16th Nov 2008, 12:29
With high mileage cars, problems will always arise. Some just tend to be more costly that others. It's the nature of buying used. I see you've all but overlooked 2 other major factors. They are
1. Dealer support (or lack thereof)
2. Previous owners.
If they beat the car and never did an ounce of maintenance, then all the seller can do is catch up the maintenance, change out the fluids and hope for the best. Chrysler isn't known for making one lemon after another. Especially not with Mercedes Benz in the picture.
3rd Sep 2009, 18:20
My question is, are you guys talking about Dodge or Chrysler?? I've had problems with Chrysler, a 2003 Sebring but I looked up dodge stratus. You should get your things straight if you are actually talking about Chrysler. Sorry just gotta put it out there.
3rd Sep 2009, 20:51
By the way - I just gotta put this out there - The Dodge Stratus was made by Chrysler, and is virtually the same car as the Sebring.
4th Sep 2009, 09:15
Before someone else answers your question:
Chrysler Corporation makes the Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Sebring, which are essentially the same.
If you happen to see a Plymouth, those were also made by Chrysler Corporation. They killed the Plymouth brand a few years back.
For a few years Chrysler Corporation was called Daimler Chrysler. But you knew that.
27th Sep 2009, 17:22
Im sorry, but this review is ridiculous. If you hated the car so much, you would have been able to tell that on the test drive, and you most certainly should not have bought it. I mean, you DID test drive it, right? If you didn't, that is just sheer stupidity and you should be stuck with the lemon that you got. Good day.
30th Nov 2009, 01:11
My Stratus 2000 SE is running great... with 200000 miles... I think reliability more depends on way you drive it...
24th Sep 2010, 21:57
I've got 330,000 miles on my 2000 Dodge Stratus ES... and NO major engine work...
I've had to rebuild the transmission twice, the fan blower motor did blow fan blower motor resistors.. so I REPLACED THE MOTOR! And I went through 3 resistors before I did that. I replaced the normal things of wear and tear... brakes, tires, starter, battery, alternator... and NOT so normal: the power steering rack.
Every 100k I would tune-up. Oil every 5,000. And I ran this car hard, in heavy highway traffic commuting 120 miles a day.
26th Sep 2010, 12:56
My experience with Chrysler products has been a double-edged sword. The cars themselves have been some of the most reliable cars we've ever owned. My last Dodge car was a 1990 Omni that was sold at 240,000+ miles running like brand new. It had never had any engine or transmission problems. The only repairs ever required were two brake jobs, two timing belts and one heater hose. Even the original A/C had never been serviced or required freon. It blew as cold when the car was sold as it did when it was brand new.
On the flip side, my 1988 Daytona and my brother's Dodge Aries both had minor problems when purchased and Chrysler flatly refused to fix them. The dealer's exact words were "I'm not going to fix it and there's nothing you can do about it". My brother opted to trade his brand new Aries for a Chevy Celebrity. I opted to pay for new rotors (my Daytona came with warped front rotors) from an independent shop and I drove it 100,000 miles with not a single problem.
For the most part we have avoided Chrysler products because of their failure to stand behind their warranty. They are very good cars.
21st Sep 2008, 18:44
I also own a 1999 stratus and yes it has had to have a couple of heater resistors replaced, but you can do it your self for less than 50 new or 5 used. My car now has 193000 miles and runs great. Buying used is risky so you can't always blame manufacturer, you don't know what last owner did to it.