Hey Folks,

In the midst of these trying automotive times, I was considering picking up a 2008 Dodge Caliber SRT4 for the wife, and I would use her car for work. I have been searching for an inexpensive used car, but everything I have come across either has to many miles for the price, or has been beat to hell by previous owners.
The Caliber is going for 18,500 at one of the dealers slated to close in my area.

I have read magazine reviews, but does anyone on the board have first hand ownership experience or know someone who as experience with this car?

Thanks for your insight.

P.C.

 

We have one. Under powered, poor build quality, poor quality of materials.

I bought it for my Daughter in February of 08 and it looks older and worse than my 01 CLS.

In it's defense she is 19 and treats everything with little respect, but before this she had an 01 Audi A3 which first went through her two older brothers and looked fine at 50k & 6 years old.

 

This SRT4 is a NEW 2008? The dealer has owned this car since last November and it has just under 300 miles. The price was marked down from 25,400 to 18,500.

I have come across a couple of consumer reviews about the crappy build quality, squeaks and rattles in lower models like the SXT, or R/T.

 

my wife was kinda looking at a Caliber when she was looking for a new car. I agree with e30cabrio, it's under powered, very poor materials and build quality.

But, if you're looking at a SRT4, it might be a different story. If you like the car and are getting a good price for it... go for it! I haven't seen a SRT4 on the road yet.

Good luck!

 

what is your wife looking for in a car? for $18.5k i can think of many cars i'd rather have than a caliber and they'd be brand new.

 

Meh.

 

We also looked at the Mazdaspeed 3. I personally like the Mazda, but the price is actually more than the new car price on the Caliber SRT4. I am looking for the most BANG for the buck without breaking the bank.

 

Those are built not too far from me in Belvidere, IL... If you're looking at a regular Caliber, don't do it! Build quality sucks, very cheap materials and you'll probably be a frequent visitor to the service department. A co-worker of mine bought one for their daughter and they've already had their driver side door panel replaced cause it was falling off. One of my fiancee's friend bought one with their buyout package and it's been in the shop numerous times cause the radio keeps going out on her.

 

You should be able to get a brand new Civic Si in the high 18g-19g range.

 

I had a regular Caliber rental car and that might have been the biggest turd in the world. Poor build quality would be an understatement. It would rattle over bumps The whole car felt like it was put together in 10 minutes and it looks like a piece of shit from the outside.

 

Exactly what I was thinking. It might not have as much power as the Caliber, but it doesnt weigh nearly as much, so its more fun to drive. Plus last I checked, Honda wasnt bankrupt.

 

I would never buy one. Shortly after they came out I was behind one on the road heading home. One of the turn signals had shorted out so it stayed on solid all the time and each time the driver hit the brakes, I think one of the reverse lights would come on.

 

I've had it as a rental as well, and would never buy one, mostly for the ugly exterior. The inside is less than impressive as well. I would go with something else, maybe a civic or something used

 

i believe that in a thread awhile ago, the caliber was named one of the best looking interiors by a publication and that perhaps got the most negative reactions of all threads in car talk

 

A friend of mine got a Mazda 3 for around 18K OTD about 2 months ago, it was the 2.0L 4spd. one with a 6 disk changer, pretty basic...

 

And I don't think the SRT4 version is going to be any better in terms of build quality

 

as with most dodge products outside looks great inside looks and feels like ass

 

Neg.

 

No....

Look at a Subaru Imprezza. The NA version should be low in cost, has AWD, and some utility.

 

Yeah, my sister picked one up for around 19K OTD. Auto, moonroof, CD changer, 17" rims. I believe it was the economy package.

 

What dodge products look good besides the Viper and the Challenger? The rest of their line-up looks like poo.

 

Yuck. It may seem tempting, but remember :

(1)- It doesn't actually perform all that well.
(2)- Dodge auto reliability has been historically bad, particularly of late.
(3)- The car company as you know it will pretty much cease to exist, making warranty repairs, getting replacement parts (particularly for specialty models like the SRTs) difficult at best.
(4)- There are much better options at that price point.

How's your car credit? If decent, you can get good financing on a CPO or quality used vehicle, and can get something vastly better with very low miles :

~'06 or so G35 Coupe or Sedan 6MT
~'06 or so MazdaSpeed3
etc

Also in the range you can get a *mint* Pontiac GTO w/400HP LS motor. Pretty easy to mod into the 500hp+ range if you so desire. More of a muscle car than a sports car though.

 

Saw one the other day with a gap between the fender and the hood that had to be 2" wide at the base of the windshield funneling down to 1" at the headlights- thought it must have been in an accident but it was brand new

Reminds me of that Michael Keaton movie "Gung Ho" where they had to build a boat load of cars in a very short time to keep the plant open, and all the cars were fawked..lol

If you are trying to stimulate the economy by buying domestic, pick up a Fusion - you should be able to pick one up for a cheap price..Otherwise, add my vote for the 3 or civic

 

fun engine but an ugly and boring to drive car. Some site put it in their "Top 10 cars that don't deserve their engine" countdown.

 

Absolutely not.

I can think of so many cars i would rather have for that money.

 

Just read that article on autoblog, it was good

 

I love my mazda3 hatch, its not a speed but its has way way more pep than my civic lx sdn. It was right at 19.5k

Your not going to be able to get an si for 19k I belive though.

Even for the 18.5 I would skip over the caliber

 

As an aside Consumer Reports recommends no current Chrysler product.

 

I just traded in my 07 Mazda3 s Touring with 7K miles for 11.5K I'm sure they will turn around and mark it up to 15K but it was a perfect car.

 

Fit
Matrix
Mazda3
Civic

I'd rather have any of those.

 

The SRT4 is a manual transmission. My wife drove the car, and didn't like the fact the car had a lot of torque steer under hard acceleration. She is out looking at a new Mazdaspeed 3 and a new Subaru WRX at the moment.

Thanks, for the insight and constructive feedback. I gave her some info from the responses on the forum and she agrees the interior if HORRIBLE, but the motor is a beast. So, the SRT4 is off the list.

 

The WRX is going to warp here sense of sensible speed...

The Mazadaspeed 3 is also a good choice. Either one should work quite well, but your price point moves a bit.

 

no.

 

happy car hunting now. let us know what she gets

 

my cousin just bought an '04 S4 w/ 53k miles for 18,500..def take that over a mazdaspeed/civic si

but if ure buying brand new civic si is the way to go, great financing rates right now too

 

prowler
magnum
durango
trucks
charger
challenger

only car that really looked like crap was neon

 

fixed

 

yep i build the Si motors. support me
Line 3 ,B shift, main line , REPRESENT.

 

^^ how do you have time with all your other business ventures?

 

the farm dad and I run together since he retired from Honda, volunteer fire and rescue just i run when i'm off from work. same with farming.