By Jeff Glucker
My neighbor had a new car in their driveway. Well, new to them. That means I had to stroll over and take a look. The car in question? A pretty clean first-generation Chrysler 300C. I asked if he had bought the car for his growing son, who’s nearly of driving age. His reply? Nope, this one is for me. Laughing and nodding with understanding, I asked about the car. He found a 2005 300C with just 57,000 miles on the odometer. The asking price? Just $5,000.
I’ll be honest. I’m a bit jealous of this one. This is a La-Z-Boy on wheels with HEMI V8 power under the hood. It’s an excellent daily driver if you don’t mind the price of fuel. And it’s a prime example of Chrysler’s moderate luxury paired with a sprinkling of Mercedes-Benz engineering underneath.
The car has a few chips and scratches in the paint. The driver’s seat bolsters are slightly worn. But overall, this 300C is in phenomenal shape. Considering it’s 20 years old, the car has barely been driven. It was a California desert car, and it most likely lived in a garage.
This is absolutely a score of a deal. And it’s proof that great deals are still out there to be found. I have no room in my driveway or garage at the moment. I have two unfinished project cars and a Montero that I both love and hate. But this purchase has my Craigslist trigger fingers getting itchy.
Ross Ballot
That 300 is a serious steal. This is when I am really jealous of California’s climate. That car is in sublime condition.
Last year we added a Magnum R/T to the fleet. Identical drivetrain to this, and the same selling price, but your buddy’s car seems to show much less wear.
Of course the Magnum has a long roof, which negates its other drawbacks compared to this 300.
Dang! Nicely done
Kind of. I would have been much happier if the Mercedes divorce would have happened before this had been greenlit. Horrible materials and interior. Stupid feature set…for example, the 300 was available with automatic headlights, but those were not available on the Magnum in 2005, even as an option. You can swap out the switch for one from a 300 and everything will function as expected. Or, you can pull the switch out of the panel, use a razor blade to slice off a small piece of plastic, then use a paint marker to mark the bezel with an “A” for the newly -unlocked switch position, and it will work with nothing additional to purchase or program.