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Comments
I really love my 300M. But.....I have come to believe that Chrysler has chosen to invest heavily in design over longevity. I know, I know, every car breaks down....but I refuse to believe that 3 window motors, 2 speed sensors, a leaking evaporator, and now faulty bearings in an idle pully should fail between 20K and 50K miles. I can find no fault in Chryslers designs or build quality - they are vastly better than 10 years ago. But something is wrong on the parts/mechanical side of the product(s).
I think you said the car in question was a new PT Cruiser? If so, I would be furious beyond belief. There just isn't much worse than a terrible new car experience and thinking you paid that much money for a failed machine. Lemon Laws are extremely hard to collect or win under as they are underwritten to a large extent by lobbyists and auto companies. You have to go to war to win.
5 STAR DEALER program from Chrysler is a FRAUD, managers should be MORE involved in CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, and not losing time filling in forms for the 5 star program.
If 5 star program was created for the customer satisfaction, MANAGERS should see for the CUSTOMER SATISFACTION!
Not even the mechanics at the shop know what they are doing, they are not happy with their work.
If you could just see how the first dealer delivered me the car after they replaced the harness, PCM etc.etc.. of my car...
They forgot to place the harness well, a lot of screws were missing, even the battery was not tightened, some fuses were missing, so when we took out the car from the shop, we saw that the power mirrors, wipers, stop lamp were not working, they even forgot to install the A/C Belt!!
So I can´t blame the car at all, I do blame CHRYSLER and those NASTY FIVE STAR DEALERS!!
Chrysler's designs are dead solid perfect. Their build qulity is superb. Some dealers suck, others are very good. But a mechanical component is emotionless and not subject to ratings reviews. It either works within its operating range and life, or it fails. I have had too many pure out- and-out "parts failures".
Yosito- I truly hope you find a decent dealer because they do exist. Unfortunately the bad seem to outnumber the good no matter what brand of car they sell. From my own experience I can tell you this "hands-off the dealer" approach is NOT unique to Chrysler. Sometimes a day in small-claims court with a bad dealer can be time well-spent (if only for your own satisfaction of telling your story to a judge!).
Indydriver- I have heard a similar tale from others regarding the old Plainfield dealership. Sad to see them sell out. I have had reasonable luck with the other 96th St Chrysler dealer (except for the body shop) as well as the other 96th St Dodge dealer. I also had great service from Shadeland Dodge, but the drive got to be a hassle with the east side highway construction.
Happy New Year to All !!!!
Jon
I was just getting over the nightmares!
I dreampt about trying to remember the position of all my wheel weights...on my winter wheels too!
All the time I was being watched by a 300 lb woman eating a box of Krispy Kremes, box and all.
Thanks a bunch, now I have to go back to therapy.
Lets hope she NEVER finds the 300M board!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
So far, so good...
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Wheel weights on the inside of the rim, huh? That Becca sounds like a really "hunny".
No more "weighty" talk from me!
Wouldn't want to give anyone bad dreams about driving down the road in their M with Krispy Kremes in place of the tires!
Haven't you been in TH long enough to learn? Mistake number one was BUYING the Neon. Mistake number 2 is putting up with the crap. Christine was not as bad as your son's Neon, but I know EXACTLY what you mean about the dealers, their "5-STAR" service and their ignorant, yuppie factory reps. I dealt with it all without driving Christine threw their showroom window.
If you need help with Lemon Laws for your state, just e-mail me. I have all kinds of Lemon Law bookmarks. I don't need them anymore. Have a great car now with not one problem in 22 months and 21,000+ miles! Good luck. Sure sounds like they are taking advantage of you.
laurasdada-
:-))) Thinking of you last night when I was at our favorite hangout! Thought a NEW year would bring some changes, but....... no such luck. Helped Gov. Rowland lower the deficit! Glad your 300 is treating you well. Can't wait to see what the 300N will look like and have for an engine! Probably more hype than anything.
fastdriver
I use my system all the time at fairly high volumes.
I am hoping that what 'they' say is true in that the beginning of 2003 will be better for the economy which translates into--hopefully--a job for the Doc. I figure I've got a few good years left in me....
I've updated the Club home page as far as I could with the newest member count--460. I've also added a new member to the 300m SPECIAL page and also dropped in a vertical news ticker (under the 300m Special logo on the home page) that displays our newest members.
Hope this message finds all my friends-including Pat--healthy; and that the new year brings you all good health and happiness.
Best wishes,
drpixel/Glenn
Look at the shift knob, the return of the CHROME strip!!!!!
Had another lock failure on my 99M. This is number two. Lost the passenger door lock actuator last year and this time it is the driver's side rear door. Again, noted its failure to lock only by chance. Cost of the repair will be $222.00 once they get the parts. Covered under my extended warranty. I'm at 4.5 years and 53K miles on my Platinum 99. Still love the little rascal.
As I was waiting a new looking blue and woody Cruiser pulled in with a garbage bag on the rear side window. I heard the lady later tell another waiting customer that they were on a trip, and when they left the motel and started the car up this a.m. the rear window went down on its own, and would not go back up. Its been raining here so they brought it in to my 5* who rarely has the spare parts to fix much of anything. The body shop got the window back up and locked in place, and the folks were going to get the defective part[s] replaced when they got to their destination. I find it ironic after all the window motor failures on the M that the new Cruisers may have the same problem. I think I'd buy my window motors and lock actuators from a Lexus supplier rather than whoever is selling them to DC.
I've been contemplating the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, but am not too crazy about the aggressive tread design (at least for the sophisticated look of the 300m). They do appear to be the best replacement performance all-season tire for the PHG cars though.
Post's indicate a few of you have purchased these tires - any comments on them? How are they compared to the OEM's?
Any other tire suggestions are welcome?
Has anyone had a bad experience with Tirerack.com?
Thanks all!
John
http://www.detnews.com/2003/autosinsider/0301/02/e01-49135.htm
fastdriver
It's getting harder and harder to avoid DC anymore, but only if they're built like a vault and turn out to be Lexus/Acura reliable. I'm really liking this new LX car, but the 300N worries me...
Don't get too disgusted with my last post, but it's all truth...believe it or not!
I agree about GM's lack of STYLE! Hopefully, that will be changing soon. I can't say that some of these new things from DC look much better. At least the GM cars are BLAH. The edgy DC ones that keep popping up here and there are UGLY! Before I got my present car, I was going to get the supercharged Buick Regal because I loved that engine in my Riviera. The car did nothing for me in the looks department. Not like Christine at all. When she was all Zainoed up, she'd snap heads! ;-))
I guess with DC, it will be TIME=TELL as to how these new designs will be accepted. I can't believe that a Dodge Ram truck, a Dodge Magnum and a Neon can now all have dual exhausts and leave the 300M in the dust! WHAT is Chrysler thinking? If they botch the 300N or whatever it is going to be called, they'll be done for sure!
Just my .02 as always.
fastdriver
http://www.detnews.com/2003/insiders/0301/02/b01-49698.htm
Looks like the 1980's all over again.
fastdriver
Beach---sorry to say this, but it figures that you like the Magnum. You tend toward ugly vehicles. That front end of the Magnum is just too truck-like for my taste. The rear on the wagon is just slightly more acceptable.
Chrylser would have a hit if they produce the 300C Hemi convertible and an exact same car in a hardtop version. Or how bout a convertible that came with a removeable hardtop like the corvettes. That would be an instant hit. Sorry to say, I think Chrysler may be heading in the wrong direction with their potential lineup. Who knows, maybe I'll be buying one of their last 300M's in 2004 as my M will have over 60k by then.
I hope Chrylser doesnt screw up the next generation. They cant afford a mistake at this point. Its just too bad they dont plan on dropping in a Hemi in a slightly modified 300M style vehicle. Then they would have a sure hit. But the 300N just doesnt cut it like the M.
Chrysler is going after the family driver that doesn't want to drive a mini van because of image and doesn't want a SUV because of size.
I would not now buy this car either. But that is because my family is all grown up and gone. But, if I was 30 something with two young kids that would be my first choice.
It is the BADDEST looking station wagon I have ever seen. I could talk my wife into it because it is a station wagon and have a HEMI without here ever suspecting a thing.
Selene ??? try Celion !!;-0
Just what we need, another SUV/Wagon/truckster that will blow us away off a light. Oh well... Hey Otto--Are you working the line again or still on furlough?
It looks like a compressed version of the front end on the MAXX concept pickup from a couple years back. I didn't like it then either.
If they go to market with it looking like that, I guarantee revised front end styling within two model years.
The dash isn't really much different than the current Intrepid design, same general shape and configuration. The gauges are in pods and the center stack reworked a bit.
After 10 years of cab forward and lots of glass the high beltline is a pretty jarring change. Of course so was cab forward after 10 years of the K-mart car which was a cracker box on wheels.
Time will tell.
I fully understand why so many people don't like the Avalanche for its look, but that's one of the main reasons why the people who buy them do so. It just looks trully aggressive, and is fitting of the vehicle, as a tough, battle-ready machine. That, and it makes maintenance so easy and door dings absolutely non-existent.
fastdriver- I'm not even faulting as much thier overall style (though it is pretty bad in most cases), it's just the absolute deplorable assembly quality and material choice so often used. Of GM, Buick and Cadillac are the best in this regard, but could still do a little better, and the full-size SUV's are also really nice. Our Avalanche has generally nice materials, and everything is rock solid, lined up perfectly, and there's no funny noises. However, the build quality on the new GM triplet mid-size SUV's is just disgusting, though not as bad as many smaller cars. Despite this, the reliability doesn't always suffer, for instance, in cars like the Impala which is quite bulletproof, but puke-inducing inside and out. I had this discussion with my father a few days ago when he was disgusted with his '69 Chevelle's assembly, and he admitted that GM has potentially the best engineering and design of all domestic makes, but their poor assembly quality that ruins so many cars. Basically, on design alone, the cars are quite nice, but the, um, "people" at the factories screw it up.
Sorry for the long post, back to the 300M!
Well, this is one M owner that will abandon DC if they ruin the upcoming M or N. I guess I'll go buy a G35......
Sorry they have such bad dealers, their service practices are terrible!
They are the ones who make the cars bad!
FIVE STAR PROGRAM, ANOTHER FRAUD FROM CHRYSLER!!
MOST of their dealer don´t deserve to be dealers!
BTW, designs like these DESERVE NICER DEALERS, most of the show rooms are ugly, and what can be said about SERVICE and PARTS DEPTS.???
PLUS THOSE TERRIBLE SALESMAN, they don´t know what are they selling, and also think they are doing you a favor!!!
Where is CUSTOMER SATISFACTION??????
http://community.webshots.com/photo/28735700/59488600GmQJRE