My latest cheap car search unearthed this underrated gem this morning. It's a 2000 Chrysler Sebring with just 55,000 miles on its 23-year-old ticker and has an asking price of $4999. If the driver's seat wasn't shredded, I might be inclined to kick its tires. They knock a grand or so off the asking price to cover the cost reupholstering it and if I find time this week I still might. You just never know with these things. Don't laugh, smirk or roll your eyes, this is a lot more than what you might think it is.
Chrysler introduced these cars for model-year 1996 as a replacement for their very long-in-the-tooth, K-car derived LeBaron's. Why the name change? Who knows. Chrysler Corp had used "Sebring" previously as a trim level on their intermediate Plymouth Satellite's from 1971-1974. Like the LeBaron, these also came in convertible.
I had briefly shopped the Dodge version of this car, what they called "Avenger", in the late 1990's and didn't give it a second look. My loss as the Sebring and Avenger were both based on the then-current Mitsubishi Eclipse; the hell was I thinking being all about a 1997 Chevrolet Monte Carlo at the time. Well, frankly, I still think the Monte Carlo the better-looking car although these Sebring's are hardly ugly. I don't recall giving these cars a moment's notice either back in the day.
Oh, what were they thinking with this front end? Chrysler substantially updated these cars for 2001. Sharper, smarter sheet metal reminiscent of a then current 300M coupe (if there was such a thing) on top of Mitsubishi's new and wonderful Eclipse platform (or chassis); I have a 2004 Eclipse Spyder GTS and it's a ridiculously fun to drive. This car might not be quite the fun, but something tells me it would be funner than the Monte Carlo LS I did buy. Yes, he said funner. And would most likely stay bolted and glued together longer as contemporary reviews noted these where the best built "Chryslers" at the time.
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