Got the 300 M

I'm floating two inches above the ground, really exited about the 300M that
I drove home this tuesday. What a step up from the 'childrens bus' we used
to drive (Citroen Berlingo).

It's a beautiful black late 1998 3.5 with 'everything' in it. It's about a
thousand times more interesting than any other car on the road (here in
Denmark) and it's the most expensive car anyone drive at work including the
boss....

I just filled it up today and I'm doing about 25 mpg in it, the cruise
control helps a lot I think. Everybody drives with stick shift here and
cruise control is very rare.

The size of the car (5x2 m) is large compared to other cars here, most cars
are about 4.2m x 1.7 m and this makes it a little difficult to fit the car
into parking spaces and the tall rear window makes it almost impossible to
watch where I'm going. But it's worth it, this is such a great looking car.
(or as she says in the commercial: "because I'm worthless")....

Now I'm hoping for a long lasting relationship with few problems, I can't
afford major repairs with a car that has these spare part prices. I have
read a lot of good reviews about the quality of the 3.5 model and I hope
they are right.

JimR
Denmark

 

You might want to visit the 300M Enthusiasts Club and its forums (and
think about joining). Lots of good info. and knowledge base on likely
problems, maintenance tips, etc.

Club
http://300mclub.100megs42.com/

Forums
http://300mclub.100megs42.com/forums/index.php

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

Enjoy the car. We've enjoyed our 1999. We usually keep a car about 6+ years
but my wife loves it and will not part with hers this year.

 

Wasn't the first model the 99 version?

 

I'm smile-in for ya. It's been a while since I was last in Denmark,
but I know what you mean. In NL and DE I always get a kick out of
seeing the odd 300M on the road.

Who was it that said life's too short to drive slow, ugly cars?

Remember, it's MoPar - or No Car.

 

I was all ready to tell you you were wrong, but did a last minute check
on some drill down parts source web sites, and you're right - the 2nd
gens. started in '98 with the Concorde and the Interepid, but the LHS
and M didn't come out until '99.

Is it possible some 98's were made for Eurpoe, or is Jim going to post
back saying his is in fact a '99?

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

"Model years" as we know them in North America aren't used outside North
America. Rather, car year is identified by production date for parts and
service purposes, and by date of first registration for legal and
identification purposes. This means that what we might know as a "1999
300M" could easily be known in Germany (for instance) as a 1998 if it was
first registered shortly after being built in, say, October of 1998. Or,
that same "1999 300M" could be known as a 2000 if the dealer had it
sitting on his lot and it wasn't purchased and registered until 2000.

The "model year" is pretty much unique to the North American market. It
started out as a sales-and-styling tool (you can't persuade people to buy
next year's model unless there's such a thing as last year's model!), and
was codified when emission regulations came into force, defining the
maximum length of validity for a manufacturer's emission certification for
any given vehicle configuration.

DS

 

You are right on the spot, my 300M is registrered in october '98 and is
supposed to be a '99 model.

JimR

 

I'm a member of the Danish Mopar club www.moparclub.dk - I hope I can join
the cruise with the rest of the 300 letter cars :-D Would anybody notice the
35 year difference ..?..

JimR