'03-'10 Chrysler PT Cruiser: how are them?

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I had one as a rental car once (don't remember year). Don't know if there was something mechanically wrong with it or what, but it was a scary drive. The rear end would randomly feel like it wanted to switch lanes on the highway. Didn't have it very long so didn't want to deal with trying to trade it in for something else.
 
Run.

Those transmissions are known to be unreliable. And the 2.4L engine has a bad habit of blowing the head gasket religiously. Also not an easy engine to work on - the cam sprockets are inside the fender and no easy way to get to them.
 
I've heard timing belts are nightmare on those. It's a lot of work that involves discharging the AC refrigerant. If you see one for sale with around 100k miles, it's likely the previous owner wanted to dump it instead of dealing with the cost/hassle of changing the timing belt.
 
We rented one to take to the coast one year on vacation. Handled the sand and dunes like a champ,but the stance of the driver's seat felt weird and the overall ergonomics were bad.
 
I was a porter at a local dealership when they were new-ish.

All i can really say is most of the owners did not care for those cars. They were almost 100% nasty inside. They did have a turbo option but from what i remember the techs dislike working on them. I do think it is a Neon...
 
Pretty much junk. We work on lots of them. The timing belt is a huge job and must be done on time, they can and will bend valves when it breaks. Also must remove the intake manifold to get to the spark plugs.
 
I've known a few people that had one and they found it fine. If you could use the utility of it, then its bad rep(see above) makes it a pretty good deal.
C&D actually liked it for the most part when it came out, it got second in their hatch back comparison, and I liked my 95 Neon so I don't count having Neon parts against it.
For an efficient wagon, I voted Focus though and don't regret it. If you like to drive, try a Focus wagon out with a manual, you might like it. I slung mine around last weekend at autocross to finish 2nd of 45.
 
I test drove one years ago.sat in one at dealer
my forehead was 6 inche from the sloped top of the windshield so I did not even crank it up
death machine in a crash.
 
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