I bought a HEMI Wagon on Friday, and drove it to Connecticut on Sunday

"JGrabowMSt" (jgrabowmst) 05/05/2014 at 00:01 • Filed to: HEMIWAGON

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There's a story here, but honestly, I'm really bad at telling stories. Ask pretty much everyone around me. When I finish telling a story, there's usually some sarcastic comment about "tell it again," or "I stopped listening after the first few words." That's okay, we're rough on each other, so it's fine.

The Dodge Magnum is a car that I've lusted after. It's a wagon, it's got a HEMI. It's America wrapped up in a bow with enough space in the back to safely transport a flock of Bald Eagles in the comfort of air conditioning all the way to Middle Earth. Seriously.

But the Magnum has other redeeming qualities about it too, that make it less of a dream car, and more of a real car. First, it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. It may be a few fingers in gas mileage, and a chunk of your thigh to purchase, but it's not all that bad for what it is. It's a wagon, need I say any more? Four doors, rear hatch, plenty of cargo space, and because of those things, it sits in a unique place in the dreaded insurance bracket. It's a Utility Vehicle. It can have the 5.7L V8 HEMI which is spectacular at roasting tires, making old ladies frown, and getting the rest of that car moving at quite an alarming rate of speed.

Something oddly nice about it is that I feel very safe in it. Is this because I just wanted it so bad? I'm not sure, but maybe. It's a lot bigger than the Neon I'm used to, it has a lot more go power, it sits differently, drives differently, and has its quirks, but it feels safe. It has the power to get out of a problem if need be, but it has the physical size to be protective. In order for me to get hurt by someone rear ending me, well, they've got a long way to go. The visibility is also pretty nice, which is odd, considering so many people say it must be crap because other LX cars have bad visibility. Well, it's not. Adjust your mirrors correctly, all three of them. Learn to be attentive, and you'll be set in any car you get into.

As a Male, below the age of 25, with (admittedly) one speeding ticket, and one non-fault accident, one would think I'm somewhat screwed in terms of getting insurance. Well, then I had a fairly long conversation with not one, but two insurance agents. I think that this is the most important part of buying a car that you want. Talk to insurance company. Try to get to know them, or let them get to know you. It breaks the ice, and it allows them to figure out how they want to adjust your policy to save money. Remember, being able to afford the sticker price is barely half the battle of being able to afford a vehicle.

I took to, naturally, the internet when it came to finding the car I wanted to buy. So I found it. Fairly locally. The original ad was pretty straight forward. $6500, email for more info, don't call if you're a dealer, and looking for trades for a specific car. Simple as that. I figured, what the hell, I'll shoot the person an email, and worst case it's a scam, best case, it's my car. A few days later, I heard back from the seller, who ended up being a really cool guy, but just not very interested in the car. He made a couple mistakes, but was honest about it (for the most part).

The Bad:

3 brands of tires on the car

Sunroof doesn't close properly every single time

HID kit and LED lights doesn't work with the CAN bus system

Either there's a bad wheel bearing, or half-shaft

It wasn't really washed outside or vacuumed inside

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

The Good:

He was daily driving it

He was honest about most of what was wrong, and showed me

He actually spent several hours with me going over things about the car*

He was very responsive when I was getting in touch with him

The car is in very insanely good shape for it's age and mileage

The seats are still firm, and the leather is in good condition

The car was mostly not modified

The seller was very open to small talk and getting to know each other*

Now, for some people, you probably wouldn't really think twice about certain things, but lets put this into perspective. This was the first time I went through the process of insuring, purchasing, registering, and transferring a title of a vehicle. I was quite nervous about making sure I got everything correct the first time. There's nothing worse than holding up the line at the DMV, because everyone will get pissed over it. I made sure that I was prepared for everything I had to do while I was there before I got to the counter, and didn't have to worry about anything. I was one cool cucumber while going through that, thanks to the seller taking the time, and the insurance agents taking their time to really get things sorted out for me.

Full disclosure: my 6 month insurance rate was below $650. For my age, that's pretty low. Especially for a male, with a speeding ticket on record. The car, sales tax/tags/title cost me $6781.50. It really wasn't that bad. I was happy with the price, and given the condition, it was a good investment. I can always flip it for a slight profit if something were to come up and I needed to sell it. Not a huge profit, but worst case, I could break even at the very least.

This car is another introduction to my adult life. I'm solely responsible for paying for it and keeping it on the road. The best part is that I'm interested in it. I want to work on it. I want to pop the hood, and wrench on it. Something I don't feel with my parents Neon. Yeah, the Neon is a whole lot simpler in comparison, but I didn't buy an appliance, I invested in my means of transportation. Will I heavily modify the car? That depends on how well it works moving ahead. Outside of my to-do list, yes, I want to modify the car, but I will hold off on doing so until I'm absolutely ready to spend the change on it. Not only do I need to be ready to spend the money, but I need to be aware of all of the changes I need to make to the car that are important for daily driver usage to ensure it will last a long, long time. Sure, I keep finding little things that are "off" about the car as I'm digging through it, but I'm overall satisfied with the amount of car I got for the money, and the quality of it. I don't think I could have done better if I waited for another one.

Not even a full 48 hours into owning the car, I drove it up to New Canaan, and some of you got to see it. That simply means that it's got it where it counts, and I can drive it wherever I need to go, and it'll get me there. Stay tuned for the project log I'm going to start posting (tomorrow maybe).

When it all boils down, the Dodge Magnum RT was my affordable dream car. That's why I bought one, and I'm glad I did.

*There is nothing better to me than someone who is helping me out. The seller obviously didn't know much about the car, but he wasn't trying to give me the runaround about it, and because of that, I was very happy with picking up the pace of purchasing the car, compared to what I was originally aiming for. If anything was fishy to me, simply put, it wouldn't have happened. I'm not much of a negotiator in terms of knocking the price down a lot, because I'm handy, and I'll put the time into figuring out the little things that aren't working properly. At 142960 miles when I drove it away, what could I complain about? It's a used car. Luckily not an abused one.

Milky > JGrabowMSt 05/05/2014 at 00:10

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We all want pics, either way though sweet buy.

ShiftyMcGrifty > JGrabowMSt 05/05/2014 at 00:14

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Good purchase! I wish you the best of luck in ownership of this vehicle. Looks like it could fit a kayak on the inside.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > JGrabowMSt 05/05/2014 at 00:23

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Did the seller cut you a break on the taxes or did he write the sale amount on the title? When I purchased my car the seller wrote down $2000, but I paid much more than that.

M54B30 > JGrabowMSt 05/05/2014 at 00:25

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sweet buy, I've always liked them.

Aftermarket HIDs are terrible about 100% of the time though. Just swap in some factory lights and be happy.

Edz > JGrabowMSt 05/05/2014 at 00:27

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Once my family unit gets smaller (wife + kids + elderly in-laws), it won't take me half-a-blink of an eye before I jettison the minivan and get mah-self wunna THESE!!! You're a lucky man. :)

Bad backs makes it hard for the old folks to get into anything OTHER than a minivan. :(

JGrabowMSt > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 05/05/2014 at 00:30

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Tiny break on the taxes. It was lower, but not drastically so. One of my ex-girlfriends' dads bought an F150 for wayyy below KBB value, and got a letter from the state about the difference in price. You can either have the seller sign the form saying that they acknowledge that they sold for below "market value," or you pay the sales tax of the difference. I really didn't want that to happen. Overall though, the sales tax came out to a nice, reasonable, round number that I was happy with.

JGrabowMSt > ShiftyMcGrifty 05/05/2014 at 00:32

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Thanks! It probably could. Once I get it situated as a DD, maybe I'll do periodic updates about things that you can actually fit inside a magnum.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Milky 05/05/2014 at 00:32

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What on earth is the "other" car?

JGrabowMSt > Milky 05/05/2014 at 00:33

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Now that it's relatively clean, pics will happen soon, I promise.

JGrabowMSt > Edz 05/05/2014 at 00:44

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Trust me, I know all the feels that come with a bad back. If your gas budget is not particularly high, I suggest looking into the 3.5L V6 model. Add a CAI and a Predator tune for 93 octane, and it wont feel sluggish, and it'll be much better on gas. Also a little cheaper to get your hands on. Whatever you do, avoid the 2.7L like the plague.

The HEMI is something I really wanted, but it's very thirsty, and the mileage is down compared to what it should be getting right now too. I sunk $60 at a gas station on the way home from CT, and the pump didn't even click. Gauge said it should have been full though, but just a few more dollars....ugh.

Once you can get away with a car that only seats 5, I would say go do it. They do ride higher up than it appears, and I would say getting in and out is easily comparable to a minivan in terms of comfort. The doors do feel a bit low though. The first time my girlfriend jumped into it, she did hit the top of the door frame getting into it.

JGrabowMSt > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 05/05/2014 at 00:44

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Looks like a Lotus to me

Big Bubba Ray > JGrabowMSt 05/05/2014 at 00:49

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Very nice! I've always wondered how these things are in terms of DD status. Keep us updated! I wanted one when searching for my first car, but where I live, they're all donked out. It's a shame.

Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) > JGrabowMSt 05/05/2014 at 00:51

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Great write up! I've always been a fan of Magnums. Shame we didn't get them here in Aus, though we got the 300c wagon as compensation.

If you're looking for me, I'll be searching for a clean used 300c SRT-8 wagon...

Milky > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 05/05/2014 at 01:24

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I thought it was a Venturi, but its not. If not answered tonight I'll ask all of Oppo tomorrow because I want to know too.

offroadkarter > JGrabowMSt 05/05/2014 at 01:38

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Cool story bro, tell it again

Two things I'd suggest, AFE CAI + Diablosport predator. You can enable/disable active fuel management on the handheld to, but the tune makes a big difference. You can sell that stuff off easy when you decide to do your engine/trans swap.

Here is my brothers charger R/T I was telling you about

Also, for all of you who want to see the magnum in question

All Motor Is Best Motor > JGrabowMSt 05/05/2014 at 01:42

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I've rented the non V8 version of this car a few times. They really don't hold that much, actually, and the ride was so floaty my passengers were getting carsick on the highway. Still, a cool looking vehicle. I imagine if the Hemi version handles and rides more firmly and the engine pulls good it would be a pretty nice vehicle. The rental version was a disappointment.

All Motor Is Best Motor > JGrabowMSt 05/05/2014 at 01:43

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They don't actually hold as much as you think. As far as wagons go, these are on the small side.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Milky 05/05/2014 at 01:43

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I think it might just be one of those homemade "generic" cars that TV shows sometimes use to avoid copyright infringement.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Milky 05/05/2014 at 01:51

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The rear shot at 0:05 looks like an older Lambo, then the front shot immediately after looks like an MR2 or Fiero, and the shot at the stop sign does look like a Venturi but you'll notice the side intakes are too low and it has Lambo-style "shoulder" intakes.

JGrabowMSt > Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) 05/05/2014 at 07:53

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The 300 wagon is a magnum with a different front/rear bumper, front lights, and crossbar to mount the lights to.

While Im tempted to do a 300 front end swap, its around $1500 in parts, and is not a direct fit, so it takes a while to get together. Id rather put that much money somewhere else.

Later today Ill be posting the to-do list and my project plans for it.

Twism > JGrabowMSt 05/05/2014 at 10:15

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Welp, here I was thinking I was the only one with a Magnum as my dream car.

welcome to the wonderful word of owning the best LX ever made!

as a fellow Maggie RT owner, I want to chime in on a few things:

- check out custommagnum.com, it's a very nice community with an expansive database.

- 60$ for fuel is not gonna be the worst of it, trust me ;)

- Mine has that same sunroof problem, the engine gets tired after a few years. press the button repeatedly.

- Diablosport makes one of the best tuner for the LX. with a good CAI, it gets a lot of throttle response, and it sounds gnarly!

what year is it? I'm eagerly waiting for pictures !

JGrabowMSt > Twism 05/05/2014 at 10:32

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It's a 2005. Later today I'm going to take some potato shots and post the beginning of my project log. I'm going to tackle the sunroof problem and see what I can do about it.

I'm thinking about a different CAI compared to other builds. I just need to avoid the rice. Keep an eye out for the project log, and you'll see what I'm thinking about for it.

Twism > JGrabowMSt 05/05/2014 at 11:06

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Following and awaiting.

there is a very thin line between a nicely-modded Magnum and a douchebag-monstrosity

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Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 05/05/2014 at 11:13

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I used to use that trick years ago when registering used cars/bikes until the DMV started going by book value to determine sales tax. Now you have to prove it was sold for parts or restoration to get the break.

Mathias Rios > offroadkarter 05/05/2014 at 11:29

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With a dirty ass ML in the picture as well.

offroadkarter > Mathias Rios 05/05/2014 at 11:33

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yeah but the clubman guy loved it!

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > JGrabowMSt 05/05/2014 at 11:43

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Nice. Since mine was a 40 year old car the DMV would't have a clue what it actually was.

Mathias Rios > offroadkarter 05/05/2014 at 20:21

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I took the car to a car-wash for the first time in months yesterday. I confirmed my suspicions that I'd rather have it dirty because the paint on the ML is really bad as well :(.