New Here, and looking for a Charger

[wav3one]

Hi Everyone,

Looking to go form a Chrysler Sebring Convertible which has been less than reliable, to a Charger. My other car is a 97 Firebird (3.8L but will be doing the LS1 Swap when the V6 dies).

I am live in Kissimmee and just got a new job in Longwood (Orlando Area), working in the Sales and Marketing Scuba Diving industry. I will also be instructing Dive Classes on the weekends starting November... this will have me putting more miles on whatever I drive. I always loved the classic Charger, but I was especially drawn to the 06 to Present Chargers for practical functionality such as Trunk Space, and Rear Seating would allow me to transport students to dive sites when needed, and the exterior has a very professional look to it... If I were to roll up to a more business professional location in a LOUD A$$ FIREBIRD or Convertible that would hurt my chances of being taken seriously. A nice clean Charger with a tastefully placed dive flag would go a lot farther in creating a good impression.

Most important thing of all, the wife OK'd it. She seems to be afraid for us to keep the Sebring because it has been such a problem child, and finally gave me permission to get the Charger. After doing some research I have a few questions and concerns:

Does the 2.7L have enough GET-UP-AND-GO???
The Sebring is a 2.5L, and I am very happy with the overall performance although I have heard people grumbling that its too sluggish. I look at the Charger's body and size (I'm assuming its a pretty heavy car, please correct me if I'm wrong) and I have concerns that if I load up about 200lbs of tanks, and dive gear plus me and 2-3 students this car is going to run like a 4 Cylinder with an exhaust leak and E-Brake up.

I personally have always been afraid of cars with Timing Belts, and I know the 3.5's are Belt. Lost a real nice 300zx to a defective Tesioner (only 10,000 miles into it), and had to scrap a beautiful car over a decade ago.
Can someone tell me if this is an interference engine???
That's pretty much a deal breaker for me.

I'm going to be driving long distances, so mpg is a bit of a factor for me, not huge but if the 5.7L gets 8 City 15 Hwy, I'd going pass. I know the driver has a lot to do with higher power engines, and every car I own is over 15 years old... a lot has changed in the fuel economy department. Can a 5.7L Charger be a reasonable Daily Driver, or should I be looking at one of the others.


Based on what I just described, would you recommend the 2.7, 3.5, or 5.7?
I haven't had the chance to test drive anything yet, but will start searching soon.
I would rather ask the experts here, than the sales people trying to feed me what I want to hear.

[JB400]

Welcome to the group   From my personal experience, I thought the 2.7 was under powered, and I do believe that they also had oil pump issues as well.

The 3.5L was a pretty good engine, but could have water pump issues.  These engines were later replaced with the 3.6L that powers the whole fleet today.

The 5.7L, as a hotrodder, is what everyone should consider, if the 6.1, 6.4L, or the Hellcat engine is out of the question.  Also, if you get one with MDS, they can get very good gas mileage on the highway.

[Ghoste]

I agree, get the 5.7.

[wav3one]

Thank You

I've heard that about the 2.7's, I won't rule it out until I test drive of course.

The 3.5L's having water pump issues isn't a shock at all. Call it a design flaw or feature, anything with a timing belt is usually has a water pump designed to fail quite often, that way you get the belt changed more often. I was told that by a service manager at a Toyota dealership once.

The 3.6's come with Timing Chains if I am not mistaken on the 2011 to present. I am shopping around, and don't really want to spend more than $200 a month in a car payment. It seems for now at least this option is out of reach for me.

Which 5.7's come with MDS?
How much mpg are we talking about?
My 3.8L Firebird gets around 20 City and 30 Highway (with some modifications of course).
If I were to get a real nice 5.7 that comes close to that, I would be a happy Diver.

[JB400]

2013 fuel economy numbers.:  http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/PowerSearch.do?action=noform&path=7&year=2013&make=Dodge&model=Charger&srchtyp=ymm

Not 100% positive, but I think it was 08 that MDS was optional on the 5.7.  Currently, it's standard on all Charger 5.7's.