Originally Posted By: dishdude
300 is a great car and a killer deal. Mercedes chassis, excellent 3.6 engine (if you go V6) mated to a ZF designed transmission. If I was in the market for a sedan, I'd give it a close look. It's comfortable, drives great and the interior is nice once it went through the 2011 refresh.
I think you're right. The 300 does look like a pretty reasonable option. On average, it's not going to be as reliable as the very best of the breed, but all the major manufacturers make at least a pretty good car these days. And anyway there's scatter in those reliability scores. The best manufacturers make a few lemons and you will always find someone with an older high mileage (XXX - almost anything) who has had absolutely no trouble with it.
I had a Chrysler Corp rental car for a week a few years ago, and liked it quite a lot. I've rented a lot of cars over the years and it was a lot nicer than the typical super basic import.
The other option would be to buy something old with known good reliability. One example would be a much older W123 Mercedes 300D. You can get a really good one for less than $10,000 and with lots of TLC, drive it just about forever. If I needed a "new" car and was tight for money that's likely what I'd get. Another option would be a Ford Crown Victoria.