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Comment by jodrellblank | Hacker News Reader

His Chrysler 300?

This thing Wikipedia describes as a V8 powered “full-size luxury car”?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_300

In my experience it is incredibly common for people without much money to have cars that seem impractical, because they are easy to buy but hard to maintain. I think this is pretty common with cars that were very popular when they were first released (the 300 was) so the market is saturated with old ones in rough condition that are cheap to purchase but terrible to maintain.

Sample size of 1, but my roommate in college (I was in college, he was not) went through 3 cars in the amount of time I had just 1 because he only ever had enough money to buy a crappy car and had terrible credit. They all broke down pretty quickly so he ended up spending more in the long-run, but in the end he had to get to work, so he did what he had to do.

Well cared for FCA products (and several other makes) are rare because they offer permissive financing and tons of incentives and intentionally design to keep low MSRPs. This results in lots of of people of more modest means owning them initially. That is a recipe for hard miles and minimal maintenance.

Your average Chrysler 300 is likely to have far more wear on the bump stops and in the back seats and trunk and far fewer scheduled maintenance items done than a 4Runner or some other car that has high class first owners.

I was wondering why my dodge dropped in value so fast. I kept it over 8 years so it averaged out but those first years were tough.

I had to repair a thermostat and condenser in those 8 years, but I found it was much easier to work on then my brother in law’s Ford - the thermostat was impossible to get to without destroying your hand on that one.

It probably has way more to do with quality & reliability. You could treat a 4Runner like absolute shit for a decade and it would probably have more quality miles & years left in it than most other makes (much less American vehicles, sadly).

If you really want to take a gamble though, buy a Porsche Cayenne from 2002-2009, there’s like 3 or more for sale in every medium sized city for $8k max. If you drive it for 2 years and the transmission explodes, hey $333 / month Porsche SUV minus scrap! If it dies in 6 months, not such a great deal.

These are a dime a dozen on the used market.. Could easily be one from the mid 2000s. Literally 1-3k for a 2005-08 (condition varies of course)

Probably more like a cheap V6 leaking or burning oil. Something like this [0] (Not that I'm accusing that specific one, but I wouldn't bet against it either)

[0] https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtm...

Just about every full size luxury car depreciates faster then anything else on the market meaning an older luxury sedan COULD be affordable to the average person. All though I would not consider this a smart idea unless you are mechanically inclined. Chrysler sold more V6 300's than V8's anyway -- Try again.

In no world is a Chrysler 300 a luxury car.

It isn't a good luxury car, but it objectively is one. "Luxury car" is a description of market segment, not a measure of quality.

It's usually a greater-than decade old vehicle, common in the early-mid 2000's. Luxury cars (especially American luxury cars) have a trend of being extremely inexpensive to purchase compared to other vehicles when the age vs. their original price.

For example, a similar year Toyota, Subaru, or pre-CVT Nissans will hold higher values than equivalent American brand vehicles, with some exceptions.

>For example, a similar year Toyota, Subaru, or pre-CVT Nissans will hold higher values than equivalent American brand vehicles, with some exceptions.

Cars move down the economic ladder as they age. A similiar year Camry, Accord, or other InternetApproved(TM) cheap to run commuter car, is going to be in much nicer shape because it started a few dozen rungs higher than that '04 Impala, Sebring or whatever domestic we're comparing to. The price will reflect that niceness.

The Camry that's the same price as the average '04 Impala is going to be in equivalently rough shape and will be an older model year because it took it longer to get to that point because it started in nicer hands.

Seriously, punch in a $3000 price limit into your preferred classified section and see what it gets you.

These people are poor, not stupid. They're buying Big3/Korean/VW/Nissan sedans because that's what's available in the best condition and lowest miles at that price point because nobody wants them because they're not as practical as crossovers and people making white collar money don't fetishize them as ideal beater cars the way they do Toyotas and Hondas of that era.

And there are 2006 Chrysler 300s in the Bay Area for under $4 grand a piece on craigslist. As an asking price. The parts seem fairly affordable as well, judging from the parted out ones also on the bay area craiglist.

It's entirely reasonable that poor people have older model luxury cars, either purchased 3rd hand or from when they were better off financially. After all, how much do you think you'd pocket selling your old 2006 [any non-collectable car] if you had to buy something new to drive around.

Yeah. If you want a V8 sedan on a budget Chrysler 300s are a great option (as were the used Ford panther family of cars that preceded them in that market niche).

....which is why they're so stigmatized by the white collar well to do crowd.

They are stigmatized because they are garbage quality FCA vehicles.

My first car was a luxury car... fifteen years before I bought it. I like to think I got a good deal thanks to the ugly tomato red interior.

I mean, it probably was a "luxury" car when it was new. They do not hold their value though.

My city’s Craigslist has several listed for sale:

- 06, $500

- 06, $4k

- 06, $12k

- 07, $5.9k

- 08, $2k

- 08, $6.2k

- 11, $17k

- 12, $12k

- 13, $7.5k

- 13, $7.9k

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