Why would anyone buy a GM or a Chrysler vehicle?

Question 1
Why would anyone buy a GM or a Chrysler vehicle?...  It just doesn't make sense why anyone would support a company that has bailed out union losers at the expense of the American taxpayer.

I think it is more patriotic to buy foreign than to support these pathetic companies.

Answers
1)   Buy a Ford product. - William W

2)   Sure why not? My dad has a '98 Grand Cherokee - a Jeep - which is a Chrysler vehicle. 150k miles and still running strong. Just had a tune-up done on it.

My dad used to have lots of GM cars back in the 60's and 70's - back when American cars were the best machines on the road. GM still makes nice stuff. Depends what you buy though. I would stay away from like a Cobalt or some other deathtrap like that. They make nice trucks. I'd buy a Cadillac.

Either way - it's better than buying a Toyota because GM never had a recall on a sticky gas pedal.

Any car is a good car if you maintain it properly and don't beat it all to shit. I drove a '95 Civic all throughout high school. I bought an EX, sold the engine that came with the car because I bought a JDM B16A for it. I just wanted more power. One it came with was a 125hp 1.6 liter. I put in a 168 hp 1.6 liter. NEVER EVER had one problem with it. The Japanese made Honda stuff is 10x better than the US stuff.

I agree with the Ford guy. Ford makes some pretty nice cars these days. There are alot of myths that they're crappy. That's not true at all. In fact, I might buy a Ford before a Chrysler or GM product.

Currently I drive an '08 VW Jetta. Very nice cars. My parents have an '06 Mercedes Benz E350. German cars are very, very nice but expensive.

I think all around, Ford is not a bad way to go at all.

I will also say this - there isn't a car rolling off the line today that is 100% made in the USA. My VW is only 42% manufactured in Germany. The rest of the car is made in Mexico and assembled in the US. My buddy's Honda del Sol was made in Canada. My Honda I had in high school was built in the USA- it had a sticker under the hood that said so. The only 100% made in the USA cars you would find these days are muscle cars and other American made collector cars. - Mike

3)   How is buying a foreign car patriotic? Only a handful of the jobs are in the US. None of the profits stay in the US. And if you don't want to support them they wont have any money to continue to pay back the LOANS. But I'm sure you knew that GM is paying theirs back with interest. Chrysler paid their previous one back with interest too. They also provide American jobs.

Would you prefer to buy a Toyota? The Japanese government bailed them out. The US government gave them (and all the other imports) billions in tax discounts to build a couple plants here.

Maybe you like the German companies? They got bailed out by their government (who owns a large part of VW/Audi/Porsche). They also got tax discounts to build in the US. - emiller1998

4)   Dr. Phil is fond of asking, "Would you rather be right or be happy?" - often the two are not the same.

I confess to being prejudiced against Chrysler products (I don't see they have cleaned up their act since my disastrous 1984 Dodge 600ES) but GM makes some good products. They are not perfect - Dex-cool is a continuing blotch on otherwise reasonably designed cars - but if you do your homework you can find some really good values. When my daughter was looking for a used car that met her needs, we found a 2004 Classic. I did the research and she bought it for a very attractive price. A year later it has been as good as I expected. - Michael

5)   i hate to say it but ten years ago i would have defended them to the death. BUT now i just dont know now. what screwed them was they stopped focusing on building good cars and started building cheap cars. with absolutely no quality control. they refused to make vehicles that were fuel efficient. the unions killed them. honestly does a guy who puts lugnuts on all day deserve 24 dollars an hr. i dont think so. sure its tedious but come on. - banky

6)   Buy a GM or Chrysler. The gas pedals don't get stuck and you live. - C-Tech

7)   Think about what you do for a living, mabye it would be better to outsource your job. Someone will do it better for cheaper. Even if the government had to bail out the auto industry it is because some people would by foreign cars in the first place. If we support our local economy before someone elses then we would all be better off... That an domestic cars dont have sticky gas pedals!! - The answer man

8)   Well Rick, If you want to be patriotic and not buy from the big 3, then buy from a foreign company that builds their stuff in America. I bought a Kawasaki motorcycle years ago and found out it was made here in the states. My Kia is now being made in the states and so are a lot of the foreign stuff. Check out the serial no. It has the place of origin on it. But you will have to have the dealer decipher it. - Jackolantern

9)   Stupid question, Rick. Many of us keep getting the same make that we have gotten great service out of for years.. - done wrenching


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Question 2
i have yellow coolant in my chrysler sebring ,will it be ok to add the green coolant i have in my garage?...  2004 chrysler sebring limited 2.7 2oo hp

Answers
1)   i wouldn't recommend it i would say flush it then add other coolant. but if its completely necessary just make sure its the 50/50 if not do the mixture - John R

2)   as long as it says on it that it can be mixed with any color you,ll be fine with it,but don't use the regular green type in it ,it has to be the new kind that can be mixed with any color,it wont hurt it none of its the right mix,good luck. - dodge man

3)   no, mixing the two coolants will cause them to gum up and can lead to the radiator stopping up. - Tony H

4)   You can mix coolant but the yellow 100,000 mile coolant will divert back to 50,000 mile coolant when mixed with green. - Jackolantern


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Question 3
Should I buy a 01 PT Cruiser with 130000 miles on it?...  How many miles do they usually last? It's an automatic, and has leather interior as well as power everything, is $4000 a good price?

Answers
1)   According to Kelly's Blue Book, an automatic 2001 PT Cruiser w/leather and 130,000 miles in good condition should sell for: $2890. If it is in flawless condition, $3265, fair condition $2440.

So no, paying $4000 would be overpaying by a considerable amount.

They have a generally poor record of reliability, particularly beyond the 100K mile threshold. Parts and repairs will be needed on a fairly frequent basis.

$4000 ought to buy you a 2003 PT Cruiser with a few less miles, if you have your heart set on one. Mechanically, they are fairly disposable cars with a short useful life. - John K

2)   I wouldn't. I just got rid of mine (2001 just like you described) cuz the tranny went at 113,000 and I know of some that have gone much sooner. I loved the car but I would not buy another one. I got a Hyundai this time. - toby

3)   You also should compare car insurance quotes for cars before buying one, for example here - carquotes.fateback.com - Richard


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Question 4
is this sebring with a blown engine worth 900 bucks? pix included?...  people on craigslist keep asking $200 and $300, but am i crazy for asking 900? it just needs a new engine, otherwise its a decent car. what do you think? im going nuts....my livelihood is pretty much down the drain, and ppl want to give me 200 bucks for it =[ lol help mee

Answers
1)   Sebrings are worth diddly squat, dead or alive. They are the most unreliable cars ever created next to Daewoo. They want to give you only so much for it b/c they will have to spend unholy amounts of money either bringing it back to life or stripping it of useful parts (that's not many). Let this be a lesson in life not to own a Sebring ever again. - The Eagle Keeper

2)   " it JUST needs a new engine",,,to most people that's no small thing...what yr? what mileage? if over 125K what else does it need,,,i can find plenty of RUNNING sebrings running for 2K or less...why by one that needs 2 to 4K engine wise and God only know know what else....tires,brakes,suspension???/ - pedro7of9

3)   The worst car I have ever driven in is probably a Sebring. Poor workmanship, malfunctioning everything, stuff just falling apart, etc. If the engine is blown, $300 might be the most you'll get for it. Either that or scrap it and get some money for it. I'm surprised anyone actually offered money for that. Someone can get a Sebring that runs for only $1000 more, so I'd take the highest offer you have so far. - kory d


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Question 5
96 Chrysler Concorde Fuses?...  I was driving down the road listening to the radio. All of the sudden the radio quit. I now have no radio, keyless entry, interior lights, power door locks, or power mirrors. I have checked the fuses and they all check out fine. I was told that it may be an inline fuse. This one stumps me. I still have power windows, power seats, heater and A/C...etc... Can anyone tell me what else to look for? Thanks

Answers
1)   If all of that is out, it is not an inline fuse. It would be a fuse/relay/circuit breaker in one of the fuse blocks. There should be one under the dash on the drivers side, and one in the engine compartment near the battery. Once you find the fuse, you will need to find why it blew. Could be a bad connection, insulation rubbed off of a wire, etc.

Hope this helps and good luck. - Frankie

2)   The IOD fuse has blown. Check the fuse box inside the car. - C-Tech

3)   Check the box under the hood on the drivers side by the battery that has fuses in it that feed the interior fuse box , plus there is wiring going to it and from it that has fusible links.The bigger thick fuses do have covers that snap off so you can see inside and test them with a 12 volt test probe and you should test all fuses both under the hood and inside the vehicle with the ignition in the run position.

On those vehicles you'll see wiring running off the positive battery post there is a thick fusible link wire , plus other smaller wires that have built in fuses look for a long piece on the wire that should be grey or black inside that is the fuse.Also there are wires that branch off in that vehicle , meaning that one wire becomes a wire with several ends.



Hope that helps and best of luck.By the way you probably dealing with a higher amp fuse or a bad ground or a burnt or damaged wire or wires.If you find all the fuses under the hood okay check the inside fuses , and then pull the fuse box out so you can look for a damaged fuse socket or disconnected etc wires.

Keep in mind that both sides of any fuse should be lighting up the test probe with the ignition on and if any of the fuses inside the vehicle are dead on both sides it means a wire or a fuse is gone maybe under the hood.Don't forget all the none functioning devices are grounded and that could be the problem a bad ground. - helpful bob


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