1996 Chrysler Sebring Convertible JXI review from North America

Convertible top leaks.

Brakes have gone bad and have had to be replaced 3 times.

The calipers and rotors have had to be replaced.

The engine sensor that enables the car to start had to be replaced.

The battery has gone bad.

The motor mounts have all broken.

The valve cover gasket went bad.

The interior digital readouts appear when they feel like it.

The gas gauge works when it feels like it.

The stereo controls all work intermittently.

The car will not always go into gear. Sometimes it will go into reverse and sometimes it will not.

All 4 struts went bad.

The plastic speaker covers broke.

To sum up my feelings I could say that the 2 happiest days were/will be the day that I bought it and the day that I sell it.

Since taking ownership, I have invested more money into the car than the book value of the car itself.

Initially, I noticed that the roof leaks. It will cost $1200 to replace.

Directly after taking ownership, both the passenger and driver side speaker covers were broken. They are made of plastic and positioned right where the foot exits the car. I call this planned obsolescence. You pay $80 to replace them and being made of plastic, someone will eventually put their foot through them again.

It is really fun when you drive down the street and the car is clanking in clacking on the inside, and then you roll the window down and hear that it is squealing and making ungodly noises on the outside too. That was when I first noticed the brakes had to be replaced. It was a shock to hear that it would be almost $700 to have them replaced properly since the brake pads, rotors and the calipers were all bad.

Less than a year later I am replaced the brake pads again, and here we are - less than a year following that experience and they are in need of replacement again. This time-the calipers are sticking again and need to be replaced as does the rotors since they are glazed and grooved.

I noticed approximately 2 months into taking ownership that the vehicle has a mind of it's own when it comes to the digital readouts. Sometimes I can tell you the mileage and sometimes I cannot since the digital readouts are not lit all of the time.

The gas gauge likes to dance. It will tell me it is full and then the light will come on the gauge will drop to empty, then register full again and drop again and raise... you get the point.

I can listen to a CD in the car, which I always found was at least one good thing, until I realized that the buttons to the stereo decided that they were tired and needed a break from working so hard too. Now when I want to advance to another song, I need to depress the buttons 10 times or so and hope that one of those times it will catch and change.

I just took it to the mechanic who advised me that the loud rumbling is due to the 3 motor mounts being broken which will run approximately $500 to repair.

The engine leaking oil, however will run me $600 to repair so far. Until they repair what is damaged so far, they cannot tell me an accurate price to repair all of the leaks.

Not long ago, I was backing out of the driveway- I could not reverse. The stick was in the reverse position, however the engine just revved. I put the car back into drive and it snapped into drive and then I was able to reverse. Now that problem is evident a lot.

I also need to replace the struts all around. But with all the other repairs, who can spare an additional $700?

This morning I went outside to pull the car into the garage to wax it, and the car battery is dead. That will be $300 to replace since the battery is not visible and the car has to be disassembled to a point to replace.

But why shy I be surprised when I was in need of the belts to be changed and was quoted $313 for that too. You see, they are in a nice tight hidden spot too.

Even something simple like a tune up was almost $200. The spark plugs in the rear are not accessible. The intake manifold has to be removed in order to change the rear plugs.

Why would a car manufacturer make a vehicle that is so costly to maintain? Every mechanic that I take the car to laughs when they hear the make and model of the car. Then they explain how Chrysler subbed out to Mitsubishi and the parts are just "so much more expensive" and the labor is also "so much more" due to how the car is engineered and designed. Who can blame the assemblymen when they are following the plans as stated.

The end result is depressing to me, because even as I pay for all of the repairs and suffer the shock of the high priced repair costs and the endless times I go to start or drive the car only to discover a brand new issue that will undoubtedly bring me to a near zero balance in the bank... I still get to deal with the stench of mold and mildew from the ever dripping convertible top.