Why do some say that all Chrysler cars are "lemons"?

Question 1
Why do some say that all Chrysler cars are "lemons"?...  If they're so bad, then how do they stay in business?

Answers
1)   many people prefer one mfgr over others, so to them all the others are bad. - brian d

2)   "If they're so bad, then how do they stay in business?"

With tax payer funded handouts - twice now and still counting. - LeAnne

3)   cause some people are retarded. There was a study done about 10 years ago by a psychology professor at Berkley, in which he determined that Japanese car buyers are 12 times more likely to have their vehicles professionally maintained. Probably one reason why most people think Japanese are better, because they taken care of 12 times more often. He also noted that 40% of all Honda owners clean their garage floor twice a week, so imagine how well they maintain their cars too. His study also said that the psychology of Japanese car buyers leads them to lie about their vehicles reliability. Those who buy Japanese cars over American usually do it due to supposed reliability, so when asked about how good their car is they lie about its problems and make it sound better than it really is to justify in their heads the buying of their car over the one they didnt buy. On the flip side, American car buyers choose their cars for performance and styling. So they make false claims about how many people they've beaten in races, but are more honest about reliability. Also, by buying the faster American car they are much more likely to race it, beat it up, and abuse it, which then leads to more problems for the American car. Chrysler in particular gets the worst rep because they have the smallest faithful following, which means less people to argue their quality. Ive owned, driven, and worked on almost every kind of car on the road (aside from exotics) and will only buy/drive Chrysler made cars trucks and vans. At the end of the day the most reliable car is the one that gets maintained the best, and Chryslers are the easiest and cheapest to work on so, thats my pick. - DodgeDude

4)   ALL chryslers are lemons...though there is nothing like driving a viper. There are some decently built vehicles but they're mostly performance models and hence don't really qualify to judge a brand. For example the neon srt-4 built on a p.o.s. platform was remarkably durable for what was done to them...whereas a standard v6 sebring will fall apart at 35k miles. Go figure. - Theneelster

5)   LOL, they don't "stay in business".

Bought out by Diamler Benz (Mercedes) and sold, after crippling that company. Bought out by the US government, and now Fiat.

Some say all Fords are crap. Some say all Chevys/GM are crap. Some say all American cars are crap.

Nobody has an entire line-up of crap cars. But Dodge/Chrysler seems to have the most.

The K-series of the late 80's early 90s ( a bunch of similar rectangular vehicles that differed mostly in name only) were somewhat reliable, mechanically. But everything was cheap. They looked cheap, even new. All the fasteners were cheap, so bumpers, trim, and handles and crap fell off constantly. The finish was cheap, so the paint faded and peeled almost immediately. And they sucked on power.
But they were somewhat "hardy". Many people I know bought them for winter cars. They were all front-wheel drive, all pretty much the same car, regardless of what their emblem designated. So they worked well in the snow. And used, they were cheaper than buying snow tires for their "real" cars. You didn't mind crashing them, either.

The Caravan is heralded as the "first minivan". This is true only if you have no interest in automotive history. The Morris Minor van comes to mind, as well as the Austin minivan. Not to mention, of course the VW "microbus". All of which predate the Caravan by at least 25 years.

The Caravan was made because Chrysler did not have a viable platform for a proper station-wagon. Proper station wagons don't exist anymore, since minivans took over. But a proper wagon is built of a sturdy RWD car. At the time GM had at least 4. Ford had 2. Dodge had none.
A minivan is much cheaper to build than a RWD station wagon. It is also much crappier and costs more to fix. But by the time people found this out, everyone stopped making station wagons. The Dodge/Chrysler Caravan may be the sole reason for the popularity of SUVs over the last 10 years, since there was no other option for the MV users. They couldn't go back to full-size wagons, cuz there are none.

The next few gens, late 90's to now, upped the style department. Although many are tired of the Chrysler designs, that's only cuz we've seen them so much. Most of their cars were hot sellers when they first came out. Their appearances beat out almost anything offered by the other 2 Americans. Even the now-boring-obsolete LHS was a great looking car compared to the GM/Ford offerings of the same stature. The Neon, PT Cruiser, and Magnum series were all very progressive as far as looks go. Not to mention the Viper and Prowler.
Aside from the first original Taurus, Solstice, and new "retro-look" Mustang and Camaro, Ford and GM had very few cars debut with "cutting edge appearances"over the last 25 years. The appearance of the last few Corvettes is still considered "uninspired" by most designers.
Unfortunately, the mechanics of these Chrysler vehicles were not as well thought out as the looks. Magnum trucks are notorious for destroying transmissions. Neons caught fire. Durangos lost their front ends. Let's not forget rust. Our fleet PT has a completely rotted out subframe, due to improper engineering/design, that allows water to pool up in certain areas.
Chrysler's biggest problem was trying to make affordable cars. It's not easy to make an affordable car very good, not in this country. Also, the list of features that people "expect" on a car has grown exponentially in the last 25 years.
AC, AM/FM, power steering, power brakes, automatic transmissions, power windows and locks, were all "optional" not too long ago. Forget about GPS, heat zones, heated seats, side-mirror defrost, ABS, airbags, etc.
People have come to expect rolling living-rooms;less concerned with quality, more concerned with comfort...until it breaks. The more features you car has , the less likely it is that they all work. Especially when every corner imaginable was cut, just to pass the bare minimum legal safety requirements and still be able to pay the enormous assembly cost. All of this to get the car inexpensive enough to compete with Japanese imports.

Bottom line, the cars are built cheaply. Too cheap to warrant their cost. But you can see it for yourself in the resale costs. The average used Sebring can be had for well under $4000, regardless of how old it is or how many miles. One has to wonder why anyone in the world would bother buying a new one, with such rapid depreciation forecasted. - Munkstump

6)   there not in business they are bad people i am the proud owner of yet another recalled chrysler car please buy a ford or anything else - catch 26

7)   Munkstom did a great job explaining it all. As an owner of 5 Chryslers past and present, I think they did an excellent design job compared to all the lookalike cars that have come from other manufacturers. I tried to talk myself into liking other cars, but the Chryslers appealed to my design sense. Still love my Sebring, wish I had kept my old LHS. Even the 300M still turns heads although I never liked it, and the PT cruiser was wildly popular until it suddenly wasn't.

I have had 2 with transmission problems--one under warranty. One I gave to a relative at 100K and she got another 8 years out of it. Other minor repairs here and there but I had an extended warranty that more than paid for itself. I refuse to pay over a certain price for a car, so the ones I really liked better were twice the price of a Chrysler. So I feel I got what I paid for and more.

I am not into high tech stuff so the OnStar, GPS, etc. did not matter to me. Nearly all the Asian cars look exactly alike and boring to me. I don't know what I will buy next. Hopefully, some company will design cars with interest. I hope. - Greg C

8)   Some people, including the news media, just follow what other people tell them. All manufacturers have various shortcoming as they try to build more features, build it cheaper, build it faster. Chrysler has recently had a string of mediocre small and mid-size cars. They are reliable but not exciting. Minivans, which Chrysler exels at (GM, Mazda, and Ford stopped building minivans since they could not compete) are not in favor with the public, even though they are more useful than many suv's. Dodge just won the Motor Trend Truck of the Year. The Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 are fine large sedans. Drive one and make your own decision. - C-Tech

9)   Not all of them, just the ones that have the 2.7L V6. Those motors are known to sludge oil and seize up after 60,000 miles. - p3200tmz


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Question 2
What do yawl think of the Chrysler 3000?...  Its my fav car and alot of people hate it and say its gay:(

Answers
1)   Aside from being ugly and performing horribly...they aren't reliable and therefore yes they are quite "gay". Don't waste your money...don't buy a chrysler at all. - Theneelster

2)   its a dodge product.what do you want us to say.its reliable haha. - kawasaki

3)   Dont you mean a chrysler 300? lol. I love it. Its nice and big. Its luxurious. The interior is well put together. They are built strong and tough. Dont listen to people say there gay. They arnt gay in any way, shape or form. Its a car that is able to handle more than people would think. The only thing you really need to pay attention to when i say this is... DO NOT GET THE 2.7 LITER. You really need to avoid it. Its a bad motor. You gotta get either the 3.5, 5.7, or the 6.1. Those are all very good, powerful reliable motors. And i would know because my stepdad works at the chrysler plant building the engines for them. So i hope this helps,. dont listen to anyone and there dumb opinions and take my facts. Good luck.! - Corey

4)   theres no such thing as a chrysler 3000! - James

5)   sue for chrysler exposing me during my whole pregancy to nitrogen oxide!!

three years my engine would emit nitrogen oxides at levels wich exceeded california law thats a good thing to know you drove a car everyday breathing in that stuff my biggest fear is it can hurt a fetus and a newborn baby. i just got this emissions recall today, i had a baby during the entire time the car was a toxic fume polluting the air and i was breathing in what would you do? - Andrew


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Question 3
My 2005 PT Cruiser GT HO Turbo, turns over real slow in the winter. Sometimes It won't start the first time.?...  I replaced the battery but it didn't make a difference, what else could it be?

Answers
1)   dirty battery cables
bad starter
timing off - kelly_f_1999

2)   It's just the oil is good n' thick preventing a fast crank. I would consider installing a block heater. I have one in my Malibu & it's so helpful. I live in Chicago. - The Eagle Keeper

3)   Battery might be about near the end of its life. - Shaun T

4)   If you have a new battery, check the battery cable connections, they must be clean and tight at the battery, the starter, and the grounds. If the cables are ok, then have the starter tested. - C-Tech


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Question 4
If a timing belt on a '93 PT Cruiser breaks, does it blow the motor?...  My wife was driving her PT Cruiser, stopped at a red light and while sitting there the car died and would not start. We were told that if the timing belt broke then we would need a new motor. Just looking for a second opinion.

Answers
1)   Good idea to get a 2nd opinion - it is possible that there is damage to a valve(s) or other parts, so it's best to get 2 or 3 estimates/opinions as to what is needed for repairs and costs; regardless, the vehicle will not need a "new" engine, but a rebuilt one, at a much lower price. If you are mechanically inclined, then you can get a repair manual at an auto parts store, and at least remove the cover for the timing belt and maybe a rocker cover for the valves - that way you will have an idea of what is wrong so that you will not get ripped off - not 2 B fooled

2)   The 2.4l will not bend valves, I would recommend having the belt replaced and have all of the timing related pulleys checked for wear and replace as necessary. - buddy_236

3)   the first PT was 2001 - pickmefirstplz

4)   It can only bend some, but not all the valves because all the valves can't come in contact with the pistons tops when the belt broke. Just the ones that are open at the time the belt broke.. Sometimes this happens and it doesn't bend any valves, and sometimes it bends 3 or 4. I recommend you replace the belt, start the engine and see if any were bent. If they are, you at least didn't remove the head and might have found none were bent. - Jackolantern


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Question 5
Do y'all think that a Chrysler 300 C is a slow ride, show off, bling car?...  Im looking to buy a show off, slow ride but not to expensive cars between $15,000-$30,000 kind of range, just wanted to have y'alls opinions.

Answers
1)   Yea the 300C is really popular in shows. You can find them in your price range. You can get a really nice one for about 25 - CelticsFanBoy92

2)   dodge mega-cab thats a head-turner and plenty of room in the back seat - buddy d

3)   its a show off car especially if your adding new rims alone. Also a dodge magnum is a show off car and a 2005 chrysler crossfire srt/6 its 16,995 its show off and bling car all in one - Q

4)   You could buy a dodge charger for that money and bling it out all you like.

Dodge Charge shares the same platform as the Chrysler 300. - Raider3


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