3.6L 9th or 10th Gen Impala vs. 2nd Gen 200 or 300?

[Shaman]

I've been back and forth on several types of cars, from big V8s to Civic SIs, and I think I am finally stuck at the Impala, 200, or 300. The 9th Gen Impalas, and 2nd Gen 200s are in the same price range, and the 10th Gen Impalas and 2nd Gen 300s are about the same.

I'm leaning toward the 9th or 10th Gen Impalas. A 10th if I can find a private seller and arrive in time, or a 9th if not. I know the 9th Gen is dated, but for some reason I am ok with it. The 8 speed stories on the 200 worry me. I know I also need to check the oil filter housing on the Pentastars, and the Impalas have blend door issues.

Is there anything else I'm missing? Which would you choose?

 

[PF52]

9th Gen Impala. Style-wise they aren't very flashy but seeing how many are still on the roads speaks for their longevity. In contrast to the 200 which I don't think I've seen one of all year long.

 

[skyactiv]

Both are popular cars on the bad side of Columbus, Oh. It does seem the 200 goes to the salvage yard sooner than an Impala.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

I'd take an Impala over a Chrysler

 

[Shaman]

9th Gen Impala. Style-wise they aren't very flashy but seeing how many are still on the roads speaks for their longevity. In contrast to the 200 which I don't think I've seen one of all year long.

There is one of both in my complex. The 200 looks better, but the 9 speed issues concern me.

 

[Skippy722]

Can’t really speak for the 2nd gen 200’s, but my moms 2013 200S with the v6 has been great for them, nothing has broken yet.

I still liked my 2016 300S more though… that 8 speed is just so good and I like the way the Pentastar feels to drive, very smooth.

 

[Shaman]

Can’t really speak for the 2nd gen 200’s, but my moms 2013 200S with the v6 has been great for them, nothing has broken yet.

I still liked my 2016 300S more though… that 8 speed is just so good and I like the way the Pentastar feels to drive, very smooth.

I"m looking at 300s, but few and far between that aren't on dubs.

 

[RhondaHonda]

Had a 2012 Impala company car from new that I bought after my company was done with it. Plenty of power with that 300 horse 3.6 and 30+ mpg. It was a great cruiser and trouble-free for the ~80,000 miles that I had it. Should’ve kept it for a gittin’ around car.

 

[Skippy722]

I"m looking at 300s, but few and far between that aren't on dubs.

I couldn’t really tell a difference between 20’s and 18’s on the 300, it felt great either way, the 20’s are just a little wider.

 

[nthach]

The Impala is more unassuming and it’s a halfway decent car. I’ve been in a Chrysler 200 as an Uber(I think it was the 3.6L Pentastar with the ZF 9HP), it felt like it was pulling above its weight. I’d expect the same reliability from those two.

 

[Shaman]

I couldn’t really tell a difference between 20’s and 18’s on the 300, it felt great either way, the 20’s are just a little wider.

No, I'm talking aftermarket 22-26s, some with a lift to make them fit.

 

[dishdude]

If you can find an unmolested 300, sure.

Impala would be a nice choice, I'd check out the Buick Lacrosse as well.

 

[drtyler]

The 300 would be my choice since its rear wheel drive.

 

[methusaleh]

I had to look up the generations online to see— my experience was with a Gen 9.

I was assigned the police package with the larger engine. It was a MY 07 or 08. I don’t know if there are different trim levels but mine lacked the spotlight on the A-pillar; I was a fed and our vehicles looked fairly mundane except for the added antenna. It had a column shifter which was nice.

The car was a maintenance nightmare and the handling was terrible. Again, I’m not sure if there are different police package options or trim levels.

Cornering at anything above a snail’s pace was not confidence-inspiring to say the least. Massive understeer. If you hit a crack in the road while cornering or on a sharp curve at speed, the suspension sent a quick reminder to never do that again, diving the front end a bit and making the back feel like it was going to break loose. I’ve felt a similar thing driving an empty bare-bones UHaul once, probably for lack of weight in the rear.

In roughly 14k miles as I recall....

TPMS never worked right despite a new TPMS computer (or whatever it’s called) and two sets of new sensors.

A never-diagnosed (thus never solved) problem where the fans came on and the temperature gauge started rising despite the fact that the coolant was actually in normal operating range. This is what ultimately sent the car to auction as every time I drove it this happened and I ended up writing a report and calling our fleet guy repeatedly. So a half day of driving resulted in a half a day of report writing and phone calls— not fun and not something my supervisor wanted to hear after the first ten times.

Phantom incidents of the airbag and low oil warning lights coming on and off randomly. Never diagnosed and no codes were stored.

Leaky trunk that was never diagnosed. Tried everything we could think of including taping newspapers all over to see where the moisture appeared.

Almost forgot, the remote control fob only worked from within about ten feet of the car. I guess this was a common problem but it wasn’t repaired during my time with the vehicle.

 

[Shaman]

If you can find an unmolested 300, sure.

Impala would be a nice choice, I'd check out the Buick Lacrosse as well.

I have been looking at the LaCrosse, but it’s another $2k in my area.

 

[gregk24]

300, impala, 200 in that order. Reliability of the 200 would be my concern.