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Dodge Magnum Test Drive - What Did You Think?

30 messages,  Last post on Apr 05, 2008 at 12:45 PM

You are in the Dodge Magnum Forum.

What is this discussion about? Dodge Magnum, Car Buying, Wagon

Messages Page 3 of 3

#21 of 30 Re: My Experience [tlk] by ppug

Dec 25, 2004 (6:16 pm)

Replying to: tlk (Dec 15, 2004 11:19 am)
In response to the person about driving the car in snow, my car is NOT AWD and drives pretty well. My previouse car was an AWD A4 and I am happy with its performance.... My continued saga of problems had an unhappy xmas, my radiator burst... now I have had Brakes re-adjusted (for squeeling), Oil Pump failed, Power Steering failed, and now my Radiator. Getting my third towing in 2 months..... Yes I still love my car, but am getting sick of the problems. The wife is getting a new car shortly and it will be either a Honda or Toyota.

#22 of 30 Rental Test Drive Results - Addendum by functionfirst

Nov 30, 2004 (8:01 am)

In my prior post I forgot to mention:
 
Rear seat capacity/comfort: Very comfortable for two adults. I could sit with plenty of leg and knee room in back of either driver or passenger when their seats were fully back. But the middle seat is essentially non-existant even for a 9-year old. This is because there is NO leg room. The driveshaft "tunnel" is HUGE--both in width and height. The child either had his knees up (with feet on the tunnel) or his (small)feet interfered with the adjacent passengers (with feet on the floor to sides of tunnel). Consider this a four passenger car!

#23 of 30 Looking To Buy--Concerned About A Lot Of Issues With Magnum by magick8ball

Jul 24, 2005 (9:03 am)

I test drove the Magnum with the hubby yesterday, out here in the Los Angeles area, and loved it. Have a childhood friend who is a Service Manager for two different dealerships--Autos from all eras are his life coming 2nd to his family of course. He told me to find the message boards after I contacted him about the Magnum thinking he was going to rave about it. NOT. I am very concerned now about this car on all fronts though I too as many on the boards, love the Magnum. Is it me, or is everyone else reading more "Nay's" than "Yeah's"?
 
Of course no one can make my decision for me--just wanted to put my impression out there and get some feedback.
 
Thanks!

#24 of 30 Re: Looking To Buy--Concerned About A Lot Of Issues With Magnum [magick8ball] by mikeyc1

Jul 24, 2005 (5:04 pm)

Replying to: magick8ball (Jul 24, 2005 9:03 am)
All i can say is to keep in mind that DC is no longer offering it's 7/70 powertrain on the 2006 models. They did cover my secong rear end repair for the $100 deductible but then my Magnum is an 2005. I will say this, my 2002 Impala was a GREAT car and wish i had chose it again instead of the magnum.

#25 of 30 Re: Looking To Buy--Concerned About A Lot Of Issues With Magnum [magick8ball] by hardhawk

Jul 25, 2005 (5:30 am)

Replying to: magick8ball (Jul 24, 2005 9:03 am)
Those who frequently post on these boards usually do so because they have complaints. Please be assured that there are a lot of us who read these boards for information and have had very few problems. We love our Magnum RT that we bought in October of last year. It is truly an incredible value for the money and it has exceeded our expectations in virtually every way. Out of the tens of thousands of Magnums sold, you will find that the percentage with problems is small, just as with many other vehicles. While I certainly don't want to minimize some of the problems people have had, those cases are the exception to the rule, not the rule itself. Any device as complicated as a car with all of its modern systems can have problems and you can get a bad one. We are certainly happy we didn't get a bad one. Please don't make a decision based on what you read here. It's a skewed perspective and you need to keep that in mind. Good luck with whatever you decide.

#26 of 30 Re: Looking To Buy--Concerned About A Lot Of Issues With Magnum [hardhawk] by tjf2000

Jul 25, 2005 (6:36 am)

Replying to: hardhawk (Jul 25, 2005 5:30 am)
I would to agree with hardhawk... you never hear the good things on these forums. I have had my Magnum for a couple of months and have over 6k miles on it. No problems at all. I do a lot of highway driving and this car is very comfortable. Mine is the RT w/Hemi and I getting 24-24.5 mpg on the highway. In fact my worst tank to date has been 16.8 mpg. My dealer is a DC 5 star and has been very good to me so far... many times it's the dealer... not the car. Good Luck and for what it's worth, there are no rebates on both the Magnum and 300 products.

#27 of 30 Re: Looking To Buy--Concerned About A Lot Of Issues With Magnum [hardhawk] by mikeyc1

Jul 25, 2005 (6:55 pm)

Replying to: hardhawk (Jul 25, 2005 5:30 am)
You are right to a certain degree....There are things I like about my Magnum. Plenty of rear seat room, handles GREAT even with base suspension. The traction control is AWESOME in the winter. I Love the way it looks too. I was spoiled by my previous car and am probably somewhat jaded about the Magnum because of this. I think with the 3.5 and the 5 speed auto the drivability and transmissions / rear end problems I have been having would be a lot a lot less or very possibly non exsistent. I have had '90, '92', '94, and "96 caravans and had no problems, and a matter of fact a rollover accident in my '94 that totaled the vehicle and i walked away with a scraped elbow. My problems began with my 2000 caravan with trans replacement at 52k miles. I feel the quality just isn't there like it was before. Truth be told i will probably order a new one in next fall if it comes with the 3.5 and 5 speed auto. But i will not get another with the 2.7 and 4 speed auto.
Not everyone is getting the R/T and I feel the performance and the looks of that model may also help owners overlook other issues.
Lets just say that DC hit a home run on the design of the Magnum / 300 / Charger, but the mechanicals of certain models, ie the SE (Base) leave a lot to be desired.

#28 of 30 Re: Looking To Buy--Concerned About A Lot Of Issues With Magnum [magick8ball] by johndodge

Jul 30, 2005 (7:47 am)

Replying to: magick8ball (Jul 24, 2005 9:03 am)
Hello Magick8ball,
 
I’m glad to hear about your interest in the Magnum. Which model did you test drive? If you have any questions about the Magnum please feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer!
 
Thanks,
 
John B.

#30 of 30 Magnums (etc.) compared by jacklionel

Apr 05, 2008 (12:45 pm)

I'm the guy who bought the NOS 2006 AWD R/T last November.
 
I should have mentioned my shopping experience:
 
I first drove a V-6 Magnum. I was not impressed. Not only didn't it have much power, but the handling felt loose and sloppy.
 
I next drove a hemi SUV (I forget the name of the car, damn!). It felt better than the Magnum in all respects: the handling was much crisper, the steering precise. Then, I drove a 2008 Charger with the 20" wheels. The ride was lousy, in that you could feel the roughness of the tires. Finally, I drove the 2006. After the flat-spotted tires were changed, it was perfect: taught handling, precise steering, firm but not harsh ride and no tire roughness (this car has 18" wheels. As far as I'm concerned, you can keep your 20" wheels).
 
I paid only $23,900 for a car with 27 miles on it. What a steal. I was just in the right place at the right time.

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