i am considering buying a stratus and was wondering what are the common problems? how hard are they to work on? mileage expectancy? how is the driving experience? and any other info you can give me i am having my second child and need to get bigger car. thanks guys!!

 

what year are you looking at?, there are basically three types of stratus's each with there own issues.1st generation 1995 thru 2000,2nd generation 2001 thru 2006(early models with 2.7 engine had a problem with sludge buildup), and coupe's 2001 thru 2005 which are basically mitsubishi motors.

 

i would probably be looking at 2000-2003. i am only spending 3500 bucks.

 

Just stay away from a 2.7L engine, and you will be fine.
But for that price, you really won't find a car that's in mint condition. But te 2.4l Stratus is really not bad, even if something breaks, it will be a cheap repair most of the time.

 

how hard is the 2.4 to work on and what is wrong with the 2.7

 

the 2.7 engine had a problem with engine failure due to sludge buildup caused primarily by a poorly designed waterpump, coolant would leak into oil and cause sludge buildup,pcv system and not changing oil enough also caused sludge.mainly happened on engines built from 1998 to 2002(up to 2004 depending on source you get info from) . the 2.4 is an easier and cheaper engine to work on,but requires more maintenance then the 2.7,main concern about a 2.4 is the last time the timing belt was replaced needs replacing every 60,000 miles(approximately) some 2.4's can suffer valve damage if belt breaks while driving

 

was there only one engine available at a time? if not how were the other engines

 

there were several engines available in 2000 they had a 2.0 base engine,2.4 4 cylinder and a 2.5 v6; in 2001 and up they had a 2.4 liter base and a 2.7 upgrade,coupes had a 2.4 base and 3.0 option on R/T coupes. The only engine i'm really familiar with is the 2.7, had an '04, never had a sludge problem but changed my oil every 3000 miles .it was a good engine if it was maintained properly had 120,000 miles when i traded it in(needed better gas mileage was averaging 24mpg and water pump was going bad,car still ran great), the 2.4 seems like a decent engine from what i've read on here.

 

My current Daily driver is an 02 Dodge status with a 2.4DOHC. It has 165k miles on it. I've been getting 26.5mpg (+/-1mpg) with 60/40 highway/city driving. The car has been reliable (knocking on wood) and hasn't required much at all.

What I have done to the car.
1. Front and rear disc/pads x1
2. Tires x2
3. Timing belt and water pump at 122k miles
4. Passenger side axle (it broke...don't know how or why)
5. Transmission fluid/filter swaps x4
6. Radiator and all hoses at 145k miles
7. Transmission shift soleniod at 156k miles
8. Shocks (want to say around 120k miles.
9. Spark Plugs x2
10. Spark Plug wires x1

Outside of the shocks/alignment, axle and timing belt/water pump, I did everything else in my garage or apartment complex parking lot. The car is actually fairly easy to work on, especially for a front wheel drive car.

Just a few things to remember.
1. Transmission fluid. ONLY use ATF+4. Walmart's brand is approved by mopar and works just fine (been using it for the past few years)
2. Use spark plug from Champion number 3570 and gap it at .040"
3. Run 87 octane.

Hope this helps.