This 1989 Dodge Omni America is the seller’s “elderly mother’s car,” and it’s been parked for five or six years now, so it’ll need to be towed to your garage. They have this good-looking Omni posted here on Craigslist in one of my favorite cities on the globe: Tucson, Arizona, and the seller is asking $2,000. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Tony P. for the tip!
Arrrrgh, so close. You can see that the hood is cracked open in the photo above, but sadly, the seller didn’t bother to open it and take a photo of the engine. That’s two late-1980s Chrysler products in a row for me (the two-door Reliant was the other) without an engine photo. This Bright White paint looks much nicer than that faded silver two-door Reliant did, though. And I’m assuming there isn’t any rust, or not much at all, since this appears to have been a desert Southwest car. Although, is that rear passenger door a shade darker?
We also don’t get to see the cargo area. COME ON! The car looks nice, though. Made from 1977 for the 1978 model year, Dodge offered the Omni and Plymouth offered the Horizon until 1990, when the Dodge Shadow and Plymouth Sundance took over small car duties. Here’s a 1989 Dodge Omni America brochure.
For the 1987 model year, Dodge worked out a deal with unions, auto workers, suppliers, and the state of Illinois, where they were built, along with dropping options to just air conditioning and a radio (whew), in order to get the price down to just $5,499, to compete with cheapo imports, such as those from Hyundai and the infamous Yugo. You can see that this car has a three-speed TorqueFlite automatic rather than a manual transmission.
I don’t see any big flaws inside, even with the hot desert sun beating on it for decades while it was in use. I bet with a good detailing, it would look great inside. The engine should be a Chrysler 2.2-liter SOHC inline-four with 93 horsepower and 122 lb-ft of torque, the same as in the ’88 Reliant two-door coupe. The TorqueFlite sends power to the front wheels, and the seller says it hasn’t been driven since it was parked five or six years ago, so it’ll need to be towed away. Which one would you choose: the 1988 two-door silver Reliant that runs and drives perfectly and has cold AC, or this non-running 1989 Omni for $2,000 that’ll need to be towed away? I know which one I would choose.
Like a lot of folks here, I spent a lot of time in a good number of these, with different family friends etc.. Buddy of mine bought a brand new Ice Blue Omni with a 5 speed and air. It was new, had a warranty, and was affordable, and with a stick, it was fun to drive too. These were very popular, never knew of any of them with any major problems either. If this one were a stick, Scotty, it just might edge out that silver K Car.
Educated and created a generation of backyard mechanics 🔧
Seller doesn’t mention engine. At all…maybe thats an option?
Probably make for a good entry level car, as long as the buyer can get it running. These aren’t very glamorous, but you don’t need that in order to get around.
The ad reads as if the seller is likely the actual daughter of the owner, not a flipper.
Steve R