Used Car Help

[multimopes]

My son is in the market for a replacement vehicle that he can afford.
He wants to buy a used 2006 to 2010 Dodge Charger with the 6 cylinder. What year was the best or worst? Anything we need to be aware of or stay away from?? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[RR Fan Dan]

For the same amount of money he could get a Chrysler 300 and have way more car.

 

[multimopes]

Thanks, I agree, but he likes the Charger body much more.

 

[Detective D]

Never heard much anything bad about those cars, well, earlier ones anyway.
At some point they went from the venerable 3.5 V6 to a 2.7 V6. I don;t remember what year, but I do know the 2.7 was underpowered for these heavier cars and I recall seeing multiple for sale with transmission issues with the 2.7 some ten years ago.
The rule of thumb is to not buy the first year of any car, but I would lean towards an early one vs a 2010 as somewhere in there they retired the more powerful V6 and swapped to something with 1991 levels of power. 2011 they changed the 5.7 a bit, and I think had the new 300HP V6 that got 30mpg too. I would suggest keeping an eye for something like that also.
They did offer AWD with the V6, if that matters. Not sure if you guys have ice to deal with or not. Won;t help with stopping (that is all on tires) a whole lot but my 2013 AWD 5.7 is one of the best winter vehicles I have ever driven in my life. Worth an extra $1000 if he can find one and it is a factor where he lives.

 

[Billccm]

Search for a used police car. They are well cared for and usually affordable.

Having said that I recommend a lightly used Grand Marquis. Reliable, safe, comfortable, and zero depreciation.

 

[T2R9]

Stay away from the 2.7 especially if there is no maintenance records. The 3.5 is a solid engine. The later years the 3.6 replaced the 2.7 and is a better option.

 

[T2R9]

I will disagree with a used police car. The idle hours are normally off the charts and these guys beat them to ****. I work in PD so I see the abuse daily.

 

[Detective D]

Search for a used police car. They are well cared for and usually affordable.

Having said that I recommend a lightly used Grand Marquis. Reliable, safe, comfortable, and zero depreciation.

I would normally agree depending on hours/miles on the vehicle and price, but for the 2006-2010 era those cars have been long gone out of fleet use and in the private sector for probably ten years already. I don't think any ex-police cruiser is going to show up used without some private history as well, and then it becomes the same as every other old car out there, caveat emptor.

 

[Armyvet25]

had a 2010, wife and I loved it. 6cyl/auto

 

[HawkRod]

FWIW, when my son was looking for a car a few years ago, he was interested in a Charger. However, at least at that time in 2018 or so, they were quite expensive used relative to other similar cars. They seem to hold their value well. That's great if you are selling, less good if you are buying.

 

[BB BELLA]

anything that vintage chrysler, get a good look underneath, there pretty rust prone if not well looked after!

 

[68BabyBlue]

FWIW, when my son was looking for a car a few years ago, he was interested in a Charger. However, at least at that time in 2018 or so, they were quite expensive used relative to other similar cars. They seem to hold their value well. That's great if you are selling, less good if you are buying.

Hawk is right about the resale value. Last new car I owned was a 2007 Chrysler 300C. I traded down in 2011 after purchasing my fourth GTX. Wife didn't want the Chrysler, too big for her. I ended up driving her old Nissan Sentra, and traded the Chrysler for a Lexus ES300 for my wife. I was amazed at the trade in value on the Chrysler. Great drive line in those cars. A friend bought a new 2007 Charger a week after I bought the Chrysler, and he still has it.

Fifteen years later, my granddaughter is driving the Lexus ES300. I but 140,000 miles on top of the 100,000 it had when I bought it, and never had to replace anything except a starter and wear items. I replaced the ES300 with a 2007 LS460, and the starter quit the day I bought it. No issues since. The LS460 was cheaper than a comparable Chrysler 300.

 

[SteveSS]

Nothing against Chargers, but my advice is a Pontiac Vibe with a 5-speed. Surprisingly big on the inside. Good MPG, fun to toss around and rev up to redline. Dirt cheap and dead nuts reliable since it's a Toyota Matrix. The first gens are better than the second. Lucky if you can find a GT. A 200K mile car still has a lot of life. We've had 4. The last 5-speed I bought, I paid $1600.

Did you see the race series Freiberger put on, where the whole field of cars were Vibes?

 

[68BabyBlue]

Nothing against Chargers, but my advice is a Pontiac Vibe with a 5-speed. Surprisingly big on the inside. Good MPG, fun to toss around and rev up to redline. Dirt cheap and dead nuts reliable since it's a Toyota Matrix. The first gens are better than the second. Lucky if you can find a GT. A 200K mile car still has a lot of life. We've had 4. The last 5-speed I bought, I paid $1600.

Did you see the race series Freiberger put on, where the whole field of cars were Vibes?

My wife's sister had a 2005 Matrix. Put almost 200,000 on it, gave it to her brother. He got T-boned in it three years ago, but had no issues with it prior to that. My wife's family should be test drivers. They've easily destroyed everything they've driven, except Toyota products, and older Mopars.

 

[multimopes]

Thank You all for the responses. We are, however, a Mopar Only family. I know lots of folks with good reviews on other vehicles & I like to hear recommendations on everything out there. But in my case, in my whole life, I have spent less than $50,000.00 total on all vehicle purchases added up & that includes a brand new 1984 Dodge Charger 2.2 & a 2005 Neon SXT. All the rest were well used. I owned an 82 Dodge Ramcharger that I bought used when it was 7 years old, I had a plow installed & owned it for 23 years. I gave it to my younger brother who still owns it today and plows his driveway with it. I never had a garage until a few years ago so, except for a "Cover-it" shelter, all my vehicles were outside in the elements or in my small wooden shed & we live in the "rust belt". Until 12 years ago, I always had a long commute. I put over 300,000 miles on 2 of my cars & have driven approx. 1.8 million miles in my lifetime, so far. Sooooo, that being said, we will search for a "cheap Charger" since that is what my son wants! Thank you all! Still lookin!

 

[matthon]

Local Firehouse auctions, many are closed bid, then again many aren't widely publicized.

 

[Triplegreen500]

Magnums are also the same car...some people have even put charger (or 300) front ends on them for a cool look.