it into drive & turn it off when, putting the car in Park before you turn the car off. What kind of bull is this? I don't remember my manual saying that. It's at home, so I will have to check. They are faxing me the page so I can see. I'm just giving up now. I don't have the time to fight them, & stuff. For $260 it's not worth my time. I have too much goin on.
  • traleytraley Member Posts: 64
    I don't wanna be harsh, but what do you expect people in a 300M club are gonna say? But to answer, I would pick a 300M over a girlie Sebring anyday.
  • intrepidspiritintrepidspirit Member Posts: 662
    In a 300M forum, guess what answer you are going to get!

    I have a 2000 300M and recently purchased a 2001 300M for my wife. She liked the appearance of the Sebring convertible, but did not like the seating or the dash. The dash made her claustrophobic and the seats did not have the level of back support offered by the 300M. Also, the 300M definitely had a touch of luxury missing in the Sebring. All in all, the Sebring convertible is a great car, we just felt the 300m was better!

    As for color, of the choices you listed, I would definitely go with the steel blue for the 300m!
    Just my opinion, but that's what you asked for... :)
  • brandinibrandini Member Posts: 3
    I believe that traley is right. Unless, of course you desperately NEED a convertible, get the Sebring. You could always wait for the Hemi 300C. http://www.chrysler.com/experience/concept/feature2.html
  • pvjatpvjat Member Posts: 1
    I just took delivery of a new year 2000 300M with a 4 disk cd player in it, when I picked it up I didn't test the CD but it was blinking. Every time I turn on the car the all the CD buttons are blinking and if I select CD on the radio it displays "err" anyone have any idea what might be the problem? I called the car importer and they don't know, if it's something simple I don't want to drive the two hours to a real dealer to get it fixed. The cd and car are bothe brand new.
  • scotianscotian Member Posts: 1,064
    brandini - If you mean real HID replacements, expect to pay close to 1K, and only buy them if they replace the existing headlight assemblies with ones designed for HID, or else it's not worth anyone's trouble -- they'll blind everything in your path. As far as I know, no such animal exists for the 300M.

    If you want blue light bulbs, don't do it. Period.

    If you want legitimate (i.e., white) bulbs that are brighter and will simply replace what's there now, you might be in luck. I know that some here have replaced their bulbs with something.

    Are there replacement headlight bulbs that are designed for the 300M and are proven to be better than OEM bulbs?
  • brandinibrandini Member Posts: 3
    Sorry about the mistake and meant to say Xenon. For those of you who want to know, Xenon is just added to the halogen bulb. It lets the light burn cooler and therefore put out more (albeit a slightly different shade) light. The xenon light I found were about $15-17 a pair and $15 for shipping. www.autostockinc.com
  • silverbullet4silverbullet4 Member Posts: 449
    Boy, deja vu all over again. My initial posts were for the same complaint--muddled bass. An otherwise good sounding setup (chamber music sounds terrific for a car) just blows on the lows.
    Moody Blues "Tuesday Afternoon" or Bonnie Raitt "Are you ready for a thing..." are horrible.
    I actually used the tone slider control to cut the bass. You'd think with 11 speakers, they could have gotten it right. Please post if you find something practical.
  • sdmike2sdmike2 Member Posts: 2,909
    You put CDs in it yet? Sounds like it's not detecting any CDs.

    Chrysler17. Get the M. More power, grace, prestige and goodies. You won't be sorry. Besides, convertibles are noisy and prone to wear, leaks, and break-in/theft. Here's my Inferno Red 2001 (with some mods):

    image
  • sibesibe Member Posts: 102
    If you look back a 100 entries or so you'll see a discussion on HIDs. Here's a recap:
    1) Xenons need 25,000 volts to excite the electrons to "fire" on the filament
    2) Your typical HID/Xenon set-up comprises (for each bulb) an ignitor, a balast and a bulb
    3) If your car has dual filaments (not the 300M) you would lose the high beams
    4) If you do not get the right reflector, your beam as Scotian mentioned will be all over the place
    5) Placing a coated blue bulb alone will make you not only look silly but may even get you stopped by the cops since they frown on the competition - meaning others having blue lights

    Since a complete kit: bulb, reflector, ignitor and balast dsoes not exist for the M don't do it.
    Just my 2 cents

    Sibe
  • pjyoungpjyoung Member Posts: 885
    How long do you want to keep it? The convertible, lacking a roof, is going to get "loose" over time. My choice - 300M - Stone White - light interior.
  • sibesibe Member Posts: 102
    that condition has been known for eons. It usually happens when warp factor 5 is exceeded consistently in the Delta Quadrant. It seems that it is especially prevalent in close proximity to neutrino fluxes and black holes where it has been reported that not only paint but side panels and warp cores (especially the 3.5L version) were literally lifted off the vehicle close enough to caught in its path/pull. I would ease up and head west 8-)

    Sibe
  • phases78phases78 Member Posts: 471
    my wife and i have been looking at sebrings for her. we looked at the limit slate blue one. is very nice looking and what not. however, theres sooo much missing for the price u pay. the high price is mainy the convertable part of it. if you look at the sedans u'll find them 10-13k cheaper.


    so it depends, do u want a convertable, or far more luxury items and a stronger engine?


    stone white, dark interior is my fav, check it out http://phases78.homestead.com/300m.html (while i still have the site....)

  • russklassrussklass Member Posts: 389
    They are 2 different cars.
    We have an '01 Swbring LXi sedan, and an '01 300M. We love 'em both, but they are vastly different cars. The Sebring convertible costs almost as much as the 300M, but has far fewer 'goodies."
    I suggest driving both and making the chouce based on your driving needs, area weather and value.
  • russklassrussklass Member Posts: 389
    At the risk of belaboring the obvious, read the owners manual and follow the operating instructions.
    Note exactly what results, then call the importer and ask who to contact for help.
    Good luck from the colonies!
  • 99_300m_ric_va99_300m_ric_va Member Posts: 377
    You may already know this, but here's the scoop on the factory cd changer.

    The lights blink when the unit is ready to receive a CD for that slot (1 - 4). Insert a CD and once satisfied, the player will keep the light solid. Pressing the button again will either eject the cd and flash the light, or prepare an empty slot to receive a CD. You have to do that before inserting a CD. Use seek and tune buttons to change tracks or CD 1-4. Don't press the 4 numbered buttons thinking it will switch and play that CD, it will eject it or ask for one to be inserted. I made that mistake the first time. :)
  • avalanche165avalanche165 Member Posts: 558
    sibe, actually i believe there is a kit for the 300. fuzzy had the site once i remember. it was $900.
  • avalanche165avalanche165 Member Posts: 558
    i'm working with a guy right now from Atlanta on a custom grille. it will cost me some good money, but once he has it, you can buy it much much less off him if you are interested.
  • avalanche165avalanche165 Member Posts: 558
    ok i got some plans down. Black/dark grey two tone. a nice custom look to it. i might go with color but i'm not sure. i think it will no enhance the appearance but frankly the opposite. but i'm still throwing up ideas. the knobs....there the big project. although small, takes a lot to do. i'm gonna redesign the whole dash, i mean not like gut it but just pull the pieces and make one flowing piece. all connected, and wrap it in aluminum, instead of this stick on junk (no offense to you wood kti guys, they look awesome because they are pre-made. the aluminum one i had to bend myself, and the contours of our dash are funky so it doesn;t look good up close, looks cheap) any ideas on smoe knobs? switches? anyone seen the inside of a Hyundai Tiburon, those slow cars that everyone thinks is fast? the controls are awesome
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