What cars did you consider before buying your 200?

[notyorz]

I'm interested in finding out what cars you were considering when you went car shopping and why. Was the 200 the only one on your list? Did you have 2 or more and narrowed it down to the 200?

I had 3 others in the running for the lucky vehicle to replace my 2006 300C. My 300C ran like a champ for 100K+ miles, but the rear wheel drive was killing me during the winter in the mountains. There were days I literally could not get it up the driveway due to no traction. I initially wanted only an AWD to replace it, then decided if I wanted traction AND gas mileage, I was going to have to consider front wheel drives. I am not a Jeep person and I really didn't need an SUV to commute. 90% of the time it's just me in the car. My husband and I cruise on the weekends and that is the only time there is another passenger in the car. The car also had to be comfortable, since I have serious back pain and that damage is going to be corrected with surgery a little later on this year. Until then, comfort for me is tops on the list.

The 1st on the list was a 2008 Infiniti G35 with AWD. I test drove it, but boy is the interior small. It had 14 months left on the warranty, but I kept wondering what I'd do when that ran out. There were no Infiniti dealers within a 50 mile radius of where I lived, and I'd have to find a mechanic for it that I could trust. It also was a 2008 model. 4 years old already and I'd be in the loan until it was 9 years old. Ick. So, I passed...

The 2nd was a 2012 Nissan Altima. It didn't last long as a runner up car because *everybody* has one. I like to have something a little less mainstream. It also has a continuously variable transmission. Ick. I didn't like the feel of it. I like to feel the car shift through the gears
and the Altima was 4K more. Pass.

The 3rd (and the only one I didn't even test drive) was the 2012 Kia Optima. I couldn't get past the brand name. Back in the 90's, Kia was known for cheap practical transportation only type cars and priced them under 10K. I know they've worked hard to change their company's perception over the years, but it hasn't won me over. I decided to pass without giving it a fair shot. Sorry, Kia. It might be a fine car, but I can't see spending over 30K on a Kia. I still remember walking onto a car lot way back in the day and it was the biggest POS I had seen in new cars and it was like 9K.

In the end, the 200 S won because of all the comforts, style, technical gadgets, interior design.. I could go on and on...

[adams200s]

Hard to make short reply on this one.. I considered the optima and sonata turbos as well. Also actually a lease on a AWD lincoln MKz as they had a special for low 300s a month.. very nice car too. Then I decided on getting a Challenger RT because its what I REALLY wanted.. lol strange order of events I know. Long story short Hyundai was too slow.. Kia dealer literally insulted me for having un perfect credit after only a soft hit without any other info, including salary. Challengers were about same price as lincoln and lincoln dealer took 3 days to call me back to even try to run my credit (guess they arent serious about you unless you come in) I ran into that alot.. I have two little girls, one and three. I watch them all day then go to work. I couldnt spent all day at dealers and deals had to be struck over phone. Anyway three different dodge dealers were the only ones who showed me real respect and gave me time, as if I were a real potential customer (and I was). Where I wanted to be with payments, I had to get a v6 challenger loaded to lease or stripped to buy.. I preferred to buy, and the offered the loaded S, which I had looked into myself as a possibility but hadent mentioned to them. They were able to get me into my S with sunroof and 730N for the payments I wanted with zero percent financing.. Take that KIA Aholes! Was the best deal with most features and nicest overall car I could get for the price by far. Sonata and Optima top over 30G for a loaded korean car.. both slower than ours. Same with Altima and maxima, and Mazda 6, which would be the only Jap cars I looked into. Nissans only V6 that can hang with us speed wise. New infiniti WAY too much with options. Honda and toyota can suck it. I had more problems with those two brands with ones Ive owned in past than anything I ever owned... including a brand new toyota, despite their untrue perfection rumors.. Anyway, I drove my new 200S home last wednesday.

[Dadillac]

Mercedes B200 & the C300 were on my "short list".

Insurance costs were a major deciding factor in my choices. (Always are)

[nakedninja42]

The 2nd was a 2012 Nissan Altima. It didn't last long as a runner up car because *everybody* has one. I like to have something a little less mainstream.

^^ This was a big reason for me as well on why I didn't buy an Altima

My decision had narrowed down from several car, I was very very close to buying a Nissan Altima. I test drove it several times and had my heart on it. My wife and I went to 6 different dealerships but I couldn't really find a car that I liked that could beat the Altima.

Then the Saturday came that my wife and I designated to go back to Nissan and do a final test drive. We decided to stop by Honda since I wasn't giving them a chance and I found the Accord to be to simple, not very comfortable. On the way to Nissan we passed by our Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep dealership and started looking at the Jeeps. As I came around to the side of the dealership that had the Chryslers, I was impressed by the 200. I read some stuff on the 200 online and saw some pictures, no picture is worthy enough to show off how awesome the car looks in person. I test drove the 2.4L Touring and had fun but it wasn't convincing enough. Then the salesman showed me the S trim and I was sold!! Lucky my wife was there cause after the excitement of test drive the S with the V6, I would have done anything to get the car. My wife is an account and I watched her play hardball (only cause she was hungry and we didn't have lunch) but the salesman knew he had to convince her to get the car sold. Once the dealer got the monthly payments close to where we had budgeted per month, we knew that we had found a car that had the perfect amount of performance/entertainment with cost. We might have been paying the same monthly payment that we would have with Nissan but would have only gotten the V4 and no media center in the Altima.

[adams200s]

good choice

[scott]

I was looking for a convertible 4 seater.. So looked at Mustang, BMW 3, EOS, and the mini. The BMW is super but is very budget unfriendly. The 200 cost less and had more space than the others. I've had it since May of 2011 and its been great.

[notyorz]

Glad you went with the 200!

[sunnyksummer]

1st the passat
2nd the accord
3rd the sonata
i finally went to the 200 limited with 4 cyl because with the same amount of money, i gain more features with the 200 compared to other 3! beside, the american looked most muscle among 4 vehicles i was looking at!

[adams200s]

If you compare apples to apples like most of us do in real life, not like the magazines do, you do get alot for your money with these 200s, whichever model you choose. Hard to find a better deal, and I dont think theres a nicer interior for under near 40k bucks.

[alexeweaver]

Hi there,

I'm a reporter in Chicago working on a story that would really benefit from the perspective of a Chrysler 200 owner. Can you spare a few minutes to help me out? I'm at aweaver3@gmail.com

Should be fun ... thanks!

Alex