Why SRT8

[Sleeper300]

We all made decisions to buy the SRT8 of choice, what influences made you 1st buy American and 2nd How come not just a 300c?


I bought the SRT8 Mostly due to the HP and total package, wasn't just a Bigger engine in the same car, it's a completely balanced reborn automobile for a bargain. Actually i was looking to get a 06 Z06 , and as most know they aren't available and then its not a true daily driver, OH and my wife just didn't care for the Vette, she couldn't see too well out of it...YET She seems to have grown fond of driving the SRT8 though. I've always liked the 300 and when i heard they made a HiPo version called SRT8, i knew i had to see one and check it out. My wife calls the 300 a Pepe Car. Old people car, i just think its funny, and for regular 300's that may be true to a degree, not saying any of you are old.
I did think i was settling at first, yet the more i drive the SRT8 the more i'm impressed with a 2ton sedan being able to provide as much Fun most anyplace i Go, plus i can take others along,, Not possible in a Z06. And with S/C and Intake& Head options there are answers for most anything we want.

I love this car and grow happier with it with each mile, just find myself neglecting other projects with mods to the SRT8 at hand. My trucks getting new Gears as we speak, so i'm keeping them mostly happy.

Moral to this is We are all not average, most of us are Gear Heads from the past Muscle Car era and I just believe in spoiling myself, and getting what i truly want. We are Car people and Non-Car People will NEVER understand.

[BBSRT8]

I ordered my SRT8 without having seen one outside of a magazine. I hadn't even driven a 300.

I was content with leaving it stock for about a month before the gear head in me started to take over. This forum has a bad habit of increasing my desire to mod my car quite a bit too. Just so much good info and well written posts (people like Meister and goddardzilla to name a few) that help make some of my choices easier to make.

Have fun with your car and the mods.

[330toSRT8]

Originally Posted by Sleeper300

We all made decisions to buy the SRT8 of choice, what influences made you 1st buy American and 2nd How come not just a 300c?

1st, I could not afford an M5, CLS55, S55, or S65. That left me two options: CTS-V and SRT8, although, when I first went car shopping in early 2005 the SRT8 was not really an option.
2nd, the 300C was faster than my 330ci, but the handling was not even remotely in the same category and I wasn't willing to give that up for a modest speed increase.

[artichoke]

I bought it because it's the most outrageous car deal on the planet. For a relatively low price, I get a type of American supercar that won't be a big maintenance problem.

I needed a new car because my Benz 380SL is spending too much time in the shop, and anyway I need 4 seats now. Knowing what a Benz feels like, I saw that the 300C had a Benz-like feeling, and the SRT8 was like a big Benz with a performance edge. I guess it's somewhat like an AMG, though I have never driven an AMG. There was a guy posting here -- who got flamed to death for some reason -- who traded an S430 for a 300C or CSRT8. I agree with what he said.

It wasn't a close decision, but I did think about certain other cars before making my decision. I do have a preference for buying American, but I would have bought it even if I didn't care about that. Around where I live, people actually seem to have a preference for buying non-American, and I think that is too bad. Maybe they just don't know much about cars, and believe that if a car has spent a month on a boat, it's has "high quality".

The SRT-8 doesn't feel as nimble as a 5 series BMW, but BMW these days has become too complicated and "edgy" for my tastes. This car has to be a family transport, so 3 series is too small for me. Wife needs an automatic transmission for whenever she has to drive the car. At the same price, I would be looking at a used 5 series, and I was thinking of trying to find a deal on a used M5. (She could learn to handle the paddle shifters since there's no clutching.) Wife told me that if I bought a used car it had to be a recent model, but used recent model BMWs have big repair costs, so no used M5 even if I could find a great deal.

Audi just didn't turn me on. I was looking for RWD not Quattro. The A6 is a glorified Passat. (Check out the basic dimensions, they are the same.) VW Passat didn't excite me.

I test drove Cadillac CTS and didn't like it after the 300C -- the suspension isn't good at all compared to the 300C. CTS-V comes only with a stick shift.

I thought about Infiniti G35 Coupe but wife didn't want a Japanese car. That also takes care of the new Lexus I series even if they weren't overpriced.

So that's why I did it.

[330toSRT8]

Originally Posted by artichoke

At the same price, I would be looking at a used 5 series, and I was thinking of trying to find a deal on a used M5. (She could learn to handle the paddle shifters since there's no clutching.)

I know this is irrelevent to the thread, but what used M5 has paddles shifters? I've only seen them on the brand new M5 with SMG.

[sorbs]

Thanks artichoke! I also forgot to mention that great "iDrive" system and wonderful SMG on the other thread...

[haas]

Originally Posted by sorbs

Thanks artichoke! I also forgot to mention that great "iDrive" system and wonderful SMG on the other thread...

I was going to get a CTS-V , but the greedy dealer wanted no dealing whatsoever on a 8month old demo. I then when to get a reg 300C , and found out they had an SRT8 coming,

Walter

[RobertV]

I did have a deposit on a M5, but invested money in land.
Decided to look at used 2003 540iT with sport package, I love wagons and had a new 99 540iT for two years. The money for a used 540iT was the same as a new Magnum RT/SRT8 dependent on the condition.
Being a spoiled car person, I was unsure if the Magnum would do it for me on the engineering side, I was in love with the look at first sight.
I first drove a RT. The RT was good. For my tastes, I felt the suspension was a little soft, steering was overboosted, brakes needed some help and the seats didn't hold me the way I like. I was out in the car for 40 mins and went back to the dealer to drive a RT AWD. In addtition to the above mentioned thoughts, I felt that the AWD leaned a bit too much for me, and later found out that it did ride higher than the RT.
My thoughts were, well a set of H-Sport sways would fix the AWD, what about the other items I had on my wish list? Brakes and suspension are easy, albeit a little expensive and they cause certain warranty issues down the road. Seats....well a set of Recaros can fix any seating issue
So I started to price the upgrades I wanted in my head...I figured I would spend far more than the $5K difference btw. a loaded RT and a loaded SRT8, I bet it would have been double that figure.....
So...I went for the SRT8...there is nothing out there for this money that can hold a candle to this ride.....I now have over 4k miles on the car and am very happy.
My wife does not understand the car nut inside me, but she is good to me with a SRT8 license plate frame, a German license plate reading: ROB'S SRT8, a Hemi only parking sign, etc. I spent over a year planning what my next ride would be this past Nov....my close friends understood and often help support my obsession.
We are lucky to have the means and knowledge!!!!

[RobertV]

Originally Posted by 330toSRT8

I know this is irrelevent to the thread, but what used M5 has paddles shifters? I've only seen them on the brand new M5 with SMG.

None in the E39 line, unless you count a full blown Dinan 540 with the auto.

[aceofblitz]

To be honest, I dont own an SRT 8 yet. (I'm not in the USA, I can get one but the dealerships wont service it or anything cuz i didn't buy it from them...stupidity) I have a large interest in the whole SRT line though, I love the GC, 300C, Charger... didn't really like the magnum cuz to me it looks like one of those funeral cars.(no offense to magnum owners, please dont hurt me) :x The SRT models look amazing, they're really powerful and best of all... THEY'RE CHEAP. I mean come on you pay half the price of your competitors and own them to bits. Best of all, if you have a certain budget, you can buy the car and all its mods and still have some change to go eat dinner for the next month. Oh yeah, did i mention anything about AMERICAN MUSCLE?