What's the best small (good mileage) Chrysler product out there now?

[bull]

We're kicking around the notion of getting a small used car that gets good fuel mileage but I can't say I'm all that excited about the Neons. Seems like I've heard some not-so-good things about them on more than one occasion. My wife likes the VW Passats () and my sister-in-law has a Ford Focus that looks half decent. Is the Stratus any good? What would you guys buy if you were in the market for a high mpg car?

[4forty]

The Passat gets crappy mileage and uses Premium fuel, If you want Mopar your only choice is the Caliber  (Starting around $15K)  which gets 29 HWY (probaly with a good tailwind). I'm looking for High MPG, American and reasonable price for Girlfriends commuuter car, best deal seems to be the Chevy Cobalt XFE with gets 36+Hwy and starts at $14K,..... or you can turn Japanese.

can you tell I'm in the market too!!   Good Luck!

[Fitz73Chrgr]

Dont go Japanese!!

The Cobalt is supposed to be a really good car.  I've been thinking about one for myself. 

[SnoPro440]

I bought a new 05 Neon SRT-4 in the begining of 06.  I have 62K on it and I haven't had a single problem with it.  I drive about 90 miles a day and if I stay out of the turbo, I can squeeze about 31-32MPG out of it.  I haven't done any performance mods to it and I change the oil with Mobil 1 every 4-5K. I bought the wife a Mini Cooper S with high miles on it and she gets around 33MPG.  I don't really care for that car but she loves it.  I drove it one time to the do-it-yourself carwash and two DUDES came up to me and were checking me out and the car out.  That's the last time I will ever drive that thing.

[moparstuart]

We're kicking around the notion of getting a small used car that gets good fuel mileage but I can't say I'm all that excited about the Neons. Seems like I've heard some not-so-good things about them on more than one occasion. My wife likes the VW Passats () and my sister-in-law has a Ford Focus that looks half decent. Is the Stratus any good? What would you guys buy if you were in the market for a high mpg car?

i'm currently driving one of my used cars. It's a 97 sebring convert with a  2.5 L and am currently getting 35 mpg . I drive 60 miles each way everyday  all hwy miles. But this car has 120k and it and getting great gas mileage !

[Old Moparz]

Before I decided to replace my older tow vehicle 3 years ago with the Dodge Ram I have, I was looking into a PT Cruiser. The reason was that I kept seeing a NYC dealership advertising a brand new, stripped down model, for $9995 & thought it was pretty damn cheap. After researching the car some more, one thing that kept coming up was the good reliability record it had. I was seriously considering it, but decided that replacing the tow vehicle was more benificial at the time. I would have only added A/C to it to keep the cost down if I bought one.

[bull]

Before I decided to replace my older tow vehicle 3 years ago with the Dodge Ram I have, I was looking into a PT Cruiser. The reason was that I kept seeing a NYC dealership advertising a brand new, stripped down model, for $9995 & thought it was pretty damn cheap. After researching the car some more, one thing that kept coming up was the good reliability record it had. I was seriously considering it, but decided that replacing the tow vehicle was more benificial at the time. I would have only added A/C to it to keep the cost down if I bought one.

A coworker of mine has a PT and she's not too happy with it, mainly due to the high cost of maintenance on it. I can't swear to the accuracy of the following but she said you have to remove one of the front wheels to change out a headlight on that side. I've also heard some bad things about servicing the transmission on them as in you can only use a certain type of (expensive) fluid and it's a general PITA to work on. This is all hearsay mind you but I haven't heard as much bragging on them as I have complaints from different sources.

[bull]

Seperated at birth?

[moparstuart]

Before I decided to replace my older tow vehicle 3 years ago with the Dodge Ram I have, I was looking into a PT Cruiser. The reason was that I kept seeing a NYC dealership advertising a brand new, stripped down model, for $9995 & thought it was pretty damn cheap. After researching the car some more, one thing that kept coming up was the good reliability record it had. I was seriously considering it, but decided that replacing the tow vehicle was more benificial at the time. I would have only added A/C to it to keep the cost down if I bought one.

A coworker of mine has a PT and she's not too happy with it, mainly due to the high cost of maintenance on it. I can't swear to the accuracy of the following but she said you have to remove one of the front wheels to change out a headlight on that side. I've also heard some bad things about servicing the transmission on them as in you can only use a certain type of (expensive) fluid and it's a general PITA to work on. This is all hearsay mind you but I haven't heard as much bragging on them as I have complaints from different sources.

my mom has one and she loves it , it's an 01 the first year for the model.  Never had any problems.  That motor is a tight fit and tough to work on !
   but she had not had anyproblems with it .

[Old Moparz]

A coworker of mine has a PT and she's not too happy with it, mainly due to the high cost of maintenance on it. I can't swear to the accuracy of the following but she said you have to remove one of the front wheels to change out a headlight on that side. I've also heard some bad things about servicing the transmission on them as in you can only use a certain type of (expensive) fluid and it's a general PITA to work on. This is all hearsay mind you but I haven't heard as much bragging on them as I have complaints from different sources.

I don't recall where I was reading all the info I had on it, but I do remember one source at the time was one of the used car guides where they rate all the cars. I doubt it was Consumer Reports, but there are several similar ones. I don't know anyone personally, that owns one except for one friend of a friend. He bought his new & liked it, but it was reposessed before he put any significant miles on it. 

As for changing the headlight being a PITA, I had a Nissan pick up that you had to remove the entire grille on to get to the headlight hardware. The grille had these plastic, push & turn, spring loaded clips, holding it in place. No big deal, except it was January & cold when I had to do it & I thought all the plastic was going to shatter in my hands because of the cold temperatures. I only had to change each of the headlights once in 155,000 miles, so I wouldn't hold that against buying something.

Now if the tranny is an issue, well I'd definitely be concerned.


edit: I just picked these links at random. 

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/2001-to-2007-chrysler-pt-cruiser-2.htm

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2006&make=Chrysler&model=PT%20Cruiser&trimid=-1

http://www99.epinions.com/auto_Make-2002_Chrysler_PT_Cruiser/display_~reviews

[RT DAVE]

My 04 RT neon (3.94 vs 3.55 gear and 150 hp as opposed 132) used to get 30 mpg at 75 mph.  I've heard the first gen cars are capable of high 30s.  I am currently looking at a 96 acr with 49K miles on it but it's a two door and has no ac or radio.   Calibers get crappy gas mileage on the highway for a small car but they make up for it in the city from what I've heard.   

[Charger_Fan]

I drove it one time to the do-it-yourself carwash and two DUDES came up to me and were checking me out and the car out.  That's the last time I will ever drive that thing.

I would have gone right back with the '68, just to set the record straight.

[RDR838]

Built by DaimlerChrysler

[Old Moparz]

Built by DaimlerChrysler

I can picture Bull haggling with the salesman on this one.   

[4forty]

THE "Smart CAR is Stupid!!!!  It's a joke, It only averages 35MPG! If I'm going to drive something this small I'm gonna need about 60+ MPG, Even Motor Trend & Car & Driver don't understand the "low" Mileage on this POS. If your looking at this you better also look at Toyota Yaris, Prius and Civic Hybrid. Much more room and comfort with back seat and better mileage!

[elanmars]

why the hate against japanese cars?

I don't get the brand loyalty thing, buy what car is BEST.

[chargerboy69]

My buddy is doing a 2002 Jetta diesel conversion. He will be running on old tranny fluid. He is supposed to be getting 50 mpg. Not to bad.

[moparstuart]

Built by DaimlerChrysler

I can picture Bull haggling with the salesman on this one.   

death trap

[472 R/T SE]

why the hate against japanese cars?

I don't get the brand loyalty thing, buy what car is BEST.

I don't know how you're getting hate out of the few responses I've read but whatever dude. 



bull, I like my '00 300m.  I researched lots of used Chrysler rigs before I made the purchase.  I always liked the way they looked when they came out and they run the 3.5 versus the sludge motor.  Lots of the magazines liked them when they came out and the drivetrain has been problem free for us.  Besides regular maintenance, in 4 years I've had the AC recharged and I replaced a rear door lock.  When you nail it, it drops down a gear or two and spins up to 6000 or so rpm but gets with the program.  A luxurious Neon if you will.

The little overheard console says 18.7 mpg and that's mostly in town.  I'm sure if I left the AC off...

Some research will do you good into what's been reliable over the years, just like you're doing. 

[Rolling_Thunder]

Go Japanese....          I haven't found a domestic car that is as well engineered as a Honda, Toyota, or similar....      You guys seem to think your balls will shrink if you buy foreign cars or something....      hell your average Toyota is more American than a new Dodge, Ford, or Chevy     

[4forty]

I agree for the most part Japanese cars were the better value (loved my '01 Accord) but not so much now....(seen the list of Tundra recalls lately) American cars are improving dramatically, they have to to survive! even if Japanese cars are built here the majority of the revenues returns to Japan, or Korea or wherever, not here at home to the USA.

[Mike DC]

 
I have no illusions about the American-ism of foreign makes.  (Domestic assembly of a foreign car is a small fraction of total cost. The huge engineering dollars all go overseas.)

But f*ck it, I'll buy foreign economy cars if it means more money gets saved for my '69 Chargers.



IMO the domestic options have been getting much better for this lately although 10 years ago the gap was still there.  So it depends on how old/high mileage you're shopping for.  The last decade's worth of domestic stuff can be great if you get the right model and if it's been maintained well. 


The Toyota/Honda option is kind of like buying Sony electronics --

These two brands seem like they're a notch overpriced for what they are, particularly when you're shopping used and you compare stats with other brands.  But something from either of them is also virtually guaranteed to be in the top 40% of the options at the least.  You don't always get the best thing for this extra money, but it's more like a very safe bet that it won't completely suck. 

I also think the Toy/Honda stuff does better on the small stuff than Detroit does.  Detroit is often making a drivetrain run every bit long as Japan now, but the Jap stuff's power windows and A/C still seem to keep working a few years longer in my experience. 

[Rolling_Thunder]

Well yes - Toyota Tundras do have a lot of Recalls...     but keep in mind where they are assembled (Texas) - not knocking america or anything but just spewing facts.. .      American cars have been getting better I'll admit - but foreign cars do still seem to be a better value and better all around cars.

[Ponch ®]

      hell your average Toyota is more American than a new Dodge, Ford, or Chevy     

What are you talking about? Just because my Charger was built in Canada with a mexican engine and a german transmission doesn't mean it's less American  .....

[Charger-Bodie]

Go Japanese....          I haven't found a domestic car that is as well engineered as a Honda, Toyota, or similar....      You guys seem to think your balls will shrink if you buy foreign cars or something....      hell your average Toyota is more American than a new Dodge, Ford, or Chevy     

The biggest problem with that is that the profits disappear from our economy.