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LEE1NYC
Well, I went for it! $14,000 CDN equates to about $9,300 US. The 68,000 kms equates to about 42,500 miles.
The payments are for 60 months at $326 CDN per month ($217 US). To better explain that price to you, $326 CND can buy you about 11 cases of 24 Canadian beers! You have to remember that our beer is much more expensive up here than yours is! Sorry, but I can't think of any other way of explaining the price comparison. Cost of living in Quebec isn't nearly as high as Toronto. You can rent a 3 1/2 for about $350.00 CDN or a 4 1/2 for $400.00. Toronto 3 1/2's go for about $800.00 for some strange reason...and it's usually in an ugly high-rise appartment! Better comparison?
One thing I learned from the dealer...Americans try to come up to Canada and pick up Chryslers for a better price. The price is usually better after you exchange your currency, but we do not offer the 7 year warranty on new vehicles like you do in the US. It's only 5 up here. That's why the cars are a little more expensive in the US! Interesting, isn't it?
Another thing to mention (in the event that some of you do not know)...In Canada, the Intrepid (and other Dodge vehicles) are not labelled as DODGES but rather CHRSLYERS. I guess there's some logic in there pertaining to some guru's marketing plan! Can anyone elaborate?
P.S. I have driven to car for 1 1/2 days and will never buy anything smaller than that...ever! IT IS THE NICEST THING I HAVE EVER DRIVEN. I have honestly only owned old pieces of crap in the past, but this thing rocks!
Footnote: My friend is currently paying for his return on a lease car...he is paying exactly what I am paying for his 1998 Altima. He picked it up exactly 1 year ago so he has 48 months of payments left. HOW CAN ANYONE COMPARE THE 2 VEHICLES??? The Maxima isn't even in the same class (or shouldn't be).
V6's are great. Even the 2.7! I can't imagine driving an R/T wit the Magnum! My brother's buddy has one and I have to try it out.
I noticed that when I was watching this weeks "X-Files." Skully, drives an Intrepid ES, but the side marking on the door read "Chrysler."
I don't know why they don't use the "Dodge" brand on cars up in the Great White North. The Dodge Brothers would not take kindly to being "dissed."
I have been doing some research and am thinking of going with the Dunlop SP Sport A2's. Does anyone have an opinion on these tires? (225 x 60 x 16)
Thanks
For that price range, not sure how you can go wrong. I agree that a former rental car is not the best source (people do mistreat them, no matter what Enterprise tells you), but for the mileage you will drive, I think it is a good deal.
Just look around, and try to find one now smoked in. See if they have the maintenance records as well.
Anyone care to share their experiences on this?
Thanks
Lee
Fuel economy was running around 27-30 mpg, and a good deal of that was with the air conditioner running. For the most part we did the speed limit or just a little above. Last year when I made my trip to Texas, I got a speeding ticket in Louisiana, that came out to about $190.00! Kinda negated the savings of driving versus flying ;-)
My girlfriends are constantly amazed I avoid speeding tickets. Luck and learning where the cops hide are the key, I guess.
It'll always be ingrained in the back of my mind though, when I make that trip home... When I see the old abandoned '56 DeSoto along the side of the highway, SLOW DOWN!! (It was there last year too, and might be the reason I got the ticket...might've been paying more attention to the DeSoto than my speedometer ;-)
The only problem I am experiencing seems to be coming from the vents. I do not seem to get any heat to blast out of the 4 main 'face' vents, even when I set the control to 'the little guy with the arrow pointing at him in the head'. Excuse the stupid question, but is this a problem? Do you think the hose came undone?
A quick question pertaining to the stereo. The included CD player sound system isn't what I would call great. I want to put in my own from my Sentra, but is it a big job? It looks like a big job taking off all of that dash. Please let me know if any of you people have changed the radio in your Intrepids.
On a last note, the mileage I am getting out of it is kinda scaring me. Mind you, I do a lot of city driving and had a Nissan Sentra before, so I am not used to a V6. Don't foget, to fill up my tank in Montreal, Canada, it costs about $48.00...so go figure! Highway driving is excellent with it, that's for sure.
Gas milage , dont forget your trep is a little bigger than the Sentra 4 cyl you used to drive .
The 4000 has an illuminated readout that measures in 1/2 lb increments.
The car is on an extended warranty program of 60 months/72,000 miles. When I brought it to Dodge, the heard what I was talking about, even though it was very low. They changed the throttle body, but this did not solve the problem. It is not that serious a situation, but I am certain it was not there from the beginning.
I posted this situation DodgeIntrepid.net, and got some "hit or miss" suggestions. Some said that the evaporator needs to be replaced, and the system recharged with refrigerant.
http://www.dodgeintrepid.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4487
If you are able to help me out with any suggestions, I would be appreciative. The service manager at Royal Dodge (NJ) will do anything to help me out. (Great position to be in)
Thanks again
i know exactly what you are talking about. both my '98 and '00 intrepids made that noise when the a/c compressor cycled. i don't know if there is anything you can do about it. but, have your local dealership check for a technical service bulletin. i believe there is one.
i found the tsb, here it is (cut/paste from nhtsa site)
Technical Service Bulletins Summary
Make: DODGE
Model: INTREPID
Year: 1998
Service Bulletin Number: 241298
Bulletin Sequence Number: 222
Summary Description:
EXPERIENCING A HISSING SOUND FROM A/C DURING CLUTCH CYCLE. *YC
How would they slip off out of calibration?
Thanx
You mean the foreign products built in the U.S.?
You mean the foreign products that cost more $?
You mean the foreign products that seem to be less efficient in terms of fuel economy?
You mean the foreign products that take premium fuel to get all that horsepower they advertise?
You mean the foreign products that cost more to insure because they cost more to repair when you wreck them and cost more to replace when they're stollen?
You mean the foreign products with no leg room, trunk space, headroom, etc.?
You mean the foreign products that never break? But then when they do break, you have a massive towing bill because the nearest dealer is 75 miles away. And when you get there, the service writer has such a high opinion of his product that he is certain that it must be your fault that the car broke, and therefore you're scum. And by the way, it takes three days to get the part from California, so you rent a car to get home.
Been there, done that, and I used the t-shirt to wipe up the oil stain the foreign product left in my garage.
There is just no discernable difference between "foreign" cars and "domestic" cars except perception and status. I paid $22,000 for an Intrepid ES. I'll spend some money on maintenance and it might break once or twice. I'll drive it 125,000 miles and trade it in. My experience will probably be about the same as your experience with your Lexus. How much did you pay for your car?
Pick what you like, and what you can afford, take good care of it, and enjoy it.
I did the next two with Purolator Plus filters (3,000 mile drain intervals). The engine developed a mild tap in the passenger-side head, opposite the filter. I read all of the posts in the oil filter board. Not much help in terms of brands, but my reading did help me understand how a filter is constructed. I found that the anti-drain back valve in the Purolator filter is in a different location in the filter than that of the Mopar filter. In addition, the Mopar filter uses a silicone valve, whereas the Mopar filter uses a metal valve.
I bought a Mopar filter from the dealer ($6.50 vs. $2.50 for the Purolator) and put it on at the last oil change. The valve tap at start up disappeared. The Mopar filter also has a 96% single pass efficiency. I am sure the Purolator filter is a fine filter, but the problem appears to be that the oil was draining out of the filter at night.
Now if I can only find a source other than the dealer for Mopar parts.
A 2.7 with 62,000 troublefree miles, I might add ;-) (okay, okay, I've had a few minor problems, like the door seals shrinking, power lock actuator going bad, right-side mirror adjuster breaking)
Fortunately, the right filter seems to have taken care of the bulk of the problem. I hear a faint tap, but I doubt I would notice it if I weren't listening for it. Probably no worse than any other car I have. What I was experiencing was pretty loud and lasted for up to 5 seconds.
The foreign product I referred to is the group that is showing increased market share whereas the home grown variety continues on the decline. The Intrepid might be classed as partly foreign , Daimler is non American correct and I do believe they are hammered together in Canada, a foreign country correct?
My experience with the home growns taught me the lesson that it takes more than one tee shirt to clean up their leftovers.
Do have a good dey, and happy motoring with your so called home grown variety.
an edmunds test intrepid and usatoday test intrepid also had tapping at cold startup. seems to be quite common with 3.2l and 3.5l engine. btw, chrysler tech at local dealership said not to worry about it. he also mentioned that as far as he knew, there had never been a 3.2l or 3.5l in for a valve job at his dealership...fwiw.
You seem to have a habit of insulting people in this forum. Funny how some people resort to that when they post statements they can't back up and someone comes along and disagrees with them.
As for market share, competition has far more to do with the market share loss of the big three than any perceived problems with quality. Give consumers more choices and it is very possible they'll choose from the newcomers at some point.
Prior to 1970 there was very little to choose from that wasn't engineered and built in the U.S. except for the higher end European cars. What turned the tide was the Japenese manufacturers building cars marketed to the masses. They were the first to truly compete with the big three. I think competition has raised the bar for the consumer and has been good for the auto industry too.
But remember, while Chrysler (in particular) may have had its problems in the 70s, are you sure you want to compare it with what Honda, Toyota, and Datsun were building back then?
And one other point: Your Lexus, while solidly engineered I am sure, is still engineered in a country that has been in an economic recession for the better part of 10 years. I am just not as convinced as you about the superiority of a "foreign" car.
your wasting your time with so and so. we've got several of em' around here (or is it just one?). anyhoo, enjoy the trep...
Granted that it was needed and hopefully smart move economically since my aging (just 82K) Cougar began disintegrating on me part by part, in spite of religious and meticulous maintenance.
Strangely enough, I was shopping for Crown Vic, when I came across this nice, black R/T. I decided to give it a try that somehow turned into an extended one. So here I am, nosing cab-forward into your discussion in an attempt to determine what should I look for in terms of preventive and regular maintenance.
As I said, the car is 2000 and has 16K on it. I checked the seams thoroughly and it seems that the last weld the car seen was the factory. Pads were a little bit lower on the front-about 50%, and 70% on the rear. I do not think it is indicative of anything but the fact that this car cab-forward and fwd design is probably resposible for uneven distribution of the breaking weight or excessive nosing. At the same time, I did not notice any excessive nosing in my first hours and actually was quite impressed by the predictable and assuring manner in which the car stops.
If anyone has feedback on that, I would greatly appreciate it. In fact, I would greatly appreciate any feedback and advice as to my newly acquired R/T.
Well, so long. I am off to the NTSA site, fingers crossed on feet and hands.
I don't know if the brakes on the Intrepid R/T are upgraded from the base model or not. I'd imagine they would be, since the R/T has a much torquier engine, which will take more energy to slow down. I just checked the weights, and according to Edmund's, the base model weighs 3471 lb and the R/T weighs 3511 lb, so I think the added weight would be a negligible factor.
A couple other maintenance reference points...In spite of what the owner's manual says, I needed new spark plugs at 51,000 miles. Also had the tranny serviced at 30K. I'm about to put the car in the shop next week to have my mechanic go over it. I just changed my oil and rotated my tires last night, and noticed that it's wearing the front driver's side tire unevenly, so I guess it's alignment time! I figure I'll have the mechanic fix the alignment and do whatever else it might need.
I couldn't stand it. As a marketing guy, getting a lesson in market share from our friend just rubbed me the wrong way. I couldn't let it go. Please accept my apologies if I wasted anyone else's time (in addition to my own).
One last point and I will let it go: Honda, Toyota, and Nissan are losing market share to Kia and Hyundai. Hmm.
However, on my many other cars, with front disc and rear drum, I typically replaced front brakes twice for every rear brake replacement. I am not a physics expert, but stopping a car is simple physics: the front is the most efficient point to stop a car because most of the weight is on those tires in a panic stop (the car is heavy in the front to start with, and then weight transfers to the front as friction is applied there to stop it). If more pressure were applied to the rear brakes, the weight would still transfer to the front (perhaps less of it, but it still will transfer) and the rear wheels would lock up and loose grip because of the lack of weight resting on them compared with the front. Applying more braking power to the front wheels gets you better stopping effectiveness, but it comes at the expense of wearing the front brakes out faster.
I do, however, expect the disc brakes on the rear to be more effective than the old drums, so it stands to reason that I may not get the 2 to 1 replacement ratio I was getting out of the disc front drum rear setup. I think someone else has already posted their experience on that point.
As a marketing guy you should learn how to read and absorb what is written, what part of my post was insulting? You were the one to start with the sermon, sometimes one has to take what one gives.
I am sure as a marketing guy you are well aware that competition is not the only factor involved with the market share decrease of the big three.
As a marketing guy you should be aware that quality perceived or real play a big part in retaining market share.
As a marketing guy you should be aware that after sale service plays a big part in retaining repeat costomers thus retaining market share.
I agree Daimler chrysler is a much better company that the former Chrysler Corp. They are a much better organization to deal with and their product will benefit from the German influence, however the results of the years of neglect and indifference shown by the previous administration will take time to overcome.
"DaimlerChrysler's 2001 profit down 77 percent"
http://www.detroitnews.com/2002/autosinsider/0201/05/autos-382802.htm
CHRYSLER'S MARKET SHARE DIPS
http://www.detroitnews.com/2002/autosinsider/0201/05/a01-382357.htm
Let's try to stick to the Intrepid and not go all over the place when NO one here is asking the questions that you seem to be trying to answer.
As I'm sure you are aware, the News & Views board is the place where we have the kind of opinionated discussion you seem to be trying to create. It isn't appropriate here on the Sedans board.
Thank you.
Pat
Host
Sedans Message Board
Hers is an ES with the 8 speaker system in 6 locations. The specifications for the stereo are 120 watts, but that has to be divided 8 ways to explain the performance it delivers (pretty weak).
Anyone replace the dash unit in their Intrepid? If so, with what and where did you buy it? Did you keep the factory speakers?
I'm guessing that it's actually about a 13 mm? Anybody know for sure? I forget my metrics, but isn't it something like 25.4mm = 1 inch?
autostick isn't a big deal. after awhile i really didn't use it much. if it were me, i wouldn't spend the money...jmo.