[rscarawa]

I still have not made my move for a Challenger but I am leaning toward a 2012 SE at the moment since it will have the new xmission. But while car shopping for my wife, I thumbed through a Consumer Reports and happened to look up Challenger. It listed the reliability as well below average but provided no detailed explanation of why. Further more, it did not say whether the problems were with the auto, manual, v6, RT or SRT8. I guess I want to know why CR flagged the Challenger. Has anyone had any issues with theirs? Any motor, xmission, electrical issues? Anyone have over 50k miles on their yet who would like to report in?

I did a quick search on 'reliability' on this forum and came up empty.



Thx


Scot

 

[High Rise Torker]

'09 SE picked up in Aug '08. 43,000 miles. Just runs great every day. But thats the pre-2012 3.5. CR is good if your lookin for a refridgerator. Or a stove.

 

[robroy]

Same drivetrains test-muled in trucks and numerous car platforms for many years. I agree with HR Torker, basically a crapola publication. Look at the average age of Challenger owners. You can assume most of us have owned numerous makes of cars over our lives.
Hard to believe they would throw their hard earned money down on an unreliable vehicle?
Get what you want and enjoy!

 

[Cyrus]

Same drivetrains test-muled in trucks and numerous car platforms for many years. I agree with HR Torker, basically a crapola publication. Look at the average age of Challenger owners. You can assume most of us have owned numerous makes of cars over our lives.
Hard to believe they would throw their hard earned money down on an unreliable vehicle?
Get what you want and enjoy!

Not really, these cars are sexy looking enough to put up with bad reliability...

 

[noz34me]

Not being smart, but if you want reliable and dependable go by the quality numbers- - you'll end up in a Honda or something similar.

I went with the Challenger because I liked it; there's nothing else like it on the road, and I'm at a point in my life where if it turns out to be troublesome, I'll get rid of it in 3 years.

 

[wingman50]

09 SRT8 21322 miles, my daily driver. No reliability issues. No warranty claims. Only oil changes. CR asks their subscribers for their input when rating vehicles. Challenger has lower production numbers than competitors in its category therefore if a few Challenger owners report warranty or other reliability issue the result is a lower score. Challengers have an excellent warranty and an extensive dealer network. You won't go wrong owning a Challenger.

 

[rscarawa]

I would very much like a challenger and I am willing to put up with some issues to get a unique car. But if we are talking $5k transmission issues or something like that, then I cannot ignore that. Funny thing is that Edmunds shows the cost of ownership of the SE on par with a Solara. SE has slightly higher repair cost but Solara has much higher maintenance cost over 5 years. Sort of a wash. It could be that the production numbers are too low to get a real read on reliability. I still have a few months left before the 2012 comes out so I will keep my ear to the ground.


Thx for your responses.


Scot

 

[5.7plumcrazy]

These cars are bullitproof on the street most cars here are not being babyed I take my RT to the Track it runs 13.60 all day

 

[ChuckG]

I'm gonna try to be nice about this. Anytime you let CR pick out the car for you, you're through. That goes for any car, whether CR rates it good or bad.

If you like the Challenger, then buy one.

 

[rscarawa]

I'm gonna try to be nice about this. Anytime you let CR pick out the car for you, you're through. That goes for any car, whether CR rates it good or bad.

If you like the Challenger, then buy one.

It is not so much I am letting them pick a car for me as I am just looking to get an indication what I am in for. If/when I buy one, it will be my primary mode of transporation. Since CR rate it low, I figured I would reach out to those who have the car to see if the rating is founded.

I have had only two cars in my life and put over 120k on each of them. My family has had a couple really bad cars. One was an 83 Cavalier. It we notorious for blowing motors at 20-25k mile intervals. The other real bad car was 90 Taurus. It was supposed to be the mark of quality for Ford. I have something else to say about it. Transmissions, head gaskets, steering problems, etc caused us to take a cosmetically perfect car and send it to the bone yard with less than 130k miles on it. I just do not want to follow the path of my parents car pics.

 

[noz34me]

My wife's 1st husband (who has passed away) used CR back in the 80's before he bought his car. He ended up with a VW Rabbit. I'm sure you've figured out where this is going- - the car was a total p.o.s. and was in the shop more than it was on the road.

Just saying, crap cars are across the board, you're just playing the odds. Certainly data and trends that CR tracks should not be ignored, just don't take them as a guarantee.

 

[a14umbra]

CR is good if your lookin for a refridgerator. Or a stove.

Not really.







As for reliability of a Challenger, I just bought mine. But I have almost 6 years experience with a 2006 Charger and no complaints.

 

[huggytree]

i dont think anyone buys a Challenger to get consumer reports most reliable car...

if you want that you'll buy the most boring car you can find that gets 35-40 mpg

my new Challenger is my 7th new car and the first one delivered with problems.....its not going to be as reliable as a Honda Civic

buy the car because its a cool car and expect some extra repairs

 

[a14umbra]

 

[rscarawa]

i dont think anyone buys a Challenger to get consumer reports most reliable car...

if you want that you'll buy the most boring car you can find that gets 35-40 mpg

my new Challenger is my 7th new car and the first one delivered with problems.....its not going to be as reliable as a Honda Civic

buy the car because its a cool car and expect some extra repairs

I am not expecting Toyota level reliability. I just want to get a fair idea what I am getting myself into. Are we talking $100 per year repairs or $2000/year. Should be fair enough question. I want an different type of car and I always liked the old 70/71 Cuda look. I just want to make sure this car will not seriously impact my bank account as I am not wealthy. If I were to buy any car and it cost me $5000 in repairs in 5 years, then I would have to say I made the wrong decision. That is just me.

As for mpg, I am satisfied upfront with how the Challenger does. If the mileage is too much for me to handle but matches (or comes close) to the rated mileage, then shame on me. My expectations have been properly set in this department.

What problem did you have with yours when it was delivered? Did Dodge fight you when you brought the car in or did they just fix it?


Thx


Scot

 

[a14umbra]

You can get a bumper to bumper lifetime warranty for just over $2000.

 

[Slosh]

Zero problems in 2.5 years. Not my daily-driver, though.

 

[rscarawa]

You can get a bumper to bumper lifetime warranty for just over $2000.

THat is good to know. Do you know who the warranty is through?

 

[a14umbra]

THat is good to know. Do you know who the warranty is through?

Chrysler. You can get it at the dealer. It's called Maxcare.
They'll ask a lot for it, but there are threads here on getting a good price.

 

[HemiFan]

It would be interesting to compare the ratings for other Chrysler/Dodge vehicles with the Challenger in the CR poll given how much they all share in the way of major components (Chargers, 300s, HEMI trucks/SUVs).

I had a Dodge Durango for 8 years - drove it coast to coast twice during that time. Only thing I ever replaced was the battery around the 5 year mark, new tires at the 4 year mark. I've had a Jeep since 2007; same thing - replaced a battery at the 4 year mark (last month) - no other problems. Had my Challenger for 10 months - daily driver - no problems.