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Just been trawling the net for a good value second hand family car and noticed that a brand new Dodge Avenger 2.0SE is available for ....£7995 no strings attached. UK cars and full warranty from a Chrysler/Dodge dealer? Surely they can't be that bad at that price?
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Oh yes they can.
CBG
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8k and three year warranty etc etc. Sounds ok, drving dynamics might seem a bit iffy.
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People who own caliber's seem to love them but all car reviews hate yank cars!!! Where did you see it at that price as it must be the cheapest yet?
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I'd have a Magnum though - all black, black chrome wheels and the 6.1 hemi.
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Had one in the USA as a hire car for about 2 months while working out there. Yes, it's plastic inside and the key is fragile but when you consider that it's a larger than Focus but not as big as a Mondeo car for less than Fiesta money, they are good value and there's no major issues I found with it. No, the handling will never allow it to stick with a Golf or a Focus, but it's a reasonable car and it has a certain amount of character too. I was driving a 2.4 Auto over there (their base model) and I was getting 31mpg (UK Gallons). If I was in the market and one was available at that price I'd be hard pushed to spend double that on a Focus I think. In fact it might even make me think about a Golf...
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£7995? Seems like a lot of car for the money. Where is it for sale?
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Seems to me to be on a par with the kind of deals that were available on the Kia Magentis not so long ago.
That car had the redeeming feature that it was reliable and well built. If the Avenger is the same (and I confess I have never seen one so I don't know) then it would seem to be an interesting purchase.
My concern would be the residuals. It's not so much that the value would sink like a stone (it doesn't actually have that far to fall, and if it's still worth £4K after 3 years that's not a bad return), it's more that Chrysler are in deep doo-doo at the moment and could go pop at any minute.
Parker's seem to think that the handling on the Avenger is acceptable if unexceptional. Which in general parlance probably means it's perfectly OK for the motorway.
I'd love to know how reliable these are, and what the parts prices are like.
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They are expensive to service, £1106 with 32% retained value according to autocar. So expect to get back £4800 after 3 yrs/36k. However, while looking at a new car the sales manager commented that they can't sell anything used at the minute!!! So £4800 might be a lot less in 3 yrs...
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They are expensive to service £1106
£1106 to service? Surely some mistake?
What do they do, replace the gearbox every 12,000 miles?
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Just been trawling the net for a good value second hand family car and noticed that a brand new Dodge Avenger 2.0SE is available for ....£7995 no strings attached. UK cars and full warranty from a Chrysler/Dodge dealer? Surely they can't be that bad at that price?
If it's anything like the Dodge Caliber it's appalling. Cramped, noisy and gutless.
However, I have driven a Dodge Magnum as an extended rental, and I own a Chrysler 300C and Chrysler Pacifica, with no problems and I thoroughly enjoy driving them.
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Just noticed -- the petrol engines are designed by Mitsubishi/Hyundai. With the diesel being a VW lump this isn't a bad lineup -- the engines (and presumably gearboxes which will have been matched to the engines -- same manufacturers as go in the Mitsu/Hyundai/VW cars?) are likely to be pretty solid, all of them.
So this really leaves the electrics, overall build and the way they drive. Looks are subjective, and I quite like them in a strange kind of a way.
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£1106 over 3 yrs to service... still a bit much?
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£1106 over 3 yrs to service... still a bit much?
A lot much.
I thought my Hyundai was expensive when it regularly came in at £160 for a straight service -- which the local backstreet would have charged £90 for at the time.
That's nearly £400 per year, for a petrol engine that won't need that much doing to it. The cost of servicing the Hyundai Sonata a few years ago (I checked) was £190 per service for a straight service, plus probably a cambelt change within that timeframe -- maybe another £200. That doesn't explain where the extra £350 goes!!
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What about this as a new alternative?
Mitsubishi are selling the old model Lancer Elegance (bit of leather trim) auto for just under £9.5k inc metallic paint but without VED or first reg.
You can buy a three year service package for £175.
I actually think the estate looks better than the saloon but not clear that's in the offer.
Quite a lot of car for the money.
Edited by Optimist on 22/09/2008 at 11:13
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I'm sure with some haggling you can bring the price down further.
Mitsubishi is far more reliable than Dodge.
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I thought I'd just put my ore in. I bought a brand new Diesel one (SE spec) at a bargain offer on Oct 13. It has now done 3600 miles and I would agree with most of the comments posted - appears cheaply made in side, I find it comfortable to drive (just done 310 miles today) Average about 47mpg. Will not keep up with a focus on the twisty stuff (and if you try the mpg drops).
I bought it because I got a new job with a car allowance and the finance over three years is the same as the allowance. I expect to cover 30,000 miles per year so I know that it will be worth nothing in 4 or 5 years time. I realise that depreciation is going to be a killer, but running it as a compnay car I didn't want a car I would get to attached to! I probably wouldn't have even considered it if it did not have the VW engine.
I used to have a Mk3 Mondeo and the Avenger is bigger. The only thing worth mentioning - the dealer said this - the handbrake is prone to requiring frequent adjustment.
In summary - a Mondeo or Passat is a better car but at that price you are looking at a 07 plate from a dealer and the Avenger has a longer warranty and longer time before MoT.
I have been running it in in accordance with advice on this website.
I'll update when I get to mega mileage!
Bertie
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Your reason for buying it would be the same as mine - someone else is paying and you do very high mileage. Whatever car you buy won't be worth much after three years and 100,000 miles so get something as new as possible for as little as possible.
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