I bought a 1999 Dodge Avenger ES last May (2003). I loved the sporty look of the car as well as the low miles it had as a used vehicle. I'm 23, and it's the first car I've purchased alone (without my father telling me what to buy!). Previously I had owned a 1996 Chevy Beretta (now that's a great car, got me cross country twice with no problems) But back to the Avenger.

Four days after buying the car the transmission went out on me. After throwing a hissy fit about it to the dealership they fixed it free of charge. I drove without issue for a few months. Then, I noticed that both doors were oozing a black tar substance consistently. After doing some research I found this to be a consistent problem with this car. You'd think after years of car manufacturing, Dodge would have figured out how to remedy this problem. But, no. The driver side window rattles constantly, so much so that I try not to have it down.

Then, just last week (bear in mind I only have 40,000 miles on this car)both front wheels just popped. The tire guy told me the rims had warped so much that air had been escaping from the wheels. And let me tell you, the tires on this baby are EXPENSIVE! Other than all that, the car has been ok. Not really worth all the problems. It looks nice when parked, but it's hard to drive for someone who is of normal height (I'm 5'5" and I can't see out the back window). Also, the front end is so low that scraping is a daily occurance. I've babied this car, you have to. It'll die on you if you don't.

The interior is nice (with the exception of the black goo). The turning radius is god awful and the gas mileage, to me, is nothing to crow about. The speed is okay, but I'm a pretty cautious driver and speed doesn't mean much to me. I don't think I would recommend the Avenger to someone who wants something practical. It's just too expensive to upkeep and the looks do not outweigh the issues with the car.


UPDATE 3/23/2005

Well...after keeping the Avenger for another 2 years, I think it's about time to trade the baby in. After going incident free since the "tire popping" debacle in January of 2004, I had the same thing happen last night. The rear tire simply blew up on me. I took the tire off to find a massive gaping hole caused by the rims.
The Avenger, overall, has been a good car when simply parked in my driveway. It looks good, and it's showy. However, I also began commuting a distance of 20 miles to work, and discovered that the gas mileage was even worse than I first thought. It costs me approximately $30 to fill the car up, and with regular in town driving to and from work (40 miles a day), this lasts me 2 days. A full tank. It's ridiculous.
So, I'm trading her in. The silver lining? The trade in value is still pretty good for a 6 year old car.
But, I still wouldn't recommend it for anything other than vehicular "arm candy"
Amount Paid (US$): 13000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1999
Model and Options: ES V6