Chrysler Repair: 1997 sebring lxi, sebring lxi, obd ii

Question
looking at buying this car but has oil leak at back of eng mech said leaking from some gasket through a oil journal said could last long time that way but not sure just wondering if this is common just need car for winter but should i chance or is it a car to stay away from thanks john

Answer
Hi John,
A leak from the crankshaft rear seal, if that is what he meant, could just be slow progression. You can sometimes reduce it with "high mileage" motor oil, which can expand the seals a bit and reduce leakage. I would be most concerned about the transmission. These electronic transaxles have a finite life before rebuild and that is costly. Why not have the OBD-II fault code read out to see what that shows. Autozone parts stores will do it for free most places or have your mechanic do it for maybe $40. Just plug a reader into the socket under the dash by the steering wheel
If you get some codes, get the numbers, what they mean, and how much to repair. The use the 'thank/rate' tab to get back to me with the results and we can compare notes. The codes will read both the engine and the trans and can be very useful.
Roland