CanadaCraig

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!! :)

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!! :)

Thanks Dave AND toffla!! :) I appreciate the information. According to Car & Driver - my 1993 LS should reach 60 mph in 8.6 seconds [Motor Trend says 8.2 seconds] and 100 mph in 20.8 seconds. As you can well imagine - the fact that my LS takes an additional 12 seconds to reach 100 mph is very frustrating. Lots of things have been done to the car to resolve the problem - but nothings helped. My Lexus mechanics are baffled. They can't figure out what's wrong. Do I often speed up to 100 mph? Not at all. In fact - I rarely do. But that's hardly the point. If you bought a Ferrari and its top speed was limited to 70 MPH - would you be OK with that? [even if you hardly ever go beyond 70] Just knowing that your car COULD - IF you wanted it to - get up to speed quickly - is what makes for a confidence inspiring automobile. In the past two years [since I've owned it - basically] the following things have been replaced with new. - spark plugs - spark plug wires - fuel pump - fuel filter - O2 Sensors [the two front ones] - throttle position sensor - MAP sensor - distributors, rotors and PCV valve [plus a few other things like the power steering pump, timing belt, water pump and lower ball joints - but I doubt those things were causing my car to be so painfully slow!!] Also - all the valves have been adjusted. It's interesting - Dave - that you should mention the throttle body. It's never been looked at because the engine idles smoothly. But maybe it should be cleaned anyway. What I do wonder about is the throttle cable. When the valves were adjusted - the camshafts [along with the valves] were removed from the engine. [so I was told] When they did that - would they have disconnected the throttle cable? And if so - could my problem simply be that when reconnecting the cable - they didn't do it right?! [i'm thinking out loud - basically] Also - what are HT leads?! Thanks, Craig!! :)

I appreciate what you're saying - davepruce. But how responsible am I for what someone else ASSUMES. That said... Thanks for the info. Do you happen to know how long your car takes to get to 100 mph? Mine take 33 seconds. I'm not sure how long a 1993 LS should take - but that seems awfully SLOW. Craig

It wasn't posted with the intent to 'show off' or 'impress', fluff. It was posted because I believe my LS is painfully SLOW at getting up to speed and I wanted to know if other LS's were just as slow. Understood?!

NEVERMIND.

Hi Guys!! :) I hope you're OK. Just before I took my 1993 LS in for service the last time [about a month ago] the traction control light came on. [and stayed on] And ONLY the traction control light. I was quite hopeful that finally my sluggish acceleration problem [when 'floored' from a dead stop] would finally be resolved. It almost always feels as though the car is braking whenever I accelerate extremely aggressively. But all I was told when I picked up my car was to see if the traction control light comes on again. So far - it hasn't - but the car wasn't fixed. [they didn't even try to fix it - they just cleared the computer's memory] QUESTION: Apparently 'code 19' means that the traction control PUMP is running excessively. [more often than it should] To MY way of thinking - if the TC pump was running when it SHOULDN'T be - THAT would create the feeling I very often have of my car 'braking' when I'm pressing hard on the gas pedal. [petrol pedal?] That does make sense - doesn't it? So what might cause the TC pump TO run when it shouldn't? Thanks, Craig!! :)

Hi adz!! :D Choked? Are you kidding? I was furious!! But I got used to it. Steering is no problem - but reaching the gas and brakes pedals can be quite a chore. Craig!! :P

Hi Guys!! :) Have you ever done something to your LS that you wish you didn't? Or thought you paid WAY too much for what you got? Or bought something that didn't live up to your expectations? Thanks, Craig!! :)

Hi chips!! :) I hope you're OK. I appreciate the reply. I've owned my LS for about a year and half now. My Lexus dealer says the struts are fine BECAUSE they're not leaking. But surely - 12+ year old struts with over 115,000 km's on them MUST be worn out a bit - wouldn't they be? [or are struts find and dandy UNTIL they leak?] It's fine in the city - but it's unstable feeling on the highway. [and I know the difference between floaty and unstable - I've driven many Lincoln's in my life!!] Thanks, Craig!! :)

Hi Everyone!! :) A Canadian boy here!! My '93 LS has 115,000 km's. It still has the original struts. I think the ride is too soft - unstable even - especially at highway speeds. And yet - the struts don't leak and they pass the push-down-on-the-hood-and-trunk test. [bonnet and boot] Can struts that look fine and pass the bounce test - STILL need replacing?! Thanks Craig!! :)