Faults:

This is my second 300C, and both have had some minor issues with tie-rod ends and sway bar bushings needing to be replaced at 45,000. No other mechanical problems have been experienced with 50,000+ miles now on the car. Keeping up on maintenance is a must.

The front fascia hangs a little low, so you have to watch pulling up to curbs and such. Mine shows some scrape marks underneath. The original Goodyear RSA Eagle tires tires wore quickly, with replacement a must at about 20,000 miles.

Oil recommended is Mobil 1 synthetic, so be prepared to pay more for your oil changes. One related note is that I recommend an oil catch-can. The vacuum line returning from the intake manifold delivers a lot of oil back into the intake. A catch-can eliminates most of that. I get about 6oz. of oil in the catch-can at every oil change that must be discarded.

General Comments:

The 300C SRT8 appealed to me particularly because you just don't see that many of them. There are plenty of Chargers and Challengers out there sporting the SRT8 badge. I consider it a bit more refined in appearance and ride than the others, suitable as a business sedan, but with the ponies that will surprise you as well as anyone riding along. The seats are bolstered nicely for spirited driving, but comfortable enough long drives. The suspension is stiffer than the standard 300C, providing pretty good feedback from the road (sometimes more than you might care for - I wish it had adjustable suspension for sport or luxury ride). The big Brembo brakes are awesome, and make you feel a lot better about driving enthusiastically.

There are a lot of aftermarket products for the SRT8s that are worth considering to bolt-on more power. A must is a good cold-air intake combined with a Diablo Predator handheld tuner. The canned tunes available with it totally change the acceleration and shifting characteristics. I am sure it added some power too. She will bark the tires into 3rd on a good day. Quarter mile times are high 12s to low 13s, and 0-60 is in the 4.5-5 second mark if you can get it to hook up when you hammer it!

Overall, this is a great car and excellent value for the performance minded. Used it's cheap, and then it comes without the gas guzzler tax and depreciation you get on a new one. It's a real sleeper considering its size and the general perception of the Chrysler 300.

Faults:

When I first purchased the vehicle, the chrome strips running along the doors on both sides of the car had started to look like they were corroding, which was replaced under warranty.

After 7 months and 23***km, that's the only thing actually defective/broken.

General Comments:

I purchased this vehicle brand new in March of 09 as an 08 model. It had 70km on it when I picked it up, and currently has 23548km. All in all, it's a great car for the price I paid for it. It's smooth, looks good, drives nice, quiet on the highway, and has adequate power.

The few things I dislike about the car are as follows:

- The A/C is very underpowered for a vehicle of this size. The air coming out is cold with your hand on the vent, but for it to feel cold when it reaches my face, I have to have it on the highest blower setting. It's been to the dealer to get checked, and I am told everything is working as it should.

- Also when you take your foot off the brake at a red light, it feels as if the car is jerking, or lurching forward at times. Again, all is checked and normal.

- The seats are very flat and don't have much cushioning, and you start to notice it after about an hour or so.

- The front bumper is way too low, so in shorter parking spots, it's constantly being rubbed on the curb.

- The car takes 5.7 liters of oil per change, which means you have to buy 6 liters, making switching to synthetic pretty costly, even doing it yourself.

- This may seem unimportant, but it really ticks me off. Chrysler only put one hook in the floor of the drivers side to hold the floor mat in place. It for some reason is located in the bottom right corner of the floormat. So when you get out of the car, you naturally put your left foot out, and push yourself up with the right, which causes the floor mat to get all bunched up and pushed around, due to only having one clip in one corner, instead of both.

Some of the things I like about the car:

- The styling you can't find anywhere else.

- Huge trunk.

- The smooth cruising feeling on the highway.

- Plenty of legroom in the backseat, even with the front seats all the way back.

- The turn signal lever that you just tap, and it signals 3 times then shut off for switching lanes.

- I have the upgraded six disc CD/DVD changer, and it sounds great, even with the volume at full, there is little to no distortion.

- I find the car has good visibility, even though it is a common complaint amongst other owners.

- I like the upgraded key fob for the 08 models, Just a small plastic device that slips into your pocket, with no metal kep to jab you when you sit down.

- This may not seem as important until you've had a bad experience with it, but the cupholders are very well placed in front of the armrest, so there is no reaching for your drink.

- Another little thing I find convenient is the two tiered storage in the armrest. With a big bin in the bottom, and the shallow tray up top, along with a coin holder and a power outlet inside for your phone charger, which also has a little slot cut into the side of the lid, so your cord can stick out and still close the lid. Chargers out of the way, and you don't have to continually plug and unplug it.

- Mine is equipped with foglights, which are always on, and provide great visibility, coupled with the large headlight on the highways at night, even when there is no fog.

- Another little convenience Chrysler threw in is lights on the bottom of the doors that come on when you open them, great for avoiding that first step into a puddle when you're getting out in the dark.

As far as Performance Marks goes I gave the car an 8/10. The V6 is adequate, but knowing I could have had a Hemi brings it down.

For Reliability marks it got a 10/10. Again 23***km in six months and I haven't had a problem with it other than the chrome strips.

For Comfort, again an 8/10 because of the as mentioned flat poorly cushioned seats. I feel they could have done better.

Dealer service got a 0/10. The dealer was great in their sales department when they wanted my money, But the service department where I purchased the vehicle was just terrible on 3 separate occasions. Fortunately I've found a different dealer to get my servicing done at, and they are great.

Running costs got a 9/10. I've only had to pay for gas, oil changes, tire rotations, and I put upgraded Valeo wipers on. The reason for the nine and not a perfect ten is the car needs 5.7L of oil per change, which makes it pretty expensive to switch to synthetic.