I'm looking for opinions on a 2003 stratus 2.4L coupe. It's got 42,818 miles on it. A clean carfax report. only accident reported was a left front end impact with very minor damage reported. Its got the manual transmission so I shouldnt have to worry about the horrible automatic transmissions. I currently own a 2000 stratus SE where the front end suspension is falling apart and the automatic transmission is going. Any thing I should specifically pay attention to when looking at the car? Any suggestion on price range? It looks in very good condition from the pictures but ill need to look under the hood and under the car to be sure.

 

Do it! Only problem is a slight tick under the hood- the lash adjusters. Clean oil helps quiet them though. Other than that, I have an 01 4cyl 5spd coupe with 98k and no big issues. Drives great, shifts smooth, and I'm still on the stock clutch.

 

See my shifting isnt so smooth, first is tough.. I bought it with an intake on it. I have a feeling the previous owner was tough on the shifting

 

Well I went and looked at it. First I noticed that the dash near the windshield is pulled up and the plastic vent inserts are missing. Secondly the radio is gone and the wires were cut with a pair of side cut pliers. Not all bad so I took it for a test drive. The engine seemed to run strong however the manual trans was sticky feeling. If you pull the gear shift towards first in the neutral position and let it go it would just stick there like the springs were shot. Also shifting from second to third you had to physically find third it wouldn't line up right you had to move it back and forth to find the entrance to third. The parking brake light went on and off throughout the test drive and the brake handle felt loose like the return spring was stretched out or missing maybe that's why the light was coming on. there was a slight ticking noise on the front left maybe a cv shaft or wheel bearing. Last issue is when closing the door with the window all the way up it catches on the lip so the window doesn't seal across the top unless once the door is closed you put it down and then back up so it goes under the lip.