Should I? 1999 Chrysler 300M

[Bobs69]

I'm looking at a clean car for the winter.  It's got the 3.5.   That scares me........ I like it but the motor is.......well it's got a belt.

[ipstrategies]

I have a 95 LHS with 150 k running well (I changed the timing belt when the water pump went out around 100k) about a half a days work for me.

My Daughters 99 300m we changed the Timing Belt and water pump last fall at 199k it is running great, took less time though not as much room as to work as LHS.
The 99 300m has been a great car for my daughter, she recently sold it to her cousin as she is expecting and wanted to get something a little larger.

The 3.5 has been great engine for us, I would not hesitate buying another.

[Bobs69]

The last Chrysler we had was my wife's 99 cirrus, and wow.  What a curse that thing was.  Does the 300 share anything with it?

[bull]

If I can avoid timing belts I do. But these days, if you want a cheap car, they're hard to avoid. The easiest thing to work on IMO are RWD/front engine cars. And I would avoid the 2.7L V6 that has had a lot of problems with oil sludge. According to Allpar, "Chrysler isolated the problem to the crankcase ventilation system; hydrocarbons were entering the oil and breaking down the additives" and causing engine failures. They go on to say the problem was solved between 2002-2004.

I'm in the process of looking for a car for my daughter and we're looking at the 03-05 Neons. They seem to be decent by most accounts.

[Lizey]

My '04 Neon SXT was the single worst car I have ever owned, including the 2.7 Sebring I now drive

If I can avoid timing belts I do. But these days, if you want a cheap car, they're hard to avoid. The easiest thing to work on IMO are RWD/front engine cars. And I would avoid the 2.7L V6 that has had a lot of problems with oil sludge. According to Allpar, "Chrysler isolated the problem to the crankcase ventilation system; hydrocarbons were entering the oil and breaking down the additives" and causing engine failures. They go on to say the problem was solved between 2002-2004.

I'm in the process of looking for a car for my daughter and we're looking at the 03-05 Neons. They seem to be decent by most accounts.

[bull]

My '04 Neon SXT was the single worst car I have ever owned, including the 2.7 Sebring I now drive

If I can avoid timing belts I do. But these days, if you want a cheap car, they're hard to avoid. The easiest thing to work on IMO are RWD/front engine cars. And I would avoid the 2.7L V6 that has had a lot of problems with oil sludge. According to Allpar, "Chrysler isolated the problem to the crankcase ventilation system; hydrocarbons were entering the oil and breaking down the additives" and causing engine failures. They go on to say the problem was solved between 2002-2004.

I'm in the process of looking for a car for my daughter and we're looking at the 03-05 Neons. They seem to be decent by most accounts.

Really? That's not good. What kind of issues did you have with it?

[Mopar4me]

My 2000 Intrepid R/T has the 3.5 in it and currently I have a little over 225k on it and runs well. For me it's been the most reliable car we've ever owned. The 300M your looking at is built on the same LH platform as the Intrepid don't be afraid of the timing belt just change it every 100k. We also had an 02 300M and sold it at 140k and it was just as good as the Intrepid last time I saw it it was just shy of 200k. Just stay away if the 2.7 the were problematic. Myself I wouldn't hesitate on the car after checking it over as with any used car.

[Bobs69]

I'll check it out and let you guys know.