2006 dodge charger R/T at 150k miles

[BonaparteWannaBe]

I am an 18 year old College Student and was curious if I should buy a 2006 dodge charger rt at 150k miles this year for about 7 out the door. Car is in good condition from my relatively short test drive. It needs a new back and front control arm that the dealership is buying and including in the total. Has 1 accident which was rear fender damage. Has been fixed and has some exterior and interior damage (scratches/tears/dents..etc) that I can live with and maybe clean up myself. I need this to last me about  years and I don't think I will be driving more than 5-7K miles honestly. Insurance for me is already pretty high so I am only getting liability at 280ish a month. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated :-) Here are some pictures I took:

[Jim K Global Moderator]

7k is probably fair.  Be sure the dealer has some kind of warranty ... 30-90 days or whatever.  Aren't these prone to the front ball joints wearing out...might be something to check for.

 

...lots of miles though

[adrynalyne]

1 minute ago, Jim K said:

7k is probably fair.  Be sure the dealer has some kind of warranty ... 30-90 days or whatever.  Aren't these prone to the front ball joints wearing out...might be something to check for.

 

...lots of miles though

6k would be fair with that mileage. 

[BonaparteWannaBe]

4 minutes ago, Jim K said:

7k is probably fair.  Be sure the dealer has some kind of warranty ... 30-90 days or whatever.  Aren't these prone to the front ball joints wearing out?

 

...lots of miles though

They are replacing the front and back end kits for the wheels because the bushings are worn. They include it in the charge. I can post the cars history although this is my first car and can't accurately say if it has been taken care of or not. No warranty BTW 😅

2 minutes ago, adrynalyne said:

6k would be fair with that mileage. 

Well its 7 with Tax, title, and license.

[+Random Stranger Subscriber¹]

I would even say that 6k is too much for the year!!!

 

personally I would rather buy from an owner then the dealership as they used the cheapest crappiest parts to make the vehicle work again and the parts need replacing very soon. 

 

car looks great on the pictures though ;)

[adrynalyne]

1 minute ago, BonaparteWannaBe said:

They are replacing the front and back end kits for the wheels because the bushings are worn. They include it in the charge. I can post the cars history although this is my first car and can't accurately say if it has been taken care of or not. No warranty BTW 😅

Well its 7 with Tax, title, and license.

That’s better, all that crap adds up. If you want to see how the market looks, compare on autotempest.com. 

[BonaparteWannaBe]

1 minute ago, adrynalyne said:

That’s better, all that crap adds up. If you want to see how the market looks, compare on autotempest.com. 

Gotcha! I'll check it out there. I would need to do some minor touch ups and stuff at a body shop and maintain it, but as a first car I think it would be one of the best options considering my 7K out the door budget

[BonaparteWannaBe]

9 minutes ago, Jimmy1 said:

I would even say that 6k is too much for the year!!!

 

personally I would rather buy from an owner then the dealership as they used the cheapest crappiest parts to make the vehicle work again and the parts need replacing very soon. 

 

car looks great on the pictures though

Well I found a better one here: https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/770689104/overview/?aff=stemp2&CMP=stemp2 Worth the 250ish mile bus ride/maybe drive?

EDIT: This one is an SXT, I hear they are better?

[adrynalyne]

1 minute ago, BonaparteWannaBe said:

Well I found a better one here: https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/770689104/overview/?aff=stemp2&CMP=stemp2 Worth the 250ish mile bus ride/maybe drive?

Keep in mind that’s an SXT. 

[BonaparteWannaBe]

Just now, adrynalyne said:

Keep in mind that’s an SXT. 

Yeah is that bad or good?

[adrynalyne]

Just now, BonaparteWannaBe said:

Yeah is that bad or good?

 Neither, just different. Better gas mileage from the SXT, at the cost of less power. Depends on your preferences really. 

[BonaparteWannaBe]

1 minute ago, adrynalyne said:

 Neither, just different. Better gas mileage from the SXT, at the cost of less power. Depends on your preferences really. 

Gotcha. How much better is the mileage?

[BonaparteWannaBe]

Should I maybe go for a mustang? There are some although most will have me travel 300 miles somehow(Drive back would be fun, but the travel there is another expense entirely)

[adrynalyne]

6 minutes ago, BonaparteWannaBe said:

Gotcha. How much better is the mileage?

18 for RT, 20 for SXT. That’s combined city and highway and will vary depending on driving habits. 

 

For example, my car is rated at 18 combined but I only drive city and get 19-20. 

 

 

4 minutes ago, BonaparteWannaBe said:

Should I maybe go for a mustang? There are some although most will have me travel 300 miles somehow(Drive back would be fun, but the travel there is another expense entirely)

Dunno. You looking for a muscle car? Right off the bat, the charger has a more useable backseat. The Mustang backseats are useless. 

[BonaparteWannaBe]

Just now, adrynalyne said:

18 for RT, 20 for SXT. That’s combined city and highway and will vary depending on driving habits. 

 

For example, my car is rated at 18 combined but I only drive city and get 19-20. 

 

 

So I think can do 18-19 if I drive well and practice driving evenly (I believe not accelerating and decelerating too much is the key from what I've seen)

[+Random Stranger Subscriber¹]

get the charger rather then mustang... would be my advice to myself if I were you ;)  it is an awesome car 

 

myself I got a manual transmission (Japanese though) as my first car to make sure I learn it forever and dont be stuck when I travel the world in future as a lot of countries are mostly manual.

 

either way, hope you dont get a dud and that you enjoy your new ride!

[BonaparteWannaBe]

2 minutes ago, Jimmy1 said:

get the charger rather then mustang... would be my advice to myself if I were you it is an awesome car 

 

myself I got a manual transmission (Japanese though) as my first car to make sure I learn it forever and dont be stuck when I travel the world in future as a lot of countries are mostly manual.

 

either way, hope you dont get a dud and that you enjoy your new ride!

Would you recommend a charger as a first car to take care of and maintain. I need to last 4 years so if its not a dud is 4 years achievable?

15 minutes ago, adrynalyne said:

18 for RT, 20 for SXT. That’s combined city and highway and will vary depending on driving habits. 

 

For example, my car is rated at 18 combined but I only drive city and get 19-20. 

 

 

Dunno. You looking for a muscle car? Right off the bat, the charger has a more useable backseat. The Mustang backseats are useless. 

I meant which would you recommend in the price range?

[+Random Stranger Subscriber¹]

29 minutes ago, BonaparteWannaBe said:

Would you recommend a charger as a first car to take care of and maintain. I need to last 4 years so if its not a dud is 4 years achievable?

I have no idea becuase you dont know how other owners treated it. it is just luck at this point. which is something I wish for you.

 

personally, I would find whatever the equivalent of 98 top the line manual Nissan maxima that I got in 2003 for 8k.  

 

which is the reason your price seems absurd to me...

13 year old American car for 7 large???

just does not compute to me.... 

 

I guess the market is different now... but I am sure it depends on you location too...

 

it is a nice ride though so go for it.   you only live once

[+Random Stranger Subscriber¹]

...

[adrynalyne]

29 minutes ago, BonaparteWannaBe said:

Would you recommend a charger as a first car to take care of and maintain. I need to last 4 years so if its not a dud is 4 years achievable?

I meant which would you recommend in the price range?

Probably the charger. The Mustangs of that era are duds. 

21 minutes ago, Jimmy1 said:

seriously. 13 year old American car for 7 large???

 

just does not compute to me.... 

 

but I am sure it depends on you location too...

Market value isn’t far from that. 

[sc302 Veteran]

If you are looking for reliability, Honda and Toyota would be the go to’s.  If you are looking for fixed or repaired often look at the dodge or ford.  You are looking at cars that had their fair share of abuse.  Unless grandma or grandpa owned the cars chances are they have been abused.  Kids like sporty/fast cars but don’t know how to take care of them.  I would go with a commuter car if I were you. But if you have to have a car that sounds/looks nice and has an American muscle car name behind it it would have to be mustang, challenger, or camaro. 

[shockz]

150K on a hemi charger, that's probably not been babied. I'd pass if I were you. I wouldn't expect that thing to hit 200k smoothly. I too went the sport v8 route in my teens, on a car similar and really regretted it. Money pit. The upside being was that I learned how to fix cars on my own for the most part, you'll save a bundle on labor down the road.

 

Chrysler also offered terrible transmissions in those lx sedans. Chrysler has terrible transmissions in general from that era.

Edited June 5, 2019 by shockz