The Intrepid has failed me and left me stranded many times. It tends to not want to start in the morning when I have to leave for work. It has made me late for work 3 times in the past 4 months because of not starting in the mornings. Taxi fares across town here are expensive.
This list is only what I remember. I know there would be more to add if I remembered it all.
Head gasket.
Intake gasket (2x).
3 sets of brakes in the past year.
3 tie rods in the past year.
Ball joints (2x).
Sway bar links.
Catalytic converter.
Alternator died on a cold morning.
Spark plugs failed on a cold morning.
Thermostat caused it to overheat.
Air conditioning has failed so many times I've lost count.
Numerous fuses have blown, including the main fuse which kills the car immediately and shuts it off. This has happened twice.
Headlight assembly has broken and the dealer quoted me over $500 to fix this. Needless to say it's still broke.
Overall this has been the most unreliable car I have ever owned. I definitely would never buy another.
This Intrepid has been nothing but a money pit, and I plan on replacing it right now with an import.
The only good things about this car is it has lots of room inside, and it is pretty quick for a big car.
216,000 kilometers on the clock is a lot. I hope mine will go as far!
Many of the problems you are having is either not being fixed right or not being fixed at all. Such as your brakes. If the Rotors are good and the pads are replaced and everything is assembled correctly they will last a long time. but if the rotors are worn they will eat up the pads. If this was all good and assembled correctly then you are either buying the cheapest garbage parts or you drive like an idiot.
My folks had a car like this they bought used. 2nd owner. they replaced the intake gasket 3-4 times and it had troubles with going into gear if it was chilly out. just had to be patient.. good overall car.
A 10-year old car with 216,000 km --- it sounds like his problems are mostly related to an old car that hasn't been taken care of. "Spark plugs failed on a cold morning" --- I think that sums it up.
Spark plugs don't just suddenly "fail", cold morning or not. They should have been changed at 100,000 miles, so that's just an indication of how little routine maintenance was actually performed on this car.
Another example of somebody who bought an old, high mileage beater and then complains that it isn't as good as a brand new car. You have to take care of machinery, guys.
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