There are some Chrysler 200s that are fairly affordable used, but I’m wary of buying a Chrysler. Are they any better regarding reliability vs the past?
You don’t mention the year, but my personal take is that anything past, say, 2010 is very, very* good. All manufacturers are producing such good quality now that I don’t think brand even matters. That said, I’ll admit that I still stick with Toyota, except for trucks.
Anecdotally, my 2011 Ram Quad Cab went 135000 with only one notable problem (a failed computer chip somewhere). I replaced it because I needed a larger truck, not due to dissatisfaction.
*I started driving in the 70s, so my definition of “reliable” is probably skewed. 
I’m looking at years 2012-2015
We bought Chrysler products in the 1980’s. Also GM. NEVER going back. I don’t care how “good” they have gotten since.
I had a 2004 Town & Country van that went 250,000 hard miles before dying. I still have a 2006 one going on 150,000 and my current 2008 has 90,000. All bought used.
I’d rather have a Toyota, Nissan or Honda, but can’t afford them. Probably a reason for the price difference, but you do what you can.
Chryslers are still known for transmission and electrical issues, especially on their less expensive offerings/
My own opinion/impression from everything I read is Chrysler design is good but quality is still lacking.
I like regaling the young 'uns of tales of being able to see the road go by underneath because the car was rusting out.
I have a 2011 Caliber Express — probably as low as you could go on the Dodge totem pole — which I bought new and just turned 100K. It’s been quite a reliable car with one exception, but that was a biggie: the (manual) transmission had to be rebuilt at 75K. According to the manager at the shop which did the rebuild, the failure was due to a policy from the Daimler era to use the cheapest parts possible, which in this case meant substandard bearings.
He further commented that however counterintuitive it may seem, the takeover by Fiat probably improved overall quality.
Ugh. That probably tell you all you need to know.
Scooty Kilmer is an auto mechanic on Youtube with 2 million subscribers. Three days ago he uploaded 5 Car Brands You Should Never Buy, which awarded Chrysler the pole position. He certainly would not agree that the Fiat merger “made the company better”.
With respect to good affordable used cars, he has had good things to say about Hyundai.
Only Chrysler I would consider buying is a Dodge musclecar. That’s one thing they get right, and I admire Dodge for going all in, pushing their chips into the center of the table, on American muscle. It’s practically all they sell now that Ram is it’s own division now.
Ok, the consensus seems to be clear. Ah well.
Thanks for that. I looked into his video, but he also has a video of the 5 top cars. 4 are toyotas and hondas (which isn’t shocking) but his 5th top car is the ford fusion. Which is surprising, I thought the transmission on the fusion had problems.
Maybe its better for me to spend the extra 3k or so on a used Honda Accord or Camry as opposed to a different brand of midsize sedan.
Except for a Dieselgate VW all I’ve owned have been Mopar products. A pre-Daimler Dodge and Jeep, 2 Daimler era Jeeps and a Dodge, and FCA era Dodge and Ram. I had no problems with any of them.
HOWEVER…I wouldn’t own a 200 under any circumstances. No concrete reason, they just rub me the wrong way.
I wound up with a 200 as my rental car for an unplanned drive from Orlando to Chicago a couple of years ago (all flights to Chicago had been cancelled, due to an intentionally-set fire at an air traffic control center).
I can’t comment on its long-term reliability, of course, but it struck me as feeling sort of cheap in general, and wasn’t very comfortable for two days of driving.
(Parenthetically, I’ve sworn off Chryslers due to two cars which both developed significant, widespread reliability issues after four or five years, but as the newer of those two cars was a 2001, my experiences aren’t current.)
The first car I remember my parents owning was a Chrylser Lemon station wagon. I don’t remember the year, but it was the 70’s. It never ran right. My father, who was a good shade tree mechanic, kept taking it to the dealer to get the problem solved. Not only was the car garbage, but so were the dealers. Every dealer he took it to told him they had taken the carburetor apart and found no problems. After some years, he took the carburetor apart himself to look and discovered that mold flashing clogged it up. He cleared it up and the engine ran much better, but the damage had been done.
Not at all current, but it has shaped my opinion. Or cast it in concrete.
Spoke to a police friend, I had noticed the local PD went through Crown Vics, Chevy Impalas, Dodge Chargers, and now Ford Explorers. There are quite a few Crown Vics still on the road with 250,000+ miles, but no Chevy Impalas are left at all. The Dodge Chargers he said had plenty of power but were too light in the back and the engines would need work at around 80,000 miles. So all the new vehicles are Explorers now, which actually get better mileage and have more room.
If you change “1980s” to “1970s” that is exactly how I feel about Ford, and though I know Ford has reputedly good products nowadays I still can’t bring myself to buy one.
I drive a 2013 Jeep Wrangler that I purchased new. It’s been very reliable and dependable. I sheared a wire to the traction control sensor at around 20k miles. It did not effect driving and they fixed for free. A week ago, my horn stopped working. I have an appointment at the dealership on the 16th. Indications are it will be an extended warrantee repair.
So, in 6 years & 1 month, I’ve never broken down and the most serious issue I’ve had is the horn not working.
Also worth noting, I got 55k miles out of the original brakes and 60k out of the original tires (Goodyear Wranglers).