Which car (Le Baron) should I buy? Need many answers quick?

Question

1) '88 Chrysler LeBaron GTX Turbo Sedan w/ 96k miles. $1300

Good: Clean car, saw no rust

Bad: Idles ROUGH; stalled in reverse when going very slow, and when at a stop, car is VERY close to stalling. Shifting from 3rd to 4th gear once caused a hesitation. I mentioned I forgot to test the AC to the seller; when he tried to work it, no air would come out of the vents. Only 1 speaker may work.

Worries: Potential tranny problem, idling problem, gas millage, old age, no climate control.

2) '93 Chrysler Le Baron Coupe (Base) w/110k miles. $700

Good: Tranny shifted very smoothly + flawlessly. (PRNDL) Backing up and going forward was very smooth. Car was comfortable and everything functioned well. Body was solid.

Bad: No plates = I couldn't test drive it. Could only back it up and move it forward in a small parking area at low speed. Tranny's of this year known to fail. Minor rust in underbody and paint peeling on trunk lid.

Worries: Tranny failure, rust, paint.

Which one?

88 LeBaron: Has 4 new tires, and a gas leak was fixed (via new gas tank, lines, I don't know for sure, I forget) Inspected recently and passed. However, seller is a small dealer / garage who inspect their own cars. So I don't know if they just passed it themselves to sell it.

Credibility thing for them:

Test drove another car from the same place whose brakes failed about 15 seconds after leaving the lot. Didn't make it past the neighbors house. When I returned from test driving the LeBaron, the car was back up on display, about 15 minutes later.

'93 LeBaron: Tires are around half tread left I believe, has brand new shocks, springs, and struts. Seller has had car for about a year and a half and no tranny work needed / done. Previous owner experience is unknown. Inspection passed a year ago (Sept. 06) Is a private seller.

Prices listed above are asking prices and I will try to reduce both as much as possible. Though I doubt they will be reduced by much, if at all.

I need a cheap (in price, not reliability) car and quick as getting to work and school in time by relying on other people is becoming increasingly difficult.

Personally, My "gut" feeling tells me to go with the '93 LeBaron, but it has a lot less options in compared to the '88 LeBaron.

'93 LeBaron has only: Power windows (not locks), cruise, and a/c. Only AM/FM (no cassette) and no other special things. A very basic car. The '88 LeBaron has Power everything, though the drivers motor may be close to failing (rolled up very slowly), a/c (though it may not work), cassette, storage compartments everywhere, rear windshild wiper, digital display everything. (Though I hear if a digital display conks out its a ***** to replace)

Answer 1

I would also say to go with the '93.

While it is illegal for a car lot to pass a vehicle in order to put it on the lot, that doesn't mean they wouldn't do it. The other vehicle on the lot with the brakes going out could have been something simple that caused it, but not usually if they go completely out. Not a good sign of the quality and reliability of their vehicles. Usually, if you find a vehicle like that on a car lot, it is worth about half what they're asking, and they have even less than that in it.

The '93 runs good, and shifts good. The more options a vehicle has, the more stuff there is to break and need fixing. If you're in a bind for money, the fewer options will be better. Since it's a base model, it problably has a 4cylinder motor, which will then have the 3-speed transmission. Those transmissions were very well built and would last a lot of miles as long as they weren't abused. Most we repalced were due to driver trying to rock them out of a snow drift by shifting forward and backward rapidly.

As long as the rust is minor, it will usually take several years before it gets to be severe, which will give you time to save for a better car. The trunk lid you could sand down and paint it yourself with spray paint. It may not be the prettiest or most professional job, but it will look better than flaking paint, and the rust that might follow, and it's cheap.

I would certainly want to drive it on the roads first just to be sure everything was good at higher speeds. If it's in or near an area with few cops (such as a residential or rural area), then I would take it out and test drive it anyway. If you do happen to get pulled over, explain that you're test driving it and might buy it. Most officers will understand and let it go at that.

The good of the '93 far outweigh the bad of the '88, and it's almost half the asking price. I'd start out offering about $500 and see what they say. Remeber, you can always go up in your offer, but once you've made an offer, you can't go back down.

Last thing is, trust your gut instinct! When you go against it, you usually end up regretting it later on.

Answer 2

Don't take this wrong, but isn't this a little nit-picky for a $700-$1300 car? These are very low prices (although I think the '93 is the better deal). When looking at cars that are over 10 years old, you cannot possibly know everything that is going to break on them. If you are concerned about the money, get the $700 one. If you want the luxury, get the other one. Either way you go, you will have repairs in the future, it is inevitable. If you want a car that will last a good long time, buy a newer one. LeBarons have been around for a while, so parts availability is still there, but it is dwindling. This in turn raises the prices. If it was me, I would buy them both and use one for a backup in case the first had a catastrophic failure.

Answer 3

I'm not really good with most american cars, but personally I would go with the 93' since it seems to have less problems. Transmission's are very costly and could lead to different problems.

88'
If you really do want the '88 LeBaron you should really talk to the seller about his policies on returning the car. If he says you can return it with in 2-3 days then I would immediately take it to a Auto Mechanics place and get a quick check up on it. It might just need a minor transmission flush or just some basic tune ups. Even though it might be in good condition the engine might have not been run on a regular basis.

'93
For the Coupe if the look is really important to you then I don't what to say. If the maximum your spending on a car is 1300 then I would go for it and possibly do the same procedure with the seller and the Mechanic says its okay then I would mostly get a basic paint job done which is just 2-300 dollars.

personally for me I would probably save up a little bit more possibly up to 1,800 or 2,000 and get a different car(maybe toyota,honda, or if lucky a maxima) even though they might be more costly its just a suggestion because the Le Baron's you are currently checking out aren't really trust worthy.

Answer 4

You need to up grade you're car search and maybe spend a lot more cash and get a better car. What you have described is what you find in a wrecking yard.

Answer 5

I'm thinking the '93. Sounds like there are less problems with it and it's in better condition and will treat you better.