Eh. I mean, I know it wants to be one. And brand new I'm sure they're nice. But most 300s I see around me are old beaters you can buy (even now) for less than $6k. [0]

And if someone needs an occasional quart of oil for their car, it's likely got some miles on it. It's not some pricey luxury automobile anymore. It's just an old Chrysler.

[0] https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtm...

Chrysler 300s have been on the road for a long time. Just because new one is in the $35k range doesn’t mean that one from 10-15 years ago is that expensive. Chryslers also generally depreciate faster than say a Toyota Camry or Corolla.

Not necessarily, let's say it's a 2008, you can easily find 300 junkers now worth almost nothing.

Are these any good? I might need a car on the cheap soon.

It depends on what your criteria for "any good" are. Most cars that have depreciated rapidly do so because their maintenance burden is high. If you think you have a better-than-average ability to absorb or mitigate this risk, then it might be a wise purchase. If you cannot, it is probably an unwise purchase.

If you're mechanically inclined and have a place to do the work, pretty much any old American (due to parts availability) car is "good enough." Buying your own tools is almost always far less expensive than going to a mechanic. Time is the real cost!

It's easier now than it has been to learn how to keep cars running.

Cool. Get hung up on one aspect of the story (for no good reason) and ignore the broader economic and societal implications.

I may be mistaking it for another car, but they also seemed to be popular with Uber drivers. So maybe he got conned into the “buy a Chrysler 300 on this here loan and drive for Uber black” thing.