New to us 2005 Magnum

My wife has wanted one of these sense about 3 months after they stopped making them. She would have preferred a SRT8 with no sun roof and a cloth interior. But We settled for this one with only 800 original miles. Some Suspension upgrades, V8 Duel exhaust with duel outlets and 20" Mopar wheels.
It has the 3.5L SOHC engine that I have heard so many bad things about, so my wife asked me if she blows up the V6 can we put a 6.2L Hemi in it? I knew she was a Keeper!
Odd that the owner is also part owner of the Dealership it was stored at. He has a couple of other very low Mileage cars stored there also. The car is located in Central NY state, and I am in the Buffalo area for work this summer so I was actually able to inspect the car before bidding on it, always a bonus! It is basically an 18 year old new car. Weird. But my wife is happy, and I figured I would never get another chance to buy her a new Magnum. So I went for it.

What do you all you fellow Longroof fans think?

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2005-dodge-magnum-17/

 

NICE! Where's it located? I live about 80 miles south east of Buffalo.

 

congrats, always loved the magnum

 

Its in Johnstown NY so I think it is about 90 NE of you wagoninsane. She is already thinking of a personalized plate for it.

I suggested "4or5punk" any other suggestions for her?

 

Very cool. Congratulations!

 

I've heard these 3.5's don't suffer the same fatal flaws as the 2.7's, as the lessons on those were applied here. But, no better time than the present to go looking for a 392 drivetrain (manual swap?) to store away for that rainy day.

 

Yeah the 3.5L SOHC's are interference engines with a timing belt, so that always makes me nervous. But we will see. Not a bad plan to get a 392 with the 8-speed trans sitting on the shelf "just in Case"

 

That was a huge mistake on Chrysler Powertrain's part. The original 3.5's were not interference, as far as I remember, and were built with thick belts. But when you go to VVT (which I think these have?), all bets are off. Just for time's sake, if the wagon were mine, I'd put a new belt on, and make sure the pulleys all roll well with no noise or roughness.

 

I still think it is a good deal. You cannot buy a new car like that these days for that money. I'd daily drive it.

 

The only real issue with these engines is the camshafts can go south on them (like on mine). Dodge hasn't admitted it's a wide-spread problem but when the dealer finally figured it out (due to the paste in the oil I pointed out to them) they admitted they'd seen it before and covered the replacement no problem. Just something to be on the lookout for, a guy I know on the forums who used to work for Dodge said they were really good engines if you can avoid certain problems like that.

My only real sadness for these cars is I wish they had continued to making them into the mid-2010s when they upgraded the front end and dashboard for the Charger as they are much better looking and "nicer" than the earlier ones like this (plastic is nowhere near as hard or brittle). I absolutely LOVED our Charger and miss it dearly.

Good score though! It's essentially a brand new car still.

 

Thanks all, I fully understand that the later Chargers have better interior's My wife lovers her 2020 Scat Pack Charger.
My Plans this winter will be to change the timing belt, change the oil to Mobil 1, 10W30 Change the Brake Fluid. The Coolant, Oil and Battery were replaced last October according to the receipts.
Doing a little research the 2020 Challenger wheels were about $400 each new to a dealer, the shocks were $150 each, the Cold air intake was about $350, the cat back exhaust was around $500, I have no idea what was spent on the sway bars, springs, or the rear facia. But $1600 for the wheels, $600 for the shocks, and $850 for the intake/exhaust so it has at least $3000 in dealer added parts on it. Probably $4000.
I will need to put a set of tires on it over the winter also, the 12 year old low mileage Eagle RSA tires scare me a bit. Definitely no freeway driving on them.
I agree I think I would never get my $$$ out of it even if I drove it only 1500 or so miles a year. But I was thinking the same thin as Kevin, what new car like this can you buy for $24K? And it fills one of my Wife's bucket list items. The only thing that irks me a little is the BAT writer description of it having Dual automatic Climate control, doing some research the car has regular manual A/C, not automatic. Oh well. I can't blame the seller for the auction sites bad writing.

 

I also just noticed that the car was originally shipped to a different dealership than the one that now stores it. Also the window sticker has "Hold for Premiere Night" on it. Does that mean it was the 1st Magnum at that dealership? And not to be displayed until the official unavailing? Interesting, I will have to ask the seller about that.

 

You should be able to research that, independent of the seller. Imagine having a very-low-number production (or even pre-production) Magnum wagon. It would explain the 800 original miles on the odometer. The dealer-added parts might, or might not, detract from the worth of such a vehicle, but you should chase and exhaust all leads.

Edit: I went on the BaT page, and I saw where one bidder put $15.5k on August 5th...you came along later that day and dropped that $20K bid like it was a grenade in a foxhole!

 

Yeah I figured it would sell for between $20-25K So I figured why screw around. If you want it at least start out at what you would consider the lowest you would accept as a seller.
The seller told me later that he expected it to sell for at least $24K, and that is what it finally sold for. Auctions always make me wonder if the seller is shill bidding it up. I guess you never really know.

Also I considered anything up to $25K a deal, then factor in the 6% fee to Bat, and the 6% sales tax I will have to pay to the State of MI.

 

That is freakin awesome! Congrats man!