Selling a Dodge Aries K-car

Four decades on, plenty of them sit dead in driveways. We buy whole non-running and junk cars. You can sell the whole car as it sits, with free pickup anywhere in the US.

The K-car in brief

Wikipedia lists the Aries as a mid-size, front-drive car on the K-body, built in Newark, Delaware, from October 1980 to December 1988. It came as a coupe or sedan through 1989 and as a wagon through 1988. An Aries came with a Chrysler four of 2.2-liter or 2.5-liter size, or a Mitsubishi four at 2.6-liter. The base 2.2 started with an electronic two-barrel carburetor rated at 82 hp; fuel injection replaced the carburetor in 1986. The Spirit took over after the Aries.

Problems by era

There is one generation, so the EPA years split at the 1986 fuel-injection change.

1984-1985: the carbureted cars

Just 4 complaints. Recall 84V147000 is the one to know. It said fuel might seep out under the hood at the fuel reservoir seam, a silver can on the air cleaner, and at the spots where its hoses hook on. Dealers put in new hoses and a new metal tube. That Aries recall reached 340,000 vehicles in all, so it may include other models too.

1986-1989: fuel injection, and most of the complaints

These four years hold 33 complaints. Three of them report a fire, one each on the 1987, 1988 and 1989.

• 1986 battery vents (86V053000). Leftover plastic flashing could plug the vents in the battery caps, and gas pressure could split the case, mostly while charging. 32,149 vehicles.
• 1989 valve cover (89V237000). The valve cover gasket could slide out of position, and oil could leak past it. Dealers fitted a revised cover sealed with RTV. That campaign counted 634,000 vehicles, a number that likely spans other Chrysler cars.

Steering is named most on the 1988 (3) and seat belts on the 1989 (3).

Complaints and recalls, year by year

The Aries counts are owner complaints sent to NHTSA up to October 10, 2026.

Repair, or sell it unrepaired?

Type the VIN into NHTSA's recall lookup. On a 1989, an oil-soaked valve cover may be the old gasket problem, not a dying engine; burning oil explains the difference. If the car has sat for years, sitting for years covers what tends to fail. When the repair outruns the car, see repairs cost more than it's worth.

Selling your Aries whole

Have the VIN and say coupe, sedan or wagon. Get an offer online or call (877) 421-6008. Tell us where the Aries is parked and if it could be pushed onto a truck. Leave it complete, and have the title at pickup. No title? Start with selling with no title.