Would you buy a Chrysler now?

Would you buy a Chrysler now?

We have a Honda Ridgeline, which we love and hate to get rid of, but we need 2 vehicles. My husband wants something with good gas mileage to get to work in and I want something with a 3rd row seat. We are going to buy 2 used cars and have seriously been considering doing the sensible thing and sticking with Honda. But, considering Chrysler's woes, is this the perfect time to get more for our limited budget? Are they going to be more willing to deal (come down on the price, throw in some more features?) Also, how would this impact us on repairs, would there be available parts down the line? I also assume the resale value would be terrible. Lastly, would this also impact the cost of the Dodge and Jeep line?
I don't think they are good quality cars. I've never owned one and the only one I ever even considered owning was the Pacifica, but once the reports were out, I decided against it. I am asking this question strickly from a financial gain. Will the dealers really be trying to get rid of their stock? As my husband put it, should we practically be able to say I'll give you a dollar (just joking of course).

Asked by: Dmcmama @ 2009-05-02 06:32:40

Answers ::
wouldnt have got one 30 yrs ago and they not any better now Chrysler's woes goes back a long time Dodge will follow but i think jeep holding up most of the company

kelly_f_1999

honestly, i would not buy a chrysler, they are not good quality.

Allison A

i will never buy an American car again, until the UAW is flushed down the toilet.

Poyzin

Never ever, again!

I have a car that's at their shop at the moment, and if you have a Warranty, watch out when they tell you everything else is wrong just to get more money.

I have a year left on the car for payments. Once that's done, never again will I go with Chrysler.

Toyota, Honda, and Nissan will be seeing me much more :)

doublea_s

I've had 6 Chrysler/Dodge vehicles and liked them all. I don't know where everyone is getting that they have bad quality.

The 99 Neon we have has 105,000 miles on it and outside of oil changes and two brake jobs we've only had one other repair. Some intake gasket went bad but it was only like $400 to fix. So, at least for us, all of them have been good.

All makes/models have problems and going to a Honda or a Toyota for example is no guarantee that you won't have problems. Just check out how many questions are in YA for Honda/Toyota vehicles.

Anyway, I would so get a Dodge Challenger right now if I was in the market. Awesome looking vehicle.

jdlr46

There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying a Chrysler. Just because they filed for bankruptcy doesn't mean that the company will just suddenly stop existing.

According to the 2009 J.D. Powers results, the current generation Dodge Caravan is the most reliable minivan on the market. I think it would meet your needs quite well.

skidmark_84

I just bought a 2009 Jeep Liberty. It is the second Jeep vehicle that I have owned. I got a very good deal on it. If you like a Chrysler, check it out.

THE UNCOOL 1

2 suggestions: If you are going to try and get 2 used cars, try Carmax. If you don't get a Chrysler, they carry a variety of brands, in very good condition, at reasonable prices. They won't be the cheapest, but they will stand behind what they sell. The Chryslers will be cheaper now, and some of them a great value. The 2005-2007 minivans are reliable, versatile, and dependable. I would stay away from Durango, Aspen, and Commanders - poor mileage. The 2005-2006 Sebring Sedans and Stratus Sedans are pretty good if cared for (watch out for ones from the rental fleets) and the 2.4L 4cyl engines provide good gas mileage(acceleration is a little slow, but that's the trade-off with every brand's mid-size 4cyl). Good luck.

C-Tech

chrysler used to be sporty cars, but now theyre luxury and i dislike my 300m somewhat, im gettin a camaro baby!

dooms_day704

You get what you pay for. What you have in your garage has provided you with an overall ownership experience that should direct your attention to another Honda. I would suggest you think out of the box. Consider Segway.
http://www.segway.com/
It is less than another car payment and less than the cost of a car. Reliability and fun are built in to the equation, insurance would be cheap; this is a new way of thinking, for Americans. This is good. Consider this, at $1.90 per gallon over a one year period to fill up a 14.5 gallon tank, you could get a gas card and put $1,200 on it and that card will fill up your tank for a year. If you were to multiply $1,200 by 3 (cars) this equals $3,600.00 annually for fuel relative to 3 vehicles. Add Insurance at $1,200 annually per car this is an additional $3,600.00. A combined grand total of fuel and insurance costing $7,200 annually. This does not include monthly payments, routine maintenance, like oil changes, tire rotation, air filters etc.
From a financial point of view, which was a part of your question, look at the cost versus results, with one less car. A Segway in the mix with two cars instead of one, may better serve the family from a financial standpoint. I hope this gets you thinking. If you have the disposable income, sure you can get a Chrysler for a good deal, but is that something that ultimately makes sense? Cheers.

mark_hensley@sbcglobal.net

I have something to say about all big 3. Buy American. Keep our money in our COUNTRY. Support America. How many 20 year old Honda do you see ????????????

Joe w

Thy're going to be offering deals, but they already are. Their quality is not that bad, but their model lineup is. They have nothing good in the pipeline either because they squandered time and talent building very silly undesirable vehicles like the Caliber and Compass. The Minivans are OK. The 300s are a good deal but they are gas hogs and the interiors are marginal compared to others. If you bought one, you'd probably be OK, but why risk it? Ford is a better bet. Good deals, decent cars. GM has some great cars but they are on the ropes regardless of what they say. I personally think the auto workers unions have messed up the big 3 as well as the stupid management. The engineers did their part as well. I don't think the Japanese cars are any better than the USA cars at the moment, but they are definitely in better financial shape. The next cars that will amaze everyone are from Kprea. The new Hyundais are the best kept secret on the planet. They are great cars and are designed and mostly built here in the most advanced auto plant in the world.

Rudy H

Chrysler cars owners!!!!!?

I want to know what will happen if Chrysler car owner needs some spare parts; from where he can get? from the same service center?

Will the availability of spare parts be affected by company bankruptcy?

Asked by: kuzimi @ 2009-05-02 23:59:40

Answers ::
Well certainly junk yard/used spare pieces would continue to be available. I'm not sure on the answer about new parts but I am presuming that the "Bankruptcy" is a token thing that is part of the manipulation by the foreign bankers to manipulate stock price make it a better deal for Fiat to buy up ownership of Chrysler, and generally sell off America piece by piece to help pay off our national debt.

Texas

Hey Texas......don't look now, but not all of those greedy bankers are foreign ones!! All of the greedy US stockholders want a piece of the pie, too!!

Cettoman

They are not out of business yet,even if they go out of business they will have some spare parts available.It would be no different then if a certain vehicle model was discontinued.

toledojeeper

Chrysler is still in business. They declared bankruptcy so they could get their finances in order!!!

THE UNCOOL 1

One Tex, Fiat is only getting 35% and Second the UAW is getting 55% if the Judge approves the Chapter 11 and 11 only allows the company to restructure its debt. So in your thinking the UAW is the greed and American.
And as far as parts, All parts are not made is a Chrysler warehouse a lot of outside vendors makes parts for Chrysler. Hences that is why a debt restructure (chapter 11) And even if Chrysler completely shut down and the UAW cashes out the out side vendors still have stock and other companies will look at this as a opportunity to make part for Chrysler cars and trucks to meet the needs of the consumer
Availability of spare parts may be affected a little but will not just stop

rick b

Ric B. Is right. If anything, the new 2009 and 2008, Chryslers may have a problem getting some parts, because of production shutdowns.

C-Tech

you should still be able to get parts, the replacement parts are made from another plant not by chrysler

IceCreamMan

Is it common for Chrysler PT Cruisers to need suspension repairs constantly?

Mine is a 2002. The only repairs I have needed are suspension - rear suspension, and front suspension. Broken control arms, bushings, and various members that i forgot the names of. Why can't Chrysler get something as basic as suspension right? I guess i'm lucky it's not a transmission or engine tho.
All of the work has been done by Chrysler dealership. And all of the work was done because of noticeable (sometimes horrible ) noises and clunks and changes in road handling. So i am not getting told to fix non-problems, although i know this happens to other people.

Asked by: Poyzin @ 2009-05-02 07:03:06

Answers ::
Err....no. That's not common.

If you've got broken control arms, then either you or a previous owner have been probably flying over hills like Steve McQueen in Bullitt.

skidmark_84

Bottom Line, Chrysler sucks. This is why they are going Bankrupt.

I have a car in the shop at the moment and it's a 2002 dodge neon. and the same issues I'm having as you are, but only additional is my transmission is messed up too.

I work at a rental company as well, and I've seen these cars with only 8,000 miles on them with so many issues.

NExt time you buy a car, go with Honda, Toyota, or Nissian.

I will be doing that myself next year. :)

doublea_s

Are you getting this work done by the same garage or dealer everytime? If you are, I would switch to someone else. My other question to you is, Are you getting this work pointed out to you at a tire store....... Is the tire salesman telling you that you need control arms, bearings, bushings, shocks.....because, they will tell everyone that walks through the door the same thing and it makes no difference to them if it is true or not. All tire stores do this. Its a grey area of honesty and I know I am going to get a thumbs down from someone that works in a tire store, but it becomes a numbers game eventually and selling un-needed repairs and parts is the culture of these places.

BudLt

Doesn't sound common to me also.

There is a recall on that model/year but only a very few affected vehicles. If there were widespread issues, there would be a recall on the defective parts.

Sorry you've had bad luck. I have had 6 Chryslers in the past 15 years and all have been great.

jdlr46

your lucky. since january, i've had to replaced the transmission, fan, and motor mounts ($$$$) on my 2002 PT cruiser. now I guess i have to worry about my suspension next.

mokimoto

It is common I worked for Chrysler for almost 8 years and the Breeze/Neon and PT are notorious for control arms struts and links. I spent a good portion of my time replacing control arms because they will not sell just the bushing, instead making you buy 2 $180 control arms. My last month at Chrysler they told us we couldn't replace warranty tie rods anymore because too many of them needed to be replaced in the last 3 m