Great Cheap Used Car!

The Plymouth Acclaim has to be one of the most reliable 4 cylinder powered compact American cars out there. Yes, its styling inside and out is very outdated, but the Acclaim makes up for its styling with its reliability. The 2.5L 4 cylinder engine has proven to be more reliable than the optional V-6 engine. This V-6 has had problems with burning and leaking oil.
Six years ago, I bought a used 1992 Plymouth Acclaim. When I bought it, it had about 40,000 miles on it. It looked and ran like a new car. It had the 2.5L 4 cylinder engine and 4-speed automatic transmission. I've heard and read that the 4-speed automatic transmission on this car is failure prone, yet I've had no problems with it at all. It also had a standard driver-side airbag, cruise control, tilt steering wheel, child safety locks, and a four speaker AM/FM stereo. I only paid about $7500 for it. I thought that was a good price for it, since it was two years old and only had about 40,000 miles on it. Since new, it has been the most reliable car I have ever owned. My past cars that I'm comparing it to are: an 1987 Chevy Cavalier and an 1988 Toyota Camry. The Chevy only lasted about 85,000 before it had serious mechanical problems. The Toyota was a pretty good car, but had problems with serious oil leaks, starter malfunctions, annoyingly squeaky shocks and loose, rattling interior pieces.
I still have my 1992 Plymouth Acclaim. Now it's eight years old, and has about 180,000 miles on it. I have had to make few repairs to it to keep it running good. Nothing ever broke down on it until about 100,000 miles when it needed a new alternator. The next thing to go on it was the radiator at 120,000 miles, a $300-$400 repair on this car. The next thing to break down was the head on the engine. The head developed a small crack and needed to be replaced at about 160,000 miles, about a $600 repair. That was the last repair I have had to make on it. Three mechanical repairs needed during 180,000 miles of driving. Not too bad for an American car, especially a Chrysler product.
By the time I sold my 1988 Toyota Camry, it had 135,000 miles on it. It had needed a new alternator, head gasket, O-rings (due to numerous oil leaks), and a new C.V. boot. Tune-ups cost me $110 per tune-up on the Camry. I usually do tune-ups myself, but you need special tools to do tune-ups on older Camrys. On my Acclaim, I can do a tune-up myself for a cost of around $25. I was not all that impressed with the Camry, since it was a cramped Japanese car and was supposed to have bullet-proof reliability. I've heard that older Honda Accords are also not quite as reliable as their reputation suggests.
I plan on keeping my Acclaim for at least another 20,000 miles or so before I get rid of it. Why get rid of a good thing, right? I've been so impressed with my Acclaim that I plan on getting a used 1995 Plymouth Acclaim with somewhere around 60,000 miles on it or so.
If anyone is looking for a cheap to buy, economical, and reliable car, look no further than the Plymouth Acclaim. It has all the virtues of the comparable Honda Accord and Toyota Camry at a fraction of the price. However, I do suggest that people considering a used Plymouth Acclaim buy one with ABS brakes for better braking, the 3-speed automatic transmission and the 2.5L 4 cylinder engine for better reliability and fuel economy.