Chrysler 200 S = HIDDEN GEM!

Long story short
Dad's Rav4 engine was beyond repair
He lives in an area where public transit is a hassle
I spent all day and night researching best CPO cars with AWD & Leather.
Ended up buying the Chrysler 200 S next morning.

FOR $14.5K (16.5K OTD)
12K MILES, still has 6 years and 88k miles left on warranty!

Did you know these Pentastar engines make almost 300hp? 0-60 in 5.5? 1/4 mile in 14's?!?!

Holy cow, I bought my dad a car with more features and just as fast as my Mustang for less than half the price!

What surprised me the most was the standard heated seats/steering wheel, remote start, leather and soft touch interior. Only hard plastics are the buttons and display trim. I was able to slide down and man-spread behind my driver's seat.

It's the shame they're discontinuing the 200 series, because of poor sales. These new domestic entry luxury brands are so damn good nowadays. Just wish people would give them a chance. It was so quiet, smooth and powerful that when I got back into my ecoboom, it felt all cheap and rackety lol.

[ame]

I was seriously considering one before I bought my mustang, It really is a much better buy than recent offerings from chrysler.

I am glad I bought my mustang, but dont think I would have been disappointed with the 200s either.

Lucky dad.

Pentastar is an awesome engine, I've had several. Best of luck. It looks better than a lot in that segment.

:frusty:According to Edmunds, the Ecoboost is just as fast as the Chrysler... -_-
https://www.edmunds.com/ford/mustan...osted-pony-how-does-the-ecoboost-compare.html

Well this is embarrassing.
All I see on YouTube are high 14 quarter miles and 5.7 0-60's.

I traded my 15 EB in on a 17 Challenger 3.6 SXT and you are right- the EB felt like a rattly 10 yr old car compared to the Challenger (my EB had the drive line vibration problem which made it feel worse). It is sooo smooth and quiet compared to the EB. I never drove the Mustang V6 so I can't compare the Cyclone. The 3.6 is a great engine- used in everything from 200's to Ram trucks.

Zodiac said:

Pentastar is an awesome engine, I've had several. Best of luck. It looks better than a lot in that segment.

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Our extended family had this motor in 2 different vehicles...a Jeep Wrangler and Caravan. Both were 3 model years apart and BOTH DROPPED VALVE SEATS. :tsk:

The 3.6L motor has been a major problem for years! Lots of cylinder head/valve problems which has made Chrysler extend warranties on those engines.

GTBOB said:

Our extended family had this motor in 2 different vehicles...a Jeep Wrangler and Caravan. Both were 3 model years apart and BOTH DROPPED VALVE SEATS. :tsk:

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Damn that sucks. We have had a couple Grand Cherokees with the pentastar that have been flawless. Right now my wife has a Cherokee with the 3.2 pentastar and again no issues.

Mass produced cars unfortunately get bad apples. Look how many owners here got lemons.

SWETRID said:

The 3.6L motor has been a major problem for years! Lots of cylinder head/valve problems which has made Chrysler extend warranties on those engines.

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The issue was on the early manufactured 2011-13 engines. It was a design flaw that they fixed with a modification to the design in late 2012. Supposedly.

I'm just gonna keep on knocking on wood since I've not had issues.

Went over to my parents for mother's day and finally got to spend some time in the 200 while running errands and getting it detailed. I've got to say, I'm pretty jealous of the ride quality or maybe it's my lack of experience in luxury cars, but it's pretty damn good to me. There was nothing to complain about, it was very comfortable in traffic and highway.

I miss having a v6 :(

If I understood you right, you bought it for your dad? That's impressive!

yeah man, I hope my son buys me a car someday!

WesleyEng said:

Long story short
Dad's Rav4 engine was beyond repair
He lives in an area where public transit is a hassle
I spent all day and night researching best CPO cars with AWD & Leather.
Ended up buying the Chrysler 200 S next morning.

FOR $14.5K (16.5K OTD)
12K MILES, still has 6 years and 88k miles left on warranty!

Did you know these Pentastar engines make almost 300hp? 0-60 in 5.5? 1/4 mile in 14's?!?!

Holy cow, I bought my dad a car with more features and just as fast as my Mustang for less than half the price!

What surprised me the most was the standard heated seats/steering wheel, remote start, leather and soft touch interior. Only hard plastics are the buttons and display trim. I was able to slide down and man-spread behind my driver's seat.

It's the shame they're discontinuing the 200 series, because of poor sales. These new domestic entry luxury brands are so damn good nowadays. Just wish people would give them a chance. It was so quiet, smooth and powerful that when I got back into my ecoboom, it felt all cheap and rackety lol.

Click to expand...

They are pretty fun cars, unfortunately they are too heavy, too costly to build, and the sedan market is really in a down turn in general.

You will always get pretty nice creature comforts for less in a FCA product.

Zodiac said:

Damn that sucks. We have had a couple Grand Cherokees with the pentastar that have been flawless. Right now my wife has a Cherokee with the 3.2 pentastar and again no issues.

Mass produced cars unfortunately get bad apples. Look how many owners here got lemons.



The issue was on the early manufactured 2011-13 engines. It was a design flaw that they fixed with a modification to the design in late 2012. Supposedly.

I'm just gonna keep on knocking on wood since I've not had issues.

Click to expand...

Yes, in the Jeep Wrangler world, the 2012 model year was plagued with cylinder head issues. Mostly driver side, if I remember correctly. It was almost a given that you'd have issues sooner or later with a '12.

I've got a '13 that has been great, I'm pretty impressed with the 3.6 in it.

Strokerswild said:

Yes, in the Jeep Wrangler world, the 2012 model year was plagued with cylinder head issues. Mostly driver side, if I remember correctly. It was almost a given that you'd have issues sooner or later with a '12.

I've got a '13 that has been great, I'm pretty impressed with the 3.6 in it.

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They purchased cheap Chinese tools to do the head milling, which in turn caused alot of out of spec heads. If your motor made it to 20k it should be fine. However that is why they extended the warranties.

The new PSU 2016+ motors are pretty good. Though the orignal Pentastar made wards top 10 engines.

Just hope you dont have transmission issues. Im filing lemon law on my 200 currently. Granted its the 4cyl and it has the Chrysler made 9 speed where the 6 gets the ZF made version. Other than that the 200 is a really nice car, even in lower trims. Luckily this will be my ticket to a Mustang since I wont be buried in that car anymore.