The Dodge Aries was a version of the infamous Chrysler K-car platform shared with the Plymouth Reliant and sold from 1981 to 1989. The Aries and Reliant were introduced as compact cars, but were much closer to mid-sized and were surprisingly popular when new.. Today the K-car is more likely to be the punchline of a joke than a daily driver, but a grandpa owned/driven version can be a surprisingly affordable 6 passenger vehicle. Find this 1988 Dodge Aries, with 54k miles on the odometer, offered for $1,650 in Burlingame, CA via craigslist. Tip from Kaibeezy.
Detractors are going to say that K is for crap, but the truth is over 2 million Aries/Reliant K-cars sold between 1981 and 1989, so quite a few people felt the small front-drive chassis with a big 6-seat interior was a good bet. When cross shopping this car against other 6 passenger sedans the obvious contender is the Crown Victoria and you won't find one with 54k original miles for this price. Horrible driving experience from a sport perspective...yes. Good enough to buy for your kid when he goes to college...sure. Better yet, make him get a job and buy it for himself.
I say good driver. Low miles. You should be able to fix anything that goes wrong yourself. Good on gas. Looks fine, but you don't have to worry about someone bumping into it or stealing it. FWD traction. Roomy. Clean, unrusted and unabused. Sure, it has K-car fit and finish, but that's okay if you aren't a ham-fisted caveman.
ReplyDeleteAs a ham fisted caveman, and an outright hater of all things low rent knock off American that has been puked out of Detroit since the seventies, you got to be kidding me, guys!
ReplyDeleteASide from the obvious and self evident indictment of it's mere existence,there is the fact that it's not Jon Voight's car!
Shouldn't it be K for "krap"?
ReplyDeleteExcellent idea as a first car for a teenager, put that punk in his or her place!
You can buy a 1990s Benz for the same price.
ReplyDeleteHere's a nice Benz for $2K:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-Benz-200-Series-280e-1981-mercedes-benz-280-e-original-owner-90-000-miles-/121251338325?forcerrptr=true&hash=item1c3b249855&item=121251338325&pt=US_Cars_Trucks
Chris- You should have tipped DT on that one!
DeleteHad a few of these where i worked could not believe how bad the driving exp is. POS AWARD
ReplyDelete