Has a decent sized trunk and has great gas mileage. Had pretty good speed and acceleration for a four cylinder. Great handling and not much of bumpy ride.

Low to the ground (watch those high speed bumps).

I got the car with 65 thousand miles on it and no longer than a week of me having it the engine ran hot and I blew the head gasket. I replaced everything that had to do with the car running hot which was about an extra$1000. I got that done about about a year and a half ago and the head gasket has blown again on its own but it didnt run hot yet because i pay alot of attention to the temperature and im at 115 thous miles. So i guess now its time to get something else!

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kia optima

Looks good, sporty, roomy and fast!

Looks are deceiving! Air conditioner/heater only worked on the highest setting, and neither worked properly. Balls baronings on each side (front) had to be replaced 2 times each. Head gasket went out. electronic gauges flicker. Engine oil became sludge. Friggin battery located in front of the driver side wheel, couldnt just pop the hood and change, but had to take tire off and piece of plastic covering and manuever around the car in order to get battery out. both driver side window and back windows quit working after 6 months.

Bought this car, (first car at 18) only had 73000 miles on it, i thought it was a great looking car and thought it would be reliable. I didnt do any home work on this car after the fact of having it later on. Also didnt listen to Dad when he told me to get it checked out by another mechanic. (MY BIG MISTAKE, WONT DO IT AGAIN) Bought the car, within the first week, found out that the cd player doesnt work, air conditioner didnt work and only blew air on the hightest setting. and found out the hard way that in the winter the heater would only work at the hightest setting too, but only blew out hot heat when u drove over 50 mph, otherwise no heat comes out when sitting at a red light. anyway had to replace the ball barons twice on each side, when u drove, hit a bump or what ever u would hear the loudest screech and grinding noise esp. on the front driver side wheel, couldnt get it fixed. later that summer, windows wouldnt go down, and since i didnt have air conditioning , that car was hot and dreadful to ride in. Had to get a new car before i got married. Then got everything fixed, windows redone, barons finally got fixed, and got the air condition/heater to work properly, spending over $2500 hard earned money, the head gasket finally blew....again spent more money inorder to fix it, and had it about a month and seems liked the head gasket was about to blow again. Cleaned the car, waxed and what not, went to the Paul Miller Ford, they told me that my car was crap, should have never bought it and that they're not going to sell this car but just part it out and bought me a brand new Mazda 3 (did my homework this time,well worth it), best car in the world, Great and reliable. Def recommend it to anyone.

Exterior looks good, factory speakers sound suprisingly good, roomy interior and trunk

Pretty much everything else

This was the first car that I have bought. What a horrible way to start. My mom's old car with 300,000 miles has been far more reliable than my own car. Since about 70,000 miles, in addition to the montly car payment, I've been putting on average $600-$700 of repairs every 2 to 3 months. Awful, awful car.

Where to start. First of all, the electrical problems in these cars are unreal. Purchased the car with 30,000 miles. Shortly after the warranty expired, interior lights began flashing on and off sporadically. They still do to this day. My dash stopped working after only 40,000 miles. I had to purchase a brand new one. In dash disc changer got stuck constantly, so I put in an aftermarket player. AC gave out at 70,000 miles. Now my heating unit will only work on the "3" setting. Dome lights only work about 10% of the time. Horn and speakers have stopped working recently as well. I replaced the fuses and they still don't function, so I have no idea. I'm not going to spend another $500 to get them fixed.

Head gasket blew at only 70,000 miles. Car now makes constant squeeky noise, which I have taken to several different mechanics and none of them can fix it. Suspension is awful. I seriously think a school bus has a smaller turning radius than this car. Blind spots are numerous. Car sits too low to the ground, so you scrape the bottom of it over ANY speed bumb or driveway. The car simply feels unsafe at speeds above 55.

This car has been completley unreliable. Every time i start it I am worried that it will not get me from point A to point B. I have a couple of friends who have the same model and they have had the exact same problems as me. I am pretty sure this car was only meant to be driven 50,000 miles or less. Like I said earlier, the old car that my mom gave me with 300,000 miles on it has been way more reliable than this piece of crap.

AVOID THIS CAR AT ALL COSTS.

I like the size of the stratus, and the style.

Transmission and electrical problems

i have had many problems with my car. I had the transmission replaced after only having the car for 2 months. I have had many electrical problems also. Back windows will not roll down. Now, I having transmission problems again. People that I know that have the same car are having transmission problems also.Dodge is know for having transmission issues. I will never buy a dodge again.

Comfortable, roomy, great speakers.

Transmission, A/C (been having issues), radiator.

I bought this when I found out I was pregrant and preferred a sedan over my coupe. When I bought it in 2005 (only 3 years old) it had 50K miles and the transmission blew. I was told it was from driving down my grandmother's dirt driveway. The replacement transmission has had a leak for the past year and if i don't keep "stop leak" fluid in it at all times, it won't switch gears.

It has a nice stock stereo system with 4 disc CD changer (although I added 2 MTX 10's to add some extra boom). The ride looks nice and sporty. It gets ok gas mileage, but I went from driving a Ford Escort ZX2 which got REALLY good gas mileage to the Stratus. I think it gets about 22 MPG. The backseat has attachments for a baby carseat (although I've never used it). I've had no major problems with the engine, transmission, etc. yet!

The dealership changed out the front dashboard after only 2 years; it had started to warp from the heat (this was covered under my warranty)! The cd's in the CD changer get stuck, so I got a new one (this was covered under my warranty up until 36,000 miles. Now my cds are getting stuck again and the extended warranty does not cover this). My sunroof gets stuck when it tries to pop up. I have to manually push on it with my hand in order for it to "tilt" or pop open. So, the warranty covered replacing the motor. Then, the dealership realized that it's a problem with a lot of dodge vehicles with the rubber sticking together. So, I'm still dealing with a sticking sunroof. Another minor downfall, is that it's kind of hard to get in and out of sometimes because it is low to the ground.

I bought this black SXT with a sunroof brand new in May 2005. It's got about 45,000 miles on it now. Overall, I love look and the ride of the car. I get compliments all of the time about how nice it looks, and people don't realize that it's a stratus! I've only had a few minor problems with the CD changer, sunroof, and dashboard (see below). I bought the first set of new tires for it about 6 months ago (probably around 38,000 miles) and I just replaced the brakes for the first time last week (about 45,0000 miles).

Great motor (6G72 3.0L Mitsubishi V6)
Smooth-shifting 5-speed
Great Infinity Stereo
Very responsive to modifications (suspension/wheels/intake/exhaust)
Handled very well, very little body roll with lowering springs
Very nicely styled car, even 5 years later
Mechanically very very solid, no problems (probably due to having Mitsubishi internals)

The main weaknesses of this car were mainly cosmetic. . . .the paint quality was HORRIBLE, and the entire front was covered in HUNDREDS of stone chips after 3 years. The roof was starting to oxidize and fade, even after being waxed regularly from being brand new! Also, the headlights and foglights were starting to yellow.

I had this car for 3 years and it was truly enjoyable experience. Very few problems, mostly trouble free, even after 83,000 miles of commuting to college and back.

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1999 Dodge Neon Sport, 2006 Ford Focus ZX4 SES

Spacious, handling, style, power, reliability

road noise, engine stutter

I've had this car for 3 years and it has been the most reliable one I've owned. After 2 Fords died on me I decided to give Dodge a try and I don't regret it.

The Stratus had 30,000 miles when I bought it and I have put on about another 30k. I have taken it on road trips over 2000 miles and it handles well.

At highway speeds it rides smooth, even up to 100 mph there's no shaking. Steering is good, the acceleration is decent for a V6. The interior is comfortable, stylish. Factory stereo is adequete (after having one stolen I don't upgrade a car stereo). The only repair I've needed is to have a camshaft sensor replaced to stop engine stutter during gear shifts. And it occasionaly stutters at idle, but very infrequently. Mine didn't come with a travel computer, but the little cubby hole is perfect for storing a cell phone. The noise isulation could be improved on. It has never failed to start in sub-freezing temps.

If you plan on having the vehicle for more than a year, GET THE EXTENDED WARRANTY! That will take care of so many problems.

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Ford LTD (looks nice, runs like crap)

It's pretty roomy, good stereo, good acceleration

The air conditioner, and it sits low to the ground which is fine when I wear flats (I'm 5'6'') but with heels it gets a little difficult to get in and out of.

My parents bought me this car as a graduation present in February 2005 and it has been nothing but the best car! When I received it the car had 22,000 miles on it, and in the last two years and such I have put a little over 70,000 miles on it. It has been cross country and back many times and has never let me done. The only issue I would say is the air conditioner is weak and we have replaced it three times (once under warranty), but with a little extra Freon every now and then it cools pretty quickly. And, just with in the last 5,000 miles I have noticed that the car rattles when going from stop to first gear, however with very little problems I don't find this too abnormal for a car I have rode pretty hard in the last two years. With regular tune ups I have never been disappointed. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good reliable car for a good price.

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2001 Pontiac Sunfire

looks nice from the outside. Rides nice.

All mechanical, drive train, under hood equipment. Daimler-Chrysler has an inferior produce and isn't concerned enough to repair shoddy assembly. I believe they intentionally make a poor product so they can make money by selling replacement parts. This is NOT an honorable company and shouldn't be in business.

I got this Dodge Stratus in 2001 after my father passed on! It is a 1997 and in 2001 only had 23,000 miles on it. Currently (3/2007) it has 67,000 miles and prior to 60,000 the transmission went out and Daimler-Chrysler wasn't honorable enough to repair it. There is NO reason why a trans should go out like that when the car isn't used for heavy driving, hauling, pulling trailers/boats/etc. Radiator problems, air conditioning doesn't hold a charge and nothing but problems. I WILL NEVER HAVE A DODGE AGAIN. I WOULDN'T HAVE THIS ONE IF IT WASN'T LEFT TO ME. Now I don't know if this water leak is a water pump, water gasket, head gasket--regardless, this is just more expense which shouldn't be necessary.

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