Beauty or Beast?

[boobydoo]

 

 

We've had this thing on our Used Car forecourt at work now since before Christmas and not even opened the door on it. We had it up for £9995 but now reduced it to £7995..and still no interest!

 

Which leads me to ask..is it really that bad?

 

15000 miles, leather seats, leccy windows AND seats, climate control, refrigerated cup-holder(!) blah, blah...all for Fiesta money!

 

And I kinda like the weird look of it. Close up, its huge!!

 

Surely it already has a guaranteed place in the hearts of us Autoshiters?

 

Whats your opinion...Beauty or Beast?

[lancashireclamper]

Can't help looking at these admiringly, even find the 300c alluring in a way paticularly in estate form which is not something I like admitting in polite company

[UglyAmerican]

Yes, they really are that bad.Let me put it to you in different terms:The Sebring is the Worst Car on Sale in America.in America.

[Albert Ross]

That is Autoshit, not shite.I wouldn't touch one with yours.

[Tayne]

.

[boobydoo]

 

The interior for your delectation............

[Pillock]

I would.I wouldn't be under any illusions that it's a good car, but it's a good price... half average mileage for age and that refrigerated cupholder sells it for me. I'd rather loll around in that than some sort of 'city car' rubbish.

[ashmicro]

Mercedes Benz W203, folks.

[Tayne]

.

[Rocket88]

Can't help looking at these admiringly, even find the 300c alluring in a way paticularly in estate form which is not something I like admitting in polite company

I want a 300 c estate very badly, pref in black

[Pete-M]

The way 300C prices seem to be dropping, I'd wait for one of those, but only with the Hemi lump.That Sebring isn't pretty is it?

[Station]

I'd have a 300C (who wouldn't), but I'd draw the line at one of those. It looks like a Mercedes with a Proton back end. Just the fact that it's going to be horrible to drive and cheap. Have American cars always been this way?

 

More rear legroom in my Suzuki!!!

 

[UglyAmerican]

The Sebring is very, very different from the 300 and Charger.They are on a big RWD platform that is well developed and fairly refined. I'd go so far as to call the 300C and Charger 'proper' Yank tanks (despite being built in Canada). They're big and comfortable and uncharacteristically handle fairly well. (Incidentally the Benz connection is a bit of a myth; Daimler borrowed some of the previous E-Class rear suspension design, but Chrysler had been working on the RWD platform for several years before the Daimler-Chrysler merger. If anything, the 300C/Charger LX Platform has its roots in Renault design from when they owned AMC in the 1980s). The Sebring is a completely different front wheel drive platform, different grade of materials, and different engines. It's a truly horrible car, the suspension is neither comfortable nor sporty, the handling is truly piss poor, and the interior quality is Ka-level. Think of British Leyland at its worst, but without the charm.Incidentally, I'm not sure which model you're looking at specifically. I know there was a European variant that used VW's 2.0 TDI engine. If I was being forced to buy one, I suppose I'd take that. We didn't even have this opportunity in the U.S. Have a drive in a Sebring and then a decent B-seg car like a newer Clio or Polo and see what you think. Based on my experience with Sebrings here, I'd say the only cars they are comparable to in the UK are Protons and the Korean Chevys. Even the Corsa 1.2 I had as a rental a few months ago beats the living piss out of the Sebrings I've driven.

[Mr Lobster]

Horrible. Not great to drive, awkward looks and iffy build quality. Plus horrendous depreciation obviously.I suppose its the wrong car for the times we live in as well. People wanting a big exec will buy a 'premium' brand. People wanting value for money will buy something smaller, cheaper to run.

[woolleyiain]

I had a '98 Cab one of those. It had 180k on it. I still have nightmares...Thing is, the new ones are just as bad.

[UglyAmerican]

Thing is, the new ones are just as bad.

Worse. Really.

[Cavcraft]

DEFO not beauty.It looks like a cut and shut using a Merc front end and the rear from an Omega, and probably has the future re-sales value of a white dog turd.

[face]

The Sebring is a completely different front wheel drive platform, different grade of materials, and different engines. It's a truly horrible car, the suspension is neither comfortable nor sporty, the handling is truly piss poor, and the interior quality is Ka-level. Think of British Leyland at its worst, but without the charm.

I'll take it

[Lukas]

I sat in one a few month ago! O god was this car horrible inside! I did not drive it thankfully, so I missed that disturbing experience.

[Guest]

GR8 4 BEING A REGIONAL MANAGER AT DUNDER MIFFLIN

 

 

I get the feeling they're a bit lousy, but I like them in a "Florida Fly Drive" way. If I had one, I would drive to the Ponderosa Steakhouse and eat all the blue jelly.

 

Also got to admire a car with a rippled bonnet like an early 2CV.

[Betaphile]

It certainly has BL-grade build quality:

 

 

It's difficult to overstate how dreadful these things are, really - they honestly have no redeeming features (and I mean none). Dire quality, shocking materials, hideous looks, unbelievably crude suspension, nasty engines, and they're not even particularly cheap new to offset all that. Yech.

 

In 20 years' time, I grant that they'll be autoshite, but in a 'so bad they're ironically good' Hyundai Pony kind of way, not in a 'cool shite' old big Renault kind of way. In the interim, they're just shit, and insufferably horrible shit at that.

 

If anything, its cheaper platform-mate, the Dodge Avenger, is a (slightly) better car. That should tell you all you need to know.

[boobydoo]

This particular car is the 2360cc/ 4 cyl petrol with auto box. 167 bhp.I can't say that I have driven it, but I did sit inside out of curiosity. The interior plastics the same quality as in that "Mousetrap" game from the 70s and the leather akin to cheap vinyl.Curious then that the brochure states:" This is a place where stunning craftmanship combines seamlessly with premium technology. Where functional engineering converges with beautiful design. Where every drive becomes a journey. This is a vehicle like no other. This is Sebring."

[dollywobbler]

Have to say, I'm in awe of how poor the rear styling is. The way the light units in the boot don't at all match the main units frankly makes the Koreans look like Pininfarina.

[Pete-M]

Yank build quality is frankly disturbing.To give 'em their due, Yank stuff tends to be mechanically reliable in my experience.Unfortunately, they're also insanely cheaply put together. Pleblon carpeting, cheap leather, no bootlid lining, bugger all in the way of rust proofing, plastic straight from a Kinder egg, and what has to be the least pleasant switchgear since the Trabant went out of production.Oh, and you still need to wave a grease gun at Lincolns every few thousand miles. How cool is that? Hugely long service intervals for cars that need grease gun attention every couple of months. I can only think of three good things about the Yank stuff I've dealt with. 1) The Aircon is superb when it works.2) OBD II software works properly on Yank stuff.3) V8s.

[Station]

How come they're getting billions in bail outs on the promise of making a half decent car when the majority of the new stuff is on the same scale as this? Non-descript mediocrity. I hate it even more when they try and import their shit into this country, and then people buy it!They should use the money on developing engines and then rebadge Japanese/European cars as something patriotic like Hawk or Heman or something. Our industry is in better nick and we don't have one.

[RedSparrow]

Horrible horrible horrible tacky nightclub owners car.

[MrRegieRitmo]

Have to say, I'm in awe of how poor the rear styling is. The way the light units in the boot don't at all match the main units frankly makes the Koreans look like Pininfarina.

I think there is that kind of thing going on at the rear of BMW X3s, it's not aesthetically pleasing!

[rawy]

My local enterprise rental depot had a fleet of these, couldn't give them out, people did a downgrade when they were given one!I suspect they are the only ones in the UK, I can't see a private buyer ordering one new?Rawy

[Pete-M]

Curious then that the brochure states:

 

" This is a place where stunning craftmanship combines seamlessly with premium technology. Where functional engineering converges with beautiful design. Where every drive becomes a journey. This is a vehicle like no other. This is Sebring."

What the brochure also fails to state is that they're on about the Maserati Sebring, which quite possibly fits that description to a tee.

 

[Guest]

I think the thing to bear in mind is that it is a pretty bottom-rung US car, basic transportation, a cheap Chrysler. It'll have wobbly trim and feel a bit rubbish, on the other hand it'll probably do the average 15K/year that Americans do without much complaint. Think of it as the American equivalent of a Punto/Fiesta/Clio - a fairly cheap car for people who don't really care. Put fuel in it, drive around playing CDs and turn the aircon to full blast. They make some sense over there.Why these models are imported to the UK I'm not sure - the exchange rate and import costs work against them, so they end up being a strangely-priced (but not ridiculously expensive) car with a decent spec and fairly low-rent interiors. So they end up being hire cars. Maybe the odd linedancer buys one. That's about it.