At $7,500, Is This 2004 Chrysler Sebring GTC On Track For A Quick Sale?

When originally posted, the ad for today's Nice Price or No Dice Sebring had a typo that added an extra zero to the price tag. Let's see if this rare manual-equipped convertible's desirability warrants having more than one zero removed from that price.

The 2004 Audi TT 3.2 Quattro (not a Quattro) that we looked at on Monday is a model of automobile that, quite oddly, is named for a motorcycle racing event. The name "TT" is taken from the often deadly Isle of Man "Tourist Trophy" race held annually since 1907. The circuit courses over 37 miles of city streets and rural roads across the small, windswept island that punctuates the Irish Sea. Perhaps Audi thought that the race's sanctioning body, the Auto-Cycle Union, was close enough to the company's former Auto Union name to allow for the arguably tenuous connection. 

Regardless of name, connection, or country, our TT came across in its ad as a solid contender at its $6,900 asking price. Oh, sure, there were qualms about future maintenance and repair costs, but in the end, the Audi still managed an equally solid 72% 'Nice Price' win at that dollar amount.

If you follow the news at all—and please don't, it's pretty awful on all accounts—you'll likely know that global warming has been turning up our planet's thermostat for the past 50 years or so. While that means a boon for makers of antiperspirants and those pith helmet hats with the little fans in them, it seems it will spell doom for low-lying lands as they are swamped by rising sea levels due to melting polar caps. That's especially prescient for race fans, as one of the world's best-known tracks, Sebring International Raceway, on the former Hendricks Army Airfield just outside its namesake city, sits at an elevation of just 59 feet (18 meters) above sea level. At some point, it's possible that the track will only be able to host speedboats rather than IMSA or NASCAR events.

Hopefully, that's either far off in the future or will be countered before snorkels are needed. In the meantime, we have this handsome 2004 Chrysler Sebring GTC to remind us that the track is still there and to offer some fun-in-the-sun driving while doing so.

This generation of Sebring convertible is notable for two factors. The first is that it was a completely different car from its coupe sibling. While the two cars were the same size and had the same number of doors, they shared just a name and little else. From 1995 through the 2006 model year, the Sebring coupe was built on a platform shared with the Mitsubishi Eclipse and was produced at that company's plant in the wonderfully named Normal, Illinois. 

The convertible, on the other hand, shared its platform with the Cirrus sedan and was constructed in Mexico. The other notable aspect of the Sebring convertible is that, for the entirety of its production run, the model was the reigning king of convertible car rentals in sunny vacation destinations like Hawaii and, yes, even Florida.

If you've ever rented a Sebring while on vacation, this burgundy-over-gray edition should bring back fond memories of seatbelt tan lines and expensive fuel fill-ups near the airport. With just 110,000 miles on the clock, it's got a lot of tourist travel left in it, too.

One place where this Sebring stands out from the rental-car crowd is its drivetrain. The engine is pretty much what is expected, a 2.7-liter DOHC V6 with 24 valves, making 200 horsepower and 192 pound-feet of torque. Mated to that, however, is a five-speed manual driving the front wheels. According to the ad, that makes it one of just about 1,000 manual-equipped Sebring convertibles made this model year. Who knew they built even that many?

No mention is made of any issues with the car's mechanical systems, and the ad touts that the A/C still blows cold—important, as the car is offered in the Easy-Bake Oven known as Arizona. The tires appear to have a decent amount of tread left and are mounted on factory alloy wheels.

Craigslist

Aesthetically, this Sebring has its pluses and minuses. The paint is solid, and the bodywork is free of any noticeable dings or dents. Also, the headlamp covers are free from clouding, which is a notable win. On the downside, the convertible top looks a bit ratty and suffers a sizable hole, which calls its weather-tightness into question. Under that top, the leather upholstery on the driver's seat is wrinkled, worn, and abraded through in places. Lastly, the shift knob is worn smooth from two decades of snick-snick shifting. A positive, the car comes with a clean title and is claimed to never have carried smokers or pets, or smoking pets, at any point in time.

While it may be tainted by its relationship to its ne'er-do-well rental fleet cousins, this Sebring's manual gearbox and upscale GTC trim will likely make that a minor grievance rather than the car's whole personality. When this ad was first posted, the price tag read $75,000. I pinged the seller to see if that was correct (if crazy) or if they meant $7,500. It turns out that the eye-opening price was just a typo, and the ad was corrected to show the $7,500 we now see.

What do you think about this Sebring at that $7,500 asking price? Does that feel like a deal for a rare four-seat, manual-equipped convertible? Or is that still in need of some serious reduction?

You decide!

Phoenix, Arizona, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

Hat tip to Don R. for the hookup!

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