EVERYTHING other than Chrysler service, paint and the engine bearing sucked.. but oh well.

Engine blew a head gasket at 78000mi for no aparent reason. had to pay to have it replaced, cost was about 2,500. I have also replaced the exhaust at about 80,000mi, and the brakes a few times but not as much as everyone else seems to, done all recalls at no cost, cup holders, can be knocked into neutral very easily when driving, clear coat on doors and quarter panels is bubbling and peeling off, Chrysler will not cover this, so im going to have to pay for a new paint job soon, though it has never broke down other than the spun bearing and Car now has 150,000mi. Tranny still going strong but needing a new gasket between it and the engine. I might possibly try to change it to a clutchless manual shift transmission.

I love the way the car looks and drives. I love the way you sit low to the ground, can open the aftermarket moonroof i had put in and drive like a bat outta hell with the 2.4L 4cyl. engine. It is too bad that the problems it has are so pricey. This car is FAST!!! Corners like no other in its class and it looks good with a body kit, wing, custom paint and dual exhaust. K&N air filer are good for horsepower, along with Split Fire 4's, reprogrammed computer, aftermarket starter, plugwires and high octane gas. Looks much better with 18" rims and low profile tires, eibach lowering springs help with cars handeling. Sound system thumps but rear deck speakers blow to easy with the dealership amp. Car is running great at 150000mi and should continue to do so for another 150000 if i only make a few minor upgrades. Im going to soon repaint the car and redo the tranny. After I have some more $ saved up im going to install a viper engine, tranny and engine $21,000! but will be awesome. :o)

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Quick engine. 2.4 Good leg room in the back seat.

Lots of repairs and no recall on the problems that have been obvious for years.

I bought this car used with 50,000 miles on it in 1998. I also had to replace the head gasket right away. Seems to be the thing to do with these cars. I had the brakes replaced twice and the tie rods and ball joints. I now have a tranny leak that scares me since the car is not worth the cost of a new tranny. It has 105,000 miles on it now and I plan to baby it so I can hopefully get another three years out of it. Wish me luck.

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1986 Mercury Capri. I had this car for over 11 years and no problems. It is still going to this day.

Smooth ride for car of its size. Gas millage. Room inside.

No trunk light ?
Battery placement.

Since I've had this car I have driven it to Jacksonville, FL and around home area. Handleded great at 80+ mph with 14 inch tires in heavy rain going to FL. 400+ miles on tank of gas. So far I am very pleased with this car. Auto trans shifts smoothly. Cruise control worked great too. I can't figure out why the trunk light was omited. Unless it's burned out. But I could not find where the bulb would go anywhere in the trunk. The owners manual tells you what replacement bulb to use, but it does not show you where or how to replace it like the rest of the bulbs. Besides That, a great midsize car - so far. Will update if opinion and/or performance of car changes.

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Honda Accord, Toyota Corolla

i tottally love this car, the creature comforts are great, has all the room i need in it, and plenty of room fer me and all my friends to go cruising around in. its a great lil cruiser, plenty of pick up and power..

the only weakness i see for this car at this point, is i dont like how you always have the reflection of the dash in the front windshield, and the front discs, are not the greatest, ive gone through several brake pads, but im about to get new rotors, lack of high performance parts, wich is coming up thanks to Dreamspeed.com, other then that i see nothing else wrong with this car..

i would tottaly reccommend this car to anyone, granted yes the stratus's have had a few problems with their earlier years, but most of them have been taken care of in the later models, and like everycar, there is always bound to be a lemon somewhere, it jus never fails, but all in all i find this is a awesome car, great for everything i need it for, ive taken it on many road trips and on the highway i get 30 miles to the gallon with an air intake and custom cat-back exhaust, around town i average about 25 depending on how hard i get onto the throttle, but it holds up to everything i throw at it. it handles like a dream, ive never seen a lil 4 door car handle as well as this car does, i would reccomend if you do buy it to put on some lowering spriings, it will help you handle even that much better, i often race my lil stratus, and i always win through the curves, this is definetally a car to be recognized with.. all in all this is an awesome car..
check us out... www.stratusphere.org
Got Performance??? www.dreamspeed1.com

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before i bought this car i compared it to several other compact cars with 4 doors and for me this car had everything i was looking for it a sporty 4 door car..

Styling, power, ride, cost, up-keep.

The head gasket has been a problem with some of the ealier year Stratus', but I havent had any problems yet.

This car is by far the best I have owned. It is one of the very few cars that I found that can combine a nice engine, great styling, and a great ride into a mid priced sedan. And having 4 doors cuts down on the insurance cost and is great for long trips. The only car I have found where you can sit in the back AND be comfortable at the same time.

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Looks nice, roomy, fairly comfortable seats

Multitude of problems ranging from electrical, engine, aesthetic

My experience with this car has been nothing but bad. Within the first 3 mos. of buying it, the roaters had to be replaced (cheap parts?), had approximately 3 oil leaks within the first three years (the first one within the first year), had to have radio/cassette replaced twice, engine light was coming on and had to have this repaired, heater core leak after about 2 years (driver's side floor was practically flooded), constantly having to have doors oiled for awful squeaking noise when opening and closing, steering wheel replaced at 3rd year for sun fading (cheap part), hood rotted out (paint was bubbling) after four years. Inspect your car! This was covered, because the dealer said they have been having many complaints about this. Now, the car needs a new fuel pump guage and front sway bar links (altogether almost $1000 worth of repair). Not to mention the horrible gas mileage and the other problems like the 2nd roater replacement, belts replaced, etc.

I read the other reviews, and it seems the 1998 Stratus and newer have gotten better ratings. Maybe they actually corrected some of these problems. But what about us? I haven't shelled much money into it yet, but the inconvenience of bringing it in every 3-4 months for repairs/maintenance is enough! And keep in mind, it only has 40,000 miles on it!

I wouldn't recommend this car to anyone, except maybe my worst enemy. I think after this lemon, I deserve a Honda!

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Previously owned a 1989 Nissan with 100,000 mi on it. I had understandable problems with it, brought it to the dealer a handful of times. With my Status, I go to the dealer with a new problem (no exaggeration) about every 4-5 months.

Looks nice

Have replaced head gasket twice in less than 100K.

Car has lost two head gaskets in less than 100000 miles. Terrible design and quality. Dealer and Chrylser totally unwilling to take responsibility. Obviously designed to be a "throw-away" car.

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Much worse quality than previous Chrysler products I have owned.

Four door, roomier than my old tempo, or the contour, or escort, yet still affordable.

Of course the head gasket. Replaced at 60,000 miles. Good thing I bought an extended warranty. The head gasket, head, and block were all damaged because of the faulty gasket. The warranty covered over 3500.00 all I paid was 100.00 deductable. So I am not so scarred over the experience, I pretty much got a new motor for free! Cup holders can sometimes be inconvienent, but at least there are two.

I'm happy with my car. If I would have had to pay for that new engine, I guarantee I'd had it and be cussing up a storm. So, it's for you to decide if it's really the car I like or the warranty. It is almost guaranteed that the head gasket will need to be replaced and you will have to take that into consideration. I would not have bought the car without the warranty because at the time I knew that Stratus had the rep for bad head gaskets. I only knew of the problem because of great web sites like these!

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Styling, performance, sound system!

service at dealer, interior fixtures--cup holder placement..too close to shifter

This is really a great car--excellent bang for the buck! I owned a Dodge Avenger an swore to never buy another Chrysler product again. I tried Civic Si's Solaras, even Accord coupes. This car, especially when considering the price, blew them away. It is also a real head turner. You can easily take many of the boy racer types that you might run into-and your insurance won't suffer. It is good to know that Chrysler is finally adding some quality to its sleek looking cars. Perhaps the interior fixtures could be upgraded as well? And for some reason the check engine light is repeatedly on. The dealer claims that nothing is wrong however and has to order some new disks from Chrysler? whatever...it is a great car.

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VW Jetta, Saturn SC2, Honda Civic EX, Dodge Avenger, Mazda Miata

I PURCHASED THIS CAR IN FEBUARY AND ONLY HAD LIMITED EXPERIANCE IN THE SNOW BUT I HAVE TO SAY, THE CAR HAS EXCELLENT TRACTION IN ANY ROAD CONDITIONS. THE STEREO IS AWESOME, INTERIOR IS NICE AND THIS CAR IS A ROCKET, SHE WILL GET UP AND GO AND YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO ASK IT NICELY!

I GUESS I HAVE TO SAY ONE WEAKNESS WOULD BE VERY, AND I TALKING VERY, LIMITED REAR VIEW WITH SIDE MIRRORS AND REAR VIEW MIRROR.

OVERALL MY WIFE AND I LOVE THIS CAR! IT'S A PERFECT FAMILY CAR FOR THOSE COUPLES OUT THERE THAT WANT A CAR THAT HAS PLENTY OF ROOM FOR THE KIDS AND LUGGAGE, AND DON'T WANT TO DRIVE ONE OF THEM STUPID 4-DOORS, THIS IS THE CAR! ALSO FOR THOSE PEOPLE OUT THERE WORRIED ABOUT RELIABILITY, DON'T WORRY BECAUSE WHEN THEY REDESIGNED THE STRATUS THEY USED A STRECHED MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE PLATFORM FOR THE COUPES,THE SAME ENGINE, TRANNY, AND INTERIOR!! SO YOUR ACTUALY BUYING AN AMERICAN CAR WITH A PROVEN IMPORT DRIVETRAIN!!! THEY'RE EVEN MADE IN THE SAME PLANT AS THE ECLIPSE, THE STRATUS COUPE IS MADE BUY MITSUBISHI MOTORS OF AMERICA.

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1999 HYUNDAI TIBURAN (PIECE OF CRAP!)1990 FORD FESTIVA ( RELIABLE AND GOOD ON GAS BUT BASICALY A BOX ON WHEELS!)