Thoughts on the SRT-4 Caliber

With the commute I do and the amount I spend on gas each month, I am really thinking strongly about trading in my 04 Hemi QC for an SRT-4 Caliber.

I have 125k miles on the truck and while it still runs great, things are starting to go on it and I am dumping money into repairs other than normal maintainence. Dealer offered me almost a wash for what I owe on it so I am not getting hurt there and I plan on keeping the SRT10.

Going over to the Caliber SRT has me thinking these things

1. SRT vehicles only have 3-36k warranty
2. Its a 4 cyl with a turbo
3. Much better than hemi truck on gas - major bonus
4. cheaper insurance - not much but every bit helps
5. Payments for another 5 years as oppossed to 1.5 but $50 less per month for caliber
6. Loss of space - loading and cargo area gone.
7. Lots of miles to put on 4cyl engine. I maintain my vehicles very well, so whould I be okay?
8. No 4wd but I will have Fwd for winter
9. Caliber in Inferno Red
10. Have 2 SRT's :burnout:
11. I wont be as tempted to drive the 10 and rack up miles since I have the SRT4

Thoughts, ideas, options, etc???

Please help me out.

I have a Caliber ready to go with the dealer. Just need to pull trigger and I have been driving a dodge ram since 95.
12.

you're paying mostly principal balance on ur truck now,depending on ur new loan interest rate,all the money u might be saving on gasoline u would be paying in interest alone on the new car.

keep the hemi

flchub said:

you're paying mostly principal balance on ur truck now,depending on ur new loan interest rate,all the money u might be saving on gasoline u would be paying in interest alone on the new car.

keep the hemi

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Gas savings could be 3-400 per month. But that is a factor. I am paying all principal now and new loan will be 5 yrs.

Hemi starting to be a money pit with repairs now too. Already in last 2 months. exhaust, battery, ac switch, steering switch. within last 6 months, AC compressor, alternator, timing belt, 3 pulleys.

In addition to tune ups and synthetic oil changes, its seems like its going to hit a point where its nothing but issues every few weeks.

TREKER said:

Gas savings could be 3-400 per month. But that is a factor. I am paying all principal now and new loan will be 5 yrs.

Hemi starting to be a money pit with repairs now too. Already in last 2 months. exhaust, battery, ac switch, steering switch. within last 6 months, AC compressor, alternator, timing belt, 3 pulleys.

In addition to tune ups and synthetic oil changes, its seems like its going to hit a point where its nothing but issues every few weeks.

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still cheaper to keep it and have no payments in less than 2 years

Venom Power said:

You're making me consider the Caliber.. I was planning on rewarding myself for dealing with life's challenges by getting a shiny new 6 spd Challenger.. I have deep thoughts to go over here..

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I took one for a spin last Friday. They pull like a crazy... Never drove a turbo before but evenb with the AC on full blast, the thing was moving....285 horses 265lbs torque... For a little car, thats good stock numbers...

i like the srt4 calibers.

flchub said:

still cheaper to keep it and have no payments in less than 2 years

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My payments will go but repair bills and gas will be higher... But you are hitting it right on the head.. This is really the conflict. With new car, I have warranty for 3 yrs. Right now I have none. Truck is still in awesome shape. So should I get what I can for it now before gas goes even higher or ride it out and hope gas prices will stablize.

Without knowing what you owe on it, if you're not going to be "upside down" and it would be a wash financially, I wouldn't walk, I would sprint to the dealer to make it happen...

While some of us might not like to think of an SRT as a daily driver/commuter, there's a lot to be said for it. You picked the exact same car I would if I needed a car for a long (which by my definition would be 30 mile/up to an hour with traffic) commute. That or a VW GTi (I'm a H20 cooled VW fag from way back in the day...Sciroccos, Corrados, GTis, etc.).

I saw DOZENS of 1500 Rams, most with the Hemi, sitting and rotting on my dealers lot; huge discounts and the $2.99 gas are simply not bringing people in to buy them, and that even goes for the diesels which are getting discounted pretty heavily too...a lot of "regular" people are in panic mode with both the economy and gas prices, and for good reason...

Go for it and be a 2 SRT family...I'm working my way up to 2, then 3 myself!

Good luck!

how bout trying to find a used Neon SRT4...

IMO...I would find a less expensinve used car thats 2-3 years old. pay about 10k for it = cheaper payment, cheaper gas, cheaper insurance...

buy a used srt caliber. you gotta be able to find one $7-$10k under sticker and still under warranty.

I owe about 8k on the 04 ram. Dealer giving me 7k for it so with the 125k miles on it plus the lack of desire for dealers to take yet another gas guzzler, I think its kinda a win win situation. The SRT4 is not as loaded as my ram but for a daily driver, its not bad.

I want the warranty... Thats a big concern for me.

A neon was a thought as well but again, warranty. Plus... Neons are ghey.... No wonder Carlo mentioned it.

You'll like the Caliber. I drove several of them at this years Track Experience, Summit Point, WV. Yes, the cars pull like crazy and handle like they are on rails. It is a 4 cyl, intercooled turbo and like I said, great handling and performance. It gets decent mileage and for around $27K you can score one just about fully loaded. It seemed to have decent room for 4 and the back could be used to haul a sizable cargo load. And I think you can still get an extended warranty, should be 3 or 4 choices but because it is an SRT product you can forgot about the gas card deal. I am not sure what insurance would cost but it is a performance vehicle so a premium on that can probably be included with the bill. If you can trade in your truck without going upside down on the new car deal, then I say go for it.

TREKER said:

I owe about 8k on the 04 ram. Dealer giving me 7k for it so with the 125k miles on it plus the lack of desire for dealers to take yet another gas guzzler, I think its kinda a win win situation. The SRT4 is not as loaded as my ram but for a daily driver, its not bad.

I want the warranty... Thats a big concern for me.

A neon was a thought as well but again, warranty. Plus... Neons are ghey.... No wonder Carlo mentioned it.

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FA-Q

man 7k for your truck aint bad at all.
Yes neon's are ghey...but you got a 10 so who cares
Your still going to be paying alot...i still say a 3 year old car is a better bet...golf GTI's are pretty cool...if you can squeeze into one:marchmellow:

Saw one at my dealer on Saturday................I say time to dump the 125k miles truck and move on. Gas wont be getting any cheaper and forget trying to sell your truck with those miles in this market without giving it away.

Not sure about your area, but here, there are used full sized trucks for sale everywhere you look. What use to be a quick sale now has become a big gas guzzler that people are shying away from.

patrick

I bought a caliber, and sold it before I had 1000 miles on it. It's fun to test drive but sucks to daily drive. There are so many things I hated about it I can't even list them all.

I picked up a 2 year old mercedes benz c55 amg for the same price and it's ten thousand times better.

just my opinion!
~Mike~

BurntRubber said:

...golf GTI's are pretty cool...if you can squeeze into one:marchmellow:

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And they're available at insanely cheap lease rates right now, so you don't have to keep it forever if you don't want...

http://www.vw.com/specialoffers/en/us/#/gti

$269 a month for a GTi...and just short of 30 MPG highway...

GTi's are not ghey, GLi's are pushing it and Beetles are, without question, no matter what...I don't care if it's a 300 RWHP track monster, it's still a Beetle!

Lets get some pictures of SRT calibers on this post! I personally have never seen a SRT-4 model. Iv seen plenty of sxt and r/t calibers. I dont know if I am crazy about the body style. Just me...

AWDisuzu said:

I bought a caliber, and sold it before I had 1000 miles on it. It's fun to test drive but sucks to daily drive. There are so many things I hated about it I can't even list them all.

I picked up a 2 year old mercedes benz c55 amg for the same price and it's ten thousand times better.

just my opinion!
~Mike~

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How about giving me some of the things you hated most about it. :dontknow:

I am not a small guy 6'-2 and weigh about 235lbs. It is snug compared to the truck but thats to be expected.

I do like this color...http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars...QddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item190235241414