<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">G'day,</FONT></P>


<FONT face=Arial>I have just arrived from Australia, and the time has come to buy a car. I am usually a Ford driver, but the only ford product i'd buy is a f150,and i don't realy need a trucknor can i afford one(i can borrow the father inlaws )After much searching i am keen on the Dodge Intrepid, I like the styling, size and general design of the car, however i am concerned by some reliability issues i have read about, so i'm hoping a current owner can help me out a bit. The issues in particular would be, oil sludge, timing chain failure, and auto transmission. I have done a bit of research, and i myself believe that if a vehicle is maintained correctly you generally won't have any trouble other than regular maintanence, but there seems to be some horror stories out there. I have found a vehicle that i'd love to get. It's a 2000 Intrepid with 64000 miles, oil changed every 3k, it has a nice set of 17' wheels with 255 x45 Low ProfileTyres, and a kick *ss stereo system in it. The owner is asking $8500 for it. It's an awesome looking car at the right price, but the "reliability cloud" is still there. I was thinking that if i bought the car i would have a new timing chain fittedand have the oil flushed and replaced with a good synthetic oil, just as some preventative maintenance. Can anyone shed some light on my reliability concerns? Thanks in advance. </FONT></P>

 

The only reliability issue I've known were the automatic transmissions. The other problems you refer to are simple maintainance. The auto trans. have been of some concern, I personally never seen why they decided to have them computer controlled, thats where I feel the problems are.

 

DO NOT BUY THIS CAR IF IT HAS A 2.7 PERIOD

 

I agree with you Roadrunner. The only electronics that need to be in a tranny would be speed sen, fluid temp sen , flow speed sen for fluid change notice ,and a just to say it , an external trany cooler is a must !

 

i would have to agree with robdog the 2.7 is a very touchy subject its a good engine but if not taken care of will go bad fast and will cost a bunch to fix. we see them alot where i am from .</P>


unfortunatly their is no way to see if it has already begun or not the one question is can you beleive the owner about the oil changes.</P>


if so go for it and keep up on them maybe do an engine flush to clear it up anyhow. but be carefull </P>


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I love my 2001 Intrepid (67,000 miles) and yes, it has the infamous 2.7 engine. I use synthetic oil, AMSOIL Series 2000 0W-30, and it runs great.</P>


Check the car over well and if the owner lets you, take it to a mechanic to have it inspected before you buy it. Most mechanics will do this for a very reasonable fee. If its in good shape, I say go for it.</P>


If you buy it, definately do the engine flush and use a 100% full synthetic oil. All the horror stories come from people using conventional oil or synthetic blend. </P>