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Dodge Intrepid

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Comments

  • jbbw20jbbw20 Member Posts: 38
    Tis time to say bye-bye to the lowly Intrepid and all of its problems ie--engine sludge, electrical, transmission, heater a/c etc. etc. and with January sales 66% lower than January 2003 a large group of the buying public are passing it over for something more appealing.
  • emaleemale Member Posts: 1,380
    well, let's see...why are intrepid sales 66% lower than last year...duh! the intrepid hasn't been in production since august of '03!
  • jbbw20jbbw20 Member Posts: 38
    Kill of the lowly Intrepid--another great move by the Daimler guys. The largest local Chrysler dealer did have an ample supply on hand last weekend. The reciever had a "bankrupt" sale last week, I drove through the sales lost on Sunday to view the bones, at least 100 new vehicles left probably 12 Intrepids. My personal feelings toward that dealership is GOOD RIDDANCE!!!!!, maybe that space can be used for something more useful like a parking lot.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    has probably been one of the most successful full-sized Dodges since, oh, 1972 or so? From around '73 until the Intrepid came out, Dodge relied mainly on smaller cars like the Dart, Aspen, earlier Diplomats, and K-cars to carry their sales, as bigger cars like the Monaco, St. Regis, later Diplomats (although it was a "compact" in '77, once truly big cars were dropped it became their "full-size" by default for '82), etc never were very popular except among police fleets.

    So yeah, kill the car that finally put them back on the map in family cars, and replace it with a station wagon! Smooth move, Daimler!! I just hope there's a sedan version of the Magnum coming out, as the rumors suggest, because I think only offering a station wagon is going to hurt them, sales wise.
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    By now we know jbbw20's aims all too clearly. Mike372....I applaud your "velvet hammer" approach; and yes...I caught the drift.
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    is advertising a 2003 TBird with 115 miles for 28K or Best Offer. He says he won it in a raffle. I wonder if I bought the car and stored it in my garage if it would appreciate someday to a higher value. I dont know how much the new ones are selling for but I saw some advertisements that were substantially discounting them, apparently due to slow sales. Any thoughts?
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Consumers' Most Wanted Vehicles for 2004 Survey is posted and ready for your input!
  • tomcat630tomcat630 Member Posts: 854
    Yes a Dodge LX sedan is coming out next year, possibly called 'Charger'. And btw, for the past few years, LH car sales were pretty bad, most going to rentals. Intrepids have poor resale, rated 'one star' by a Leasing industry guide, (Edmunds had a story about it). So, anything is an improvment.

    The next generation Stratus will still be FWD and cab forward, and most likely bigger. So Intrepid fans can get those. If it's a "downgrade" in your mind, then get another brand.
  • jbbw20jbbw20 Member Posts: 38
    Tomcat I agree with your thoughts about the LH vehicles "So, anything is an improvment." The Daimler influence has started to show with the new offerings from DC showing improved reliability.
    http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0403/09/a01-86172.htm
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    I put my Trep in for its 90,000 mile tranny service the other day, and just got a call that it's ready to pick up. The thing that really shocked me though, was when they told me the price. All of $79.00!! Aren't tranny services usually more than that nowadays?

    Only other thing I can think of is that when I pick up my Intrepid, I'm dropping off my '79 NYer, and after that, my Granddad's '85 Silverado for servicing. So maybe they're giving me a group rate?
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    Don't look a gift horse in the......! When I had my fluid and filter changed back at 40K--it was the ATF-4 fluid that was most costly. If memory serves it ran something like $9/qt. If the fluid didn't need changing, then the price isn't too surprising.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    When I picked the car up last nite, the guy at the shop actually said, somewhat apologetically, that they've had to raise their prices because of fluid, materials, etc going up. I should've kept my mouth shut, but I ended up blurting out that I'd figured it would be more expensive, so I wasn't complaining!

    Then again, transmissions are the only thing this shop does, so maybe they can just do it cheaper? The Amoco (just changed to a Citgo) station where I normally have work done estimated that it would've been around $125-150. They serviced the tranny in my roommate's Tracker about a month ago, and I think that came out to around $100. I wish we'd though to bring it to the tranny shop at the time. If nothing else though, the service station is a lot quicker. I think they only had his Tracker for 1-2 nights, and that was because they were doing other work on it. With my Intrepid, I had to call Monday of last week, only to have them tell me to call back this past Monday, and then they finally said they could take it. And dropping it off Monday, I didn't get it back until yesterday. And my '79 NYer, which I dropped off when I picked up the Intrepid, probably won't be ready till next Monday or Tues.

    I guess that's one nice thing about having a spare car to fall back on...I don't have to be as pressed for time when one of the cars needs servicing.
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    I think I need a 'group' rate on car insurance! Come the end of the month I am dropping the insurance on my 79 Firebird. I am trying to get it registered as a collector car but one of the requirements in NJ is that you have to show an insurance card with special collector insurance. There is a company in NJ that insures collector cars but they want a color photo of the car. I may have to do some body work on it this summer so it looks good enuf for the insurance company to take me. The same is true for Haggerty, they want photos. Are yours registered as 'collector cars' or registered with QQ plates?
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    I have my Intrepid, NYer and pickup insured through Erie, although the NYer has historic plates. Main reason I went with historic plates for it was because it's cheaper ($27.50 for 2 years, versus $108), but also as a historic it's exempt from the emissions test! And while it passed two years ago, it wouldn't pass now, because the exhaust came completely loose right behind the catalytic convertor.

    You're not supposed to drive as much with historic tags, but I don't drive this car much anyway. I bought it in October '01, and have only put maybe 3500 miles on it since then.

    I have my Dart, DeSoto, and Catalina with Hagerty, and all three of those have historic tags. I would look into insuring the NYer with Hagerty (It would save me about $300 a year) but one stipulation with Hagerty is that the car be garaged, and I've run out of garage space!

    NJ may be different than Maryland, but here, once a car hits 25 calendar years of age (not model years...I had to wait until Jan 1 of this year before I could put historic plates on the NYer), it's no big thing to just apply for historic plates. Just mail in the form, or go to the DMV (in MD they call it MVA) and fill it out, make sure your title # and insurance info is on it, and voila! If you walk in you get your tags right there. If you mail it in, you get your tags in 4-6 weeks or so.
  • setzersetzer Member Posts: 127
    I rid in a rental one today, and I have to admit, it is still a nice full size car. Even though it doesn't have all the new bells and whistles, it probably would be a good car for someone who doesn't need all of that stuff. It is also pretty cheap, and it'll most likely get cheaper as the year progresses. I hope the Magnum sedan/Charger is just as nice, or even nicer.
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    In NJ, the car is exempt from inspection if its registered as a collector or historic car. Since I cant get the Firebird to pass emissions, registering it as one of the above makes sense. But there are problems to be sorted out. If I go the collector route, they want proof of collector insurance policy which I dont have and not sure whether I can get it. If I go the historic route, the law says it can only be driven for exhibition or educational purposes. Well....as the woman at the DMV office told me, how do they know where you drive it. The car, as of last January, was 25 calendar years old. But, again, for historic reg. the DMV wants pictures, and its kind of obvious that I dont enter it into exhibitions, at least not till I paint certain panels that are in primer right now. Hhhmmmm, maybe I can download a picture of a 79 Firebird in mint condition! But over the phone the NJ collector insurance company did say that they may take a vehicle under restoration, as long as I was doing the work myself and not having a shop do it. I am not sure why it makes a difference but thats what the guy told me. At any rate, unless I can get collectors insurance I cant afford to drive it!
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    what year is the Catalina. Is it one of those late 60's models with the pointed chrome bumper, similar to the 69 Grand Prix's.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    it's a '67, which was the last year for the stacked headlights, and the first year that they really started growing a "beak"
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    I'm curious gang...what are you paying yearly to insure your Intrepid.. At 39 and a loaded ES, I'm paying just over 900.00/year.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    for an '00 Intrepid base model, full coverage, deductible $500 collision/$250 comprehensive. And I'm 33 (34 in April) single male driver.

    My insurance went up a bit this time around. I remember my total bill for my Intrepid and 2 liability-only vehicles last year was $1111. This year it's gone up to $1260. And it's about to go up again, by about $180 because I recently moved to a higher-risk area.
  • emaleemale Member Posts: 1,380
    jason,

    i'm paying $538 every six months for an '02 4x4 supercrew and '03 honda accord coupe. but i live in hicksville so that does work out to my advantage...that and a clean driving record :)
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    Yea now I remember what they looked like. In 1968, I think Pontiac went to the two headlights next to eachother. The guy across the street had a 68 GTO, which was a pretty nice looking car for the era. He had some other neat cars like a 1972 Olds Toronado and a 75 Red Trans Am with the 455 cid engine. My mistake was not buying the Trans Am off of him, he practically gave it away. It had low miles as he had a 10 minute commute to work but at the time my 79 Firebird was still relatively new. I still remember the day he bought it off the showroom floor and drove it home. At the time it could have been yours for $5,500. Back then he was the talk of the neighborhood. It would have really turned heads today.
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    is about $666 per year. Liability 100K/300K, $2,000 deductible for collision, $100 deductible for comprehensive, 100K property damage. Last Friday it was exactly one year old. But I have a 10% multiple car discount and 10% discount for having homeowners policy with same company. No points/ accidents last three years which is what they go by in NJ. But I live in what is supposed to be the highest cost state in the whole US, due partly to the high number of cars per mile and drivers that think they own the highway.
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    for all the information...
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    Just wondering if you ever had problems with leaking trans cooler lines at the point where thsy connect to the radiator. Well, mine started to leak a few weeks ago and now there is a spot on the driveway so I am taking it in tomorrow. Seems like this is an extremely likely occurence on both SE and ES models, since practically every used one I looked at had a leak in the same place. In fact, an owner of a Dodge dealer in Deposit, NY told me that it was a design defect. He had bought an ES at the auction (previous rental as they all are) and while I was looking at it the fluid was leaking on the ground. It was a pretty good deal with low miles but I didnt buy it because of this leak. The dealer actually had replacement lines on order. I can't believe that Dodge has not corrected this problem. Kind of annoying.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    I've been lucky in that respect. No leaky tranny cooler lines (or anything in the tranny, for that matter). In fact, the only time my car ever leaked any fluid was when the thermostat housing went bad, and would leak a tiny bit of coolant.
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    Have neither heard of this as "common" nor experienced it with my Intrepid.
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    goes to the dealer at 9AM tomorrow. I have heard that the leaky thermostat housing on the 2.7L engines is a frequent problem. A used car manager at a Dodge dealer mentioned the leaky housing when I asked him if the 2.7L engine was troublesome. 10,700 miles and still in showroom condition, thanks to the Celica which I drive alot.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    told me that the thermostat housing was a fairly common problem on the 2.7. He said they had replaced them on several other 2.7's. I remember the bill for mine was about $210.00.

    Keep us posted on your cooler lines, and let us know how much they end up costing.

    Oh yeah, I saw my great-aunt on Sunday. She has a 2001 Intrepid SE, in kind of a burgundy/purplish color. She doesn't even have 9,000 miles on it! She wants to trade it for an Impala, though. I hate seeing a Mopar giving way to a Chevy, but I can kind of understand her reasoning. She's 80, and the Impala is easier to get into and out of. I can understand where she's coming from...I spent the whole weekend splitting firewood and stacking it, and as a result every joint and muscle in my body is still aching! I had a helluva time getting into my 'Trep on Monday morning! And even today, it was still a bit of a hassle!

    She also has an upright hairdo...the best way I can describe it is to think of Betty White when she played Ellen on "Mama's Family" Anyway, she says her head hits the ceiling, and her knee hits the steering wheel. I think it's a little odd, considering I'm 6'3" and, except for wishing for a bit more legroom (in power seat LH cars, I'm fine), it fits me well. But I guess when you're older, you're going to sit closer to the wheel, with the seat in a much more upright position!
  • markbrookmarkbrook Member Posts: 1
    We just had our 97 Intrepid to the dealer for a oil change and they suggested to have the throttle body cleaned. The car has 31,000 miles and a 3.3 engine and never had problems. A week later the car will stall at a light and start with no problems. The car runs smoothly before it dies. We took it back and they could not find any codes or recreate the problem, they just rest the computer. It stalled again last night. Does anyone have any ideas. Sorry so long and thanks for your help.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    is that at idle you're either getting too much gas and the car's flooding out, or you're not getting enough and it's stalling. However, if it flooded, you'd be able to smell fuel, and it wouldn't be so easy to re-start.

    When it stalls out does it do it as you're slowing down for the light, or does it do it while you're just sitting there at the light, already stopped? Sometimes, if you can "feel" the stall coming on, you can keep it from stalling out by shifting into neutral.

    I guess the best thing to check is the fuel delivery system (lines and such), and maybe whatever the modern equivalent is to a choke (sometimes I miss carburetors!)
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    the cooler line clamps were loose and tightened them. However, I think its a poor design as I have seen too many Trep's with the same problem and all of my other cars have steel lines with a nut attaching them to the radiator. The Trep (at least mine) has flexible type hoses with a screw type clamp holding the hose to the radiator. Cost saving? Yep! But its not leaking so far and we shall see. But how's this for Chrysler's engineering dept- the service manager told me they had to take the headlight out to get to the clamps!? The repair was covered under warranty.
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    on this site lately, has everyone traded their Intrepids?
  • jayriderjayrider Member Posts: 3,602
    If you think this site is quiet, check out it's sister ship the Concorde.
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    that site hasn't seen a message since the beginning of the month!
  • smithedsmithed Member Posts: 444
    Not traded in, just not much to say. Now the 'Trep is 5 years old this month, it will be getting scheduled coolant change this month. I am starting to wonder what happens when we get to 105,000 miles, since the service schedule ends at that point. I guess I'll just start over at the beginning.
    The plastic lenses on the headlights are getting cloudy, sort of like going blind from getting cataracts with aging. I have read about what people have done to clear the lenses, but haven't done anything about them yet. Does anybody have any secrets about how to remove that fogging, which seems to be little surface cracks in my 'Treps' case?
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    with higher mileage, I'd probably just do some things a little more frequently, like changing the coolant and servicing the tranny. As for the headlight fogging, I wonder if a light polishing compound might work?

    I wonder how much new headlight assemblies are? Unfortunately, I think used is pretty much out, because every Intrepid I've seen in the junkyard is in there because of a hard hit to the front!
  • mike372mike372 Member Posts: 354
    Maybe the owners manual is trying to tell you its time for a new car. Well, just kidding.

    As far as the headlights go, they tend to fog up on the inside. But a dealer says thats normal, as the fog burns off when the lights are on. However, the lenses have a life expectancy and will not look new forever. I have the discoloration problem with my 89 TBird for awhile now and I have noticed it on other TBirds. The nice thing aboutthe older cars with the replaceable lights, like my Firebird, was that the lenses were made of glass and could not discolor.

    Well, maybe from now on I will be careful about which junkyards I visit.In the local paper, the owner of Briggs junkyard in rural PA shot and killed TWO sheriffs officers yesterday while being served a warrant at the premises. Hmmmmmmm, I always wondered about some owners in the past. Sometimes I wonder if its worth the small savings in most cases.
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    I'm glad that a link was provided to headlight lens cleaner. I was going to mention that I had read somewhere about a product exactly for the problem you mentioned. Damned if I could remember where though...
  • buyer777buyer777 Member Posts: 70
    I used auto polish and it worked well!
  • chuck1chuck1 Member Posts: 1,405
    It comes in a yellow plastic bottle. You can buy it at most auto supply stores. It can be used on clearcoat and plastic. I use it on my clear lenses for my Mazda 626. Also, when I polish the car I put a little on my polish bonnet when I polish the front hood of my car. It takes all the embeded dirst out of the paint. I believe it's made by 3M.
  • smithedsmithed Member Posts: 444
    I will try one of these methods and let everyone know how each works. Of course, I will not go onto the next method if the first one works.

    Also, the 'Trep has reached 5 years on its long life coolant and I am going to have it flushed and replaced next week. Is there anything special I need to know about this? Like the necessity for specific trans fluid?
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    I had my coolant flushed last August, at around 85,000 miles. From what I've heard, basically just put in stuff that's compatible with the long-life coolant. Make sure it's that orangish-pinkish stuff.

    About the only bad thing I've heard about the long-life stuff is that you really do need to change it at 5 years, or even a bit before, because once it starts to go downhill, it goes fast, and gums up the engine. With the older, green stuff that you flush every 2-3 years, if you go beyond that, it starts to lose its cooling benefit and resistance to freezing, but otherwise isn't nearly as damaging to the system.

    When they did my coolant, they said my hoses were fine, which surprised me a bit. I figured they must've been telling the truth though, because if the hoses really were bad, that would've just been more profit for them!

    The mechanic did say, though, that at 150,000 miles, I should have the coolant done again, and have the hoses replaced as well. At the rate I'm driving though (I've only put about 6,000 miles on the car since then...up to 91,000 now), I'm sure I'll be back in before then! Either that, or behind the wheel of a Hemi! ;-)
  • chuck2chuck2 Member Posts: 1
    I just bought a used 04 Intrepid. I test drove it before buying and I loved how it handled and how responsive the engine was.
    After doing a little research online, it appears that the Intrepid is not the most reliable vehicle in the world.
    Do you, my fellow Intrepid owners, feel that this is an unreliable car?
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    my '00 base model just hit 91,000 miles about a week ago. I'm not complaining! I've had a few minor things go wrong (thermostat housing, door seals, passenger-side mirror remote, power lock actuator), but overall I've been happy with it. If I had it to do over, I still would've most likely bought one...I just would've tried to snag one with power seats!
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    You'll find most of us happy with our Intrepids for a variety of reasons. Perfect? No.. A solid car and value? Yes. The more siginificant question--and the one that separates the "thinkers" from the "complainers" is...reliable or not reliable compared to what? Every long-term test (and I mean EVERY)that I have read show the Intrepid at or below the mean for maintenance expenses compared to national averages. MSN.com and other reasonable sources have shown average or better reliability. Enjoy! But stay tuned to this board for hints on using your maintenance dollars wisely.
  • drmurdocdrmurdoc Member Posts: 13
    I'm looking at purchasing a 99 Intrepid with the 2.7 engine. The car is in great shape with 76K miles. I think I can get it for $4,500. I started to do research and came up with message after message in some other forum (not edmunds) on how BAD the 2.7 engine was. Many people reporting they had to replace their engines. Can anyone with knowledge give me some perspective. Should I be wary?
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    where if the car has been maintained well, with up-to-date oil changes, never been overheated or abused, etc, it should be fine. But from what I've heard, the 2.7 doesn't do too well if you let it go too long between oil changes. Sludge, and evil things like that.

    If it's any consolation, most people I've talked to out in the real world (i.e., not internet chat forums, or people who have a vendetta against Chrysler and are blowing things out of proportion), have had good luck with this engine. The mechanics I've talked to have all said it's a good engine. About the only flaw I know of, right off-hand, is the thermostat housings leak from time to time. I've also heard that the transmission cooling lines that run to the base of the radiator are prone to leakage.

    Overall though, I'm at 91,000 miles with my '00 2.7, and it's been pretty good so far. The one time the oil light did come on, it was a problem with the wiring and not a real problem with the oil.

    Basically, I'd say if you can get access to the maintenance records and see that the oil has been changed about every 3,000 miles, and the car seems to run good, and doesn't make any nasty noises, then it sounds like a good deal to me.
  • Jason5Jason5 Member Posts: 440
    In a nutshell--make your purchase and enjoy. We too in this forum have heard about the "sludge" problem--trouble is the one or two sources are not reliable and you won't find significant real world data to support "sludge" as an issue.
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