After FOUR Chryslers of one brand or antoher...I finally learned my lesson. NO MORE!

Every one wound up with a dead tranny anywhere from 10-60k miles.

The worse was my wife's Town & Country that dropped the tranny at 9K miles. By the time it went out of warranty at 36K, it was on its third one.

Chrysler is (IMO) way behind the power curve. They build unreliable, ugly vehicles and are 5 years behind demand. To give you a hint of their lack of foresite...they build the Ram's about 10 miles from here. Right now, there are 50K new Ram trucks sitting on a massive Disney-sized parking lot with no place to go. They keep rolling in to the tune of 2-3k per day with none going out. Brilliant!

Had you asked me this question 2 years ago (and I didn't have my huge fascination with Mustangs as I do) there would have been a very good chance that I would have ended up getting a v6 Dodge Charger SXT as a play thing. As it is now with gas close to $4.00 a gallon, I wouldn't even consider a Dodge Charger in any trim, unless I had plans of getting rid of my Mustang and I know that's not going to happen for a long while. Hands down the '09 Sonata would be the winner for me. It's just makes more sense plus it's more practical.

As far as the new Challenger goes, I actually like those and would consider the 6 cylinder as a possible play thing all things considered and I really didn't have car payments to worry about. Unfortunately with the rising price of gas I don't see the new Camaros, Challengers (and to a lesser degree) the revamped 2010 (and possible 2012 redesign) Mustangs having a long shelf life at this rate unless the big three comes up with a way to make these cars as powerful as the most guys want them while keeping them economical.

My mom had an '89 Grand Caravan..... and we replaced the Trans. twice between 1996-1998.... so we sold that POS and bought a Nissan....

Now I want a Sonata :thumbsup:

:grin: We had an 07 300C come in at work. It was a previous rental for enterprise and it was going on our lot. The car had 17,000 miles on it and the leather was pretty beat up on the drivers side. The wood trim is hideous looking as well.

I test drove an RT Charger V8, 340hp.
The Sonata and the Charger are 2 different animals.

I have the 4 cyl Sonata but even the V6 is boring compared to a RWD V8 like the Charger.
The Charger's growling V8 is very entertaining and for some it's a must have. But gas mileage will be in the teens if you like to hear that engine. If that doesn't bother you, I say go for the Charger.
The Sonata feels more solid and better made in my opinion. But if you're looking for "excitement", the Charger is going to provide it. I really like my Sonata but it's a pretty boring car and not my daily driver (motorcycles are). But if reliablility, gas mileage, and build quaility are of higher priority then a Sonata is a great car. I would not consider the Charger unless I got the V8.

i personally love the SRT-8 Chargers and would love to own one.

but dont waste your money on a v6 MUSCLE car

I owned a 2006 Charger R/T. Exterior fit and finish was terrible, interior looked and felt cheap, and the seats were not comfortable on long trips. Stock Continental tires sucked. I got rid of the Charger after only eight months of ownership. I probably won't buy another Chrysler product again.

My boss asked me alot about the Sonata before he went car shopping. He then came back with a Charger R/T...

Kinda weird, 2 totally different cars (to me).

Anyways, these new chargers and not real chargers in the fact they are 4-doors. I still hate the fact that Dodge stole the name for a 4-door.... :devil: :devil:

Still it's not a bad car. The body panels have too much a gap for my liking, plus the panels don't match that well either.

Don't know about the interior to comment.

I do know he had a mechanical problem with and it was in the shop for several days.

I love the new Challenger! :57:

A good friend has a Purple 2007 R/T Charger. I really liked the hard suspension and rear wheel drive. For a big car, it held the road quite well. The “HEMI” was certainly quick, but nothing that special. It was a very emotional car, good for short playful drives. However as daily driver, it lacked deep substance and a quality feel. But overall, it was an okay car.

I’ve also driven the 3.5-liter version and thought it was a pale car in comparison. The best thing I could say about it was that it had a big back seat. Despite the RWD, it felt numb and boring. Power was at best acceptable and the fuel mileage was low. It was basic transportation for people with no passion for cars.

Well if you go on the Charger forum, you'll find TONS of people that are truly in love with their Charger RTs or SRT-8s so it's all relative. The resale on those cars with gas prices the way they are is HORRID. A new Charger depreciates over $10K in 1 yr practically.

I'd speculate that a Sonata is a much higher quality vehicle in the long run and feel better made.

With that said and off topic, I rented an '08 Vette from Hertz 2 wks ago and drove it 240 miles. THAT car rocks!! Comfortable, FAST...loved it! If I didn't need a back seat, I'd be saving up for one!

I lost $10K two years ago when I traded in an eight month old Charger R/T with 8,000 miles on the odometer. And that was BEFORE the gas prices went sky high. Had I known that the car would lose 33% of its value after just a year I definitely wouldn't have bought it. Thank God I owned the car outright and didn't have a loan to pay off.

I wouldnt consider a dodge or chrylser at all! Anyone remember that time I beat on a Chrysler 300 250 HP with the Sonata. And I had 3 people in my car! :w00t: Hows that for power efficiency and engineering!

$23,210 is the base MSRP price for the Charger (according to the Dodge site). So by the time you buy a REAL car, it's gonna be way more expensive than the Sonata.... You wanna buy a Dodge? Be my guest, as long as it's YOUR money, not mine.

Reminds me of the guy who's wondering "what shell I wear, my black pants, or my blue shirt?"

Lol, I wonder if your opinion will change when companies like Ford and Chevrolet start rolling out turbocharged v6 muscle cars (that make more power and get better fuel economy) beside or in place of the v8 monsters.

promises, promises...Ford and chevy already have some awesome turbo'd vehicles...overseas. They've had them over there for a long time; at least 2-3years.

The chances of us getting them here? slim to none. I gotsa middle finger for those two companies.

*sarcasm* - "hey guys, why don't you make advanced, and more efficient models in Europe, Australia and the UK? What? here in the US? Nah we'll be perfectly happy with you giving us warm overs of the same models year after year...that'll be fine. And if we start getting tired of that you can roll out warm-overs of car you made back in the 70's. More power and fuel efficiency? nope, we just want the same crap you roll out year after year."

sorry for the :offtopic: above... but to be back on topic...

That challenger is hideous. I wouldn't drive that thing if someone had a gun to my balls.

The performance versions of the Charger (R/T or better yet the SRT-8) are very good cars that deserve respect. The problem is that they are more expensive than any Sonata. The only Charger that falls in the same price range as a V6 Sonata is the 3.5-liter version. That car simply doesn’t cut it. The V6 Sonata is a better car and a much better value.

In the movie Street Kings, Keanu Reeves drives a souped up Black charger that looks so sweet. If I had the money it would be a great second or third car but not to drive it everyday. Its a little much for a daily commuter......

09 Sonata Limited all day.....