Intrepidation

So let use make use of the chat room for once.

What do you expect when the Civic is clearly the better car?

Yep, I can rip the dash of my car apart and put it back together in 10 minutes. Door panels take 2 or 3.

QFT

No worries, I always practice on a junker. I'm a good at ripping interiors apart and putting them back together.

Yeah but I can do it myself, no biggy.

Agreed with YJ. You could also take a look at the Eos.

Ironic that there's now XWD version there considering the environment...but it looks like these are all pre MCE.

Or if it was a Tacoma, the frame would have ripped in half withe the stump remaining in the ground.

Yep, it's basically a temp car until the house is sold and then she plans to buy a newer used car, but we'll see how much she likes it. Otherwise it'll probably go to my brother.

Well, we bought the Mercury. It's extremely clean and runs great. Transmission shifts well, body panels are all in good shape, interior is good, all the stuff works except a blown headlight and the passenger side window motor...easy fixes. We should get it tomorrow or Monday, so I'll take photos of it and all that good stuff. The Mopar family now has a Ford in the fleet.

flying stump > truck Sorry dude, hopefully you get it fixed soon.

WANT

Meh, there's only so much they can do. Anyway, if they make the engines more refined and the interior actually nice, that's all that really matters. You think the Camry and Accord (sedan) sell on their good looks? Besides, it's the ass that needs the most work. We'll just have to wait and see I guess...however it's encouraging to at least see that something is being done and it's not all talk.

Cool, by the way the 3 cars in your sig are sweet, what are the 2 on the right?

Like I said, IMO changing the front bumper makes a big difference:

Alright, well so far we've looked at 3 cars, and will be looking at a 4th tomorrow. So here's some quick stories about the three. Also, besides the Intrepid, these are photos of the actual cars. #1: 2002 Dodge Neon I saw an add for a `02 Dodge Neon. There were two photos of it. The driver's side was banged up, but he said it ran good. Cosmetics didn't bother me because parts are easy to find (I saw 2 of them at the junkyard I went to last week). Yesterday we went to take a look at it, since it was nearby. The guy's English sucks but whatever, he seemed nice enough. I walked around the car, and saw it had seen better days. Driver's doors, fender, hood, and bumper were all in need of replacement, but with the exception of the bumper it seemed usable. The bumper was an issue though, as it was rubbing against the tire. I asked to see under the hood, which he opened it from outside...so it didn't lock...lovely. I looked at the engine, and saw no visible leaks...so I'm thinking...not bad. I looked under it and saw no leaks and no rust. Interior was good too. I asked to turn it on and he handed me the keys. I sat inside and noticed the windshield was cracked...uh oh. This is where it gets fun though. I turned the car on and it ran extremely rough, and it had a knock as well. Immediately I was done with the car, but to humor myself I looked around and listened to it. I put the a/c on, which then caused the steering wheel to shake violently. I turned it off and told him thanks but no thanks. Even though it seemed like 1k for an `02 might have been reasonable considering the damage, I suspected mechanical issues, and boy was I right. It's not worth putting money into, and whoever buys it if they do is an idiot. It might as well just be sent to the junkyard. #2 1996 Dodge Intrepid That's not the actual car, but that's the color and what it looked like sans fog light. This car has been for sale on someone's front yard for at least 2 months now. I figured since it was on the way we could take a look. The car was sitting in the front yard of an abandoned house with a number to call, and a price of $1600 OBO. I looked it over, it seemed pretty nice except there was paint peel on the roof and the driver's side rocker had a rust hole in it...I figured that would be a good way to haggle the price down to under a grand if we were serious. I called an left a message about it, he called back while I was at work. When I returned the call later today he told me he had just sold it. Bummer, the thought of another Intrepid in the family was cool. #3 1998 Chevy Lumina This one caught my eye. It has 208k miles on it, but the body looked good and the seller said it ran and drove well. Today I wen tto go look at it. The seller was a kid, but his dad was there to help talk to me. They were nice as well. I started the car up...sure enough it ran nicely, with no knocking or ticking. I took it for a short drive around teh parking lot, and it seemed to shift nice and smoothly, as well as go in reverse no problem. I didn't here any funny noises either. However, and thsi is where you guys can come in, the ABS and Check Engine lights were on, although the ABS light didn't always stay on. It did brake fine, and pedal feel was good for both brake and gas, and steering felt nice too. I'm wondering if it's an emissions issue, like an O2 sensor or something. Otherwise, there was some surface rust on the rockers but no rot, under the car was clean, interior was pretty clean, and the power accessories and radio worked. a/c doesn't work, but perhaps just needs a recharge. He revved it for me and it sounded fine too. Fluids seemed good although the trans fluid looked like it could use a change, but I would change the fluids anyway. Anyway, this car seems promising as it seems in good shape, runs and drives well (in the parking ot at least). Plus, Ive always had a thing for these cars...I dunno I just thought they were handsome in their day. The only hangups are those lights...can any of the GM experts (I hope there's a few ) offer some insight, and opinions of the Luminas and maybe things to look out for? They seem to go the distance, as I' saw one for sale today with 270k on it. #4 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis This one so far seems the most promising. I'll be going to look at it tomorrow, but the guy I talked to seems very nice and knows a thing or 2 about cars. He was also prompt about returning my calls. He told me the car needs nothing (as it says in the ad). Heat and a/c work, electricals work, and all that stuff. From the photos at least it also looks very clean. Although these tanks may not be fuel sippers, the parts are cheap and easy to come buy, so that's a big plus. Some of the Ford guys are welcome to offer thoughts and insight about this one. I'm liking it so far. If it's as good as he says it is then it will most likely be the pick of the litter, but I'll know more tomorrow.

Yup, we literally used a coat hanger to keep the muffler up on the Aries wagon we used to have. I always liked the look of Lancers, but they re very rare these days.

Indeed, but I hope they do more with the back than teh front. Remember the SEMA concept? A reshaped bumper did wonders for the car.

The Chrysler Sebring has been a major league disappointment since its introduction in 2007, but execs at Chrysler headquarters have promised that a new, better midsize sedan is on the way. The photo to the right is not that magical new Chrysler, but is what appears to be a warmed-over version of the Sebring we already have. The most obvious change arrives at the hood, where the Sebring's ungainly washboard ribbing is replaced by a smooth surface. There is significant camouflage covering the front bumper and lower fascia, but due to some un-kept grass, we can't see any details. The Chrysler experts over at Allpar say that the updates will mainly improve aerodynamics and reduce wind noise, which will also help improve fuel economy. Chrysler also plans to simplify manufacturing by making many former options standard equipment, adding the Premium and Luxury group as standard on the Limited model. The Touring model a eight-way power driver seat, chrome and leather shift knob, and traction and stability control. What we don't know is whether Chrysler has updated the Sebring's interior, but the automaker has insisted that it was racing to update it quickly. The good news for interior designers is that the Sebring redo can only get better. Source: Autoblog

It really uis a beautiful car, but the front end needs some work...it really does look bug-eyed. If they tweak it to look more like the 8C then it'll be perfect.

I know right? But hey, we're getting a stick in the GT, so we can be happy for that.

Sorry dude, but it actually said that manufacturers are moving away from it because automaticsa are no longer less efficient, because of the way they can be programed.