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
What’s with the skull on the dash next to the air vent? Could be a sign ;)
Remember the ads? (just the seniors in the back) “The new Dodge Omni does it all!” I’ve prattled on about how important of a car this was. Things could have been very different without it. A while back, I was Walmart emptying my wallet, when I came out with my treasures, parked right next to the Jeep, was a car exactly like this. It was white and in perfect shape. I thought, I have to see who gets in this thing. I didn’t wait long, a middle aged man comes out, I said, “excuse me( never know these here days) said hi, he was very nice. I said where did you ever find this? He said, and I figured, at an estate sale, get this, NOBODY was bidding on it. He didn’t say the price, but clearly was not for sale. $2g’s and no takers, indicates, a) nobody wants it, b) non-running is the biggest red flag today there is. 1st thing is to replace the timing belt. Belts don’t like to sit for years. Tuscon, eh? If I leave now in the Jeep, I might get there by Xmas,,,:),,,great find, SG
same ‘world car’ as the Lancia that won all the global championships @ rallies:
https://www.broadarrowauctions.com/vehicles/jc23_111/1994-lancia-delta-integrale-evoluzione-ii-16v-blu-lord
Ah…….if this were only a five speed! I’ve had four L bodies….an ’83 Turismo, an ’85 GLH turbo, an ’89 Horizon and the ’90 Omni that I purchased for my Mum. I know these cars have their detractors, but I loved each and every one of mine…wish I still had the GLH and the Horizon, but both times, I was pressed for space and both cars had needs that cost more cash than I had at the time.
I’ve driven L bodies with automatics…they’re tractable enough, but not as fun to drive as one with a stick.
This car probably needs nothing more than a battery and a fuel system flush and it will be back on the road again……..
I drove a Plymouth Horizon as a taxi , it belonged to a friend who was away for a month or so.
Whether it was bad maintenance I don’t know, but I was constantly calling him as the car broke down many times.
In one particular instance I was pulling into a parking lot and there was a puff of smoke from under the hood and the engine quit.
I looked under the hood and the fused battery cable and ballast resistor were fried.
The parking lot happened to be in front of a tavern, I shut down , said a few choice words and called it a day.
On the other hand , when working , the car made a pretty good taxi.
Quite roomy for its size.
The city of Brockville, Ontario was going through a small car phase in the taxi business. We had the Horizon and even a VW Rabbit!
My usual car was a Volvo 144 with manual transmission no less.
Those were the days my friend
We’d thought they’d never end.
These were a great value when new. Ours was an ’88 with ps, pb, auto, air, am-fm, tint, deluxe interior and black over red. Decent car for $6995. I remember that the Good Year Vectors were great in snow and lasted over 80k.
I picked up an 86 Horizon at the junkyard where I worked for $200. It was in perfect condition, garnet red with a comfortable red cloth interior. Automatic with air conditioning. The owner had turned it in because it barely ran. I was able to quickly troubleshoot the combination of small issues and get it running well. Apparently someone had just completely botched a tuneup. It turned out to be a very reliable and economical car. I got razzed a bit because it had no image and wasn’t considered a cool car but it really was.
Unfortunately it was the only car I ever wrecked. I was car number 6 in a 28 car pile-up in the Caldecott tunnel on a rainy night around 2003. It was scavenged by an outlaw tow company before I could return to the scene two days later. That was an unjust end for a great little car that I had really started to appreciate and like.
Too bad it is not a GLH! They were pocket rockets!!
I wonder what happened 5 or 6 years ago that made the grandma unable to drive , hmmm 5 or 6 years ago , i cannot remember…
My dad bought a new one in ’84. Auto like this. Grey with a red interior. Great little car. Being in the SW rust shouldn’t be a problem. Even the interior looks really decent and might just need a good cleaning. If it’s just been sitting for that many years it’s definitely going to need some work to get going. Starting with the fuel system.