Hi You All, I would like to tap on your experience. I'm from Singapore where American cars are rare and a PT cruiser is something you see once a year on the road. I've always loved the looks of it and today I was finally able to get close to buying one at nearly half the price of a brand new one. Its a 2007 model with 44,000kms (about 28,000miles) and its an automatic 2.4 non-turbo. Here's the link.
Used Chrysler PT Cruiser Car for Sale from Singapore, Hua Yang Credit - sgCarMart
Anyway, I test drove the above car today and found several issues I need clarification on. The salesman at the used car dealer left the engine to warm up while I looked at it. While driving after the engine had been warmed up for 10minutes, I noticed a strange drivetrain or engine vibration that you would not expect from a car with 28000miles. On moderate acceleration in 1st and second gear, the car would shake between 2500 to 3500rpm. I don't know how best to describle this vibration - its something in between the feeling of the vibration you get from a powerful FWD car (like a Golf GTI) spinning tires as it moves off and the feeling you get when you are driving an underpowered car up a steep ramp and its about to stall. Steering wheel is slightly off centre to the right (by about 10-15 degrees) when driving straight. Unfortunately I didn't get to "feel" this vibe in 3rd gear as we reached cruising speed by then. Car feels tight overall. This vibration is my most important concern so please help with your feedback on what it could be. Is this normal?
The other thing I noticed was condensation/water droplets in the left rear lamp cluster, which to me would be indicative of an accident. On the right rear lamp cluster, the gap between the bumper and the bottom of the lamp has some black tacky substance that you can get at if you use your finger nails to dig.
Thanks.