my daughters' new (used ) PT cruiser!

[400trip]

We just bought a used pt cruiser for my daughter who is going to be driving (TOO) soon...
I think we got a pretty good deal, its a 2002 touring, dark grey with 77,000 miles.
The good; serviced regularly, lots of recipts, new brakes, tune-up, intake gaskets, had the auto trans rebuilt less than a year ago (1700.00$), moonroof, perfect interior, non chrome alloy wheels, runs excellent, no oil leaks,very tight on the road, no shimmy, vibrations, very nice guy owner locally, just $3900.00!
The bad; faded bumpers, pulls left on accelleration, rear hatch hit, repaired poorly, paint cracking in one place, 3rd brake light out.
The ugly; her car is nicer than my 2001 Saturn daily driver!!!
We are all stoked around here, how come nobody mentions the cool exhaust note these cars have???
CB

[azphotog]

Congrats...and yeah it does have a good exhaust note.

[Hooligan]

Originally Posted by 400trip

We just bought a used pt cruiser for my daughter who is going to be driving (TOO) soon...
I think we got a pretty good deal, its a 2002 touring, dark grey with 77,000 miles.
The good; serviced regularly, lots of recipts, new brakes, tune-up, intake gaskets, had the auto trans rebuilt less than a year ago (1700.00$), moonroof, perfect interior, non chrome alloy wheels, runs excellent, no oil leaks,very tight on the road, no shimmy, vibrations, very nice guy owner locally, just $3900.00!
The bad; faded bumpers, pulls left on accelleration, rear hatch hit, repaired poorly, paint cracking in one place, 3rd brake light out.
The ugly; her car is nicer than my 2001 Saturn daily driver!!!
We are all stoked around here, how come nobody mentions the cool exhaust note these cars have???
CB

Welcome to the Forum. Bumpers can be fixed with WD-40 and Fine steel wool & elbow grease. That is cause by a interaction of the tape they used when the car was new. Alignment will take care of the pulling to the left. 3rd brake light is a easy fix, pull the housing down starting at one end of the housing, (not around the light itself,) it is held on by 4 clips, replace the bulbs. So two out of the 4 problems is a DIY. Have daughter help you and she will BOND with the car.

[400trip]

Great!
The bumper trick worked like a charm!!
Thanks for the tips,
My daughter and I are going to have alot of fun with this car...
CB

[Matt42]

Check your receipts. If a cooling system flush or refill was done, make sure that the correct anti-freeze was put back in. If Dex-Cool (the orange stuff) was used, it will clog the radiator eventually. The correct antifreeze is HOAT (for Hybrid Organic Acid Technology). You can get it at the dealer, or Zerex makes a variety that will work. The Zerex is hard to find, and both cost more but will save the radiator.

Start saving up for a timing belt. You'll need it at 100K miles or a little before. Just to be safe, we did the belt on our 01 at 81K, since we weren't sure of the history. Here you should also check the history if you have it. If it was done when a water pump was replaced, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that the timing belt is pretty new. The bad news is that they might have refilled the cooling system with Dex Cool. See above.

A rebuilt transmission at 77,000 miles? Did it get lots of stop and go driving in a hot climate? Get driven in San Francisco and held at uphill stop signs on Scott Street or Powell using the accelerator and not the brake? (I know of which I speak . . .) Another issue with Chryslers is that they want their own variety of transmission fluid, called ATF+4. Actually it is not an issue if it really gets used. ATF+4 is pretty good stuff, but it costs a wee bit more. So the save-a-dime franchise rebuilders will try to tell you that they will use Dexron transmission fluid and some additive that makes it "just as good" as ATF+4. Sad to say, that it just ain't true. The transmission may make it just past the warranty. But you'll find in the fine print that the warranty won't transfer to you. So if the transmission got rebuilt by one of those places, get it to a dealer straight away or a reputable place and get it flushed and replaced with the correct fluid. This is serious.

A weak point is the radiator fan. When the car just acts downright peculiar when trying to use the air conditioner, OK on the highway, warm air at idle, engine stumbling at idle, check to make sure that the high speed fan comes on when you turn on the AC. If not, 85% of the time the high speed brushes are shot. It's quick and easy to replace the fan assembly. Look for a Bosch replacement at $200 and up, or a Thai-made at about $125 or so. The Chinese replacements are hit-and-miss.

Beyond that, you are going to love it. We also had Saturns, three of them to keep count. Two 1993 SW2s which were just wonderful, reliable, marvelous cars that we loved, and a 2003 Vue that showed that GM when it reabsorbed Saturn had returned to its roots. The Vue was just horrible, and it would have made a lemon blush. That's all I'll say about it. You can tell from my signature file where I have gone. I bought both PTs used, the other vehicles were new.

[400trip]

Thanks for the excellent info!
I, too have owned Saturns, and know the damage that "Dextercool" can do...
CB

[knickick]

Originally Posted by 400trip

We just bought a used pt cruiser for my daughter who is going to be driving (TOO) soon...
I think we got a pretty good deal, its a 2002 touring, dark grey with 77,000 miles.
The good; serviced regularly, lots of recipts, new brakes, tune-up, intake gaskets, had the auto rebuilt transmissions than a year ago (1700.00$), moonroof, perfect interior, non chrome alloy wheels, runs excellent, no oil leaks,very tight on the road, no shimmy, vibrations, very nice guy owner locally, just $3900.00!
The bad; faded bumpers, pulls left on accelleration, rear hatch hit, repaired poorly, paint cracking in one place, 3rd brake light out.
The ugly; her car is nicer than my 2001 Saturn daily driver!!!
We are all stoked around here, how come nobody mentions the cool exhaust note these cars have???
CB

Can I see her car and as well as your car so that we can see what will be the big difference about your cars?

[playtimeover]

Originally Posted by 400trip

We just bought a used pt cruiser for my daughter who is going to be driving (TOO) soon...
I think we got a pretty good deal, its a 2002 touring, dark grey with 77,000 miles.
The good; serviced regularly, lots of recipts, new brakes, tune-up, intake gaskets, had the auto trans rebuilt less than a year ago (1700.00$), moonroof, perfect interior, non chrome alloy wheels, runs excellent, no oil leaks,very tight on the road, no shimmy, vibrations, very nice guy owner locally, just $3900.00!
The bad; faded bumpers, pulls left on accelleration, rear hatch hit, repaired poorly, paint cracking in one place, 3rd brake light out.
The ugly; her car is nicer than my 2001 Saturn daily driver!!!
We are all stoked around here, how come nobody mentions the cool exhaust note these cars have???
CB

I want to see some photos of it. Could you please post some? I need to observe it. I will wait for the photos. Thanks.