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Chrysler Cirrus
carfindhelp
Member Posts: 1
in Chrysler
I found this used car 23000mi for $5000. It's 98 Chrysler Cirrus and the second owner is selling it. It doesn't have many mileages because the second owner drove it to commute from home to school. I don't know about the first owner. I was told that it was mostly parked, and didn't need much mechanic attention since she bought it.
My concern is that since the car is not produced any more by Chrysler, does that mean I won't be able to find parts when I need them?
How long do you think I could use the car if I maintain it nicely?
I was looking for Nissan Altima also. It was 99 Nissan Altima GXE dark brown and a little over 70000 miles for $6800. The price came out higher than the value and it is negotiable.
I am attracted to Chrysler because of low mileages yet, I love Nissan Altima...I can't decide which one to go with.
Please HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My concern is that since the car is not produced any more by Chrysler, does that mean I won't be able to find parts when I need them?
How long do you think I could use the car if I maintain it nicely?
I was looking for Nissan Altima also. It was 99 Nissan Altima GXE dark brown and a little over 70000 miles for $6800. The price came out higher than the value and it is negotiable.
I am attracted to Chrysler because of low mileages yet, I love Nissan Altima...I can't decide which one to go with.
Please HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I don't have too much experience with that car but it's generally decent looking and was well received when new. I'm an Altima owner but I try to be open minded. The price sounds pretty good considering the miles. Check out the Chrysler message boards and see what owners' experiences have been. Watch for common threads. It will help you know what to look out for.
If it checks out, drive it reasonably and invest in preventive maintenance and it should be OK.
Good luck.
My dad works at the plant that builds the Stratus/Sebring (and previously, the Cirrus/Breeze) and I can say that a lot of hard work goes into these cars, even though the work is quite frustrating to them sometimes.
If I were you, I wouldn't worry about the cars, since they tend to be reliable. There's a '98 Stratus, and a '01 Stratus, and previously a '96 in my immediate family, and they have never given any major problems. They were all 4 cylinder models though.
Good luck with your choice.
LOL sorry about the caps but I have to warn you
You must also remember that no car is perfect. I haven't heard about problems with the Cloud Cars, and neither do I see them in for any type of service, except oil changes and regular maintenance. I live in the Motor City, so I have been in and out of my share of dealerships, and their service departments. I also live in a Chrysler biased family, and we all have enjoyed decades of reliable Chryslers.
My mother is about to purchase a 2004 Jeep Liberty. I'm thinking about a Jeep Wrangler for myself.
Oxygen sensors are weak links in MANY cars. Water Pumps tend to go with higher mileage. I don't know anything about your transmission troubles though.
I would suggest having a mechanic go over the car thoroughly. If you do buy it Iwould change all fluids and belts in the vehicle. 5 years is about the limit for belts no matter the mileage. Make sure they inspect the brakes and suspension closely. if I rememmber right, I thought the cloud cars were a little weak in the front suspension. If your mechanic says everything looks good, I would buy it.
Offer $4500 and see what they say.
A week after I bought it, the water pump/seals/timing belt needed replacement (a cost of $800)...
A month later, the fuel pump/injection system needed repair (about $550)...
One of my brake lights went out, so I bought a new bulb and installed it, at which point shorted out all of the other lights in my car, and cost me about $300 to rewire the system.
After that, the brakes/shocks/struts needed replacing even though my co-worker who I bought the car from, had them done 3 months before I bought it. cost? $600
Finally (or currently, I should say), I've had 3 different sensors replaced at $200 a piece- crankshaft mechanism sensor, and throttle position sensor TWICE...
Since my car still wouldn't run right, my mechanic put a brand new computer system in it last week at a cost of $850, and 3 days later it failed again and is currently in his shop. He brought in a Chrysler computer systems specialist, who is attempting to diagnose it at $70 per hour, and at this point is completely baffled....
DOES ANYONE OUT THERE KNOW WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS STUPID CAR???? I am beyond frustrated, but can't sell this car because it never stays running long enough to put on the market...HELP!
Sincerely,
VERY UPSET Chrysler owner
For the time when I had it, it was a great car. Seemed to run great . . . Then the A/C decided to go out at 57,000 miles (In Oklahoma, the weather isn't very forgiving)
Next was the Right Front brake rotor, decided to warp itself at 81,000 miles, that and now I had this annoying piston knocking sound
After that was the Fuel Pump which put the car out of service at 101,000 miles
Thinking I was in the clear the Transmission decides it only wants 3rd gear to work at 120,000 miles
I hadn't had any suspension problems or anything like that. As heavy as the car is (4,100lbs) and as hard as I drove it I was surprised. The 2.5L V6 could have been juiced out for a little more power, but it was decent enough. If you don't mind routine repairs on the car then keep it, otherwise I would suggest getting another car. I went on to a Z24 Cavalier which has been great so far.
I have replaced distributer 2 x
Alarm would not shut off causing me to tow it to the dealer and have the trunk switch replaced.
Air conditioner went out had it fixed
Replaced the started it died too.
Transmission replaced it went out
Complete tune up plugs wires everything.
Towed 5x
And still have the same problem it dies at stop lights then starts if I am lucky. Then when I shut it off it won't start back up.
Sometimes just driving it dies and won't start for a few hours or days.
My mechanic said the fuel pump is fine he feels it is electrical but since I have already paid 4700 in repairs he does not want to replace the BCM or the PCM just yet because it may or may not be the problem. He says that when it dies out he tries to read the codes but the computer has nothing there it earases any errors. Help my please I think I could have bought a new car by now for as much as the dealer has charged me in repairs and still walking.
Good luck - post back here how you make out.
all i have seen so far is not good for this model year. anyone have any suggestions?
what gas mileage does it get? 2.5 V6.
thanks bretsky1
The first day out of the dealership, I took the car to my uncle's home, he warned me about Chryslers, "buy a GM, but never Chrysler or Ford." He reluctantly got in for a test drive, and actually enjoyed it. He rescinded his comments about buying the Cirrus. As we are opening the door to exit, the drivers side door panel falls off, somehow all the clips were not fastened or had come undone. That is some great quality, I must say.
The following week, as I am driving back from the office, the battery light comes on- Chicago bumper to bumper traffic. As I try to make my way to the shoulder, the car completely quits on me, I just barely make it to the shoulder, and have to push the car to allow traffic to flow around me. It was the alternator, it had failed.
As I am waiting for my family to get into the car on a hot Summer day, I have the A/C on so that its not so hot in the car, the next thing you know I have a "CLOUD" of white smoke and a hissing noise. At first you'd think there was a leak in the radiator- as I shut off the engine, and take note the temp. is still normal, I open the hood- to my dismay its not the radiator or its hoses, its the A/C unit, one of the fittings had failed, again, exemplary quality.
Six months of ownership, transmission gets stuck in 3rd gear, Limp Home Mode. Dealer ship replaces transmission, prognosis: the transmission was installed with return line kinked, insufficient cooling, burned clutches. Covered under warranty- again I cannot begin to comment on the absolutely Honda Slaying Quality of Chrysler.
The car was returned to me 3 and 1/2 weeks later, the car drove very very rough, checked the oil, and it was fine. The car one day seized on me- the engine had a oil line problem, and since I had the oil changed while the car was getting its Tranny changed out, it was ultimately the technician that installed the tranny, had done something to prevent the flow of sufficient oil to the engine. Great training comes from great companies.
I dropped the Cirrus and traded it in for a Volvo 850 GLT... If you are considering a Cirrus, please be forewarned, the 1995 Cirrus has a lot of problems, make sure the work that was performed has and is being documented, make sure all the RECALL work has been done. I would stay away from 95-97 Cirri and stick with models after those years.
Good Luck!
Thanks..Peter
Thank You.
My husband was on his way home for work and the car just died. The only warning he had that something might've been wrong was a belt that he started hearing that night when he went on his lunch break. Considering it was 17 degrees outside we thought it might have something to do with the cold weather and didn't pay it too much mind. That was until the car made some faint knocking noise and then died on a back country road at 4 in the morning. Now I've heard this knocking noise before. It happened to me shortly before the distributor started going out about 7 months ago. A year before that the distributor went out for the first time and the car had to be towed over 500 miles to get it home.
Considering the distributor has given us so many problems here recently I just assumed that was the problem. But a distributor is a part that you can get a lifetime warranty on, so it shouldn't go out that often unless something else is wrong.
We had an automatic start/ car alarm installed on the car about six months before the distributor first went out, and the dealership didn't reattach the wire that was supposed to run the automatic start to the distributor. After about 6 months we had it reconnected, and lo and behold 6 months later the distributor went out again.
I thought maybe it was the automatic start that was causing the problems, but I ran a diagnostic on the car and it gave me trouble code 54. 54 is supposed to be no camshaft position sensor signal from the distributor OR problem with the distributor synchronization circuit. We were told the camshaft position sensor was located somewhere in the distributor assembly itself and to replace it we'd have to replace the distributor. Money's tight so we just swapped out the old distributor (we have a lifetime warranty on it), and installed a new one.
The car still doesn't run. It doesn't even try to turn over. At least before when the distributor'd gone out it tried to turn over. I'm really at a loss for what to do next. I'm not entirely sure what the distributor synchronization circuit is or where to find it. I don't even know if I replaced it when I replaced the distributor. I'm trying to avoid taking the car to the dealership seeing as how they overcharge so ridiculously. (The 1st time they wanted $900.00 for the distributor, the 2nd time $450.00...whereas Autozone has sold it all along for 2 something.) It surely can't be the starter can it? Not if the car died while running and the car gave us a trouble code...
So now I'll try the Throttle Position Sensor.
It revs really high a random times and I have to shut my car off.
A/C Unit gone $1500 to replace(CA doesn't get that hot)
2 sets brakes(I need a third)
Electric driver's seat doesn't move(glad I was driving, it's set for me)
I'm still grateful I got or I wouldn't have a car at all:)
:confuse:
Any questions email me.
Lou
So I thought that was the end of things. My car was in the shop for 30 days. I got it back on July 13 2007 and after 1 day none of the gages didn't work. So, now its back at the mechanic and now they are saying something is wrong with the circuit board. So, I was wondering someone knows the price on this?
thanks
I have a 1999 Chrysler Cirrus. I will agree with others in the beginning the car looks great, drive great but the problems with the car is unbareable.
* I have also had to put sensors in for the car to change gears.
* For a 1999 that was only a year old with 52,000 miles and one owner...the A/C quit on me within a year...the switch to turn the heat/ac from high to low, now only works on High. So not to burn up during the winter I have to turn the heat to medium warm/cool. Great Heater by the way...but I like AC too you know!
* I had to get the 2 engine fans replaced
* And now, the motor is just GONE. Shot..Over Heated...Driving in ATL is not a good experience when white smoke is coming out during rush hour...just after I had gotten the car out 2 months beforehand.
I am wondering should I purchase a used motor or just give up...the money I am putting into this car, I could use on my other car. But the car is so nice and I want to give it another try; however, I can not continue to put that kind of money into this car. I do know that all cars are going to have its problems even when you keep the regular check up on it...But D*mn...from reading all the post, I am beginning to think the car looks good and that is it...
What would any of you do...Buy a use motor and run the risk of more problems or the used motor going out? or just sale it?
One Mechanic just laughed at me and said Chryslers are the last car he would purchase because of its ongoing problems.
For four years my husband and I constantly replaced sensors and distributors, main computers and had preventative maintenance work done to keep our '95 Cirrus up and running. We spent thousands of dollars on this car and it drove like a dream up until the morning it just quit running at 3 am while my husband was coming home from work. At 3 am I had to get out of bed, climb in the truck (no easy feat when your 7 1/2 months pregnant), drive 18 miles in 15 degree temperatures to go get my husband before he froze to death. lol
The only thing I admire more than the way these cars drive, is the way they die. This car can die so smoothly, that at first you don't even realize what's happened. They are great cars if you have a deep billfold. After we had to have the local towing company tow the car for the third time in a year and a half we finally decided to sell it for what we could get.
If you can get a deal on an engine I'd say buy it, get the car running and then sell it for what you can. That was our plan, up until we couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. We eventually gave up and sold ours to an overconfident shade tree mechanic for $500.00. The man was confident he could fix it and that he was getting a deal. We tried to warn him otherwise. I still get phone calls from people trying to buy the car from me. Apparantly the car is still sitting out in his yard with my number on the windshield because he can't get it running. We took what little we made and put towards an Impala. It's not brand new, but it actually drives and handles better than the Cirrus.
Its really a shame tho, I loved just about everything about that car....except changing the battery. lol
lately if it rained the night before its hard to start.
once it starts I need to worm it up for approx 15 to 20 minutes otherwise once i start to drive the car it starts to hesitate and stalls then the check engine light comes on.
when you do a diagnostic check the code reader shows random cylinder misfire.what could be wrong.
mojo.
Only 290,000 miles on the car. Runs great. Where and what should I check?
is overloaded with technology the car is basically one big circuit board requiring a lot of juice to keep its functioning correctly many times the ground is the problem a bad ground can chorus the computer ECM - PCM to malfunction decreasing the electronic ignition course of a weak spark allowing the car to stall. The solution is to add direct ground to these components they actually sell ground kits on eBay.
A easy test is to use a jumper cable connected to the negative terminal and then the outer case of ECM - PCM if it does not stall you have found your problem
there is a OUTPUT SPEED SENSOR on the transmission body that made of went bad my best advice is that you need to bring it to a service technician plus there is a recall on this transmission to replace a cable that I believe also contains a sensor that can cause problems
I bought a 97 Cirrus used in 2002 with 25K. Shortly after purchase I got a flickering oil light at idle as you described. The problem was an oil pressure sensor located at the bottom of the engine. Fixed for $35 ($15 if I did it myself). Now years later at 101K it seems to be doing it again so maybe this time I just fix it myself, it just screws in.
For what it's worth here is everything I have had to fix on my 97 with 2.5L--
Water pump--$450
Transmission shift solenoid--$250
Brake rotors--$100
Everything else has been routine stuff like brake pads, tires, oil etc. I think it's getting time to replace the struts and maybe the timing belt but you would expect that. All in all a pretty good car.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I'd appreciate any comments on the reliability and safety of the '98 Cirrus. Even with the low mileage, will old-age give me problems? All belts were just replaced and it has a new battery and new front brake rotors and disc pads. It's the 2.5L V6 engine.
Thanks!
See post #43. My light flickered a few time this winter when I was driving over some real nasty salt covered roads. Hasn't come back on in months. I'm figuring just some salt messing with the sensor. If it starts up again I'll change it.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
The Cirrus has been one of my best used car purchases and has never let me down. That's great milage but any 10 year-old car can have problems related to age. If the price is right go for it. That 2.5L engine is made by Mitsubishi and it is a very smooth long-lasting motor. An enhanced version powers the Mitsu Eclipse.
Edmunds says that the private party price for that car is around $3400.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible