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Had a pootle round in a Chrysler 300C the other day...looking to maybe trade for a newer Lexus or doing the dirty and going for a Hemi Chrysler...its the only car I really like at the moment...the one I tried was quiet and smooth...and I suppose its gonna feel tight compared to 150.000 mile LS400...BUT !...the interior was very poor in parts...the glovebox opening was particularly badly finished...things like the sunvisor mirror and light...the armrest...mmm just poorly finished and very flimsy compared to what I am used to...plus it is only available with a grey interior...I only really like black...I have said it before but I am ruined...other cars really do feel poor now...So I suppose this is a pointless post really...nothing is gonna compare is it ?...has anyone else driven a 300 ? :unsure:

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Well I haven't driven a 300C myself, but my dad has he recokon's that the fit and finish/build quality is poor. Personally I'd rather upgrade to a newer LS

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The salesman ...when I mentioned the build quality did say that this is "only" a 33 grand car ...and not 50s like a new Lexus LS ...or even high 40s like my 97 400 when it was new !... so I suppose he has a point...it is still a lot of vee eight car for the money...think I need another longer drive in it :shifty:

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Let's face it, the only thing the 300C has going for it are its looks - and boy, are they good looks :D

The LS has everything except looks, so it all depends on what you want from the car

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Looks....what about the 380 horses in that 5.7 hemi vee eight ! :blush:

Oh yeah, that is one amazing engine..I wish we had the option of buying the 6.1 V8 SRT model, now that would kick butt!

If you do get the 300C, make sure you get some nice chrome rims to make it look perfect..preferably get in one in black and tint the windows too..

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Looks....what about the 380 horses in that 5.7 hemi vee eight ! :blush:

Yeah it probably sounds great, but 340hp out of a 5.7V8 isn't that great, and besides, the 278hp 4.3V8 still gets the larger LS430 to 60mph 0.1 secs quicker.

Don't get me wrong, I love the 300C, and wouldn't mind having one myself, but the reason for buying it would purely be its looks - and as maneesh said, it would be black, with tints, bodykit and 20" rims B)

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The 300 C will be a great car for about 5 years, after that time it will loose value, and will start breaking down a lot. The Chrysler brand has improved quality and reliability quite a lot, but not even close to Lexus/Toyota. In the end you will get what you paid for. It for sure will require 100% more care and preventive maintenance that your Lexus. I had a lot of American cars, some are very good and some are very bad, you just have to be lucky with them, with Lexus you can leave most of the luck outside and end up with a great to good car in 99% of the occasions if you buy it new.

Before I bought mine I have been researching the reliability data for about 10 years of Lexus, GM, Chrysler, MB and Ford, I found out that when most of the others were giving a lot of problems the Lexus were just fine and after the 10 year mark, the Lexus were having a lot less problems that their other counterparts. MB quality has been going down some lately. I have spoken to some owners of even the premium 500 series cars and they said they had a lot of problems with them, because they have too much technology into them which breaks down a lot.

C. PR

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I concur with cardona6569 with regards to MB quality going down. In 2002 I purchased a 6 month old MB S500 Limo for £50,000. It was forever in the MB dealers having nigling problems fixed. One day as I got in the car everthing electric died. Fortumately MB realise that their quality leaves something to be desired as when you purchase a S Class you get 30 year free recovery. The recovery man took an hour on the phone to MB dealership just getting the gearbox out of park. On my LS press a button and job done. The MB mechanic told me the problem was the earth return from the Battery to the chassis had come adrift at the chassis end. It ended up with the car needing a new ABS unit and a new ESP unit.

After a year I gave up and sold the MB only losing £20,000 on it.

My 1999 LS cost me £4750 on e-bay, since I purchased i the car has covered 7000 miles and I am still waiting for a problem. I get fed up checking the oil level each week only to find it has not used any.

o having had both cars my vote goes to the LS.

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The 300C and the LS are a world apart for obvious reasons.

Not even in the same category on a comparison test.

I couldn't see anybody jumping out of an LS into a 300C and thinking great!

The 300C would leave you so lacking and disappointed.

I really like the look of the 300C and if a big sporty saloon was what I was looking for then it would be up there on my list with possibly a GS300/450 but the LS and 300C do not sit in the same category.

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If I were to ever veer away from a lexus it would have to be a big citroen powered by vulcans blood. My previous XM was a real beast and the comfort was without comparison. The C6 promises more of the same but with a bit less of the weirdness :duh: . It will depreciate like a stone but what a satisfying ride it will be.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Greetings from the land of Smiles!

I tried the 300C Hemi and the CRD. The Hemi is a Hell of a car. Downsides:

Plastic Steering wheel!!

Plastic Arm rest

plastic Dash

Only One interior Trim (from the factory at least)

Upsides:

If you have driven the Hemi you understand the true meaning of "Muscle Car". Its not the powerful car I've ever driven. But it has a undeniable presence. I had no intention of buying as I already had my ticket to LOS but I wanted the memory of such a sensation. It was an hour well spent.

I'd OWN a Lexus everytime though.

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We had one last year in LA and it was awful, my dad is used to a MKIV LS400 and at the time I had an old 2.0 Avensis Auto, and the gearbox is my Avensis was far superior to the Chryslers and the engine was so lumpy in comparission to the LS's.

The nearest thing we have had to it in America is a Buick ParkAvenue which although a lot more dated was incredibly smooth and floaty.

But as for your original question, go for a Lexus, a Toyota Camry, the new Honda Legend, there all leagues ahead in terms of comfort, build quality, smoothness and reliablity.

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  • 1 year later...

Hi Guys!! :)

I hope you're OK.

I found this to be a particularly interesting topic. I own a 1993 Lexus LS400 [That I bought used almost 4 years ago] and a 2006 Chrysler 300C SRT8. [That I bought new] Without question - the quality of materials used in my LS400 are far superior to the SRT8's - but the actual build quality [How those materials are put together] is not that much better. The 300C SRT8 is assembled very nicely. [At least mine is] So I would have to take to task the idea that the 300C is a poorly put together car. The 300C [Even the SRT8 version] is not in the same category [Nor does it pretend to be] as the Lexus LS. And its price certainly attests to that. My 1993 LS400 had - IN 1993 - an MSRP of $68,000 CDN. My SRT8 had [in 2006] an MSRP $52,000 CDN. That's a HUGE difference. And a new base model LS460 has an MSRP of $86,400 CDN. [The LS600hL has a base price of $132,000 CDN] So you can see - they are not in the same 'class'. But is a base LS460 really worth $34,400 more than an SRT8?! I certainly don't think so. Some may argue that - in five years - the value of an SRT8 [Or any version of the 300C] will be considerably less [Percentage wise] than the LS460. And that's true. But if you do the math it's not exactly as it seems. I'll round out the numbers to let you know what I mean. Let's say that the SRT8 cost $50,000 CDN and the LS460 cost $85,000 CDN. And let's say that the SRT8 [in five years] is worth only 50% of what it cost new and that the LS460 is worth 70% of what it cost new. Left at that - the guy who bought the LS460 sounds like the smarter guy. But really - the guy who bought the SRT8 lost $25,000 and the guy who bought the LS460 lost $25,500. See what I mean?

That all said....

The 300C [Especially the SRT8 version] is mostly about power. There is no comparison whatsoever between a 4.0 litre 250 h.p. engine and a 6.1 litre 425 h.p. engine. Or an engine that makes 260 lb/ft fo torque compared to one that makes 420 lb/ft of torque. [sorry - I don't know the metric equivalents] The SRT8 is a much faster car. MUCH FASTER!! And it handles a LOT better. It just all depends on what you want from a car. In the long run - odds are - the Lexus LS [Or any Lexus - for that matter] will prove to be the more dependable automobile. But I have to say - I've owned my SRT8 for over a year now and it's been completely problem free. Driving the SRT8 is an experience that I look forward to. Driving the LS400 is like driving the world's best Lincoln Town Car. [And that's a compliment] I just consider myself lucky to own both cars.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Craig!! :)

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I subscribe to 'autocar' as it's a weekly, and aimed at industry as much as private readers, it's seems as impartial as car mags get. Last week they did the 300C SRT vs S-type R vs Vxr8, comparing the 300C against these super saloons is a good match, by the way, it lost an almost all counts.

300C is a butch looking car, is as late 80's blocky looking as the S1 LS, that's one of the reasons I bought my LS, the retro saloon look and the V8.

If Toyota built the 300C... I'd be selling the wife and kids to own one!

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If I were to ever veer away from a lexus it would have to be a big citroen powered by vulcans blood. My previous XM was a real beast and the comfort was without comparison. The C6 promises more of the same but with a bit less of the weirdness :duh: . It will depreciate like a stone but what a satisfying ride it will be.

No one on here will be surprised to hear that I agree with you! (AS a 25 year CCC member before Lexus ownership!)

The new Citroen looks tempting (C6) but Lexus quality is better still, of course.

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Hi Guys!! :)

I hope I'm doing this right. And I say that because it's almost hard to believe.

In Canada - the 2007 Chrysler 300C SRT8 has a base MSRP of $49,620.00 CDN. Converted to British Pound Sterling that equals 23,113.00. Yet in Britain - the SRT8 has a base MSRP of 39,870.00. Convert that to Canadian dollars and you have $85,600.89 CDN. To add insult to injury - Chrysler Canada is offering the SRT8 at 'Employee Prices' - so a 2007 300C SRT8 can be bought for just $44,788.00 CDN. That's only 20,862.25 Pound Sterling. [My keyboard doesn't have the pound symbol - sorry]

In Canada - the Jaguar S-Type R has a base MSRP of $86,400.00 CDN. Converted to British Pound Sterling that equals 40,245.12. Yet in Britain - the S-Type R has a base MSRP of 45,102.00. Convert that to Canadian dollars and you have $96,833.99 CDN.

In other words - the difference in price between a 300C SRT8 and a Jaguar S-Type R - in Canada - in Canadian dollars - is $36,780.00. [unless you buy an SRT8 now - during the 'sale' - than the difference would be $41,612.00 CDN] Based on the original base MSRP's of both cars - in Canada - that is a difference equal to 17,113.12 Pound Sterling.

The difference in price in Britain between a 300C SRT8 and a Jaguar S-Type R is 5,232 Pound Sterling. [Which equals $11,233.10 CDN] No wonder I've been somewhat confused as they WHY UK road test magazines keep comparing the SRT8 to cars that I have always assumed [based on what they cost in Canada] are considerably more expensive. And maybe now - some of you might understand why those of us living in North American might consider the 300C and 300C SRT8 to be such great performance 'bargains'.

Have a great day!!

Craig!! :)

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cant believe u are actually considering the 300c. the advantages are it is massive, thats it. and that doesnt even suite the uk roads. the lex however u will find it difficult to fault. no competition here mate 430 all the way

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I still think you can't really compare the 300C with the LS, two wildly different cars.

Having said that, I've always liked the way the 300C looked and assumed that its looks were all it had. Then I got a hemi one as a rental car when in the states a few months ago, and I was really impressed! While the plastics and other materials do look a bit cheap, it is incredibly well put together, really feels quite solid. It also drove remarkably well, it was quiet, comfortable and refined. It was quite wallowy (but so is an LS) but I thought that actually quite suited the car as it was clearly just a powerful cruiser - besides I'm guessing the UK cars must have a different suspension setup anyway.

Either way, I really liked the car, something I was expecting not to do if I ever got the chance to drive one :)

@CanadaCraig: Yep, hate hearing about your prices, (have enough relatives out there who tell me all that already!) car prices are a rip-off out here. I am surprised that the S-type is not that different though, confuses me as a to why anyone would buy it when everything else is so much cheaper. I still think Chrysler missed a trick with the 300C - they should have made it cheaper here to really pull people in. We're much more badge conscious in the UK, so the current price difference is not quite enough to pull people away from the Mercs or BMWs.........

Driving the 300C felt like an event every time I got in it - the sound, the power, it was so easy to overlook the interior which imo is it's only downside. I don't think the LS would feel the same........

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