2005 CHRYSLER 300C 5.7L V8, OWNED SINCE NEW, EVERY OPTION, DAMAGED ENGINE

2005 Chrysler 300 Series 300C Description

It is with a bit of a heavy heart that I list my 2005 Chrysler 300C. I purchased this car brand new in January of 2006 and really stepped up to the plate for it, but I had to have it! I have driven, maintained and fussed over it for 10.5 years now and it served me extremely well until last Thursday; it was running perfect as usual, stopped for 5 minutes, and on re-start there was a bit of a clunk and it would not start. Started it 2 hours later, but with a sickening rap noise evident. Had it towed to the dealer and it has been diagnosed with the dreaded "dropped valve seat" problem, in my case in cylinder 5...
I went through the motions with the dealer and talked to another shop, both of whom recommended a new or re-manufactured engine. I seriously considered the re-man because my car is in nearly perfect condition, but I decided against it. At this point, rather than put money into it, I figured I would offer it to you folks. I'm hoping that somebody has a perfect engine in a junk car and can make the swap and have an awesome car for a good price. The reason that I considered doing the engine is because of the stunning overall condition of the body and interior of this car, and because I have always maintained it and fixed anything that was wrong with it. Hear is a quick list of the things that I did in just the last 2-3 years or to keep it in top shape:

• Takata airbag recall fixed, new factory sill plates and rubber slush mats;
• Basically rebuilt the whole front end, struts, steering rack with tie rod ends, upper control arms, tension struts;
• New radiator and hoses; (as a note: never use worm gear hose clamps, the factory ones are great!!)
  
• New Chrysler brake pads all around and new Chrysler front rotors.
  

My intention was to keep this car until the fall of 2017 when my wife's car would be paid for but it was not meant to be. As I am the original owner, and have always "fussed" over this car, so the new owner get's all the goodies that came with the car or that I have acquired for the car:

• Original owners manual package with case and blue touch-up paint
• 2...that's right, 2 keys just like every car should have but few seem to
• ORIGINAL WINDOW STICKER!!!
• Complete file of ALL service records for the car
• Numerous 2005 300 sales brochures and catalogs, road tests, etc.
• 4 volume printed factory shop manual for the 300C, weighs about 10 pounds.
• Set of factory winter "slush" mats
• Aftermarket chrome grill that I never liked

OK, lets get into the car itself. It is very, very, very good condition considering the age and miles on the car, look close at all the pictures. The interior is great, NEVER SMOKED IN, no rips, tears or stains even in the drivers seat. A good leather cleaning is all it needs. Even the drivers seat bolster is not ripped or worn through. The body on this car is fantastic, I have had it detailed every 2 years or so and to me, this blue with the light interior is truly stunning, the best color scheme I have ever seen on a 300C!! The tires are Goodyear Eagle Sport All Season, by far the best tires I have ever had on this car and in excellent condition. The exhaust system is great, all factory SS with perfect tips. I replaced both down pipes with cat's a couple of years ago with low mileage take-offs. The brakes are in great shape and, the car is currently inspected in RI through August of 2017. Some of the quirky things that I have taken care of : replaced headlight switch, replaced fogged up drivers side mirror, replaced drivers outside door handle, replaced pink plastic part in shifter assembly with billet aluminum and other stuff that I probably forgot about.
It occurred to me that I have not even stated all the options this car has for anybody that may not be real knowledgeable of the 300C. These are all shown on the window sticker but here we go:

• Power sunroof with shade
• Power tilt and telescoping steering column
• Power pedals, one of my favorite options!
• California Walnut steering wheel, shift knob and inside door handles
• HID headlights with washers
• Heated front seats
• Steering wheel radio controls
• Auto dimming rear view mirror and drivers rear view mirro
  
• Bluetooth hands free phone
• Rain-sensing wipers, work perfect, better than my wife's ML350!!
• AM-FM/Satellite Radio/with 6 disc CD changer and built in Navigation. NOTE: the navigation disk is included in it's case, not in the unit.
  

There are a few things that are not 100% that I will mention. The "AUTO UP/DOWN" feature on the drivers door window does not work; you gotta toggle it up and down. The radio / navigation unit has some issues where the display will cut out and it will keep playing in whatever mode it was in. Also the joystick has not worked in a few years. The plastic chrome strips inside the doors have a little peeling. The chrome on the clad wheels are in good but not perfect shape and I have refinished the lip around the wheel's several times with silver paint. The passenger side valve cover along with the coil packs are currently removed from the engine and are in the trunk, see photo.

I think that's about all I can say, I wish this had not happened, but that's life. I would encourage anyone close to RI to come and inspect the car for yourself. I really believe this is a great opportunity for the right person. I'm sure I could get a lot more by parting the car out, but I don't have the space or time to do it, maybe you do and can profit from it.

6/28/16 Re-list update: I had a mechanic I know pull the intake and the passenger side head and I can confirm that in addition to the head, the #5 piston top is also damaged. Intake and head are now also in the trunk.