NFB: advise on daily driver. looking at 2.

[LoudLT1]

looking at a 2001 mazda tribute 47,000 miles v6 3L auto loaded $11,500 no warranty. need to buy one. extra 20 bucks a month.
or
2005 pt crusier 21,000 miles 4 cylinder 2.4 L auto $11,000 loaded remaning warranty of 36 k or 36 months.

drive vehicle 240-300 miles a week 80% highway 20% stop and go.
new baby on the way. need something reliable.

anyone with any of this vehicles?
eddie

[Trash man]

i say get the PT cuz it will get you better fuel mileage. theres only one problem i've ever seen with the pt cruiser and that hte front lower control arms like to fall from their bushings. nothing major but still a very reliable car

[Jeff_in_Atl]

My wife has a 2001 PT Cruiser now. It's a very functional car. She has a Touring model that was optioned with everything on it. I think they did it this way because with the touring model you can get a bigger gas tank than the limited. It has leather, heated seats, sunroof, CD-Cassette, and the handling package which is not offered after 2002. I still put some bigger sway bars on it. For a 2005 you can get the bars but for the rear you have to get the mounting hardware from the dealership. It helped cut the "boaty" feeling. The rear sits to high but that is so you can put a load in it. You can fold down the back seats then fold them forward and latch them to the A pillar and get a ton of stuff in it. It is the perfect car for a college kid. The rear deck shelf is useful too. You can out it in several positions and it even has a folding leg on it so you can use it like a picnic table on the back of the car. Definitely get the 4 wheel disc option.

Chrysler used to have a problem with the 2.4 blowing head gaskets but they seamed to fix it around 1999-2000. The is my second Chrysler with that 2.4 and it's a pretty bullet proof engine. It's rated at 150 hp. I have a friend who works at a Chrysler dealership and he said PTs don't come in very often with problems. There was a recall on our power steering hose rubbing on something and getting a hole in it. Our was fine but he replaced it anyway. He re-flashed the computer because there was a new software version from the factory that improved gas mileage 1-2 mpgs. She averages around 22 combo driving. We got 29 on the highway one time.

I have 2 complaints about it. Up until 2002 they didn't put a passenger side left armrest on the seat. How stupid is that. 2002 and up got them. The second is the dash where the radio is sticks out a little to far for me. I hit my knee on it unless I let the seat back a ways. It's not a problem for my wife. She is shorter than me. I really don't have any complaints about the car at all. It's been a good car.

No offense to the HHR but I think the PT is way better looking and a better value.

1 thing to watch for. Chrysler makes some of their wheels out of steel and glues on a hub cap to it. Unless you look really close it's hard to tell. The easiest way to spot it is look around the rim where they put wheel weights. You can see the seem where the hub cap stops if it has them. My wife's has real chrome wheels on it. I think it is worth it to get the real wheels.

[LoudLT1]

thanks guys.
got the pt today. silver with dark gray interior. auto loaded power everything. 21,miles they went donw to 11,000 and gave me 1,200 for my 95 lumina trade in value. plus my 750 down. looking at 199 a month x 60. going to look for some pt factory chrome wheels to put on. maybe some billet inside to match the silver. very happy so fay...
eddie