My sister is looking at a '90 LeBaron convertible she saw at an auto auction place she works at. It has the V6 which I think is the 3.0, an auto trans, and shows approx 44K miles on it. So far I've only seen a picture of it and it appears to be in pretty good shape. What things do I need to look for on it? Specific rust areas, problems with the engine or trans? How about price range, they are asking 2000. Thanks for any ideas you can provide me with.

If it really has low mileage that helps. The 3.0 Mitsu was known to have valve guides fall down in the head causing oil control issues. Pulled many sets of those heads in the day. If it's a 4spd auto it might be a A604 which were also problematic is the early years.Pulled many of those also.Otherwise that 3.0 was a good runner with plenty of power in those cars and when the 604s worked,they worked well.A good road test is in order...get it good and hot..watch for oil smoke from exhaust and ensure proper trans operation. The 604 had some lip seal issues that failed when hot.

We bought our old '95 with 91k and sold it at 172k with likely bad head gaskets (it would run hot on alternating days). We did swap the trans with a 30k miles old factory reman due to front seal leak. It never had trouble shifting. Probably the most reliable used car I've ever bought. Motor mounts are a potential issue for any FWD car and there are no quality aftermarket parts available.

I'd try to look under it at subframe, fuel-brake lines etc. Old enough to be rust bucket.

Rust areas to watch out for: Floor under drivers feet, rear wheel well lips, especially near the bottom and on the inside, also the bottom inside edge of the doors.

plus all folded over seams on hood,doors and deck lid. rear axle, rear axle/panhard bar mounts, rear spring mounts and strut tower top mounting area. also rocker panels and dog leg area of rear fender openings.

Thanks for the help gents!