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So long mini-van, hello sports coupe!

O

OBIO

Retired SOH Admin
On Friday morning, I drove my tired old 1994 Plymouth Grand Voyager mini-van to the junk yard and got $450 out of it as scrap.....which was far more than the van was worth as a vehicle. Nearly 210 thousand miles, lots and lots of problems that simply added up to more cost than the van was worth.

Friday afternoon, I took delivery of a 1996 Chrysler Sebring LXi 2-door coupe. Black and silver. 126 thousand on the odometer. Really nice looking vehicle. Needs some TLC here and there...to the tune of $750 in parts with me doing all the labor (replacing all four wheel hubs, all four brake rotors, all four brake calipers, brake pads at each corner, front struts, some exhaust work). I need (okay, don't actually need...but very strongly want) to find the factory spoiler to add to the deck lid....that would just make the car look so much better.

Gas mileage is better than the van by far....but the van did surprisingly well on gas....averaged 20.5 MPG....used less than 2 gallons of gas during my daily 39 mile round trip drive to work and back.

I wanted another Pontiac Grand AM GT...but with used car prices being way way high right now...there was simply no way I was going to shell out 7 to 9 thousand dollars for a 2002 to 2004 car. Once I get the Sebring dialed in and all the little kinks worked out of her, she will be almost as much fun to drive as the Grand AM GT I had back before Deb's brain surgery. Because the Sebring has a couple wheel hubs that are loose and the front struts are totally FUBARED, the car is a bit squirrely to drive...so I have not given her her legs...but on the way home tonight, I goosed her up to 3000 RPM (been keeping her under 2500 and under 60 MPH) and let her get some air in her lungs....and she wanted to get real sporty.

OBIO
 
Good one Obi
Because the Sebring has a couple wheel hubs that are loose and the front struts are totally FUBARED, the car is a bit squirrely to drive...so I have not given her her legs
Click to expand...
a bit like mainstream Korean cars......they handle as though someone forgot to tighten up the wheel nuts! :icon_lol:
(they are getting better, though)
 
Cutting loose the old girls can tug on the ole heartyparts if you have had them a while. My ever faithful 88 Dessert Runner gave out on me back in Febuary so I had to get a "new" 2000 S-10 at a local auction. The wife has been after me to sell the old girl but I just can't bring my self to do it. In fact I've been saving my lunch money for a few parts here and there and hope one day to restore her. Shhhhhhhhhh don't tell my wife.

The old.View attachment 65942
The "new".View attachment 65943

Good luck with your new car hope you don't run into any hidden gremlins.
 
Reply...

Tim,

As an ex-Dodge owner, just make sure to keep an eye on the oil, and take her out on the highway at least once a month. Ever Dodge engine I've ever had or one that has been in my family, eats oil, head gaskets, and starts to run rough if it isn't taken on the highway every fuel weeks because of the carbon buildup.

On the other hand, my 13 year-old Nissan has 350,000+ miles on it, idles @ 700rpm as smooth as silk, and losses less than 1/4 of a quart of oil between oil changes, every 3K on the nose.

Congrats on moving up with your cars, it is well-deserved. Greetings to both you and Deb as well! :salute:
 
The Sebring gets about a half hour's worth of highway driving 6 days a week...so no problems keeping the carbon blown off the valves. I have found that there is an oil leak.....a small one. I did an oil change on Friday and I might need to slide back under the car and give the oil drain plug a bump or two with the wrench....I was in a bit of a hurry and mayhaps didn't torque it down properly. Just 5 small drops on the garage floor over night.

On Saturday, I left the house early so I would have time to stop at the gas station a mile and a half from the house to pick up a pack of smokes before heading to work. Pulled into the parking lot, got out, walked around the back of the car to head in and saw that the passenger side back tire was nearly flat....it was a bad tire from the get go....as balk as Bull from Night Court. Got my smokes, came out and the tire was totally flat. And the car...like most 16 year old used cars....did not have a spare tire in it. So, I aired the tire up...luckily the station had an air station (for free even) and I was parked right by it. The tire took and held air....made it home and it was still holding air....but I did not want to risk it going flat again on the way to work....or to come out from work at midnight to find it flat. So I called off work and got my nephew to drive me around to find a good used tire to put on it. $30 got me a very nice Goodyear tire....and that included mounting and balancing.

I love the power sunroof....kind of like having a convertible when it is fully open but with out all the headache of maintaining a ragtop.

I hate the leather seats....to darn hot, to darn slippery. Going to order a nice set of seat covers from E-Bay soon....made for the Sebring and does the front and back seats. Neopreme rubber construction....the don't get hot, they stay in place, they are comfy. Black and gray...so they will match the car well....and have a really sporty look to them.

OBIO
 
Spare Law

Tim,
You said: '..did not have a spare tire in it.' Don't know about other states, but in California it's against the law to drive without a spare onboard. Just saying.
Chuck B
Napamule
 
gradyhappyg said:
Cutting loose the old girls can tug on the ole heartyparts if you have had them a while. My ever faithful 88 Dessert Runner gave out on me back in Febuary so I had to get a "new" 2000 S-10 at a local auction. The wife has been after me to sell the old girl but I just can't bring my self to do it. In fact I've been saving my lunch money for a few parts here and there and hope one day to restore her. Shhhhhhhhhh don't tell my wife.

The old.View attachment 65942
The "new".View attachment 65943

Good luck with your new car hope you don't run into any hidden gremlins.
Click to expand...
==========================================================
OK. When you rebuild the wife, post the before-and-after pictures. We won't tell her !!
 
Good luck with the Sebring. My Girlfriend's dad had one for a while and I drove it from time to time. Sporty looking and handled ok but had (to me) the worst ergonomics in a car I'd ever driven. The steering wheel was so low that it nearly rubbed in my lap and the clutch pedal seemed to be in the wrong spot. I couldn't stand to drive more than 50 miles or so before I had to get out and walk around to get the kinks out.

My 87 Crown Vic Wagon on the other hand is so comfortable I can drive it for hours and not get significantly fatigued.

View attachment 66021 And it's even been known to hang out with aerospace equipment View attachment 66022 As well as other Crown Vic's
 
Brian

I totally agree about the steering wheel being too low...I have it as far up as it will go, my seat as far down and back as it will go...and still there just doesn't seem to be enough room for my over-sized thighs.

I do like the improved gas mileage with the Sebring. With the van, one quarter tank (4 gallons) would take me to work and back for 2 days with no other driving involved. With the Sebring, the same amount of gas has given me 3 days worth of driving (around town a bit on Monday, to work and back Monday, around town a bit on Tuesday, to work and back with a detour to the grocery store, around town a bit today, a longer route to work as I had to swing by Walmart to pick up a new belt to hold my pants up, and a bit of a longer trip home as I had to pick up a 2-litre of Squirt soda for Deb). I know the mileage will get better on the Sebring once I get it all dialed in with new wheel hubs, some new plugs and wires, a K&N cold air induction kit, a tranny flush and fill, new brakes (one rotor is warped pretty good) that do not drag.

The new door handles I ordered off of E-Bay will most likely be here tomorrow...so Friday I will be able to put on the driver's side handle and will no longer have to open the passenger side door, lean through the car to open the driver's door from the inside. Went to do that last night after work and forgot that the roof line on the Sebring is way down....I slammed the top of my head into the side of the door opening....and did so HARD...it cracked my neck and left the top of my head feeling bruised.

OBIO
 
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