May be buying 96
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
From:
May be buying 96
Greetings all,
I may be buying a 96 Stratus with about 70k miles. I am not sure if it is a ES or not but it has a 4cyl with a automatic. I am wondering about these cars. I found a lot of bad press concerning transmission failures & brake problems. Are these factual or just unhappy, isolated incidents? My commute is about 100 miles a day. I have a 97 Accord with 249K mile on it that gets 32MPG. The Accord is nickle & diming me to death. Should I buy the Stratus? What should I be looking for? Thanks. Sorry for being long winded.
Pat Callaghan
Portland, OR.
I may be buying a 96 Stratus with about 70k miles. I am not sure if it is a ES or not but it has a 4cyl with a automatic. I am wondering about these cars. I found a lot of bad press concerning transmission failures & brake problems. Are these factual or just unhappy, isolated incidents? My commute is about 100 miles a day. I have a 97 Accord with 249K mile on it that gets 32MPG. The Accord is nickle & diming me to death. Should I buy the Stratus? What should I be looking for? Thanks. Sorry for being long winded.
Pat Callaghan
Portland, OR.
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 30
Likes: 0
RE: May be buying 96
hi i hvae a 05 stratus, so i wont compair that. I had a 97 intrepid(im not sure how diff it was from a stratus then size) It had 130,000miles when i got it. The only prob relating to the transmition was a hose clamp rusted and the transmition hose leading to the cooloe poped off and sprayed transmition fluid all over when i was driving on the interstated. Other wise the transmition had no probs.
And with the brakes I only had 1 prob the gasket on the caliper was leaking, it was leaking for like 2 months b4 i noticed it, but i just had to replace that, which is really easy to do, so it was no prob to do.
Gas milage was around maybe 21, i get 23.5 mpg on my 05 stratus. Urs has 70k so u shouldnt really have many probs, depending how the previous owners took care of it.
That intrepid ended at 180k when the timing belt broke, thats when i got the stratus. I hope this helps alittle
And with the brakes I only had 1 prob the gasket on the caliper was leaking, it was leaking for like 2 months b4 i noticed it, but i just had to replace that, which is really easy to do, so it was no prob to do.
Gas milage was around maybe 21, i get 23.5 mpg on my 05 stratus. Urs has 70k so u shouldnt really have many probs, depending how the previous owners took care of it.
That intrepid ended at 180k when the timing belt broke, thats when i got the stratus. I hope this helps alittle
Professional
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 141
Likes: 0
From:
RE: May be buying 96
The 1st generationPlymouth Breeze, Dodge Stratus, Chrysler Seabring, and Chrysler Cirrus are all the same cars. The only difference is the sedan's and convertable models are made by Dodge, and the coupes are made by Mitsuibishi.
The 2.0 is the same engine that was in the Dodge and Plymouth Neon's. The engine is a dependable engine when taken care of. The major problem is the head gasket. This was a problem with the 2.0 till late 1997, when they finally started putting the correct head gaskets in the cars (Multi-Layer Steel) and also around that time is when the correct head gasket was available to the public. There were no factory re-calls, so this was normally only covered by a good dealership or if you had a warranty on the car. Make sure the head gasket has been replaced before purchasing the car. If not, use it as a bargining tool. It cost anywhere from $500-$1000 for a dealership to fix.
Transmissions where a problem because people didn't use the correct tranmission fluid. All Dodge transmissions require Mopar brand transmission fluid. This transmission fluid was specially made by Mopar for use in the Dodge transmissions. Many people ran into problem when they changed there transmission fluid and used anything but the Mopar brand transmission fluid or added off the shelf tranmission fluid to the car. This combination greatly reduced the life span of the transmissions. End story, make sure Mopar brand tranmission fluid has been used if it has been changed, and make sure you use it if you do any work on the transmission.
The only break problems I heard about in the Neons where problems with warping the roters. If you seem to have a problem with that, a nice set of aftermarket (good brand) roters and pads will fix.
The 2.0 is the same engine that was in the Dodge and Plymouth Neon's. The engine is a dependable engine when taken care of. The major problem is the head gasket. This was a problem with the 2.0 till late 1997, when they finally started putting the correct head gaskets in the cars (Multi-Layer Steel) and also around that time is when the correct head gasket was available to the public. There were no factory re-calls, so this was normally only covered by a good dealership or if you had a warranty on the car. Make sure the head gasket has been replaced before purchasing the car. If not, use it as a bargining tool. It cost anywhere from $500-$1000 for a dealership to fix.
Transmissions where a problem because people didn't use the correct tranmission fluid. All Dodge transmissions require Mopar brand transmission fluid. This transmission fluid was specially made by Mopar for use in the Dodge transmissions. Many people ran into problem when they changed there transmission fluid and used anything but the Mopar brand transmission fluid or added off the shelf tranmission fluid to the car. This combination greatly reduced the life span of the transmissions. End story, make sure Mopar brand tranmission fluid has been used if it has been changed, and make sure you use it if you do any work on the transmission.
The only break problems I heard about in the Neons where problems with warping the roters. If you seem to have a problem with that, a nice set of aftermarket (good brand) roters and pads will fix.
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 19
Likes: 1
RE: May be buying 96
ORIGINAL: BloodRed
The major problem is the head gasket. This was a problem with the 2.0 till late 1997, when they finally started putting the correct head gaskets in the cars (Multi-Layer Steel) and also around that time is when the correct head gasket was available to the public. If not, use it as a bargining tool. It cost anywhere from $500-$1000 for a dealership to fix.
The major problem is the head gasket. This was a problem with the 2.0 till late 1997, when they finally started putting the correct head gaskets in the cars (Multi-Layer Steel) and also around that time is when the correct head gasket was available to the public. If not, use it as a bargining tool. It cost anywhere from $500-$1000 for a dealership to fix.
Trending Topics
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
From:
RE: May be buying 96
I have no idea if the head gasket has been done. I know it is not blown right now but who knows? The car I am getting rid of is a 97 Accord with 249500 miles. I need a more comfortable car for my commute. I hope this is it. If I have to do a head gasket I am capable of doing it myself. Thanks all for the info.
Pat
Pat