1982 Dodge Omni 2.2 carbureted from North America

Summary:

Absolute pile of junk

Faults:

More like what didn't go wrong with this car? I bought this off an old lady as my first car for $950.00 in 1986. It was truly a horrible little car. It was hard to start, had to be warmed up for what seemed forever, and it never wanted to stay running when it was cold. In the windy northern IL winters, snow would blow under the hood and find its way into the timing belt pulley where it would freeze, causing the timing belt to jump off the pulley, leaving me stranded at work with a car that would not start. Only 5 years old and the car was starting to develop rust holes in the body. There was barely anything I didn't end up replacing at some point in the two years I had this little bomb, and repairs ended up costing much more than what I paid for the car.

General Comments:

It made me hate Dodge cars for the remainder of my life, that's for sure. To this day I still can't believe a car only a few years old had as many issues as it did. I wondered how they tried to pass this thing off as being even remotely acceptable to people.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 13th April, 2021

15th Apr 2021, 19:52

The snow would find its way under the hood, get past the timing cover and wedge itself into the timing belt pulley, just to sabotage your transportation?

Those must have been some determined snowflakes (unlike the ones around these days).

17th Apr 2021, 01:03

This came from an era when automotive quality was probably at an all time low and the big three began experimenting with small front drive vehicles. It wasn’t just Chrysler with problems... the GM X cars were not great either.

That being said some people had reasonable good fortune with the Omni/Horizon.

In reply to 17th Apr 2021, 01:03

17th Apr 2021, 18:48

Jump ahead a few years and the GM fullsize C & H platform front drives were superb. In the meantime all the Chrysler front drives (small and large) were mediocre at best.

1982 Dodge Omni Charger 2.2 from North America

Summary:

Charger it to my credit card

Faults:

The engine had a massive lubrication failure near the 33,000 mile mark. This led to repairs that were covered by the infamous Chrysler 5/50 warranty. The air conditioning system was dead on arrival at only 15,000 miles. and was not covered by the warranty. The manual transmission crashed on Interstate 40 one afternoon in heavy traffic. The clutch failed twice in the first 50,000 miles.

General Comments:

My first new car was a Dodge. I am not going to say it was a bittersweet experience as I am still bitter.

The interior came apart before my very eyes, the exterior finish was that of a car from a Third World Country, and any good H.O. Mustang or Z-28 could suck the cheap striping off of the sides as they blew past me.

Does Chrysler buy off the car magazines? I'll leave that for you to decide. But please, test drive a Hyundai, Suzuki, or Yugo before buying anything built by Chrysler.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 17th April, 2002

20th Mar 2005, 21:07

I got the 1987 omni-charger when I was a junior in high-school for $350. Ever since I have had the car, I have had to replace the brake master and one slave cylinder, clutch cable, both CV joints and boots, all the gauges in the dash, the driver side strut, both front speakers, and both door handles. All of this and I have had it for only 2 years and about 30,000 miles. It is an incredible piece of junk, but I am attached to the styling and spirit of the car. I will drive it until it is entirely dead. Great car.