My New Daily Driver

[Shakey]

I bought a new daily driver yesterday, well, it's new to me.   

I was looking at the Dodge Charger initially, there is a yellow '06 Daytona with 500km (310 miles) for sale in Belleville, ON or a red '06 SRT in Whitby, ON with 16,000 km's (9,900 miles)  but they were a lot of money to put into a daily driver.  I had to really think about this as I'd be into payments for another five years and I just paid my car off in November.   

Before I went any further, I had to see what I could get for my car, a 2001 Sebring Coupe LXi with a 140,000 kms (87,000 miles).  While looking at ads I noticed a car, exact same as mine only with 39,000 kms (24,000 miles).  Same car, all the same options only it was white.  I spoke with the dealer and they gave me the VIN and I headed over to the Ministry of Transporation to get the UVIP (Used Vehicle Information Package) which lists the previous owners and the approximate values of the car.  I called the original owner to ask about the car and he told me he had no problems with it, lived in the city and rarely drove it.  It spent most of it's life in the underground parking garage and he and his wife chose to trade it in for a smaller car (Mini Cooper) for city driving.  They owned if from July 2001 until January 2007.   

My thought process was that as much as I would love to have a new Charger, need and want were two different things.  The red one I traded in has been very good to me and has never let me down.  I put a set tires on it at 60,000km (38,000 miles) and at 120,000km (75,000 miles) I did the front & rear brakes and a tune up with the oh so priecy platinum tipped spark plugs.  Other than that, I have done nothing to it so I knew they were good cars.  I now have a car that will last me another five years for less than 25% of what I was thinking of spending.  A good move for the household as both my Wife and I agreed.  The car is like new inside and out.   

The car needs to get out and stretch its legs so I went out this morning at about 5:30 for a rip on the 407.  I had it up to 190km/h - smooth as silk.  I'm going to take it to Detroit, MI next week and the 4 hour jaunt should be good for it.

This move also fits well into my plan of waiting for the Challenger to become available in the next year or so and by the time I am done with this one, there should be some used ones out there up for grabs.   

Here are a few pictures for you.

[Silver R/T]

not bad

[Lostsheep_01]

Nice! I'm glad it worked out for you.

[Charger_Fan]

Nice looking car, congrats!

[Back N Black]

Looks brand new! well, for Canadian standards.

[472 R/T SE]

I looked at those when I got out of the old Cougar I was driving.  The pass. seat wasn't wide enuf for my chair and the ol' lady would have taken up ALL of the backseat.    I couldn't get past the Mitsubishi part but a neat little ride.

Congrats.

[Spike]

Hey if your heading to Detroit, give me a shout if you have some free time on your hands.
Good looking ride BTW.

[Shakey]

Thanks fellas.

And Frank, the trip to Detroit will be a quick one.  I'm leaving Toronto at 5:00 AM on Thursday for a 10:00 AM meeting and will be home in time for dinner.  I will keep the offer open though as I do get down that way every so often.

Thanks.   

[mikesbbody]

shakey, just wondering do you (or anyone else) know what the gas mileage is like on the sebring? or have you not had it long enough to find out? thanks

[CharlieCharger]

It looks like a very clean car for a daily driver..nice score

[Shakey]

shakey, just wondering do you (or anyone else) know what the gas mileage is like on the sebring? or have you not had it long enough to find out? thanks

Not sure about mpg but I have gotten 600km out of a full (62L) tank while on a road trip.

[mikesbbody]

thanks for the info so its been a pretty good daily drive? not too many problems? i really like it btw.

[Manfred318]

Nice car congrats

[Charger_Croatia]

Congratulations! It seems that you hit the centre 

[Shakey]

thanks for the info so its been a pretty good daily drive? not too many problems? i really like it btw.

It's been a very good daily driver - the reason I chose to buy another one, even though it's six years old.  I put 140K kms on the red one since new and did nothing to it, other than the scheduled and preventative maintenance. 

I'm fairly easy on vehicles, no jack rabbit starts (well, the odd time), use cruise control on a regular basis and I brake very easy as I can see the red lights and stop signs well in advance.  My daily commute is about 50km with 48 of those 50 on the highway.  I leave early enough in the AM (5:30) so there is no traffic and it's smooth sailing all the way to Toronto.  On the way home, same deal, no stop and go traffic which can be really hard on a vehicle.

I'm sure I coulda gotten another 100K's outta the red one I traded in but I know that after 150K kms things will need to be replaced like starters, alternators, wiper motors bearings etc.  It was best to grab this low K white one and be somewhat worry free for a few more years. 

I figure I'll get at least 4 years outta this one and then hopefully be able to pick up a used Challenger with minimal K's on it.

Here is the red one I traded in.

[41husk]

good choice.