I once had a songwriter friend in Nashville who bought Jaguar after Jaguar, each one being a bit more swanky than the last. It was surprising to spot a new PT Cruiser in his driveway around 2001, so I figured he was just having company over. Upon entering his home, I found him alone, so I asked about the unusual car outside. With an excited face, he told me it was the most fun car he’s ever driven, so the switch from Jag to Chrysler was made. He owned that car the rest of his life, and had he lived longer, I almost wonder if he would have ever traded it. Perhaps the novelty has worn off a bit since then, but these are still cool cars in their own right, with this 2005 model affordably priced at $2,950. Reader Jack M. found this one here on Craigslist in Alfalfa, Oregon, and we’d like to thank him for sending us the tip!
The PT stands for “Personal Transportation”, with these autos intended to mimic design characteristics similar to offerings from the 1930s. Production spanned from 2001 through 2010, with Chrysler managing to sell well over a million units, so there’s certainly no shortage for those seeking an unusual yet affordable driver. The seller says his late mother was the original owner, but it wasn’t she who slid into a signpost. Another family member was responsible for that mishap, followed by the son replacing the front bumper. This area needs some new paint, and it looks like the hood could use a minor alignment as well.
It’s sort of hard to find a term to describe the interior of a PT Cruiser, but the word “functional” comes to mind, as there’s plenty of cargo room available behind the rear seat. My musician friend was a Bluegrass artist, and in addition to the banjo also played guitar, so he raved about all the room in the cabin for his instruments when he had to go out of town for a gig. Personally, I’d probably have preferred the Jaguar, but I haven’t owned either, so it’s not really fair for me to judge.
With 97,000 miles, the seller says the PT is still in great shape mechanically, with the cramped engine compartment appearing to still be in good order. Driving it from coast to coast would cause him no hesitation, so hopefully, there’s still a good amount of life to be enjoyed by the next owner. I get that these aren’t as fresh and fashionable as around the turn of the century, but it’s been a while since I’ve spotted one in my area, and I’m feeling there’s still somewhat of a cool-factor remaining here. How about you?
Before the PT Cruiser “officially ” came out, Chrysler would send you literature about the car, which I had received ( I think I had to sign up for it.) I wanted one so badly. But with two small kids at the time I couldn’t afford it. I wanted a base model in that nice dark Washington blue they had with a stick and it had to have a 5 speed with a cue ball shift knob for sure. I actualy still kind of want one. But most of them now are used up high mileage examples. This one looks like it is all there, maybe just some paint for the front bumper and call it a day. These PT Cruisers are sadly disappearing from the roads as they’re getting older and are looked upon as just ” used cars”. When one gets sidelined due to a mechanical failure thats usually the end of it. Hope this one gets to keep going a while.
A year ago I decided I wanted to replace my Chrysler Sebring coupe with a PTCruiser because I wanted something easier to get in and out of. I also wanted a stick shift because that’s what I prefer, but getting up in age, I wasn’t sure if my legs and hips would still be working okay in the future, so my 2003 is an automatic. The stick shifts are fairly easy to find, and with low miles, too. Mine had 37,000 miles on it when I bought it about16 months ago and was accident free according to a report I bought. I have no complaints about my purchase.
Actually wanted them as they came out had to wait until 2002 for a base which has about 175,000 on the orginal motor/trans…..but wait….scored a low milage 72,000 Touring loaded with the disk rear brakes from a guy that moved down from the Big Apple to Texas and it’s pushing up there to…..but wait….just bought another base from a little o’lady with 80,000…..have another two a 1986 square body with under 90,000 and my 2007 Colorodo with under 90,000…..good little get around cars if you do the maint…..kinda like the old VW’s we use to own….
These cars, while being cool-looking, did not benefit from one of Chrysler’s better drive trains. The engine was an oil user and quite anemic for its size, they also tended to blow intake and head gaskets, especially if you got the turbo version. This was a car that could have benefitted from a V6, but there was no room for it. Plus, whenever anything went wrong the Cruiser was a real bear to work on, due to that cramped space and engine layout. People don’t want them fixed and mechanics don’t want to work on them.
Agreed, these cars were truly crap. The transmissions were weak, road terribly , no power and burned oil. I had to ride with a friend of mine to work in his PT Cruiser. He told me what he hated and there was nothing he liked. Except it a cheap car to buy used. I always worried if his car would get us to work.
This is one car where I can put my 2cents in. I always liked these but when they came out we had kids and needed mini vans. We’re retired, kids grown,so last Feb. I decided why not. My 2004 Impala was so rusty I didn’t know what was holding the wheels on. I found a nice 2003 base PT Cruiser on line in Florida. 90,000 on the clock and NO RUST. I live in northeast Pa., so I had a friend down there check it out. He said all looked good, so I flew down and we went to get it. Dealer told me on the phone 4grand and it even has new paint (black got cooked in the Fla. sun). When I asked the total (7% Fla. sales tax and temp. tag) he said 4grand total, when I give you a price that’s the price. So we drove it around Florida for a week then I put it on the AutoTrain to come back home. I love my new for me car. It now has 98,000 on it and so far it has only needed wiper blades and an oil change. Mine has the 5speed and it’s like a little rocket ship. And it doesn’t have power locks, cruise control, power seats anti lock brakes or that b.s. with a security chip in the key (get one at the hardware store for 5 bucks.) So there is less stuff to break. There are some really good ones out there if you look. 2005 was the last of the 1st gen. cars. 2006 and up had more plastic inside and seats that look like the came from a bus station.
These didn’t age well. Sorta like the frumpy HHR. You still see them at the inner city used car joints.
Bought a 2001 when they first came out in late 2000. Put nearly 300k on it with only one minor trip to the dealer. Bought the extended warranty and never used it. You could haul about anything in it – once hauled a clothes dryer with room to spare. Got a chance to get a 2008 from an estate with 8k on it in 2013 so moved up. It soon dropped a valve seat, probably due to its lack of use, but was otherwise reliable. This January we stepped up to a new Mazda cx30 and are already thinking of going back to a PTC. We both hate all of its nanny features. As noted there are lots available.
Not a good car, then and now..
For me, these replaced the Chevette in the 2000s as the number one car not to get stuck behind on a two-lane road.
You forgot Topaz. Worst drivers on the road.
Well, this certainly shows the limits of the site, a PT Cruiser? What next? I always thought “PT” stood for “Plymouth Truck”,,originally called the “PT” it was actually a production code,and was “P Tall” for a “tall” Neon. My son actually had one of these. He loved it. It indeed took him from coast to coast, with nary a shred of trouble. Those seats were great in true Chrysler minivan form. The styling was supposed to be retro like the HHR, and shared most parts with the Neon, but caught the minivan crowd, that wanted something a bit different. Some say the worst car of all time,,that’s a bit bold, I can name a dozen others much worse that never sold a million units, so not a total flop. Never thought I’d see one here, that’s for sure.
My wife inherited her 2005 PT cruiser convertible. They actually have quite a following on Facebook. There’s a lot of negative comments flying around from people who have never had one. We can also say that about a lot of other cars. Look at all the four-door classics and white wall tires that people made such negative comments about. This probably eliminated more cars than cash for clunkers.
“There’s a lot of negative comments flying around from people who have never had one”–sums up about 90% of every car comment on every car website.
Fun fact: the PT Cruiser & Chevy HHR were designed by the same guy
I rented one of these on a trip to Seattle. Not much choice. It drove like a shoe.
A Jimmy Choo.
I also rented one of these years ago. Shoe-like does describe it, but a very underpowered shoe. We (two average sized people, no luggage) were on an interstate out west, slight inline, traveling around 70 mph when the car downshifted itself into a lower gear just to maintain the speed, while sounding like it was ready to explode.
Well I just got my latest addition of Barn Finds, I went to look at the car on Craigslist and it is already gone. Over the years I have owned three of these and every one was a great car, never had any trouble out of any of them. Two were driven over 150k miles. The other one was sadly wrecked by my son. They had to cut him out of the car and when he got out he didn’t have a scratch on him. Testament to the quality of these cars. If I could find another convertible, I’d buy it.
my brother had one of these, and one night a girl at the bar asked him if PT stood for “penis toucher”. He does not like to be reminded of his old Chrysler
@Puddleglum,
Had to leave a comment to just say how hard I laughed at ‘drove like a shoe’!
I had a 2004 and thought it was great. The biggest problem the PT had was the the lack of further development from Chrysler. I get that retro cars have mostly been a fad, but this car could have been refined into a solid competitor for the small SUVs of today – easy in and out, great outward visibility, and tons of storage space for a small car.
A Jimmy Choo.
One of the worst cars I’ve ever owned. Mine was a 2005 convertible with the turbo. While I can’t say it was bad mechanically, I CAN describe it as “fragile”. I accidently touched a parking curb and the entire front bumper cracked and fell off. Those Turbo bumpers were apparently made of Unobtanium which forced me to piece together the original. At least I learned a new skill of welding plastic. Pieces of the interior would just fall off or snap. I did a computer upgrade and when I unsnapped the wiring harnesses from the original ECM, all the locking tabs broke off. The final straw for me was when I tried to adjust the windshield washer nozzles and they literally crumbled in my hand. My buddy up the street always referred to it as the “PT Loser”.
This is one of those cars when I saw my first one in a Safeway parking lot I had to stop, walk around and give it a good look. Quality or not kudos for Chrysler pushing the styling envelope into production cars. At the time, this one worked.
When my Dad passed 15 years ago we inherited his ’05 Touring Edition with less than 5000 mile on it. My kids drove it in high school and college, and now it is a 75K mile sentimental reminder I can’t seem to part with. It’s a nice driving little car, with the only problem being reoccurring evaporation control problems the last couple years that I can now ignore at inspection time because it’s 20 years old.
PT’s get a lot of s–t now, but when new, dealers were getting over sticker for them, and I went to a PT Cruiser show in my home town with Dad and there were more than 100 PT’s there!
Owned a 1999 Neon R/T 5-speed. Bought it new for ten grand. What a fun little car. Put 144K on it, traded it in on a 2006 PT because the Mrs thought they were so adorable. Non-turbo, burgundy. Put 270K on that PT before the BCM started acting up. It still ran great. I bought a 2005 SRT-4, sitting bone stock in my garage, 27,000 miles.
You will disparage the Dodge Neon name in my presence at your peril. :)
I bought a 2006 PT Cruiser in 2013 in Fort Myers, Florida. It had 90,000 miles and was in great shape. It was the same color as this one. It was garage kept and had no damage to the paint or dash pad. It didn’t have a manual in the glove box when I bought. 2 years and 14,000 miles later the timing belt broke as I was driving 50 mph. It wiped out all the valves. I junked it and bought a 1999 Plymouth Breeze, with 60,000 miles. I loved the Cruiser, easy entry and exit and I found it fun to drive. I drove almost 2,800 miles to Davenport, IA and back in 2014 for my daughters wedding. It drove like a dream and was very comfortable on the trip.
I ordered a 2001 Pt 5 speed , they were only going have a 100,000 run.at 750,000 they stop taking orders. From the day I ordered it in Texas to the day first sat in it after it was sent to Italy were I was working was one year. Only one dealer had one within 100 miles .
Loved my 04 GT cruiser Turbo. 200hp. And fun to drive. Had it painted two tone silber and blue with orange and silver pin stripes. Great car. Leather interior, sunroof , air and power everything.
PT in PT cruiser stands for Personnel Transportation.
Wife has had her 2006 Route 66 special edition PT since new and loves it. Only has 60K on it and gets compliments regularly. Told her it would bring good money at auction but she will not let it go. Only thing I don’t like is the poor gas mileage.
Only the good if I sell it or the bad….why it’s been sitting?
My mother bought it new.
She gave up driving and gave it to my wife. When the warranty ran out I was driving it on Christmas Eve. At a stoplight where I could turn right into the chevy dealer or left into the strip mall, the light turned green and I moved a few feet to turn left and a tie rod separated. Never felt a thing or had any tread wear. Tell AAA I’m at a light on Washington Ave. no cross street. What’s the cross street. No cross street, by chevy dealer. What’s the cross street?
One plus was it was great in the snow with Hakkipalitas, no ABS and left foot braking.
So it was mostly a winter car. Started to drive it when the roads were salted, the colder it got the stiffer the shifter was. Well below zero the shifter broke and didn’t know what gear it was in.
The battery is under the air filter box, under the battery is the vertical selector shaft. How could that steel shaft in aluminum housing with no bushing seize? ARRRGGG!
SHift lever has been replaced and some assembly is required but it’s been sitting for years…since wife got Glioblastoma.
It has a lil over 60k miles and almost no rust, it’s titled as a truck, was licensed as car but could get a very cheap farm plate here.
Sell it or fix it?
I’m trying to get a Volvo Amazon together for winter fun.