I purchased this car out of a title loan situation for $1350 3 years ago. It has been a good car up until a few months ago when EVERYTHING seems to be going wrong with it and nothing is a simple fix EVEN ON A MODEL THIS OLD. Im kind of stuck like chuck at the moment at this point I WILL NEVER GET BACK WHAT I HAVE INVESTED IN IT. I keep getting told it was poorly designed and I have to agree.

My parents have had a 2004 SE for 18 years. When taken proper car of, it will last. We have used it a few times to travel between Mexico City and Austin several times and have had little issues. Since Ive been able to drive, (3 or so years) I have pushed it a bit, but still no problems. Major repairs consist of changing out the clutch due to heavy use (that may be my bad) and new coils. It has the occasional whining serpentine belt, but has never broken down on us and keeps looking great. Despite the SE being front-wheel drive and a little over 100 hp, its super fun to drive because it's relatively light. I'm around 6 feet tall and have no trouble driving the car. You could probably be up to 6'5 and be comfortable. Air conditioning hasn't been the best experience in my opinion (Texas heat is something else) but we have never had to have any major repairs on it (white exterior also helps). The back seats are roomy enough, but there is no ac in the back, but because it's a smaller car, the ac works well enough. It has decent MPG and sits around 22 - 25 MPG. The ride could be better, though. Because it's a sports-ish car, it tends to not do great on bumps, and it is not very soundproof, so it's not a silent cruiser (although not a bad thing if you like to hear the engine). I have a cloth interior that makes sure that you don't stick to the seats, but the black interior color makes it hot in the summer. It's also not the most attractive design in the inside, but It's nothing to complain about. It's definitely a much more beautiful car on the outside (especially if you take care of it) and stands out as they are not very common. Overall: A great, fun, and reliable car. I'd especially recommend it as a first car, as it is safe (due to the FWD) and looks great. I'm not planning on buying another car for the foreseeable future.

I've got 197,600 on my 06 dodge stratus sxt 2.4l. Got it from a friend when it had 193,211. The only thing I've done to it was change the oil and changed the spark plugs and changed the blower motor resistor. The check engine light is on because of a evap leak but still runs fine