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The interior of the new 300M is more refined than the others because of the upgrades. The tire pressure for each tire on the car is displayed. Yesterday, the overhead displayed a warning that the spare tire pressure was low. I need to figure out how it monitors each tire and what happens when you rotate? This 03 M was an earlier build (7/29/02) than the other M (11/02) and has less decontenting. For example, the front door interior courtesy lights are still in the new car.
Other than that, the handling is much different with the PHG group. I like it and don't find the ride harsh at all over rough roads. Gives it a real sporty feel (not quite like the Crossfire, though!).
Maybe the performance suspension will keep my wife from bottoming out in those road drainage dips...
fastdriver: I can't believe it's been 5 years either. My M turned 60k miles last night, all is well. This board has been great: fun, informative and, at times, sad. I still feel for you and your "beloved" Christine as I think that the overall majority of 300M ownerships have been positive. Mine has, I'll miss her when she's gone. I haven't been to the "pesky" money place in quite some time. Maybe a little Father's Day gift to myself?!
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Yes, it has been all been all of the above. Also, it has been extremely popular. Since January/01 (when it restarted on the Edmunds system), it has averaged over 600 posts per month (25,480 posts/42 months) or 20 per day!
With all the excitement over the new 300, that board has averaged about 218 posts per month over the past year (it started in June last year). I'm sure this average will increase as new owners share their experience, but these numbers really do show how active and popular this board has been!
It has been a great journey; one that I looked forward to almost every day for the past few years...we may not have had the most popular car of its day, but we had the most passionate owners!
I asked the service writer (who should know better) for a differential fluid change, transmission service, and spark plug change. He informed me that front wheel drive cars "don't have differentials." I insisted that he call a mechanic, who set him straight on that. This board alerted me to this particular bit of dealer ignorance. Later on he phoned me to sell me on "de-carbonizing" the intake manifold, another high-priced job of dubious value. I declined. The car is running great with it's new plugs, and I'm ready for another fun 50k. My next chore is replacing the burned out map lights.
regards, Silver
Silver
LOL! Same thing happened with me. Great 5 star dealers!
I did get the "Climate Control Show" (name borrowed from "Light Show") yesterday where suddenly the fan surges and I can't turn off the CC. I pushed a few buttons, but nothing would shut down the fan. Once again, rebooted the car and back to normal. Other than that, 60,145 enjoyable miles. Road noise still bugs me a bit and I'm still surprised (or am I) at the size of the panel gaps on the passenger side, but I think that's about it. Styling (in & out), room, ride, handling, economy and reliability still impress.
I know many here have more miles than my M, but I don't think I'm going to roll the dice too much longer. Unless my personal economics turn for the worse, I'll probably start shopping for a new car end of '04 or 1st Q '05. Acura TL, upgraded '05 Infiniti G35, FX35, new M45, Mercedes E320 all intrigue me (although the MB $$$ and quality rep concern me. But it is a beautiful car and I'm a fool for a pretty face!).
Or maybe not?
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Each of the 5 sensors has a unique signal, it knows if the spare is changed with one of the other 4 and will display "spare swap detected".
After a tire rotation you have to teach all 5 with the magnet or it will report pressures from the old positions
You call Bill Gates in WA and have him "reboot/restart" from there! ;-))
fastdriver
Good luck with your choice of cars.
Lynn Flowers
McKinney, Texas
Unfortunately for us owners, at least in the Boston area, Ms can be had for a song. But I never really factored resale into my purchase decision ( a car just is not an investment...). Although my '99 has been a faithful servant, I'd look for a year 2000 or later for some of the improvements Chrysler made.
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
The city driving is another story. So much depends on the starts and stops of your drive as this eats up a lot of gas. Of course, I am usually pretty quick off the mark, which doesn't help either. I probably average 15 - 15.5 in the city.
Used values in Southern California are relatively high. My wife recently totaled her 2001 base 300M with 36,840 miles and the insurance settlement (before taxes, etc.) was about $17,500. After refunding us tax and unused registration, the gross settlement was $19,166 (less $500 deductible). We paid $24,888 (new) in 2001, so we were pretty happy with the settlement...
Given the mileage you are getting now, it looks to me like you will go up a couple of mpg as she breaks in. Mine has improved steadily over the last 6 years. I got almost 27 on the last trip at about 72 mph, and I get 20 around town.
Evil wife and I switched cars so I could get hers serviced. She commented how quickly and smoothly the M pulls up to and rides at 70. To which I replied, "And 80, 90 and, ahem, I'm told 100+..."
I agree with bigmike, my mpg seems to have improved by about 10% since day one almost 5 years ago.
Enjoy. As the Mickey Ds slogan goes, "I'm lovin' it!"
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Man its HARD not to drive that thing fast!
Call me nuts, but what's the sense in paying $38-42K for a diesel MB, as opposed to my loaded 2004 M at $29K to save only about $1500 total in fuel costs over 5 years?
Insurance rep: How fast were you going at the time of the accident?
Me: 125
IR: Location of the accident?
Me: Between turn four and the tri-oval.
IR: Tri-oval?
Me: Yep, near the Cup garages.
IR: Near what intersection?
Me: Speed and terror?
IR: Huh?
Me: Either Kevin Harvick or Matt Kenseth spun me out.
IR: They spun you?
Me: That's racin'!
:-))
I drove two round trips, Dallas to Houston this month. Average speed, 70-75 mph. Using mid-grade gas my mileage was around 26 -28 mpg, depending on wind direction. A new grey/blue GTO passed me. Sweet looking car!
I've been looking at the new GTO, but I think I'll just keep driving my M until it quits. It turned 90K last week.
I also drove a new 300C. Loved the way it drives, still hate the way it looks.
Lynn Flowers
McKinney, Texas
Does anybody out there with an M with RB1 have access to get the disc for the new 300 to try it out?
Silver
- Allen, Thanks
Lynn Flowers
McKinney, Texas
There's a shiny new black 300C here at work. I'm going to try and park next to it to compare and contrast. A Beauty and the Beast sort of thing...
With interest rates heading up, anybody thinking of running out and buying a new toy sooner than later? I plan to keep my M at least to the end of '04.
I read somewhere that all the Chrysler divisions were higher rated than Mercedes in the latest JDPower long-term (3 years of ownership) survey. I feel that Chrysler began to turn the reliability corner with our generation LH cars, pre-merger.
See y'all in July...
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
I assume that the Beauty you refer to is your 99 300M and not the "Black Beauty" parked at work!
With 2 2003 300M's in the stable, I don't plan on any replacements anytime soon.
Interestingly, someone on the 300C board said Chrysler made a good move in ending the production of the "bubble" cars. I agree it may have been time to move on if for no other reason than to distance themselves from the competition, which have been copying the cab forward design over the past few years. The redesigned Nissan Altima could easily have been mistaken for a 7/8 size 300M.
Anyway, whether or not it was a good move for Chrysler, I think they should consider giving their designers something more than an etch-a-sketch to design their new sedans...
I do give Chrysler credit for switching gears and taking a chance (as did Caddy with the, imho, overdone thereby making a basically handsome car ugly) CTS. And the 300C has grown on me somewhat, just gotta cut down on the grille and maybe dress up the rear end a bit. But it's not for me as I'm looking to downsize in my next vehicle.
Those "bubble" Chryslers were arguably the most handsome line of cars on the road (still are?).
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
I agree 100%! A few weeks ago, we were looking for a replacement car for my wife (she totalled hers). There were no deals on 300M's -- probably because the dealers couldn't get enough 300's to sell. I'll admit I considered buying a 300C (my wife would have taken over my 300M because she hates the 300C). However, Chrysler wasn't taking orders and I would not pay over MSRP.
Anyway, a "one only" 2003 300M demonstator was advertised at a great price and we snapped it up.
I may consider the 300C in the future as it looked so much better in person than in pictures. However, I am considering it only because of the hemi. I hope Chrysler finds something nicer to put it in...
Thanks for all the help over the years. This forum (that means you folks!) got us through the first couple interesting months with our 1999 (slate, PHP) and was extraordinarily kind, understanding, and (above all) useful over the years.
We traded in our 300M yesterday, at a little over 86 thousand (hard) miles. Niggling things were starting to happen - the air conditioning compressor was starting to fail for the second time, as was the driver's power window motor. The driver's door was also starting to stick again. We also wanted to have all wheel drive before another winter hits.
In spite of the issues, I believe the 300M aged well, especially considering we had the first year of production. The most important components continue to function as intended - the engine still enjoys full throttle acceleration.
I think the 300M remains one of the finest looking sedans out there. I am one of those who believe that there was a chance to go real wheel drive and go hemi while keeping the same general look. If that had happened, we would have given the 300C serious consideration.
Thanks again!
Regarding batteries, I made a mistake today that perhaps some of you can avoid. Battery went dead last night; fortunately a nice couple gave me a jump. Went to Pep Boys today and got a new Energizer battery installed. After I got it installed, I realized it was one of those batteries witht the removable plates on top that requires filling it up w/distilled water every so ofter. Big mistake on my part; down in the wheel well I'll never be able to pop it open without major surgery of removing the air cleaner, etc. I know the store also had the no-maintenance type; I just wasn't paying attention. Live and learn.
May everyone have a safe and happy 4th.
Although the new Magnum is terrific is does drift to the right slightly and hopefully we can have it repaired properly. The 300M still tracks perfectly. I like the style of both cars and although my wife wants me to trade the repaired 300M for a small pick-up I am
debating keeping the car which is still fun to drive.
I wonder why the 1999's have had compressor problems and I wonder how many miles I can expect to get from the V-6 before major problems. Of course we have had the window servo problems and transmission sensors replaced, but overall I still feel it has been a great car overall.