Topic: Buying a dodge spirit

[Mistake]

this will be my first car, im buying it off my sister, and i cant find any canadian websites that will tell me what its worth. Anyone have any ideas? Its a 95 Dodge spirit, 4 cyl, 4 door. one of the rear doors dosnt open from the outside, and the only spot of rust is a small one on the top of the trunk. Its got 116 000 km's. Shes not really sure what its worth, but will sell it to me for $3000... good deal?? I know she drives it gently, and has had it for a year, with only minor problems. (she paid $4200 for it last year) Should I buy it for that???

[Barrie1]

Welcome to the Forum Mistake. The door will be an easy fix as the rod has popped off inside the door. One of the other guys will advise you on the price of it.

[mrthompson]

I would have a look at www.autotrader.ca to get some idea of what Spirits with similar kms are going for.  My wife had the Plymouth cousin to the Spirit, the Acclaim.  Her parents owned one as well.  My wife's Acclaim was totaled in an accident, and all passengers were fine.  A pickup truck side-swiped us on a twisty road near Bancroft, ON.  Her parents' Acclaim was traded in with 210,000 kms and no major repairs were required in the time they owned it.  The Spirit/Acclaim are fairly basic transportation and easy to fix.  Good luck with your purchase.

[ArticSteve]

Tell her to go ahead and sell it and if it doesn't then offer her $2000 because that is what it is worth tops.  Originally she paid way too much so don't base your price on her original price.  I would say if she could get rid of it for $3000 uncerified she is doing good.  That is a zero in demand car. Is this a 3 speed automatic?  Has the timing belt every been replaced?  That will run probably 500 to 600 bucks with a water pump and tensioner/rollers.

What kind of minor problems has it had?

[mrthompson]

Artic, does it have a timing BELT or CHAIN?

[EV-Light]

arent the Spirits equiped with CHAINs insted of timing belts?

[ovr50]

Whatever - the spirit moves you.....

Ya, I know..

[Exserviceguy]

Hi Mistake, The 95 Spirit 4 banger is a 2.5 L equipped with timing belt and has a 3 speed automatic trans.  The gearboxes were bulletproof and used assemblies run cheap from the wreckers.  Performance was definitely low but for no frills driving, hey whaddya want?
Unless you owe your sister for years of sibling abuse $2000 is the max to pay and a better deal is $1500 and a steal at a grand.
One big headache was an accessory belt squeal that was the topic of no less than a dozen bulletins from Chryco.  Seems the engineers had a hard time figuring out optimum belt alignment, go figure.

[ArticSteve]

I know the V6 squeals like a pig because my wife had guests up one weekend and when they went to start the car on a Sunday night I really didn't think they would make it back to London.  I spent hours on it.  The V6 at least is just a big piece of crap.  I dunno, I would think the 4 is better and probably doesn't have an air compressor to turn if it's the weiner model.  I would think all the V6s had AC.

This site says the red book was high 5's in 2001
www.canadiandriver.com/articles/jc/90-95spirit.htm

Get an estimate on certification.

You buy this car you will never find another buyer.  So keep that in mind.

[Barrie1]

A squeeling belt is kept quiet with a gentle shot of Hand Soap or refrigeration oil. Shuts them right up. Depends on the design of the belt as to which one I use.

[maritime_storm]

Actually the 3.0L/V-6 is a tough motor, if you can keep valve seals in them. Mopar supposedly fixed this issue in 1998.  

Mistake; Expect to replace the accesory belt, and the timing belt if it wasn't done at 100,000kms. Change the coolant if it wasn't done recently. As was said don't pay much more the $1500 for the car.

[ArticSteve]

"A squeeling belt is kept quiet with a gentle shot of Hand Soap or refrigeration oil. Shuts them right up. Depends on the design of the belt as to which one I use."

Well Barrie you have not seen this V6 because the pulleys and such are so far out of alignment it takes a wee bit more than some hand soap to correct.  It's classic 80's Chrysler junk; the one I had experience with.

[Mistake]

the timing belt was changed by the previous owner maybe 2 years ago and the water pump was about 3 months ago (but the mechanic riped her off and put in an old one saying it was new, when she realized it she brought it back and he actualy put in a new one) so the water pumps not a problem now...

[ArticSteve]

Well that is good news.  Do you have any paper work on the tming belt?  Is that just hearsay from the previous owner?

I dunno ... I think your sister needs to realize that because she paid ex amount of dollars for a car doesn't mean she is not going to take a good sized loss selling it.

Don't cause a war over it.  Show her this thread.  They are risky used cars. so you can't go to high.  Market uncertiied would be $2000 or $2500. certified

[Roadrunner]

This is from the auto trader site: only 3 listings.
1995 Dodge Spirit 4 dr automatic- certified.  
1st and 2nd listing= asking $6k - 60k kms
3rd listing= ...............$3k - 160k kms
Don't forget this is the retail price.

Wholesale price (what you may get on a trade-in) is what the dealer Might pay is about 1/2 to 1/3rd
those asking prices above.

[Sterling]

Roadrunner is right on. That sounds like a $1500 car as a trade-in. Would probably end up at $3995 on a used car lot.

[Roadrunner]

I rounded those $ off Sterling.
The $3k was $2995 and the $6k was $5995
BTW the 3 listings covered all of Ontario. (I would guess..at the time of printing)

(Message edited by roadrunner on February 23, 2005)

[Mistake]

Well its not really my sister who put the price on it, my dad helped her buy it, because it was ehr first car other then one she bought from my parents. My dads not an expert or anything but has a decent idea of what things are worth, he figured its worth $3500 in its condition, so she said she would sell it for $3000 to me, I thought it seamed a little high, but i know he usualy knows more about these things then I do.

[Barrie1]

Mistake I understand where your Dad is coming from and he is somewhat right as he can't exactly choose between the both of you. It is a hard place for a Father to be between his 2 children wanting to help both of them sell and buy. Been there on a TV years ago with 2 of my kids, I had given the TV to 1 of them and a few years later she had purchased a new larger one and sold it to my Son. She didn't like the price I put on it and the War started. Hope this dosen't happen in your house as its not Fun at all. You will have to decide if you wish to help your sister out by buying the vehicle but it sounds like a decent car.

[ArticSteve]

Tell them to sell it in the local market place for $3500. and see what happens.