Avenger newbie

[Scout]

Hello! So I've been looking around for a first car to buy, and when I came across a 1980 Avenger it was love at first sight. However, I don't know much about cars so I had a look around on the internet to try and find some info on it, and discovered this website! So I was wondering if anyone could help me with a few questions, and just give the specs a going over to make sure I'm hopefully not buying a lemon?

Specs:

Chrysler Avenger 1.3 GL 1980
141,000kms
4 cylinder, 1295cc, Manual
4 door


Aaand here's the seller's description:


Chrysler Avenger 1.3 GL 1980

Two lady owners (plus dealer).

My wife has owned this car since 1990 and the 141,156km travelled is genuine.

Has been regularly serviced.
Electronic Ignition
New Front tyres 3,000km ago
New diff. Pinion Seal at 138,820km.
New front Wheel Bearings at 139,919km.
6-July-2010 - New SLA battery ($160.00)
20-Dec-2010 - New Fuel Pump (Wasnt needed though)
11-Jan-2011 - New Diaphragm in Carburettor
New Rear Muffler

Compression Check:- All between 160psi/11.3kg and 175psi/12.3kg.
(with-in manufacturers specifications)
Notes:- The trip meter is not working.
There is a small amount of play in the right end bush of the steering rack, but OK for WOF.
Some cracks in the dash board plastic - see photos.
Small dents in L. Rear door near hinge and rear bumper. See photos.
All doors open and shut nicely.





And things I want to know:

Does it seem ok?
Are Avenger's reliable?
If something does go wrong, how easy is it to get parts etc?
How economical is it on gas - or how many litres per 100kms?






I think that's it for now but I'll reply to this post if I think of anything else I want to know. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'm so out of my debth here and I don't want to be scammed or anything haha.

Thank you!

[avenga]

Hi Scout, Is that the Avenger on trademe? I put some links to it in the for sale section.

I saw that car this morning an I think it is awesome and at $900 it is a steal.

First to answer your questions.

Does it seem ok?

Yes it seems a very tidy Avenger.

Are Avenger's reliable?

Yes, if well maintained. I have owned Avengers for over 15 years and I have had very little problems with them except on my race car. If you look after them they are strong easy to work on cars.

If something does go wrong, how easy is it to get parts etc?

Yes, Parts are easy to find. Common stuff most auto stores have but anything else then we have members like "avengerparts" who sell new Avenger parts. also there is a good second hand parts scene with people wreaking old Avengers, like there are 2 parts cars on Trademe at the moment. I just did a engine rebuild on my '75 Hillman Avenger and I had no problems finding any parts new.

How economical is it on gas - or how many litres per 100kms?

They are great on gas if left stock. My old 1500 in my '75 used to get me 7L/100KM. a 1300 will be a bit better on gas than that. That was better than my old work wagon which was a 2004 Toyota Carolla 1.8 Auto. If you modify the engine then the fuel economy goes out the window. As I said my old 1500 used 7L/100KM and my new 1500 uses 12L/100KM/

Now because it will be your first car we may have something in common. My first car was a Chrysler Avenger 1.3 GL 1980. exactly the same as yours but red. I was the same, first look and I feel in love with it. I got it in about 1996 for $600 and I learnt to drive in it then drove it around for years and I loved it some much that I turned it in to a race car and raced it for years after that. I still have the car and I have no plans to get rid of it, so Avengers must be a great first car if I still have my first car 15 years later.

Over the years I have owned many Avengers and I swear by them. At the moment I have 2 of them, My original 1980 and my daily driver '75.

We have a real good group of guys and girls here who can help you out with any advice or parts you need so hopefully you join the exciting world of Avengers.

[Scout]

Thankyou so much, that's all so helpful! (It's Scout by the way ... not Scott close though! I'm a girl lol).


Another question: what does this part mean:

"Notes:- The trip meter is not working.
There is a small amount of play in the right end bush of the steering rack, but OK for WOF. "

I don't know what a trip meter is OR what it means about the steering rack, is this a big problem, or will it become a big problem?

Thankyoooou! I want it so so bad!

[avenga]

Haha, sorry Scout my bad. Teaches me for skim ready. I was still half asleep when I approved you account this morning so I misread it. I am Dyslexic so I often misspell or misread things.

To answer your new questions

A trip meter in like your odometer but you can reset it at the begining of a trip. It measures distance travelled so you can tell how far you have been driving that day or something. I have only ever used them for measuring how far I get on a tank of gas, I.E you reset the trip meter to zero when you full up and see what it gets up to when the tank is empty then reset it at the next full up. It is petty much useless for anything else. My Hillman Avenger or Chrysler Valiant Charger don't even have trip meters so it is nothing at all to worry about.

A small amount of play will need to be looked at some time down the track but this is part of normal maintainance of an old car. It shouldn't be too much to fix and I wouldn't let it put you off buying the car. It is small enough ammount of play to not fail a WOF so it can't be that bad but just get it checked out afterwards but know that it is just a part that wears out over time. I have replaced all my steering in all my cars and it is just a normal part of the joy of old cars.

For the age and the price of it if they are the only 2 things wrong with it then you are doing very well.

Just to give you an idea about Avenger pricing. I brought my '75 Avenger for $4,000 last year and if you read my members gallery post about it I had to do ALOT to that car to get it up to standard. The one you are looking at is really tidy for it's money and for that sort of money you would be hard pressed to find a better Avenger.

[Scout]

Don't worry about it, easy mistake! Yeah I found this forum late last night when I was too excited about the Avenger to sleep lol, so it was nice to wake up and see that I could post! 

OH is that what the trip meter is? I know them but never realised they were called trip meters. That's no problem at all then because I doubt I would have ever used it anyway!

Good to know about the steering, if that's the only thing wrong then that's not going to put me off at all! Especially if it sells for $900, I was planning on spending more money on my first car anyway, so if it does go for only $900 I can use the rest of the money to fix it. Yay!

Thank you so much for all your help, I really appreciate it!

[avenga]

Glad we could help you.

Avengers are really good first cars. The little 1.3 is nice and cheap to run and won't get you in to trouble with speed or power. Avengers handle really well. Plus you get the learn in a proper car without power steering and ABS.

If you do buy it make sure you pop in and let us know. Make a post in the introduce yourself section and members galleries and keep us up to date with how the Avenger is going. And make sure you look after it and drive safely, there isn't many Avengers left out on the roads and they are great little cars so we need to keep as many on the roads and driving as possible.

Good luck with the auction and let us know how it turns out.

[avengertiger]

good luck and welcome to the forum and fingers crossed avenger ownership!!!!

[kierbear]

my avenger is my 3rd car and its the only car ive owned that ive really liked driving. its the best thinkg ive had on petrol but sometimes you have to be prepared to spend a bit of money on it, as you would with any old car. thyre kind of like running project cars lol

[Scout]

They seem to be really good, everyone loves them! I thought of more questions haha, any help would again be greatly appreciated.

First question: ah yes Avenga you mentioned power steering, that's what this question is about. I've only ever driven cars with power-steering, (not that I've driven much at all) and was wondering what going to a non power steering car would be like? Will I still be able to, um, drive? Haha I obviously don't know alot about power steering.

Second question: What is the approx top speed it will sit at easily? I work/study in Christchurch but live about twenty mins/half an hour away, and there's a decent amount of 100km zones in between that I'll be driving back and forth most days. Will it be able to handle this with only 4 gears?\

Thankyou! And yes if I do get it I'll definitelybe posting in the intro section

[avenga]

Cars with no power steering are fine. All my cars have no power steering and I prefer cars not to have power steering. basically power steering really only helps in parking. Once you are moving at any speed over like 5KPH then it is just as light as a normal car. If you are in a car park and you need to turn the wheel while stationary then you will need to put a bit of arm work in to turn the steering wheel but with the big original steering wheel it shouldn't be that bad. but on the plus side you can feel the road better in cars without power steering, this meaning you get more feedback from the road and you get a better idea of what the front wheels are doing because power steering tends to damper the steering and make it feel some what disconnected from the road. Plus you can impress every one with your exceptionally large arm muscles after a while of driving it 

Put it this way, my Charger which is a much bigger car with out power steer was previously owned by a very petite lady and she could handle the steering on that without a problem and that is much heavier steering than the Avengers.

A 1300 sits at 100KPH fine. it probably won't want to go much over about 110-120KPH thinking back at my old 1300 but that is perfect for you because you shouldn't be speeding in such an awesome car! You should be driving safely at the speed limit which it will do fine. They do rev high on the motorway, maybe about 3,800RPM but that is fine. It is how they are designed to run. They are quite fast for their size. Hunted has a stock 1300 so you could ask him what it is like on the motorway.

[Hillman kid]

Haha Avenga all these answers you are providing are so good and are helping me out too

[avenga]

Haha. I aim to please 

[Scout]

Just a couple more questions that are going to make me sound like a TOTAL newbie haha, but hey I have to start somewhere. So: Do Avengers have hi-beams? Or heaters/fans insides? And whereabouts are the radio speakers? Aaand what are the circular things on each end of the dashboard?

[avenga]

That's okay. Best to be well informed before you buy.

Yes they do have Hi-beam just like a normal car. It is operated on the stalks just like a modern car.

Yes they do have fans, they are not as good as a modern car (No air conditioning) but they are Okay. Controls are in the middle above the radio. It should have a 2 speed fan with controls for heat and recurculation.

The Speaker for the radio is in the centre of the dashboard above the heater controls. If you look at a picture of the dashboard you will see a whole bunch of little holes. The speaker is behind that. Because it only has an AM radio most old cars only had one speaker. Both my Avengers and my Charger only had 1 speaker in the middle of the dashboard.

The circular things at the end of the dashboard are the heater/air vents. you open and close them as you would on a modern car to adjust the air flow in to the cabin.

[Scout]

I see, thank you! I hope it's not too hard to put a head unit in, don't know how long I could stand just an AM radio haha.

Ok so someone just asked if there was any rust on the car and the owner said no, buuut then they posted this:

"Seller Comment: Regarding previous question. My wife just pointed out that there are brown spots on the trim around the front and back windows. It may be rust, but I am not sure if the trim is metal or not. It was chrome coloured. It may just be discolouration. No holes or anything like that. You are welcome to come and have a look. Phone number on a previous post."

Do you think that will be much of a problem? I don't want to get stuck paying truckloads to get rid of rust :s