This car has exceeded my expectations!!
My only comment after 6 years and 54,000 miles is, why the lousy cup holder?
This car has the best bucket seats ever!
The Car is Fun to drive and very economical!
The interior is very roomy and has held up very well!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 18th July, 2003
I will be lucky to have another car for the price and mileage without a major problem!!!
No major problems - only wear and tear parts needed.
It's an excellent car for commuters that travels a lot.
It's great on gas.
It handles great in any weather condition - I live where we get 200" of snow annually.
Only setback is not a lot of room when a big guy seats in the front.
I wished there was an opening or access from trunk to back seat.
2.0 liter engine with standard transmission gives out nice smooth power.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 6th June, 2003
If you have the money to spend on repairs, it is fine
When I got the car, the True Miles were Unknown because something broke in the instrument cluster and they had to replace the entire thing before I even looked at it. My title read 750 miles at purchase, but the ‘next oil change’ due sticker read 33,000. I now have about 45,000 miles on my car.
They (they being the used car dealership I bought the car from) had replaced the head gasket before I looked at it.
3-days after purchase, my car stalled three houses down from where I lived. Finished the errand I was on, then Dad and I looked at the car, checked the oil, and there was none. After purchasing oil for the car, and the next business day taking it back to the dealership, their maintenance department told me that a cam seal was broken. For some reason they could not fix this, or there were other problems that I cannot remember, so they replaced the engine as the car was under warranty (60,000-mile warranty). Took the car on a trip (about 1,000 miles round trip), it was fine during the trip, but once we got back, it started acting up. It would not accelerate, to the point where on a highway I could barely get it up to 45 mph. Took it in, and they told me that the computer’s timing was off, the new engine wasn’t communicating with the old computer chip. They could not get it to work, had troubles ordering the parts, and a month later just replaced the engine again. A rebuilt Marshall engine was put in my car. That has been fine.
The car at one point had an alarm system, and the dealership ‘disabled it.’ I left my lights on once, and ran the battery down. Went to charge the battery and it would not take a charge, so my dad removed it to charge it on the battery charger we had at home. When we went to put the battery back in, the car still would not work. After my brother and his friends tinkered with it for about a week, we realized that the disabling of the alarm was cutting the ground wire to the horn so it would not make any noise. After a friend removed the entire alarm system, the car worked again.
“Mega fuse” blew two years ago. Supposedly, it is a fuse between the alternator and the starter.
The temperature runs hot, not sure what the cause of that is. Replaced the thermostat, but the problem still exists. Power locks do not work on driver’s side because the 100-dollar fuse blew. Around that time, the 7-dollar electrical fuse that controls the cruise and hazard lights blew, but that was a cheap fix.
The current problem is the “Timing Belt Tension Spring,” but I do not have that verified because of the cost to remove the engine. The timing belt that I had replaced around the time this ‘mega fuse’ blew is fine, but it is loose, and that is why the shop thinks it may be the tension spring.
The car costs on average $500 in major repairs per year.
Generally, it is too expensive to fix.
Rides nice, and for a four cylinder it has decent get-up-and-go.
I find it comfortable, roomy, and lots of trunk space.
You have to take this car to a mechanic because of the parts placement and the computer technology.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 4th May, 2003