autoevolution
 

Does This $500 Dodge Intrepid Beat Taking the Bus?

A short while ago, our esteemed colleague Cristian Gnaticov showed us one of the cheapest used cars currently for sale today in America. Well, let's see if we can't do any better with a fresh set of listings. After hours of perusing, we think we may have found the ticket.
Dodge Intrepid 11 photos
Photo: Macke Motors
Dodge IntrepidDodge IntrepidDodge IntrepidDodge IntrepidDodge IntrepidDodge IntrepidDodge IntrepidDodge IntrepidDodge IntrepidDodge Intrepid
The Dodge Intrepid was a car built by accountants for a company that was quite happy ignoring its customer's desires in favor of short-term profits. None of them were expected to last until 2022. Even so, here's one that is for sale. Assuming you're feeling particularly desperate for wheels this month.

The Stratus was designed to be an even lower-cost alternative to big Japanese sedans like the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord. To say it was an epic failure was an understatement. Aside from the Charger muscle car, Dodge still hasn't produced a reliable family sedan that people actually want to buy.

This particular example sports a red exterior with a grey cloth interior and a 3.5-liter V6 engine as its powerplant. This engine was known in its day for chronically burning oil and having a very short operating life. Many Intrepids found their way into the junkyard before most Accords and Camrys had even stretched their legs properly.

Even so, we live in the era of the chip shortage. A time when new cars are priced into the stratosphere while cheap, reliable used cars have been swallowed into a black hole of a marketplace that can't replace them remotely fast enough.

With this in mind, $500 to Macke Motors of Lake City, Iowa, a wing, and a prayer are not all that much to pay for a vehicle that at best will get you to work and back in the short term, and at worst, will recoup most of your losses in its residual scrap value alone. It sure does beat a stuffy old city bus filled with the dirty, unwashed masses if you ask us.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories