Dodge Charger R/T reliability?

In my search for a new daily driver, I’m throwing every possibility against the wall before making my final decision. In summary, here’s the run down. Budget is $20k max. I commute 55 miles each way to work, 90% of it is highway. In the morning, it’s 80mph cruising. In the afternoon, about half of the highway ride is Atlanta rush hour traffic. I also shuttle my 3 kids too/from sports practices…usually not all 3 at once, typically one or two. Weekends are spent running to the kids games, errands, etc… So I’m driving 30-35k miles per year. I want something fast (at least quick), decent handling, good ride, reliable, and I like nice luxury touches. After all, spending 3+ hours per day in the car, I want to be comfortable and relaxed. Love hatches and wagons, but the more I’ve looked around, the more I’m letting go of that notion. Because of lack of free time and mechanical skills, I don’t want to deal with a direct injection turbo motor, so even though I love them, I’m staying away from the FoST, Mazdaspeed3, etc… I’ve looked at all kinds of coupes and nearly pulled the trigger on an E90 coupe and also a ’13 Honda Accord V6 6spd coupe. But I keep saying to myself “What the hell am I doing looking at coupes with my kid hauling needs?” The wife has a minivan, so a coupe could work, but it’s nice to be able to carry the kids and their stuff with ease.

Last night, the wife said “Why not look at a sedan that’s fun to drive, they exist, right?” I really like manuals, but there are plenty of days when I’m sitting in traffic where I wouldn’t object to an automatic. So, in looking at them, I found that the ’12-’13 Dodge Charger R/T would fall into budget, even a CPO one (warranty would be nice). Yeah, they’re thirsty, which would be my big concern. But in the “pros” category, they’re port injected, run on regular unleaded, huge interior and trunk, lots of goodies inside, crazy fast, great highway cruisers, RWD. I don’t have any experience with the Hemi. I would think it has to be pretty bulletproof, as it’s the same engine that powers the work truck Ram and every police car made in the last 5 years. Am I wrong in thinking that a properly maintained R/T can pile up the miles without major issues?

EDIT Noted the comment below, but the 300 would be too "soft" for me. The Charger has a firmer suspension and better brakes. I realize it's not a corner carver, but I want something that isn't going to embarrass itself on a twisty road.

The similar Chrysler 300 would probably be a more civilized place to hang out, and might fly a little more under the radar of the authorities. Are they in your price range?

I like them and they seem to be a pretty well screwed together. The 5.7L certainly packs enough of a punch to make it not a boring commuter car. And remember, the 5.7L has cylinder deactivation, so the fuel economy might not be as awful as you think. And it has been in service a lot longer than 5 years, try over double that, so it's pretty scienced out at this point

What about a newer Mazda 6 sedan? The Skyactiv engines supposedly run a really hot intake charge along with a few other tricks so that they don't suffer the same issues as other companies' DI engines.

pointofdeparture wrote: What about a newer Mazda 6 sedan? The Skyactiv engines supposedly run a really hot intake charge along with a few other tricks so that they don't suffer the same issues as other companies' DI engines.

Because Hemi. And I just don't want to deal with DI in any form right now. Too many known issues, and with the amount I drive, it'd happen awful quick.

The common issue we deal with concerning the hemi is random misses. Normally caused by a valvecover gasket leaking and filling the plug with oil.

Otherwise i havnt noted any huge issues. Glad i dont have to buy 16 spark plugs per tune up though.

I may be mistaken but I thought I heard they are hard on front end parts.

I might have rented a Hemi version in Nashville once and after three days of making sales calls and constant brake torques and burn outs the rear axle warning light came on. But it went off after you restarted the car.

I'm from the brand new, base model car rather than a 2-year old loaded model group.

I like my cars like I like my wives; low miles, used very little, no crazy guys prior to me..........something like that.

If you're opening up to a Charger R/T, what about other larger sedans? I was in a similar shopping predicament last December and started looking at smaller four-door sedans & hatchbacks (WRX, MS3 & GTI in particular.) However, I found that my kids (6 & 8) didn't really fit well in a smallish back seat, especially when in boosters.

I started looking at larger and larger cars (G35, Acura TL, 300C, 3-series & CTS-V.) I finally ended up with a '09 Pontiac G8 GT.

It's a big car but comfortable, relatively fast, firm enough (for me) and has a plethora of parts-big GM components to make service relatively easy. As well, nice V8 examples can be found in the $14-17k range, leaving you some leftover cash for upgrades or to cover your additional fuel consumption. Some downsides, though... they're getting a little long in the tooth compared to more modern platforms, some Holden-specific parts are pricey (i.e. $900 front bumper covers) there's a slight potential for failure of the cylinder deactivation lifters (necessitating a top-end rebuild) and the mileage is E36 M3e.

Anyway, good luck.

FIL has an AWD Hemi 300. I know a few years ago he was dealing with some clunkiness in the transfer case, and within the past few months replaced the transmission (I think its around 140-150k miles now)

Its got some get up and go and man does that motor sound nice. Even on a 300 I dont know if I would call the suspension cushy and soft. Its way tighter than say a Ford panther platform car.

I'll take a plum crazy charger or challenger r/t though.

I keep seeing challengers and their ilk in florida. Im starting to waver on my no Chrysler after Mitsubishi phase.

While I don't know that I'd call the Charger R/T "Crazy Fast," it's certainly far faster than the Mazda6. I own a 6 and as much as I think it may be the perfect midsize mileage eater, fast it is not. Fast enough, sure, but not fast.

I can't say I've heard anything bad about the Chargers. I personally like the looks of the S model 300s better - serious Gangsta luxo rocket- but the last body Chargers seem nice.

300S:

I know my coworker has a Challenger RT with 13k miles on it and it needs a transmission rebuild (Auto). I don't know if that's a common thing or not but seems kinda sketchy. It probably shares the same trans as the charger RT

I've rented a few of the v6 chargers recently. It's a nice place to eat up miles. The trans logic is horrible and you have to manually shift it to actually make the car move. Overall a comfy car, but a really big one. I feel like I need a stick to touch the passenger. Brakes are nice and the steering is nicely weighted.

I would look at the charger black edition with the 300 hp v6. Ticks all your boxs and gets decent millage. I looked at them as part of a car search for my self and it came down to Thu and a SHO. I then drove both and the charger was my choice. Just liked it beter. Particularly the interior. The sho felt cramped like I was waring it where the charger was like I was sitting in it. Really can not describe it any better. The actual driving experience was also won by the charger. No real reason I just liked it better. I was more comfortable driving it.

I think a V6 300/Charger might be a good option. I think the 300 wouldn't be a bad way to eat up miles on a long commute.

The newest face lift on the charger looks great. That is about all I got.

Biggest issue is that they didn't get the sweet ZF 8-speed until this year. The older 5-speed auto doesn't have a very good reputation.

If I were to get one, it'd have to be an R/T, no V6. Yeah, fuel mileage is important, but I also realize that for my needs there is no "perfect" car and I have to make a compromise somewhere. I have a hard time bringing myself to spend money on a DD, I'm just cheap that way. It's taken a lot for me to just say "berkeley it" and spend up to $20k. So if I'm gonna go big, I'm gonna go big. Literally and figuratively.

I went and test drove one yesterday, I really do like it. It's a big car, there's no hiding that. But I thought it drove quite well and was a great highway cruiser. Have to admit I liked a lot of the luxury touches it offers. The center touch screen is great. I can usually take it or leave it with those, but this one is very large and very easy to use. I still do have some concerns about reliability, but there are some low mileage CPO cars in my price range. So I'd have a powertrain warranty to 100k miles.

In reply to Klayfish:

Don't forget dat taillight!