There are a lot of things I like about my Stratus. It's comfortable to drive, there's a lot of room for a mid-size car, it gets good gas mileage, and the styling is nice... it's got a good mix of sportiness and practicality. It's also fun to drive. The handling seems a lot like some smaller cars that I've had. The quality of most everything seems very good. Since it's 13 years old, and I live in NE Ohio, it does have some rust, but that's to be expected. I've usually gone about 4 months in between oil changes, and it doesn't seem to lose any oil. The only thing that I've disliked and that has been a recurring problem is issues with suspension parts. I knew that where the right rear strut attached to the body of the car had been "jerry rigged" when I bought it in 2006, but the salesman and a mechanic I had look at it felt that it would be ok for a long time. Within a year any rubber that had been in that strut assembly was gone, and any time I went over even a slight bump it made all kinds of noise. I took it to a mechanic and he said the only problem was the rubber, but it would be difficult to get it to where it was totally quiet, but I had it done. It was better, but not totally quiet after that. Shortly after that the left rear strut broke for the first time. In all since I've had the car I've had to have the right rear strut replaced twice, the right front replaced once, and have had the right rear strut assembly totally redone, which was pretty expensive. I know I had another part in the right front suspension replaced also, but I don't remember what it was. I am starting to look for another car, mostly because of the age of this one, but I'll miss it.

There have been some... Overly ambitious situations shall we say.... That I've put my car through. Like going through flood waters that were starting to go over the hood. It might just be this particular car, but I liked the fact that it is able to make it through some flood waters that drown out lesser cars. A drawback to this is there is a lot of water seepage everywhere when doing this, and even when there is a light rain there are times when water gets stuck in the doors and you can hear is sloshing around. The car does also tend to fall apart in time - I'm on my third heater and fourth air conditioner in 6 years, and the window motors have been replaced at least once each. As I mentioned in the title, the car does tend to fall apart the older it gets. Just one of the things I've typically noticed about doge vehicles.

It's an American made car, so if and when it breaks down it is not as expensive to fix as some of the other cars available. I have had my Stratus for about five years now and have never had any major issues with the car. It gets me to where I need to go and it is pretty comfortable for being an average car. It isn't the most expensive and most beautiful car available but it is definitely worth the price for a car to get you to and from work and school. In the terms of speed it has a surprisingly good pickup for a smaller car. I have been told from many people I have a lead foot, but my car just likes to go. The car, 16 years later, is still holding up well. The back seat has plenty of room for my family to sit comfortably without fighting. There is more trunk space then I could ever need and going on vacation is a breeze with this car.