9th Aug 2020, 14:36
As the reviewer did not state price paid (beyond "real inexpensive"), how would you know whether it was a "good buy" or not? With only 700 miles on it, too soon to tell whether there are more serious problems just waiting to appear.
9th Aug 2020, 20:05
And the writer doesn't even mention the price. "inexpensive" could be up to $3,500 which is about what a 2004 Intrepid in good condition is worth.
11th Aug 2020, 01:09
Exactly. $3500 or less for a car in which everything works is a bargain. The first government stimulus in the US earlier this year paid for basically the entire car.
11th Aug 2020, 18:27
My brother had a 1998 Toyota Avalon with one of their engines that was prone to sludging. The truth of the matter is that engine sludging tends to happen when the owner drives the car for excessive amounts of miles before changing the oil. By default - and some say this is overkill - we have always changed the oil every 3-5,000 miles. Do that and the oil won't generate the acids and chemical reactions that lead to sludging. His car had over 300,000 miles before we changed the timing belt, and part of the process involved removing the valve covers. Even with that mileage, save for a little discoloration it was clean underneath. The same would certainly be true for this car or any other.
12th Aug 2020, 05:12
I owned two of these back in the day. Very reliable and cheap cost of ownership. I’m tall so the fact that there’s a lot of room inside was a big consideration. Car and Driver “Ten Best” list for 4 years of its production (1993/94/98/99). I’d much rather spend $3500 on this than most other vehicles from 2004. Really a heck of a truck.
13th Aug 2020, 20:01
Dodge makes a ton of trucks. They’re all over the roads. Even Honda & Jeep make trucks these days.
14th Aug 2020, 17:03
Right on. Ram, Dakota, and if you look hard enough you might even sight a B50 or a Lil Red Express. Then there is the Ramcharger and Durango SUV if you want to include those. Never seen an Intrepid truck. Very limited quantities perhaps?
14th Aug 2020, 17:25
"Dodge" does not make trucks at all anymore, they have all been under the "Ram" nameplate for several years now.
But let us know when you locate a Dodge Intrepid truck, OK?
14th Aug 2020, 23:55
Removing the valve covers is not part of the timing belt replacement process on the Toyota 3 litre V6.
15th Aug 2020, 15:48
Here ya go. cardomain.com/ride/2185012/
I had to see it for myself per a quick internet search. This must prove they exist. The "Dodge truck" comment poster has been right this whole time ;)
15th Aug 2020, 18:25
Have you ever seen or owned an El Camino? The idea of a hybrid car/truck vehicle has been done before. Actually, the El Caminos are pretty popular even today.
16th Aug 2020, 13:46
Guess we all learn something new everyday; Intrepid is a truck and El Caminos came with a hybrid option.
16th Aug 2020, 15:18
Exactly what mileage was the oil changed and how long in the engine. I change more frequently (5000 miles max).
17th Aug 2020, 19:41
Agree. The person posting the cardomain link has been on this site before posting bogus info. Steven should flag the IP address of that person in this thread & ban future posts.
18th Aug 2020, 16:35
Obviously you don't get that the comment is pure sarcasm mocking the actual person who in the past has used the Cardomain. The " ;) " at the end should give you a clue.
19th Aug 2020, 17:57
I do check the oil at fill ups. I smell oil sometimes, but it hasn’t used any in 2000 miles. I bought it and it was over filled with oil. I drained out 6 quarts. So I could be old oil burning from the valve covers.
19th Aug 2020, 17:59
I paid $1500 for it. I’d call that inexpensive. The car is in good shape. Check engine light problem resolved for $55.
19th Aug 2020, 21:17
The ;) wasn’t sarcasm. It was just an acknowledgement that you know the jig is up.
17th Sep 2020, 01:20
Update. I have put 3500 miles on this 2004 Intrepid I bought in July for $1500. I replaced both front wheel bearings, replaced the front brakes and installed a purge valve solenoid. It’s running good. I check the oil and water often. The car always smells hot if that makes any sense. It has used about 1/2 quart of oil in 3000 miles. I assume it is burning it. I don’t see any leaks. I haven’t noticed any smoke.
The wipers and headlights are demon possessed. I think the wipers were Chrysler’s attempt at rain sensitive wipers. Epic fail or maybe just wonky Chrysler electrics.
The headlight will sometimes stay on after I cut them off. I don’t have auto lamps or twilight sentinel on the car.
The transmission is fairly smooth with occasional clunky noise shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear. It hasn’t used any tranny fluid.
The ride is smooth with a good bit of road noise, but I’m comparing it to Lincolns and Buicks I’ve owned; maybe not a fair comparison. I do enjoy driving it more than my Avalon. I like firmer steering and the Avalon is very light. The Avalon will probably out live the Intrepid by 100,000 miles, but I’ll enjoy it while it last. I’ve heeded to the warning to use synthetic oil. I also bought the specific coolant HOAT for the car and the correct tranny fluid if needed.
9th Aug 2020, 03:27
Other than a deficit of low speed torque, and the sludge in the oil problem, the 2.7 was not a bad engine. Once it got rolling, it was speedier and smoother than the 3.3 V6 it replaced. Not afraid to rev - if it had a transmission with more gear ratios, it would have done better off the line and at low speeds.
You may want to pull the dipstick at every gas fill-up to check for abnormal issues - e.g milky.
Running synthetic oil might not be a bad idea either.