Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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The problem that you are having is unfamiliar to me--in previous I've mentioned discussing the 2.7 with a friend who's a service manager--so I can't offer specifics about this "thumping". If, however, you'd like me to ask around, I"d be happy to. Contrary to some of the "theatrical" advice you are receiving, my concerns have been addressed in a reasonable and appropriate manner by both 5 Star Dealers I've dealt with.
Buyer777--The belts on my 2000 ES were replaced at about 75,000. They might have gone longer, but were showing some signs of glazing and surface cracking--while it was in for routine maintenance, I opted to have them replaced.
I did some research on it, the thumping from the engine would only happen when stopped in reverse or drive gears, not in park or neutral. Talked to a buddy of mine who used to be a mechanic, said it sounded like a computer issue and mechanical issue of the engine, fuel system, and drive train not playing nice.
Also, the night before I was scheduled to take it in (Tues night) the power steering pump started whining like my wife when she yells about how much hockey I watch.
That made up my mind. I traded the Intrepid in Wednesday morning for a 2004 Escape XLT. I have several friends who own and have had zero problems. I know CR and Edmunds are lukewarm about the Escape, but the Intrepid came as "recommended" by both and look where that got me.
Anyhow, they wanted to give me $7000 for my 2002 SE with only 19000 miles on it. Sales manager said that Dodge cars "just don't hold their value", and that he wouldn't even put it on his used lot because of DC horrible reputation for build quality. They said it was going out to auction. I eventually got $8000 for it from them.
So, adios Intrepid, I can't say it was nice knowing you. And I can say for sure, I will never purchase a DC vehicle ever again.
I had a problem with my Intrepid a few months ago, where my oil pressure light would come on. Took 3 trips to the dealership before they finally fixed it right.
As for trade in values though, tell me about it! Back in September, my Dad and I were looking at cars, because he was in the market for one. We found an '02 Intrepid SE on the lot, in that nice steel blue, with about 38K miles on it, for about $8995. And I'm sure they would've come down, too! My Dad ended up getting an '03 Regal that only had 19K miles on it, for just under $11,000. I still preferred the 'Trep to the Regal, but I figured this one had half the miles, a good chunk of the original warranty, and GM's 3.8 V-6, which while antiquated, is still hard to beat for power and economy.
They did have an '02 Intrepid R/T on the lot, for $15,995, with about 35K miles on it. I was tempted, until I drove it. At the time, they offered me $3500 in trade for my '00 Intrepid base model (didn't start calling 'em "SE" until '01, I think). I had about 85,000 miles on it, though. They did offer to come up on the trade-in though, to what I owed on it at the time, about $4800. The negotiating didn't go beyond that though, because I decided to just hang onto my car. If I'm going to trade, it's going to either be because the car breaks down catastrophically, or I just have to have one of those new Magnums or 300C Hemi's!! ;-)
I hope they do something though...because only offering the Magnum as a wagon, I don't think that's going to bring in enough sales to replace the Intrepid!
Considering that the Intrepid was previously like the 3rd most popular full-sized car (behind the Impala and LeSabre) I think it's a risky move to make!
My idea is that a wagon without more seating is just a sedan with a higher rear. After all, I can fold the rear seat backs down in the Intrepid and the darn thing has cargo carrying capacity for a whole lot of stuff.
Just curious, not in the market actually.
When it comes to small wagons (which, when you consider the way wagons used to be, the Magnum qualifies as small!), I don't think very many, if any, offered a 3rd row. I know the old Celebrity/6000/Ciera/Century did, but they were also FWD, so they had more room in back to play with.
I could be wrong, though. Just taking a wild guess here!
My car's been doing okay. I haven't seen that oil pressure light since the dealer did that TSB on it, which must be over a month ago, by now! My fuel economy seems to have fallen a bit, but I guess that's understandable with the colder temps. Plus, I moved closer to work...about 3 1/2 miles versus around 14, so the car spends a greater portion of its running time just sitting, warming up. I doubt if I'm even putting a thousand miles a month on the car anymore! Far cry from the old days, when I'd do 3K a month easy. I think my record was back in '98, when I put about 13K miles on my Mom's '86 Monte Carlo, in the 3 months that I had it. I think my 'Trep is up to about 89,000 miles now.
Glad to hear your car didn't get wiped out by that Explorer! If it's any consolation though, a bigger, tougher vehicle won't always scare them off. I once had a Toyota Tacoma try an improper lane change, and bounce harmlessly off my '68 Dart! It caved in the rear part of his bed pretty good. As for me, well, I had been hit on that fender a few months before. All I had to do was take my fist and pound the dent back out! The police are pretty useless in cases like that, unless they actually see the act happen. About a year or two ago, a friend of mine was run off the road in Washington, DC, coming out of it where NY Ave turns into Route 50, right after the last light. Someone swerved into his lane, and he swerved to avoid them. Hit the curb, and popped 2 tires and blew 2 rims! He called the cops, and they wouldn't even come out to take a police report! He was stranded down there for a few hours. Took his useless insurance company about 3 weeks to fix the car, too!
dashcroft1@a-znet.com
I have my Dart insured with them for $4,000, and honestly, I wouldn't give $1000 for it! Well, compared to some of the overpriced junk some people try to push at the Carlisle events, maybe I would...
Right now I'm debating on whether I want to insure my New Yorker with them as well, since it just became eligible on January 1.
I've found that if you drop the rear windows but not the fronts, it'll set up a nasty resonance that'll split your ears in no time flat! And it gets worse the faster you go. First time I heard it, I didn't know what it was, but somehow it got my ears "in tune" to that sound, where I can hear it in other cars where previously I couldn't. To this very day, I can hear that resonance in any car that has rear windows that don't roll down all the way! Even my '89 Gran Fury, where they go down all but about an inch and a half, I can hear that damned resonance if I don't crack a front window!
The car is a base model 2000 Intrepid with 85,000 miles on the car. The oil and filter have been changed every 3,000 miles.
My '00 did the same thing a few months back, and it started around the 83,000 mile mark. The dealer fixed it around mid-December, and it's never come on since.
When you take your car in for the repair though, make sure to tell them of the TSB (preferably, print it out for them). Otherwise, they'll probably try more expensive fixes first, instead of doing the TSB, which should be free.
i don't think a TSB has to be performed for free outside the warranty. might depend upon what the problem was. if it was a problem that bordered on being a safety issue...i could see the company coughing up the money. however, if it was something like say a rattle in a strut...then i doubt it'd be payed for out of warranty.
Main thing that worries me about them is the interior measurements. While it's supposedly larger inside than the model it replaces, legroom up front is a bit shorter. While it's not much shorter (something like 41.9" down from 42.2"), it's going to be critical to someone like me, who rides with the seat all the way back, and actually wishes my 'Trep had a bit *more* legroom! Hopefully though, the power seat will make it easier to find a comfortable position.
I prefer the Magnum front-end to the 300C, though. I know for Europe, they're supposed to graft the 300C nose onto the Magnum...maybe they could do the opposite and graft a Magnum nose onto a 300C, just for me!
i've never heard of any 2.7l problems...and i personally know a guy who works on cars at large local chrysler dealership...
The internet is the only place I've heard of any problems. First sludging, and then this wrist-pin thingie. Now I'm not saying this kind of stuff *can't* happen, but I just don't think it happens all that often. I think the internet just tends to catastrophize things.
notice how many folks on edmunds alone don't post anything until they have a problem(?) to report...!
There is no issue with the fact that there are some who only come here when they are having a problem. After all, trying to help folks with whatever problems they may be having is certainly one of the reasons we're here. And I'm sure we all enjoy being able to help folks who are here looking for assistance.
Main reason I'm wondering, I guess, is that my '00 Trep has about 89,000 miles on it now. While it's still running fine, anything can happen as a vehicle ages. I wonder, at this point, if the engine blew, would it be worth it to have a used engine thrown in, or just junk the car? I might call the junkyard tomorrow just out of curiosity, and ask for an estimate.
Back in '98, I bought an '89 Gran Fury from a shop that specializes in refurbished police cars. At the time, they told me that if the 318 went out in it, they could put in another used one for about $1,000. And another used tranny, in the unlikely event that it would fail (Mopar RWD trannies were tought back then), would only be about $300 to swap in another used one.
I guess those days are long gone though, even for used components!
Of course people who have no "beef" might not use these forums until a problem appears. That being said..we should help people who are having concerns. In this particular instance, we've often made these recommendations--and then hear NOTHING from the poster. Obviously one should consult their regional Chrysler rep with the concern--AND--investigate the Lemon Laws in their state as well as the Better Business Bureau.
Lastly...Emale and Andre--you are correct. Two service managers that I know personally have no record of such problems with the 2.7 and have found it to be one of the most problem-free engines.
Heck, I bought a complete, running 1979 Newport from them back in late 1996. Brought it home on New Year's Eve, and it was actually driveable. Only cost $250. Let's not talk about the tranny though, which bailed out the following April, to the tune of $650.00...
As for this 2.7, the guy didn't tell me how many miles, and I just asked him for a ballpark figure, which was when he said about $2700. It's possible he might have over-quoted, I dunno. I'm sure they had several to choose from, so the mileage would probably vary.
Oh yeah, I ended up just getting some fairly cheap Yokohama Avid touring tires, but that was awhile ago now, like fairly early last year. I think the tires came out to around $250 (can't remember if I got them from Discount Tire or TireRack), and it was about another $50 to have them mounted. They're pretty good tires, though. I haven't had any trouble yet this winter, and we've had our fair share of ice! Plus, the place I recently moved to doesn't have a "real" driveway, whereas my condo had an asphalt parking lot that would melt fairly quickly. What I park on nowadays used to be gravel, but it's mostly grown over with grass now. Ice and snow don't melt off nearly as quickly, but I haven't gotten stuck...yet!
Now the 2.5 V-6 that was used in the '95-00 Stratus/Sebring/Avenger, *that* was a Mitsu unit. And so is the 3.0 V-6 that's currently used in the Stratus/Sebring coupes.
Also, $12,000 seems a bit excessive for a new engine, even if that is in Canadian dollars!
I wonder if those engine parts showing "sludge" had ever had the oil changed.
FWIW, I went through the original Goodyear tires, with a 300 treadwear rating, in 30,000 miles. And they were essentially racing slicks by that time! I had replaced those with some cheap Continentals by General Tire, which I think had a treadwear rating of 500. Or maybe it was 560; I can't remember now. Anyway, I got about 46-47,000 miles out of them. They probably would have gone longer, but by that time one tire had a slow leak in it, one tire had two plugs in it, and one tire was severely worn from when the car had gone out of alignment. I got tired of having to run to the gas station every couple of days to fill up that tire!