It’s a shame when a car is so close to greatness – but not close enough – that its impressively low mileage ceases to matter. They made the Dodge Stealth in top-shelf R/T Twin Turbo guise, which is the one to buy if you want a Stealth. Despite having only 25,000 miles, this Stealth is rental car spec, with a naturally-aspirated six-cylinder and automatic transmission. Find it here on craigslist with the price reduced to $5,900 or best offer.
The Stealth, like its lower-tier twin the Mitsubishi 3000GT, loses some of its luster when equipped with the automatic transmission and gray cloth seats. The jet-cockpit inspired interior is still there, but that’s about it. These were by and large considered secretaries cars when new, and I don’t think the lower tier models have appreciated enough to change that perception.
The seller says the Stealth is a must-see in excellent condition, and I don’t doubt it for a minute. Cool A/C, lots of power features, a V6 with decent grunt – no problems there. The seller has reduced the price once and I’m not surprised; even the current asking price is a lot for a non-turbocharged Stealth. As the Stealth really does appear to be in time-warp condition, I’m not sure who the target buyer would be.
If you want to own a Stealth for investment purposes, the Twin Turbo R/T is the only way to go. These were legitimate performance cars with the looks and handling to match the underhood capabilities. The automatic-equipped example seen above for sale appeals to me most as a youngtimer classic I would choose to use daily. No collector insurance, just use it like any other Corolla or Camry – but you’ll have a bit more fun than the drivers of those fine automobiles.
If I hadn’t just plonked down $7500 on a minty Fiat Abarth I’d be all over this steed. That’s a basement price for what appears to be a low miles garage queen.
Agree David!
I think this is a good buy and could be a fun car.A twin turbo in this condition would be 3 times the price in my opinion
We took one in on trade, a 92 with 12,500 miles. It was loaded with the sunroof, leather, cd changer, chrome wheels, and of course the automatic. Because of the options and low mileage, the sales manager hit his crazy button and put way to much money into it. Destined to have a birthday on the lot and being crazy good looking and sporty, I gave it a drive. The automatic seemed blah on the way home compared to the 5 speed I was driving. I parked it for a month-ish.
One day I wanted something different to make a 99 mile drive, so I threw my license plate on it. A little over an hour later, I was walking in the door of where I had to go to.
What a wonderful grand touring highway car! Fast, smooth, and comfortable. I’m sorry I did not load a couple cd’s into the changer. It became my new driver. You will be very happy making this your daily driver.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought the “ES” was a mid-level Stealth, not “rental car spec” as you suggest. The base model Stealth had a SOHC V6 while the ES had the DOHC V6. Going to the ES and the DOHC engine was a pretty big jump in HP. Not on the level with the Twin Turbo R/T, but not a slouch by any means.
The automatic tranny is a minus, I agree with that. But this isn’t your rental car/secretaries car, it’s a significant step-up from that.
8 years ago I had a budget of $12,000 to buy a toy. I looked at several of these, both the Dodge and the Mitsubishi, twin turbo, most in my price range, and got terrible reviews from former and current owners about the reliability and cost of repair but great reviews on how well they drove. One day I saw an Allante for sale for $5000, had been on the lot for almost a year, winter was coming, price dropped to $3000 almost immediately, I think it would have dropped to $2500 had I not shown up the next day with a mechanic with a car trailer who confirmed my diagnosis that the engine and transmission were fine, the exterior and interior were good enough, the digital dash all worked except the tape player/radio/cd player, the rear brakes were toast – actually one caliper assembly was hanging loose – and so I bought it. 6 years and 10,000 miles later I am still under budget, and it is still one of the bargains in the “collectable” car market. The Stealth is as well. And, the biggest bargain of all is the bean shaped LeBaron convertible with the V6 and leather. No body seems to want them, but a great engine, handles well, reliable, easy to get parts, and to me, at least, looks good.
I purchased a new 1990 Chrysler Lebaron GT coupe with the 3.0 V6 and a 5spd. It was a zippy little car especially with a manual transmission. Car rode and handled pretty well. Much improvement after I replaced the stock Eagle GT’s with Yokohama Y388’s (too bad they don’t make them anymore). After 7 years and 100k I traded it in on a Nissan Maxima.
38 years ago,Dodge did something here with their directional wheels, that Porsche is too lazy(or poor) to do. Their Turbo Twist wheels NEED to be directional. The right side of cars with those wheels just looks wrong. Besides, who wants a car that looks different from each side?
Thanks for the positive posts!!!! I’m Dave the owner… I’m not sure who Jeff is but in my opinion this is a fun, clean classic car for less than $6k-with new tires and a sun roof. Heck, you will pay more for a 4 wheeler…
Once again, thanks for the positive posts!!