Is Chrysler Reliable or Should I Stay Away from a 300C?

devildoge100 on 15/04/2021 - 07:31
Last edited 15/04/2021 - 12:05 by 1 other user

Hi Guys,

I am thinking of buying a 2021 Chrysler 300C for my next car and I am wondering whether if they are actually reliable despite some negative reviews.

Obviously its not going to be as reliable as a Toyota or any other Japanese Car however I know Stellantis now makes them not FCA, can't say whether reliability has increased because of the change of manufacturer, yet

I am thinking of buying one as I reckon that they are quite nice looking cars the features are quite great to say in short

Thanks :D

Automotive Chrysler

Comments

  • Brian McGee on 15/04/2021 - 07:42
    +10

    Check out how they rank from J.D Power

    Chrysler is part of FCA, now Stellantis. All the best car makers like Fix It Again Tony, Just Expect Every Problem, Chrysler, Dodge, Peugeot, Citroen.

    Then there's the extortionate practices of their parts pricing strategy where they don't import component parts where available, only assembly parts.

    • bobbified on 15/04/2021 - 08:03
      +7

      Check out how they rank from J.D Power

      Chrysler's pretty good! (oh wait, the most reliable starts at the top! my bad! 😋)

    • RockyRaccoon on 15/04/2021 - 08:22
      +1

      You forgot their iconic "Alfa Romeo" brand

      But then things could be worse, they could have swallowed up Nissan, and renamed themselves

      PowerJD Inc - to reflect their desire to amalagamate most of the bottom dwellers on the J.D. Power list.

      Just add Land Rover and Telsla and it could be a one stop shop.

      • Brian McGee on 15/04/2021 - 08:57
        +3

        yeah, I knew my list was incomplete. Missed RAM too

        Nice to see the bottom half all populated with the chrysler crap

    • WreckTangle on 15/04/2021 - 08:46

      Wow, Thats crazy expensive

  • apsilon on 15/04/2021 - 07:49
    +9

    I'd say simply based on FCA Aust handling of Jeep issues and warranty that Chrysler is also a must avoid.

  • FocusRider on 15/04/2021 - 08:27
    +3

    Yeah nah as reliable as a jeep

    • Brian McGee on 15/04/2021 - 08:57
      +4

      Same company, same issues.

  • Bid Sniper on 15/04/2021 - 08:42
    +3

    use Paypal

  • swiggity123 on 15/04/2021 - 09:09
    +6

    Heres my opinion - take it with a grain of salt if you must. I used to own a Chrysler back in Canada. Cheap(ish) car with allthe new fancy tech and gizmos.Engine started having problems before the 100k km mark. I do not recommend this vehicle at all. Parts are a pain to get even when living in North America. Can you imagine the struggle to get parts when living in Australia?

    Everything in the car is made so cheaply, oxygen sensors, transmission problems. These cars start becoming unaffordable to fix past 120k kms as it would be way too expensive to fix them compared to what they are worth. They deppreciate like crazy. After the merger Fiat Chrysler just became worse (I think one of their cars they only managed to sell 300 vehicles in the US which is insanely low). The Italians suck at making cars. They like flashy stuff like cool exterior plastic bumpers, body, seats etc. Yeah that stuff is fine but they couldn't engineer a decent a car.

    In Australia I wouldn't buy anything other than a Japanese or Korean Vehicle. It just makes sense based on the market and the geographical proximity to those Asian countries. Theres a reason you don't see any Chryslers driving on the road,

    TLDR: Chrysler sucks and avoid at all cost

    • Darayus on 15/04/2021 - 09:40
      -3

      You should add now Indian cars, suzuki, Hyundai and Indian own brand Tata and Mahindra are coming and they are very reliable car and cheaper.

      • brendanm on 15/04/2021 - 11:04
        +3

        Tata and Mahindra are terrible.

      • swiggity123 on 15/04/2021 - 11:38

        Nothing wrong with Suzuki or Hyundai - those are different consumer markets compared to someone buying a Chrysler vehicle

        • Ryk on 16/04/2021 - 09:33

          Japanese and Korean, as stated above.

    • JimmyF on 15/04/2021 - 09:57
      +5

      Cheap(ish) car

      Everything in the car is made so cheaply, oxygen sensors, transmission problems. These cars start becoming unaffordable to fix past 120k kms as it would be way too expensive to fix them compared to what they are worth.

      Its the USA way, build them cheap and so they fall apart just after the loan is paid for. This way you have to buy another 'new' one :)

      • swiggity123 on 15/04/2021 - 11:40

        The Japanese have really nailed it down.

        I stand by this all the time - the only American car Americans should be proud of is Tesla. They have the innovation, its basically the only car that is 100% built in America (Fords are made in Mexico).

        • JimmyF on 15/04/2021 - 13:09
          +2

          its basically the only car that is 100% built in America

          Was….. China factory is online, the model 3 we get in Australia now comes from China instead of the USA.

          But yes Tesla is about the half decent built car….Still no Toyota level of build though.

          • NotAnExpert4 on 16/04/2021 - 17:16
            +1

            @JimmyF: I've got a Model 3 and I agree. It is a truly unbelievable car, but there are a few 'quality control' issues.

            • JimmyF on 16/04/2021 - 19:44

              @NotAnExpert4: Yes the QA isn't there yet, getting better slowly…….

              Do you have a USA one or a China one? They say the QA on the Chine built ones seem better than the USA ones.

              • NotAnExpert4 on 17/04/2021 - 09:17

                @JimmyF: I've got a USA model - bought it start of last year.

                • JimmyF on 17/04/2021 - 11:27

                  @NotAnExpert4: Ahhh nice. so jelly…. I've been waiting for the model y to come out here! As long as its not crazy priced, I'll order it. Otherwise better to order a new model s!

  • SF3 on 15/04/2021 - 09:30
    +3

    When you have a brand that sounds like "Cries Lah"… you know what you are in for :D

    • Jackson on 15/04/2021 - 11:31
      +3

      Dodge says it all really

      • devildoge100 on 15/04/2021 - 16:30

        If you can't Dodge it, ram It :D

  • inasero on 15/04/2021 - 09:44

    Stay away at all cost, unless you love giving out money

  • brad1-8tsi on 15/04/2021 - 09:57
    +1

    300C? It's a 15 year old platform isn't it?

    I had near new V6 300C as a hire car in the USA in 2014. It was pleasant enough as a floaty boat and got to 100mph with a bit of noise but I wasn't inspired to buy one on my return home. The 3.5l Nissan Altima I hired in 2018 was a better car in every respect.

    I wouldn't go there. Also, get an insurance quote.

    • WT on 16/04/2021 - 12:05

      my partner hit a brick doing 90ish mph in an altima hirecar. I was in the passenger side and my side got air borne. It cracked the wheel which was impressive, no other major damage. Seemed to only need a slight wheel alignment.

      thats 40-150 kph… hitting a 4'' tall brick

      the cvt gearbox however, yuck but thats just me

    • [Deactivated] on 17/04/2021 - 18:23

      I think it's older than that, Isn't it based on the very old W220 Mercedes S class platform, so from all the way back in 1999. 22 years old.

  • pegaxs on 15/04/2021 - 10:04
    +14

    Yeah, as a mechanic, I recommend them. Great vehicles. And if they don't work out for you, you could always try Renault, Citroen or Peugeot. All of these brands are great as well and will happily keep me employed for many years to come…

    The usual saying is, "If you cant afford a new *insert shitbox brand*, You cant afford a used *same shitbox brand*"… But for Chrysler, it seems with their general disrespect and disdain for owners, new or used, I don't think people can afford them new OR used…

  • akyeeeahdude on 15/04/2021 - 10:14
    +5

    I have a late 2013 Chrysler 300 C (the newer model with the new 3.6L engine) that I've owned since September 2014. Apart from a wheel speed sensor and rain/auto headlight sensor needing to be replaced (covered under warranty), it has been fantastic with no other issues and I'd highly recommend it. If you're going for the V6 petrol engine, the 3.6L is absolutely brilliant and miles ahead of the previous generation model which has the 3.5L engine.

    I've actually also owned the last generation J32 Maxima (before the Altima came in here) which had the same 3.5L engine that brad1-8tsi is referring to (I traded it in on the Chrysler). Whilst the 3.5L engine is quite revvy, it's not quicker in the Altima or Maxima 0-100 than the Chrysler 3.6L (which covers 0-100 in 7.0 seconds). There were differences between the AU Maxima and Altima to the US Maxima and Altima though (more power in the US models). I'd also disagree with brads comments about the 300 being a "floaty boat" and that's coming from someone that owned multiple V8s, Turbos and more powerful NA V6 cars. The 300 C and C Luxury models have softer suspension than the S (V6) and SRT etc (V8) models because the C and C Luxury are the luxury spec vehicles so suspension is tuned for comfort rather than pure handling meaning more firmness/harshness.

    • akyeeeahdude on 15/04/2021 - 11:28
      -1

      Interesting someone downvoted this comment when it is a comment from a person who actually owns the specific car model that the OP is asking about…
      Classic.

      The only other concern I've had with owning a Chrysler, is that initially when I purchased mine in 2014, there was no cap price servicing arrangement. Each Chrysler dealer had a spreadsheet they would refer to for a specific interval logbook service and would charge that rate, with prices varying from dealer to dealer. Whilst technically it was not promoted by FCA as a capped price servicing arrangement, in mid-2015, FCA introduced what they called the Mopar Menu Price Servicing Tool (see here https://www.drive.com.au/car-review/chrysler-jeep-dodge-mopa…) which was a great step as you could use the tool on the Chrysler website to find out the servicing cost and it also meant that dealers charged the same rate. Strangely enough about a year or so later, the Mopar Menu Price Servicing Tool was taken down so when my Chrysler was due for a service, I had to call dealers again for a quote. All dealers I called mentioned the tool without me even asking and that it had been taken down for some reason/wasn't working and went back to the spreadsheet approach so prices once again varied from dealer to dealer. One dealer said that the tool should be back soon but it never came back. Jeep seem to have one on the Jeep website though.

    • inasero on 15/04/2021 - 11:31
      +3

      You probably just got lucky…but the law of averages dictates that anyone buying a 300C is more likely than the average owner of other brand cars to run into problems down the line

      Btw it wasn't me that downvoted you

    • brad1-8tsi on 16/04/2021 - 13:38

      I'll stand by floaty boat. I've owned Kingswoods, Commodores (poverty spec through to Calais V), Falcons, Fairlanes, Chrysler by Chrysler and a few other barges, 7 seat SUVs and people movers (close to 50 cars last time I counted).

      The V6 300C I had was a floaty boat. These terms are relative to how a person expects a car to ride and handle.

      I'm glad you've had a good run with your 300C and you like it.

      • akyeeeahdude on 17/04/2021 - 12:26

        Yeah, that's fair enough mate. Comes down to personal opinions. The other car we currently have is a late 2018 Mazda CX-9 Azami (owned for about 1.5 years now) and that has "floatier" suspension than the 300. If I compare the suspension to the two XR6 Turbos I've owned, the 300 isn't significantly softer. Compared to the FPV Typhoon I recently owned, yes, the FPV has significantly firmer suspension. I go through a lot of cars too - seems like we have similar taste. I'm turning 34 next month and the Chrysler 300 has by far been the car I've owned for the longest at 7 years which again my opinion, speaks a lot about how good that I believe the car is. I also had a Holden Caprice SIDI which was nice kept suffering from significant issues, even after receiving a new short engine under warranty. The 300 has stood the test of time in terms of reliability, the Caprice - far from it.

  • [Deactivated] on 15/04/2021 - 11:35
    +1

    OP, while FCA/Stellantis products do have poor reliability reviews, (and an anti Jeep campaign in the Australian media/internet), it really does come down to the individual products. The Fiat based products are huge pieces of shit, but the American designed products are a different kettle of fish. If you're running the pentastar or hemi with the ZF8 gearbox, (like your 300), FCA products are fine, reliable even. But I wouldn't touch a Compass, Cherokee etc with a barge pole.

    • akyeeeahdude on 15/04/2021 - 12:05

      Good point - agreed. I've got the Pentastar 3.6 and the excellent ZF 8 speed auto (8HP - 845RE). The 8HP models were used (and still are used) in a number of Aston Martin, BMW, Bentley, Porsche, Rolls Royce etc models.

    • RockyRaccoon on 16/04/2021 - 13:17
      -1

      (and an anti Jeep campaign in the Australian media/internet)
      But I wouldn't touch a Compass, Cherokee etc with a barge pole

      With logic like that you should take up journalism.

      • [Deactivated] on 16/04/2021 - 22:47
        -1

        How many people who comment on poor Jeep reliability do you think have actually owned a Jeep? They base their strong opinions off other people's strong opinion and inflammatory articles like this one:

        https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/manufacturing/jeep-…

        Poor reliability is not typical of the Grand Cherokee, its a reliable car. The lesser Jeep models, with the Fiat engines/chassis and ZF9 gearboxes are junk, but a ZF8/Pentastar/ecodiesel is a reliable car. This is just a family who bought an ancient secondhand car and found it to be unreliable. Obviously the repair bill is ridiculous, but it's journalism like this that creates strong opinions.

        • RockyRaccoon on 17/04/2021 - 15:26
          -1

          I cover the personal connection with the Grand Cherokee below - Also a Diesel.

          Like all cars something can go wrong, which is the luck of the draw. The bigger issue is the service you get and 3 months wait for a part isnt acceptable.

  • netjock on 15/04/2021 - 11:58

    If I put lipstick on a pig I'd call it Stellantis.

    It is like Fiat Chrysler merger, didn't work, still bad products. This might bring down PSA. Stellantis is to paper over PSAs own problems.

  • ozbargainsam on 15/04/2021 - 12:26

    If Chrysler is good enough for Michael Scott, it's good enough for you.

  • mini2 on 15/04/2021 - 12:27

    If Chrysler is good enough for the cops from a reliability standpoint then they should be pretty decent?

    • Euphemistic on 16/04/2021 - 12:16

      Cops off load them regularly. They are fully maintained and sold at low kms. They should be reliable for the short term. Besides, for chysler the engine and gearbox are pretty good, it’s all the electronics and body fit and finish that we the trouble and a cop isn’t really going to care if a bit of trim falls off because they’ll get a new car soon anyway.

      • singingwolf on 16/04/2021 - 17:16

        Cops sell them at 160km. Not exactly low.

    • Baysew on 16/04/2021 - 17:24

      "It's got a cop motor, a 440-cubic-inch plant. It's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks."

      However, its cigarette lighter may not work.

  • Battlestar666 on 16/04/2021 - 10:00
    +1

    I hired 300C for a couple of weeks back in 2015. Nice good looking spacious car. Only issue I had with it was I found the steering a bit vague and seemed to have some play in the straight ahead. Made crowded highway cruising a bit nerve-racking. Maybe have improved the steering since then. Another suggestion for a largish car would be the Skoda Superb, they go pretty cheap on the second hand market. We own two Skodas (Octavia and Yeti), have been very reliable (though we drive low kms).

    • WT on 16/04/2021 - 12:14
      +1

      skodas are basically a vw, but because they are uglier they sell for quite cheap on the second hand market

      • Battlestar666 on 16/04/2021 - 13:04

        Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Despite glowing reviews, the Superb doesn't make it onto many people's shopping lists as a bit niche, so resale seems lower than other Skodas.

  • Euphemistic on 16/04/2021 - 12:13

    Buy new. Sell at end of warranty.

  • alexwar on 16/04/2021 - 12:41

    Victoria Police and NSW Police in fact deployed some 300C.
    https://www.carsguide.com.au/car-news/chrysler-300-srt-and-b…
    There was an extensive search and yes despite been 2/3 years old (the article) , that car has not change much. If was unreliable it would not be selected.
    Bias ? May be as I own both Jeep (2.8 CRD) and Fiat (Twin Air). Both now over 8 years old and nothing more than oil/filter/brake pads…find a good mechanic,
    Service regularly and enjoy.

    • RockyRaccoon on 16/04/2021 - 13:32

      A number of points to consider.

      Reliability wouldnt be known by the police services (when settling the contract), as they hadn't had any service history to access here in Australia.

      The police also bought Hyundai's which needed much upgrading to brakes. So they dont, like everyone else get buying decisions right.

      A family member on his 3rd Jeep (doesnt believe in bitten once twice shy 🤠) has just got it back on road after waiting 3 months for a part from FCA. An oil seal, which meant it was undriveable. (ie major oil leak).

      Now all cars can have issues, but 3 months for a part has finally decided for him, that while cute and fun to drive, its only that when its on the road.

      And an older uncle who swears by his Morris 1100. Has never failed him. Which is rather important, because spare parts are pretty hard to come by, as most of these were crushed years ago, and no self respecting mechanic would now service one.

  • Ryk on 16/04/2021 - 18:13

    define reliable.
    as a friend used to say about our Alfas, it's not that they're unreliable, it just the sheer quantity of parts required that is the issue.
    and at least the Alfas arent English or American.

  • [Deactivated] on 18/04/2021 - 00:45
    +1

    Lexus IS350, Genesis G70, G80, Kia Stinger… but a Chrysler?

    Maybe the 370z too if you dont need all the doors.

    Toyota and Nissan's V6s are bulletproof. Particular the Toyota one with both pot and direct injection.

  • Manny Calavera on 18/04/2021 - 20:51

    Buy one if you're getting the Hemi.

    Otherwise, why are you buying one?

  • tonyjzx on 20/04/2021 - 01:05

    My opinion about stellantis and many other companies to range rover to AMG etc, is that they are toy car companies

    you do not buy them for A to B getting to work, groceries, kids runs

    they are weekend warriors

    so you put up with the niggles, poor fuel econ, expensive service, insurance BECAUSE the car is spectactular as a weekend fun car

    You can use them occasionally to get to work etc. but you have a backup car.

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