Looking at a 2001 Intrepid

[acompdude]

I am looking at a 2001 Intrepid with the 2.7. It has 105,000 miles but most of the miles were put on when the primary driver had a job about 40 miles away from driving back and forth. It looks like it has been taken care of and it has had all maintenance kept up on it. A middle aged couple is selling it and they didnt seem like the kind of people that would hide anything. They hadnt done anything special to it before i went to look at it so i dont think they had anything to hide on it. Like some people will go pressure wash the motor when they try to sell a car to try and hide something. They didnt do anything like that. The woman is the primary driver and generally women are easier on vehicles. The interior looked really good considering its 5 years old. I drove it and the transmission shifted smooth and there was no studdering or anything. I couldnt see anything that looked like an oil leak under the hood. They told me that the only maintenance that has been done to it was just routine stuff.

Anyway to my real question. Is there anything that I should know about this car before I go any further? I know the car has a pretty good bit of miles on it, but what do you guys think? I appreciate any and all comments and suggestions.

[wafrederick]

If you decide to buy it,put in synthetic oil when the oil needs changed,Mobil 1 in and it takes about 6 quarts.I know of one Chrysler/Dodge dealership in the Grand Rapids,Mi that is recomending that.The 2.7 is notorious for sludge buildup and change the oil every 3,000 mile,not over or before 3,000 miles.Do they have the reciepts for the maitnence and repairs?If they do,check that.

[dennis1960]

Get rid of the regular oil and run pure synthetic ONLY!!! Also, get rid of the Chrysler/Dodge engine coolant, (it doesn't provide enough lubrication for the pump,) and run Dex Cool.

The regular oil does sludge up, (due to heat from the exhaust manifolds,) and water pumps going out are the major problems with the Intrepids.

[wafrederick]

Or change the antifreeze to green.

[neon_rt]

The 2.7l is very fragile. A lot of people never reach 105K without using Mobile1.
I would not buy it unless it was REALLY cheap. Cheap enough to still be worth the price if you need to replace the engine. Best to replace it with a 3.2l or 3.5l they are much more reliable, especially if you change the coolant to green, otherwise the water pump may go out.

[theroadisalover]

Do your self a favor, Do a google search on Intrepid 2.7 liter. Take in the class action law suits being filed against its maker. Then, you decide. theroad......