Before I purchased the car, the transmission needed to be fixed. It was downshifting very hard into second gear... Almost to the point of stopping the car between shifts. It was actually kind of scary, to say the least. The dealer fixed this no problem, and even gave written confirmation that the tranny has been fixed properly of all defects. If anything else goes wrong with the tranny, I think I'm pretty much covered. :)
The car idles a little funny, with the intermittent shudder that some cars have. It's nothing that worries me, as my previous car (a 1995 Camry) did this constantly and it never seemed to cause any problems. (please correct me if I'm wrong and this is some kind of major issue)
The front passenger side headlight burned out. Easy peasy, my boyfriend had it done in 20 minutes at a whopping total cost of six dollars, I think.
The interior lights are kind of strange. They get brighter and dim a lot while driving, almost like the car is flashing at me. It's nothing that's really distracting, just kind of a curiosity. I'm sure this has something to do with the battery but I've yet to have it checked out.
The car does shift funny occasionally, still. I'm sure I can have it fixed under the written agreement I have, but the dealership where I bought the car is rather far away and I'm not entirely sure if this is a real issue. The problem I have is that the car waits too long to shift sometimes... Revving up to almost 3000-3500 RPMs before kicking into a new gear. What this means, I don't know. Don't even know if it's a problem. The car just seems to be trying too hard when this happens, or that's the only way I know how to describe it. It only happens once in awhile, though, like I said.
The only other issue I've had is that CD's get stuck in the CD changer. What's strange is that this ONLY happens to brand new CD's, ones straight out of the packaging. This isn't just a guess, I've actually tested it. Never with burned CD's or slightly scratched ones. The new CD gets stuck in the changer for about two days to a week, then one day you turn the car on and it spits the cd out into your face. Kind of funny, kind of annoying. No big deal to me, as I can just pop in my IPOD and listen to the same songs. LOL.
When I bought this car, it was a rushed buy. My 1995 Toyota Camry was all rusted out, sitting at a repair shop with an estimate of 2,000 to fix. It had taken a complete and total crap. Not worth the repair. Oh, and for the record, I didn't pick out the camry. Parents did... bought it for me with my insurance premium - after my Cavalier was totaled by some 16 yr old kid - without even asking me if I wanted to test drive it. I was working too much to car shop for myself, so they did it for me. Ugliest, least reliable car I've owned thus far. I know they meant well, but you can imagine how ticked I was about this thing. Should have filed lemon law. I'm not even biased against foreigns, just hated that car. Hated my Honda Accord, too. Loved my Cavalier, though. Hmm... Maybe I do see a trend.
Anywhoo, I had the benefit of a very understanding set of parents willing to help me at any cost, (and no, I am not a daddy's girl, but my parents like to help as much as they can with cars since I'm completely independent of them otherwise - I'm pretty young - and have been since I was 18) so we came to the conclusion that a new (used) car was the way to go, rather than fixing the heap of junk that I had. So they told me, "find a car for less than 8,000 dollars and less than 100K on it, and we'll buy it for you. You can pay us back rather than pay interest." Man, I am lucky.
Went through the paper, found a 2002 Chrysler Sebring LXi at a dealer out of town, fully loaded, silver sky blue, black leather interior, 68K on it, but no picture in the paper. Drove the 45 minutes to see it that day. Almost screamed when I saw it. Beautiful. Classy. Sexy. I had to have it. Negotiated, test drove, etc. Told them we would buy on the condition that they lower the price (asking 7,900) to 6,900 out the door tax & title included, and that they fix the tranny. Waited till next day, they called, said that the deal was a go, and two days later I had a brand new (to me) Sebring, the very nicest car I'd ever had. You can imagine how ecstatic I was.
Next day, posted a blog raving about my new car, got an email from a concerned friend explaining the oil sludge problems in the 2.7L V6 engine. Did some research of my own, got scared - as most people do when they read consumer reports about anything - Really, anything. People complain a lot - There's no way I can afford to put a new engine in a car. They say it's about a 6,000 dollar repair. I was a wreck. What had I done? I should have done research!
Anyway, after being terrified of my car for the last 7 months and frantically trying to get financed for a car loan for another Chevy or something, I've realized that it's all for nothing. My car has given me absolutely no reason not to trust it thus far. This car is actually the most reliable car I've had. Seven months and no major repairs? Unheard of in my car ownership history. And I've had some so-called "reliable" cars!
This is important: The main reason that people have oil sludge problems with their 2.7L V6 is because the owner's manual says that you only have to change the oil every 7,000 miles. This is not true. You still have to change the oil every 3,000 miles or LESS in these engines. If you're religious with the oil changes, your car shouldn't have a problem. Using synthetic is a plus too I've heard, but I'm not sure if my car uses synthetic or not. This is what I've been told by 2002 Sebring owners who have 150K+ on their engine. Keep up on the oil, duh! We'll see if this is true, I guess.
The consumer reports show that owners of Impalas and Taurus's (some of the most "solid" domestics) in my model year and/or price range have had significantly more problems with their cars than owners of my model. As for the foreigns, they're just not my taste. They're overpriced when used; base model Honda Accords in my area with 120K on them go for ten thousand. It's ridiculous. I don't care if a car is asian, I'm not buying it if it has over 100K and I can get a Chevy with 35K for the same price. An engine is an engine, and if it's well taken care of from the get-go, it'll last. My car had a perfect Carfax report, listing nearly every oil change and all, meaning they were done at reputable shops or dealerships. THAT is what you have to look for, not the emblem on the front.
The only reason I list "I Don't Know" under "would you buy another car from this manufacturer" is because of the reputation that Dodge Chrysler Jeep has, not to mention the fact that they've been bought out. I don't know if I would buy a NEW Chrysler product, but I would certainly buy this car again, if I got the same deal on it.
Overall, this car is gorgeous. It's sporty, loaded, and fun to drive all without paying through the nose like you would for an Acura, Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Volvo, etc. Not to mention, it looks far better than any of those anyway. My opinion, of course. The Chrysler emblems all over everything add a little spark of sophistication and make the car look expensive, which I like. The entire car looks far more expensive than it was, in my opinion. The interior is well made, everything is easily accessible, and the vintage dayglow (? white/blue) gages are especially nice, as they don't look cheap like some can especially in newer cars. There are little hints of chrome, wood detailing, and very, very nice quality leather throughout. Every time someone gets in my car, they have one thing to say: "Nice car!" All in all, this car has style.
The V6 Sebring is very quick, with a passing capability I'm really impressed with. It takes off from stop a little on the average end, but really picks up quickly and accelerates well when it's already on the go. It handles perfectly for such a large car. Corners well, never feels unstable, always centered, incredibly easy to drive. It gets surprisingly great gas mileage for a V6, as well. I only have to fill it up once every week and a half or so (I don't drive much), and I average about 25 MPG city, according to my driver info center. I'm an easy driver, though.
The one and only complaint I have about the car's handling is the turning radius. It's about the same as a large ocean liner, to be frank.
I have to admit, the car gets looks. Lots of them. I park it next to Accords and Camrys all the time. I just love walking up to the group of cars, knowing that mine is by far the best looking, with the premium wheels, unique color, and sleek design. Absolutely gorgeous, my dream car through and through.
This review is listed under the wrong year. My Sebring is a 2002, not a 2001 model.
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steven@carsurvey.org
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Thanks for adding such a well written and detailed review.
The site is organised by year of manufacture (2001), not model year (2002). That's because model year is not used in every country. So your review is in the correct location (assuming your year of manufacture was 2001).
Steven Jackson.
Oh! Okay, well sorry about that, then. But thank you for clearing that up for me.
In regards with the interior lights flickering - it might be the dimmer knob. Move it fast up and down for several times or change its regular position and this might solve the problem.
Use just synthetic oil: it's expensive but it can save, in time, your engine.
I'm a Chrysler lover too (I own a 300m special) and I wish you luck with this one.
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