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Herb Jenssen
05-30-2004, 01:12 AM
I purchased a 05 Magnum Rt last night.
I had to drive a ways to get it because there were none around here.
My wife was driving our 02 300M Special we were trading and I was driving our 99 Caddy DeVille that I thought I might trade if the price was right.
It wasn't!
Anyway, on the way there we have to cross a long bridge (24 miles) and we were talking on our cell phones and I told my wife to punch the 300 (50 mph)
and when I see it move I'll punch the Caddy.
I was very surprised to find the 300 stayed about 3/4 of a car length ahead of the Caddy until we let off at about 80 mph. The Caddy has the NORTHSTAR but the lower HP of the two that were available. 280 HP or somewhere in there.

Since they didn't come up with what I thought was fair We still had the Caddy.

I let my wife drive the Magnum home, least I could do since she didn't hassle me much for buying this. When we got back on the bridge to go home, I called her on the cell and said let's do this again with the Magnum.

I was thinking the Magnum would blow me away or at the very least steadily pull away from me. IT DIDN'T!!!! The Caddy stayed right with the Magnum. I was so upset I would have brought it back right then if they were open. (It was 10:00 p.m.)

Where is all this so called performance I have been reading about for the last so many months? Don't get me wrong I like this car but I am so disappointed in the performance. The next morning, I was up early calling the dealer that didn't answer. I then decided I would go out and drive it and do some 0 to 60 times. Everything I've read states 0 to 60 times in the low 6 seconds bracket. The best I could do was 7.45 seconds. Even with the ESP in the off position the tires hardly break loose from a dead stop unless I brake torque off the line and then it's not that much.

I just can't believe a 99 Caddy stayed right with the BIG BAD HEMI. Yeah, I looked under the hood to make sure they didn't switch the hemi to a V6. It was still there.

I finally got a hold of the Dealer who also thought something wasn't right and called me back to say it needs to be broken in.

I'd like to believe that but this isn't my first car and I just can't buy that.

I would like any owners out there to comment on their feelings about the performance of their Magnum. You can bet I will be calling Dodge Tuesday morning.

Thanks for listening,
Herb Jenssen

B1G BLEU
05-30-2004, 04:26 PM
Others have posted the Hemi's computer holds back all the power until a certain # of hrs have passed for break-in. I've gotta say my 4.7 D one day seemed ALOT faster than when I got it. When I got it acceleration was ok, nothing to push you into your seat. It's like driving a bull now, the slightest bit of gas and the nose goes up. I only use mine for pleasure, several months passed before I noticed the power. Give it time.

steelerman
05-30-2004, 04:34 PM
You just made me sick!! I have an RT on order with a 6 week wait. Can someone find out what is going on? I always thought it should be faster than what Dodge was claiming.

Magnum Dave
05-30-2004, 04:53 PM
Sorry to hear you're disappointed Herb. I read your post last night and realized that I hadn't actually clocked 0-60 times. I found an empty mall parking lot this morning and ran 4 times to get an average. I realize that I'm not the fastest driver in the world nor is my wife the best timekeeper but.... the fastest was 6.05 seconds, the slowest was 6.46 seconds which seems to be pretty consistent with the stats I've seen. My father in law has an '01 Seville STS and my R/T can walk away from him like he's standing still. Check with the dealer and see what's up. When my car came in the dealer claimed that Dodge didn't ship the correct CD for programming the computer for the magnum (??? never heard of such a thing), but they also said that using the programs from the Hemi trucks or Durangos wouldn't work well. Just a thought, maybe yours isn't programmed correctly? Anyway, hope you get it resolved soon. Good Luck!
Dave

Herb Jenssen
06-02-2004, 01:02 PM
Dave,
I'm going to print your reply and show it to the service manager.
Could you e-mail me or put it on here the name and location of your dealer?
Thanks
Herb

Herb Jenssen
06-02-2004, 01:05 PM
Dave,
Where did your dealer get the correct CD?
Later
Herb

Magnum Dave
06-02-2004, 03:32 PM
Herb,
Keep on these guys and get your car straightened out. My dealer is Gwinnett Place Dodge in Duluth, GA. So far they have been outstanding in every way. I have absolutely no complaints with either the sales staff or the service or parts folks.
What they said initially was that the car didn't come with the correct CD for programming the chip, or computer, or whatever. That meant that nobody could test drive the car because it wouldn't shift out of 1st gear without the CD. This was on a Thursday and Dodge overnighted the proper CD which they received the next day (friday). The car was ready to be driven on Saturday morning at 9:00. I drove it, liked it, bought the car and was home by noon.
I hope that helps.... I don't know if my dealer was feeding me a line of crap, but I don't know enough about new cars and their computers to argue. It sounded reasonable and when I got in the car Saturday morning, it worked.
Good Luck!
BTW I'll be in New Orleans in a few weeks if you're in the area I'd like to see your car!
Dave

Herb Jenssen
06-02-2004, 04:04 PM
Dave,
Thanks for the info. I just came from a Chrysler dealer.
I went there to get a refund on an extended warranty I had on my 300 I traded.
While I was there I asked one of the service guys if he ever heard anything about a CD to program the 05 300C. He did not!
That doesn't mean anything though. A lot of people are not aware of what goes on.
I'll be here if you make it to the Big Easy. Are you flying or driving?
My cell is 504-722-3295. Give me a shout!
Just don't show up in a Caddy!! My Magnum is scared of them! 8>)
Later
Herb