2008 Chrysler 300 buying guide

A data-driven checklist for buying a used 2008 Chrysler 300, built from 714 owner complaints, 4 recall campaigns, 81 service bulletins and federal safety records — not opinions.

Know before you buy

4 recall campaigns affect this model year. Check each one and confirm the repairs were done — recall work is free at any authorized dealer.
Main problem areas: electrical system (502), air bags (185), engine (53), power train (30), engine and engine cooling (25).
Symptoms owners describe: stalling (107), won’t start (76), loss of power (16), check engine light (11), hesitation / surging (11), vibration / shaking (5). Test-drive with these in mind.
Reported incident mileage: among 359 complaints with a usable odometer reading, half were filed between 50,100 and 104,000 miles (median 78,000). This describes when owners reported problems — it does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop one.
1 federal investigations have named this model year — read what they cover.
Fuel economy: 18 MPG combined (EPA; engines: 3.5L 6-cyl, 5.7L 8-cyl).

When problems get reported

Reported incident mileage among 359 complaints with usable odometer readings.

under 20k		25
20–40k		28
40–60k		64
60–80k		69
80–100k		67
100–150k		82
150k+		24

Before you hand over money

Run the VIN through our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact build.
Check open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls — a recall that was never fixed is a free repair you can claim.
Get a pre-purchase inspection focused on the problem areas listed above.

This guide is generated from official NHTSA, EPA and FARS records. Complaints are unverified owner reports and raw counts are not adjusted for sales volume.