I feel the need to respond to this, as I presently have a '91 Acclaim.
At its age and the bevy of problems I'm having with it lately, mine is
presently reaching its final days on the road unless I opt to throw
money into repainting, putting in a new head gasket + other opportune
repairs, finding a new wheel hub to replace one my sister damaged
driving the car over a curb, etc.
That may sound like a bad review, but in the 6 years I have been
driving this car I have not had one single complaint. My first car was
a POS that whenever the temperature dropped below 40F, the car was
prone to not starting. It randomly dropped engine power. Rarely worked
properly.
And then I got into the Acclaim, and I haven't looked back since.
There has only been one time when my Acclain wouldn't start for me,
and that was when the battery gave up during last winter's cold snaps
here in NH. Even then, I can't be too sure but it could have even been
the original battery - hard to tell as the label was unreadable.
In the snow, with a good driver who knows what you can and can't do in
snow, this car is a tank. 5 of my driving years has involved driving
in all kinds of winter weather conditions, from 6+ inch snowfall
poorly-maintaned roads to ice and sleet, and I never once got into an
accident or spun off the road. (In contract, my mother's D*dge Caravan
is rendered virtually impotent at the first flake of snow on the
ground.)
For 5 years I have been driving this car not only to and from work in
all kinds of weather, but also going on longer trips across state. I
have never broken down, never limped home, never needed a tow, and the
only repairs I have had to make are what to me seem to be normal
maintenance-type things, like brakes, the muffler, and the occasional
tire. My first car, I couldn't even drive 5 minutes without having to
pull over or push it somewhere.
My only major complaint is one that I'm sure all Mistu 3.0L owners
have - my car leaks oil. Badly. Given the later date and the 2.5L
you're looking at, I imagine this won't be a problem though
Sadly, the last year has been rather rough for my Acclaim - aside from
the oil leaks getting worse, the head gasket is going. Last summer it
became clear that the oil leak was not only worse but that the car was
likely consuming oil, and just the other day I found out she's also
drinking coolant now as well - so the head gasket is definitely going
bad. The transmission this winter has gotten unreliable, randomly
dropping engine power for the first 5 minutes after a cold start
unless I literally gun the engine and reverse-race the car out of the
driveway. And I am the victim of the "primer gone bad", which is
turning into a loosing battle (fix one patch, 2 more begin peeling).
However, at 135K+ miles, I haven't even worn the driver's seat out
yet. (I have, however, worn off the catalytic converter's heat
shield.) And unless I can easily find another Acclaim (which it sounds
like that won't be the case), I would rather sink the cost of buying a
used car into making repairs. Anything I have asked for from this car,
it has delivered.
Things to watch out for - keep in mind I'm talking the '91, so I'm
hoping some of the issues were fixed by the '95 model:
- Leaky Trunk
Didn't actually have this problem until 3 years ago, though I've heard
on some it's more problematic. Very easy fix - just caulk up some
spots around the trunk hatch and it's fixed. You can probably check
for this by looking in the spare tire compartment - look for excessive
moisture, musty odor, mildew on the hatch cover, or as happened in
mine, a lot of rusting of the tire changing equipment. (Being winter,
it'll be hard to spot this, so if it is something on the '95s too,
just be aware of it.)
- Leaky Signal Light Housing
This developed at random and was an intermittent problem before it
just up and vanished. Look at the light from the outside - if there's
any sign of moisture inside, keep in mind that it can (and will) burn
out the signal bulb. Not an expensive fix until they keep piling up
(and up and up - I still carry a spare bulb around for just such a
reason.)
My $.02:
Different year, different engine, but based on my own experience with
the model, I'd say grab that Acclaim. I know that if I ever have to
give up my '91, I'll definitely be looking hard to try to find another
one to call my own.
- Dennis
I got a new job that I'm going to have to commute to, so my wife and I need
to buy a second car. Money is tight so I can't really buy anything new. One
car I'm thinking of buying is a 1995 Plymouth Acclaim. It is $2500CDN with
170K on the clock. It has a 2.5L 4 cylinder engine and a 3 speed auto. I had
a 1988 Dodge Aries with a 2.5L engine and I had very good luck with this car
[till it was written off :'( ]. Is this the same engine? Is this a good car?
Is there anything I should watch out for in this car? I took it out for a
test drive and it seemed to drive pretty good. I also had a look under the
hood and I don't see anything that looks suspicious. The trans fluid and oil
seem fairly clean, and the guy does have service records. I checked the
tires and they seem fairly new and doesn't seem to have abnormal wear.
A second question: Our current vehicle is a 2000 Taurus. What car should I
take and what car should my wife take? Should I risk being stranded on the
side of the highway in an old clunker while my wife drives the Taurus? I
think that would be safer for her than having her drive the clunker and be
stranded while I'm an hour away. Would a CAA membership be worth it?