Chrysler intrepid

[motv8tr]

Hey all, I'm hoping you can help. My nephew is looking into buying a car and right now has a line on a 1996 Intrepid. I don't know anything about them and can't find the website that tells you about lemons and such. The car apparently needs a new windshield and pads, but is otherwise good (we'll see)

 

He's also looking into a 98 Ford contour, needs rocker panels and front brake pads...so says the ad, again we'll see.

 

If anyone has any knowledge to share or a website to look up I would appreciate it. And I already know to have a mechanic to look at it first.

 

Thanks

Maureen

[GbayGiant]

Not sure about to much, but I know they have large interiors, my friend has one and I'm a fairly big guy and there was tones of room in the back almost like a Cadillac. lol.

[musky_man]

Mo,

 

I owned 2 Chryslers and never again ... nothing but trouble. Better off with an older Japanese car.

[brandon]

My first car was a 1995 Dodge Intrepid......ran fine until the oil pump died without warning on the 400. Ive heard of a few other cases like that happening as well. Mind you I only paid 300$ for the car but it sucks being stranded so far from home. So in my opinion I would keep shopping around......in fact I'm selling my 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo right now....229 000kms......runs great......safetied and etest.....$3500

[Lostchild]

After owning a '94 Intrepid Es, I wouldn't recommend one to anybody. I had nothing but problems with mine, and not cheap ones; transmission, timing belt, head gaskets, cv joints, water pump etc.

 

There's lots of sites with reviews, just google "1996 Chrysler Intrepid reviews". Good luck.

[Garyv]

PM sent

[camillj]

If I had no conscience I'd sell you my wife's ... it has been about $800 per oil change almost every single one since I bought it (second hand from a chrysler dealer) almost 4 years ago ... it now has 137,000k and is actually getting cheaper to maintain .. ... I think ... any how .. besides that .. it has a trunk the size of ethiopia .... in fact you have to climb into to it literally to retrieve the groceries .... and its pretty reasonable on gas ....actually I think my wife likes the car except for the fear of the big $$$$$ at every oil change ....

[Gerritt]

Moe,

 

I had a 97 Vision at one point (same car) they have Mitsubishi engines under the hood.... may experiance is that they are problematic. Had I of known you were looking for one I would have given you mine for what the scrap dealer would have given me for it, there was little wrong with it (Needed a new oil pump) but I did not feel right about selling a POS...

 

 

I would say walk away from the Intrepid.

 

Gerritt.

[Rich Clemens]

I had a Ford Contour, around a 97 or 98 and I think it was the SE edition, sun roof, etc. Great little car, nice sporty look and all, no mechanical problems or anything .... UNTIL WINTER. The one I had, with the low profile tires, was very poor in winter driving. Just a little skiff of snow on the road and this thing was all over the road, almost like I was driving on the rims. After a couple skating events, I got rid of it. Maybe it was the model, maybe it was the tires, or a combination, but I do know that I'll not buy another one.

[ecmilley]

comfortable and roomy car, don't buy it though very problematic vehicles and it's 11 years old.

suspensions wear prematurely, a/c problems trans problems this car is a complete nugget.

something in that size that is reliable and not to pricy would be a buick lesabre,

Ford contout/mercury mystique, we call these cars the mercury mistake that should be enough to let you avoid this as well.

Is he just looking for a decent cheap car and what price range?

Edited March 30, 2007 by ecmilley

[bigbuck]

My dad had a '93-4 Intrepid, the A/C would leak out each year needing several hundred dollars in repairs to fix, the transmission went at 125k. Personally, I'd stay away from Chrysler products. Problems with A/C and transmissions are common throughout the product line. Trannies run $2-3k to fix, that's a lot of money to spend on an old car. Good luck. I'd suggest a '94-98 full sized GM (eg. Bonneville) with the 3800. I had a '97 Bonneville SSEi that I put 320k on before I put her out to pasture. Still ran like a top but needed suspension work, A/C work, brakes and electrical. With a new baby in the house, I needed something I could count on so I retired ole Betsy. Up till then, it was regular maintenance, a water pump, alternator and battery, tires and brakes. That's it. Best car I ever owned.

[Rob]

Had one for 2 years and that car cost me more money than I paid for it. I would never buy Chrysler ever again. I own a Ford right now and it has been not too bad for problems. That Intrepid had so many things go wrong with it, Tranny, window leaks, 3 air conditioners, 1 blown engine, front spindles went on it and on and on. When the tranny went the second time I traded it in and got nothing for it, but man was I happy to get rid of it. That's why thet called it ..."The Chrysler Decrepid"

 

 

Rob C

[motv8tr]

Thanks alot for the info guys, I've passed it on to him, but it seems he's bound and determined to not wait for the right car. His budget is minimal, and he's been told he can take it for 500.00. He's figuring he'll just buy the car and then work on it, in the mean time use a 10 day permit.

 

Edit: while I was typing he's realized he won't have the money to pay the guy for another week or two, so maybe he won't get this one? If you hear of anything that might be suitable I'd appreciate it if you could pass it on to me. He'll have his two year old in it every two weeks so I'd feel more comfortable with a safer reliable vehicle.

 

Thanks again,

Maureen

[Bernie]

Both vehcles are in the same catagory......JUNK! Tell him to save his money and buy a used import. They stay together better in the long run. There is a reason why imports hold their value better used.

[Whopper]

Didn't even know you could buy a car that ran for $500.00

 

We must be pretty lucky because we have own three Chrysler vehicles that were bought new and I still own two. Both are the Concord LXI models and have never had a problem with the 2004 and only had two problems with the 2000 (150,00miles, a ignition relay switch and compressor clutch). The one I dont have was a Neon that was bought for the oldest daughter and it had a bullseye painted on the trunk lid, and was hit from behind three times, youngest daughter was driving the last time and they had to cut her out of the car so it went to the scrap yard.

 

Good luck in your search!

 

Whopper

[davew3]

NO NO NO NO TRANNYS ARE BAD ON BOTH CARS. THE AC SUCKS ON THE INTREPID.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE THAT IS WHY THEY RE-SELL CHEAP.

IF HE HAS BOUGHT GOOD LUCK

And yes it is in caps !

[bassman]

“C-H-R-Y-S-L-E-R” (Company Highly Recommends You to Start Learning Engine Repair)

 

buy japanese

[Raf]

the motor IS japanese.

 

it's 500 bucks, if it runs, stops, what more can you ask for?

[Krisco]

Wow, hard to believe you guys could shoot down one of the #1 selling cars in North America over the last 12 yrs. I believe it may have also helped out the economy of the town of Brampton just a little do ya think.

 

Easy targets for defects when there are so many of them on the road... Think about that for a minute.

[Bernie]

Yep. Id have to say they help the economy in my repair shop too.

[Reid]

I owned one. Had lots of nice features but mechanically it was a heartbreaker ~ there was always something going wrong with it (fuel pump, ac, heater core, suspension, radiator, alternator, transmission, transmission and the windshield washer pump motor for crying out loud...). The service manager at the Chrylser dealership was almost as sick of seeing me as I was of seeing him. I was a real treat to deal with near the end. On the otherside of the coin though, at this stage in the cars life, it's very likely that all the things that could go wrong have already. Might last another 100,000kms. Tough call. My vote would be to stay away. Typing this to you has conjured up old memories for me. Most definitely stay away!!

[JerseyDog]

Buy a GM 3800 as recommended above.

 

Think about it - the most expensive item on a beater to fix is the tranny and a GM tranny is about as bulletproof as they get. The Chrysler tranny is infamous for being crap. The other high ticket item is the motor and a 3800 is easily worth 350k++. The rest of the stuff is easy and cheap to fix (unlike the imports).

 

The imports ride on a reliability rep that is 20 years old. In the last 10-15 years, GM has been building cars that are better built, tougher, cheaper, and easier to fix than any import.

 

I've been driving Chevy beaters my whole life and my repair costs are minimal to non-existent. On 20 years of Chevy beaters (over four cars) I have done one tranny rebuild, two head gaskets (same car and I drove her HARD), two water pumps, one clutch (Iraqi Taxi) and one camshaft plus the usual brakes, mufflers and all too infrequent oil changes. This may sound like a lot, but over 20 years on old, high mileage cars, it is really quite minimal.

 

The added bonus is that buying GM supports your community and a GM in any class generally has a healthier amount of torque and HP than others.

[bushman]

if the motor is a 2.7 then it is juck timeing chains are a big problem in the chrysler i have a 99 and timimg chain went in it at 80,000 km cost me 3400 to rebuild the motor they are juck good luck