1983 Dodge Diplomat Salon review from North America

A few days after I bought it, car started stalling out at stop signs and red lights. My mechanic discovered it was idling too low because the carburetor was loose. He tightened the screws for $80, and it never stalled again.

Battery died (but it was obviously worn when I got the car).

Around 132,000, the horn stopped working when the car was on (but it still works when the car was off, oddly enough).

Carpet by driver's feet badly worn.

Goes through antifreeze (about a medium McDonalds cup a month).

Didn't have a tailpipe or resonator when I bought it, they had fallen off from rust.

Leaks a very small amount of oil when the engine is hot (less than a quart between changes).

The front brakes were worn badly when I bought the car. The pads were squealing, and the rotors were warped so the car would shake when I braked. Finally had to replace them at 133,000 (a friend of mine did the labor, so it was just $80 in parts).

The roof is rusty, and much of the paint has peeled off it.

It has held up well for being so abused throughout its life, still doesn't burn a drop of oil, the transmission shifts smoothly. It has only not started twice--once when the battery died, once when it ran out of gas. Aside from the roof, there is little visible rust, and this car has spent its life in Canada and Upstate New York.

I like the old-fashioned styling, all the chrome, the woodgrain dash, the sharply sculpted lines around the hood and the nose-like front end. It looks a little more old-fashioned than the Chevy Caprice and Ford Crown Vic, more like a 70s car than an 80s. Navy blue is a good color for this car; it makes it look more like an undercover cop car (which, I am told, this car once was; it has a couple police options, and a big hole under the dash where a police radio was once hooked up).

Gets high teens to the gallon, pretty good for a six-cylinder engine that was originally designed in the 60s, but not great by today's standards. Acceleration from a stop isn't very good, it's a heavy car, but it gets better once you're going fast, and the top speed is at least 10 miles over 85 (which is as high as the speedometer goes). Handling is poor, however, and you have to take it slow on twisty or rough roads. It is very comfortable and quiet on good roads. The muffler is old and rusty and it is very loud on the outside, but inside you don't notice at all. Not very good in rain or snow, even with the special police anti-slip rear end, but, in fairness, most of the smaller front-wheel drive economy cars I have driven did worse in snow.

Comfortable seats, very roomy (three people on the front bench are as comfortable as three in back). The trunk isn't as big as on similarly-sized Chevy cars, but it's still bigger than most people will need.

I have the absolute base model, no options except power steering, power brakes and automatic transmission (and these things were probably standard by 83 anyway). Plain cloth seats, AM radio which still works. Still worth the $380 I paid for it.