When you have the best of something to sell, it sometimes challenges you to endure a painstaking waiting game. After all, the best example of a car typically demands a higher asking price, and then a buyer who will appreciate it enough to pay for the privilege of ownership. This 1991 Dodge Stealth R/T Twin Turbo AWD had every box checked in 1991 and sports one of the most desirable colors to find a Stealth in, Mystic Blue. It shows under 30,000 miles from new and is equipped with the desirable 5-speed manual gearbox. It likely is one of the best examples left, and plenty of buyers in the right demographic who will want it. Find it here on craigslist for $28,950. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Tony Primo for the find.
The Stealth is one of those cars that pops up with some regularity but doesn’t necessarily trigger buyers to spend big money. In fact, if you review recent auction results, you’ll see that this very car failed to find a buyer a few months ago, with bids topping out at a little over $18,000. While it may deserve more on the basis of its preserved condition and low miles, it doesn’t necessarily make it worth more. Enthusiasts often conflate the two, which leads to broken hearts and hurt feelings when it comes time to sell. It’s a beautiful car, even now, but the market hasn’t rewarded long-term stewards with strong values.
The same can be said of its corporate twin, the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4. A technological powerhouse when new and supremely capable out of the box, but a car that was left behind when its classmates like the Mazda RX-7 and Toyota Supra continued to gain market momentum. Once concern that gets raised frequently when the Stealth or 3000GT comes up for sale in nice enough condition to warrant a strong price is that much of the equipment that made it a technological wonder when new are now near impossible to find. The main computer unit, electronically-adjustable suspension components, the electronic exhaust damper – good luck finding replacement parts. The good news is, given this car’s preserved condition, is that all of those hardware pieces likely still work.
The twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter DOHC V6 kicks out an impressive 300 horsepower, a number that’s still impressive today. The seller notes that the timing belt was replaced, and the recent auction listing also mentions that the water pump was replaced as well. These are must-do services on the Stealth, even with low miles as this one has. The seller is currently looking for about $10,000 more than the top bid back in November, but our guess is he’ll have to settle for somewhere in the middle if he wants to re-home this incredibly well-preserved Stealth. The enthusiast car market can be incredibly fickle, and sometimes it’s just easier to keep your car and enjoy it if an agreeable price can’t be reached.
Nice, well preserved Stealth. But $29k? meh….
An uber nice red 1991 AWD Stealth R/T just bid up to $9,600 on Bring a Trailer less than a month ago. So yes, this might be the understatement of the day!
The big problem is that these were very technologically advanced when new and were not built for a very long time period, or in large numbers. They were not supported after they were discontinued.
So today, it is virtually impossible to find many of the parts needed to make things like the electronic suspension, electric exhaust damper, and the multitude of in-car electronics work properly. The engines are also known to have a sticky valve issue. So most people avoid these. Not because they are bad cars but because maintaining them is very very difficult.
these are very cool cars, a friend of my brothers had one when we were young and they’re impressive machines. The author makes a very solid point though, when mentioning where one would get replacement parts if needed? If I had the money I’d risk finding out!
Ah the memories, the pics take me right back to 1991. Awestruck that was 35 years past. I worked at a Dodge dealer back then and saw and drove these new. The ES, R/T, R/T Twin Turbo. From cloth seats to leather, automatics and manuals. Good times and but had we known how fleeting time was in our youth.
Nice car, and good write-up Jeff. Love the Mystic Blue.
Replacement parts: I read an article recently about this. The author was projecting 20 years ahead, what might be sitting in the local salvage yard…. cars and trucks with say under 100k miles, with clean and straight bodies, with interiors showing only normal wear. And why are they there? Because of some electronic gizmo necessary for their operation is shot. And the manufacturer no longer stocks replacements. And the aftermarket doesn’t make the part. And the part has already been scarfed up from other retired vehicles.
Today I think that vehicles are at the salvage yard because of rust, or blown engines, or other mechanical maladies. When the future might primarily be because of electronics. Maybe, this is already “a thing” to some degree?
Thank you! I didn’t see this before I posted , but yes , this is why these are cheap. This was one of the first highly technologically advanced cars. So while it’s a great car, when it’s running right, it is very hard to keep on the road.
Bob_in_TN, I never even/ever thought of that. Very prescient of you! (I always wanted to use that word in conversation LOL!)
I agree. After spending some time in the wrecking yards lately. I noticed that so few actually had been wrecked. The old adage of don’t buy a used engine or transmission from a car that isn’t wrecked (becsuse it was running/driving when the accident happened) because you have no idea WHY the vehicle is in the wrecking yard to begin with. It had been many years since I had been in a wrecking yard and I was surprised by 2 things. 1. The very small quantity of vehicles that had actually been in an accident. 2. The quality ( as in good) of the interiors of the vehicles there over what it had been many years ago when I frequented the yards. I also realized the lack of age of the vehicles. Predominantly lessthan 15 years old. That speaks volumes about hi-tech failures. And that can be more than electronics. Hi-tech engines and transmissions that cost more to rebuild/replace than the value of the vehicle. I tend to build very nice vehicles for myself and family. But I always like to have a beater for runs to town or to load up with supplies and don’t have to keep waxed and pretty. And you don’t care about a scratch or minor ding from a parking lot. A pickup truck usually works best. I recently was in need for a different/new to me beater. I found a like choice on Craigslist and bought it for $500. I spent $200 for a complete “new like” interior, And spent another $700 on new tires and miscellaneous stuff. All of which (except the tires) came from the local wrecking yards. It’s actually a, very nice running, driving and looking older beater. But I had to do my homework as to how to test used components before slapping down my cash. The automotive world has changed quite a bit in the last 50 years.
These were a big deal when introduced. The idea of getting twin turbos, awd, active exhaust and 4-Wheel steering for $30G was a deal at twice the price. In the Detroit market it wasn’t uncommon for people to pay five and ten grand over list. If they were able to find one. One top of that they were a good looking car. The majority of our sales were the ES model with the twin cam motor and fwd. Our store didn’t even have an R/T TT AWD until the fall of ’91 when got two by swallowing six leftover ’91 Lasers and twelve Summit 2-doors. I got really good at peddling those little Eagles.
When these came out I was working at a Ford/Mitsubishi dealership and the Mitsu version of this was hot news. Nice cars. Still, they were pricey for your average Mitsubishi or even Ford buyer. Marked up a ton over retail too.
This is a beautiful example. A few years ago, Wheeler Dealers (Ant, not Edd or Mark) redid the rear wheel and spoiler bits. It didn’t look too bad to do, but you really need to know how it all works. As to the timing belt, I replaced it on my ex’s 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT, with basically the same transverse-mounted V6. It takes time and there’s lots of fiddly stuff to deal with, but ultimately not a bad job to do. Although, I could see a garage charging a grand to do it at a minimum.
Ah, the little rice rockets! Those were fun, tossable, and my 16 year son asked why in the hell didn’t I buy him one? Dodge had alwasy had great styling and these were different but wow. What a package. Can you imagine 5 years from now going to the junkyare and see all these “new units” there because it costs 11K to fix you center screen that handles all functions.
Our sister dealership was a Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth dealer. One of my employees bought one if these. It was a blast to drive. But one thing that I noticed first. Is that you REALLY had to pay attention to your driving. Not that the car would wonder. But even the most minor amount of pressure on the steering wheel would cause the car to head in that direction immediately! Add in the fat tires that like to nibble at inconsistencies in the roadway. And you were on full alert the whole time driving the car. Not a bad thing, just different. I have driven all kinds of performance cars. (Ferraris, Maserati, Corvette, Viper) But none drove like that.
These are a blast to drive!! I had the honor of driving a friends brand new one… Took it on a nice curvy highway and it stuck to the road!! This one had AWS also.
They are not slow at all!
The day that I was picking up my new Eclipse was the first day that they had the new 3000 GT on the showroom. My Eclipse was a similar color blue to this Stealth, and so was the 3000 on the showroom (IIRC).
I almost cancelled the sale of the Eclipse for the 3000, but my wallet did not agree with that decision.
I owned one, they can turn into lemons for the 2nd owner, who throws in the towel, and the 3rd owner who can enjoy looking at it as it graces their driveway. This applies to the base versions, without the options, as well. Some of the issues were by design, so the parts could not be reasonably reproduced or rebuilt, so Mitsubishi could charge exorbitant prices on their parts.
I remember seeing these at the auto show when I was 20 they were a big deal back then. Id love to own one and can afford one but…..I won’t own a computer controlled car that isn’t obd2 because if you can’t scan it you’re changing sensors and crossing your fingers.
The next owner will love it until something stupid breaks.
Will someone be so kind as to talk about the headlights
These pop up. You’re seeing the turn indicators under the black headlamp doors.
Failed to crack $19k when it was listed on BringATrailer last November……