I’ve been sticking close to home for a lot of these searches, I know, and making some commenters green with envy at our rust-free West Coast cars. But today, I thought it would be fun to visit the opposite corner of the country, and see what the south has to offer. But before we take our trip, let’s settle up on yesterday’s wagons:
That’s what I expected. Honestly, I thought it would be even more lopsided, though I see that both cars have sold already, so there wasn’t really a bad choice.
Today, we have “THE BEST RUNNING/RIDING $2K CAR YOU CAN FIND,” at least in the Atlanta suburbs, and what looks to be a real cream puff of a Dodge, located in Florida. What say we kick their tires and see what they have to offer?
1995 Chevrolet Lumina – $2,000
Engine/drivetrain: 3.1 liter OHV V6, 4 speed automatic, FWD
Location: Lawrenceville, GA
Odometer reading: 121,000 miles
Runs/drives? Better than cars half its age, if the ad is to be believed
Well, here it is, the pride of the north Atlanta suburbs. The finest way to spend two grand on transportation south of the Mason-Dixon line, if the superlative-laden ad is to be believed. I mean, a second-generation Lumina is a pretty nice car as domestic sedans go, and I can’t speak to the quality of other used cars in the area, but that seems like a pretty high bar.
Looking at the photos, I think it’s good they claimed best running and riding, and not cleanest, because this thing is rough around the edges. The upholstery has what looks like cigarette burns all over the center armrest and seat, the paint is faded strangely and in odd places, and there is trim missing both inside and out. But the seller claims it runs like a top, and if I have to choose, I’ll take reliable over pretty any day.
The Lumina is based on GM’s long-serving W platform. It uses the corporate 3.1 liter V6 and 4T60-E overdrive automatic found in millions of other cars. It’s nothing exciting, but by this time GM had ironed most of the kinks out of this engine, give or take an intake manifold gasket or two. This engine’s pistons tend to be a little slappy on cold mornings, but it doesn’t seem to affect anything. This Lumina has new brakes, a fresh tune-up, and some other recent mechanical repairs, so it should have plenty of mechanical life left.
Belive it or not, I’ve actually heard of Lawrenceville, Georgia before. It was the home of one of my favorite RC car companies, the legendary BoLink, whose products are now sold under the RJ Speed name, and still made in Georgia. Is the fact that this old Chevy is being sold in the same small town enough to make me want it? Probably not, but it’s a neat coincidence.
2003 Dodge Intrepid – $2,250
Engine/drivetrain: 2.7 liter DOHC V6, 4 speed automatic, FWD
Location: Vero Beach, FL
Odometer reading: 115,000 miles
Runs/drives? Great, according to the seller
Chrysler LH sedans seem to turn up on here a lot, don’t they? These sleek four-doors with their “cab-forward” packaging were well-engineered and very nice cars, but build quality and reliability problems made them old, and cheap, before their time. This Intrepid sedan is cheap, and it is now nineteen years old, but it doesn’t look like it. And from the sounds of it, it doesn’t run like it either.
Unfortunately, it has the problematic 2.7 liter engine under the hood, known for oil sludge buildup, internal coolant leaks (allowing coolant into the oil), and other ills. The seller says this engine is in “great shape,” but its reputation does precede it. Buyer beware; ask for service records, and get a pre-purchase inspection.
But if it does check out mechanically, the rest of the car sure looks nice. I don’t know if coastal Florida cars are prone to rust, but I sure don’t see any signs of it here. And the interior is clean as a whistle, too.
Which leads to an interesting dilemma: if you find an otherwise-nice car with known reilability issues that’s in fine condition right now, do you chance it? Do you take a chance on a time-bomb engine for a clean interior and a shiny paint job?
Or would you rather have a less-pretty but more mechanically-sound car? That’s the question of the day.
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
I really wanted to vote Lumina. I helped a friend keep his ’92 with the 3.1 on the road for years. It had some various sensor issues, but once those were ironed out along with a good intake cleaning, it felt like being back to new and was a surprisingly decent road-trip car. That said, I also purchased an ’86 Cavalier from a police auction with an interior very similar to the Lumina shown today. Never again – no matter the scrubbing, the car just had a permanent grossness to it, like how you might imagine a nicotine-stained toenail to look and smell. Intrepid it is!
I don’t like bed bugs so I voted for the Intrepid.
Lumina had me at the Intrepid’s 2.7 timebomb of an engine. yeah 3.1 is not perfect, but has an arguably better reputation. Had the intrepid been the 3.5, it would be not contest. honest answer though, neither are really worth the price, I imagine a buy here pay here place will snatch them up and make loanshark money on them until they completely perish.
All those cigarette burns in the Lumina tell me the interior smells like the sagging upholstery in the VIP lounge down at the local horse track. No amount of detailing in the world is going to get that funk out. I’ll take the Intrepid, at least it looks (and probably smells) nice.
I agree, I think that the Lumina’s inerior is DISGUSTING. _:(´ཀ`」∠):_
*Interior*
…Still…..no edit button….. 🙁
Let’s be honest those are crack/meth burns… another reason to pass on it.
I’ll take the Dodge Insipid over the rolling ashtray.
Went with the Lumina as it just works. Not very exciting, plenty of room. Though this one would get a deep clean.
Have the republicans taken over this blog? Where do we vote?
Other folks said it here, the 2.7 isn’t always bad right out of the box. Asking for paperwork or paying for a PPI is an easy way to get some peace of mind. But overall the Intrepid appears to be the nicer vehicle. Treat it right and it’ll probably reciprocate.
I have to go Chevy, though I wish it was a later 3100 that had the 3400 intake manifold for a healthy power/torque increase – mainly because I am scarred from my mom’s ’95 Intrepid she had leased.
In it’s second or third year (conveniently when it was out of warranty), my dad and I came out of Toys-R-Us getting me who knows what (I was 6 or 7) when I asked him what the cool green river coming out from under the front of said Intrepid was.
Holy shit… BoLink. Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in the better part of 30 years. They made stuff that I wasn’t really into at the time, but I definitely remember seeing their ads and whatnot in RC Car Action magazine. Good times.
Anyhow, yeah… Intrepid for sure. I can smell that Chevy from here.
Regarding locations- why not divide the US into 6 ‘areas’ (west coast, southeast, northeast, south-central, nothern-central, and… idk, east vs west coast), and roll a dice for the day/week? Could change it up a bit! Maybe even get some crazy autopianites(?) To buy these things.
I voted Lumina because I actually see a few older W platform GMs around my area but have seen maybe one LH car in the past 5 years. Also, I had a Buick Century for a couple of winters as a beater and it was a comfortable enough car that ran fine despite my complete lack of care for it.
Heck, a car that can carry 1000 pounds of stolen metal should hold up. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/hamilton-charges-qew-driver-1.5131820
Here in Texas, I hopped in the convertible this morning to drive to work. I couldn’t help but notice a really unpleasant smell in the air. They must have left the windows open on that Lumina last night.
If the interior condition on the Lumina was… decent, I’d go with it. But that condition points to poor maintenance and care.
The Intrepid looks like it was well cared-for, so you would hope that any issues with the engine or transmission have already been addressed? Maybe?
Tough one, but gotta go LH.
My family has owned not one but 2 vehicles with the 2.7, a 2002 and a 2004 Sebring. Both were heavily abused, ran hard, put away wet. The 2002 in particular saw several years of regularly missed oil changes.
The 2002 ran until 325000km with only a cam sensor ever replaced, when it blew something, limped 10 more minutes home blowing smoke, and then started enough to drive itself onto the scrap truck.
The 2004 was running well still at about the same mileage, albeit rough mechanically otherwise, when it was sold and then used as a derby car.
I’d be more than willing to gamble on the 2.7. It’s a smooth, fairly powerful engine with decent fuel economy, and I’ve had good luck with them.
Definitely the Intrepid.
The 2.7 sludge issues were remedied by ’03 with the addition of a heated EGR. Allpar has extensive info on this.
Go to FB Marketplace and you’ll see a bevy of ~150-200K mile 2.7 Mopars for around $2K in every town. The sludged engines were toasted back in the mid aughts.
Great competition choices today, Mark!
I’m sure the heated EGR helped a lot, but I still don’t trust the newer 2.7l engines not to get gummy inside. Allpar is a good site, but unsurprisingly tends to show some pro-Mopar bias in their articles.
That said, if you’re willing to use synthetic oil and watch the change interval carefully, the Intrepid is the much better choice. Unless you work somewhere really dirty and don’t care what your work beater looks like. Then it’s a toss-up.
My wife had a 2.7 in her 08 Sebring, and my thoughts were about it sludging. Honestly never left us stranded…aside from the time the convertible top stopped operating with the trunk open backwards.
Put 85k on it in 5 years, and sold it to some random guy who happened upon it when I was cleaning out the garage. Easiest $900 ever made.
Not that I am enthused by either option, but the Intrepid gets my vote.
If the Intrepid has not sludged yet, then the fix is rather easy, as it was the water pump gasket. It looks much nicer also.
As a former smoker, I can truthfully say that in the almost 30 years that I smoked, I only ever had one burn mark on my upholstery. It is also just looking like crap on the inside from years of neglect. And what is with the wiring? There is that trip hazard running through the passenger seat areas. That red wire running into the spare tire well is probably for an amp and along with that huge coil of wire in the trunk looks like someone tried to put in an amp and speakers, but were too lazy to do it correctly. Also, it appears to not have a spare due to the amp and there is what appears to be wiring in the trunk that goes no where. Bubba’s home stereo installation done in this manner says watch out.
I have zero interest in a car that has cigarette burns all over the interior. Give me the Intrepid with its dubious engine but non-gross interior. Any car that is selling for less than $3,000 is a gamble regardless of the make or model.
Despite the engine reputation, I’m going with the one that’s 8 years newer and in noticeably better shape inside. At 2 grand you’re rolling the dice on reliability regardless of engine platform
I wanted to vote Lumina but it looks like when I get in that car I’ll be able to taste the bad smells. Not a smoker here, but I’ve learned that smell forever lingers in cars. Also the ad reads like someone who bought a cheap car to salvage and got in over their head. For the price I’ll take the LH in comfort until it implodes.
I can attest to Florida vehicles not rusting. The ’94 F150 I purchased several years back was one of the only examples in the STL area that had intact wheel wells, and it was originally a municipal vehicle in FL. She is now bubbling up, which breaks my heart a little. Fortunately, my brother-in-law is a good body-man and will barter with me for work, so that will be addressed when it comes time..
Yep, FL cars tend to rust if they’re within a few blocks of the actual coast (salt spray), but otherwise it’s pretty rare for anything made in the past 30-40 years.
Another vote for the Intrepid. And I still can’t believe they were making them into (and beyond) 2003. That’s a quintessential 90s car for me.
I went Lumina as much as it pains me. That thing is GROSS, but can be cleaned up and driven without fear of it suddenly blowing up like the 2.7 sludger. I learned of this issue awhile back from my buddy who sells lower-end used cars, and it was heartbreaking, as I LOVED those Intrepids when they were new. They are such sharp cars, and this example is really nice, but, gotta go with ugly today.
From the actual ad for the Lumina, the seller claims he had it detailed inside and out, so if true, then that is a nice as it gets.
By “clean up”, I mean seat covers, carpet, mats, etc. Those cig burns don’t buff out!
The 3100 also has LIM gasket problems, so they’re about the same in terms of that.
The Intrepid is newer and looks like it’s in better shape. It also has the front bench seat and sporty white gauges 😛
The cupholders were done better in the white car, too.
My uncle had a couple of these Luminas, and I did a couple road trips in those cars with him, and they were very comfy cruisers. His was full of cigarette burns too, so there’s some real nostalgia there for me. That said, I actually chose the Lumina, because the Intrepid is likely to shit the transmission at any second. The Lumina will likely survive a nuclear winter, along with the cockroaches. As long as you mind the intake manifold gaskets, that is.
For the 2nd day in a row, I do not see any links to cast my vote.
Uh oh. What OS/browser are you using? I’ll tell Matt and see if he can help.
Firefox version 102 for WIndows 8
Okay , I got it to work by changing my “Enhanced Tracking Protection” settings in Firefox.
Previously I had them set to “Strict” and up to 2 days ago, the poll here would always showed up and work. Now, with the recent changes to the poll the only way I can get it to function again is by changing the tracking protection setting to “Standard”
So, It does appear that the new website that is used for the poll does collect a bit more extensive user data than the previous poll website. ლ｜＾ Д＾ ლ｜
Do you have any adblockers?
I turned all off mine off for this site. Besides one bar for Optima, they have 0 ads here.
Thank you, I do have Adblock Plus but I have it disabled for this website and I was always able to see the voting links until the latest changes that Mark had mentioned that he made last week regarding the voting link/poll. ┐(´•_•`)┌
Yeah, I think the new poll widget gets caught by ad blockers. Now I’m wondering what data the poll software is harvesting from users.
Decide if you trust crowdsignal.com or not, and try whitelisting it.
Okay , I got it to work by changing my “Enhanced Tracking Protection” settings in Firefox.
Previously I had them set to “Strict” and up to 2 days ago, the poll here would always showed up and work. Now, with the recent changes to the poll the only way I can get it to function again is by changing the tracking protection setting to “Standard”
So, It does appear that the new website that is used for the poll does collect a bit more extensive user data than the previous poll website. ლ｜＾ Д＾ ლ｜
I have uBlock Origin and the new ones work for me.