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My sister in law will buy nothing that Consumer Reports does not recommend including cars. The last time she was car shopping she really liked the Cadillac CTS4 but Consumer Reports didn't recommend it so she went with the previous generation Accord. In the last three years that Accord has left here stranded on the side of the road twice. I don't know if the Cadillac would have been better or worse, but Consumer Reports doesn't know that either. She also bought a Consumer Report top rated vacuum cleaner that crapped out after three years while my 10 year old non Consumer Reports rated one is still going strong. There are no guarantees in life people.
Back in the 80s and 90s I worked in a professional camera store. And the big joke there was when CR would come out with their list of best cameras. There was a big fight between CR and Popular Photographer magazine. Popular Photographer had an article that was titled "Does Consumer Report know how to rank cameras" It really pissed CR off and there were several rebuttals between both magazines.
I have one of the new Dodge Darts and really like it, I got it six months ago. I'm getting about 36 mpg, the touch screen is very easy to use and it has a lot of room. It has the most unusual glove box I have ever seen. It is deep, I mean very deep, I'm guessing it goes back 24 to 30 inches, and there is storage under the passenger seat.
I think the reason the Dart has not been a big seller, is because folks are not that used to go to a Dodge dealership looking for a compact car.
Alfa Romeos sold here were very problematic cars. My neighbor had one. 4 door slant back. Was always at the dealer or wrenching on it. But he was dead set on owning it no matter what. Granted Fiat who I believe owns AR is a huge seller in Europe it's the equivalent of one of the Big 3 here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghostrider7811
The new Dart is not a Neon. I do agree it is a new car and time will tell how reliable it is.
I do agree the Neons were not a great car, but they are simple and cheap to own.
I realize it is fun for alot of folks to complain about American cars, but were they really worse than other cars in their class @ the same time period? Here in FL there is still a ton of Neons on the road.
Absolutely. Pound for pound Dodge/Chrysler were very unreliable compared to the competition. You put a dodge against a comparable import it would get its azz handed to it. No amount of rebates and government support hid a crap reliability record. Did you know at one time all the car platforms dodge was selling was off the K car chassi? If you bought a dodge Daytona you were buying a two door Reliant. Even their trucks were the same basic truck from the 70s well into the early 90s. Its funny when people say Dodge has become more reliable. Yeah it had no choice but to. Their sales were lower than dismal.
Their cab forward design didn't last either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by okie1962
in
I have one of the new Dodge Darts and really like it, I got it six months ago. I'm getting about 36 mpg, the touch screen is very easy to use and it has a lot of room. It has the most unusual glove box I have ever seen. It is deep, I mean very deep, I'm guessing it goes back 24 to 30 inches, and there is storage under the passenger seat.
I think the reason the Dart has not been a big seller, is because folks are not that used to go to a Dodge dealership looking for a compact car.
Dodge had plenty of compact cars. Either their design or a copy of Mitsubishi rebadged as Dodge. 36mpg is fairly normal out of a compact. Lmk how that touchscreen works out for you when it breaks and it's not under warranty. As for the glovebox I'm not sure what to say. I guess the. Bigger the glovebocpx the more crap you can stuff in it never to be seen again!
I remember electronic dashes. More electronics in a car may look cool whiz bang but I bet it kills your wallet when they crap out
Good luck with it. One year reliability report means absolutely crap in long term car ownership.
Alfa Romeos sold here were very problematic cars. My neighbor had one. 4 door slant back. Was always at the dealer or wrenching on it. But he was dead set on owning it no matter what. Granted Fiat who I believe owns AR is a huge seller in Europe it's the equivalent of one of the Big 3 here.
Absolutely. Pound for pound Dodge/Chrysler were very unreliable compared to the competition. You put a dodge against a comparable import it would get its azz handed to it. No amount of rebates and government support hid a crap reliability record. Did you know at one time all the car platforms dodge was selling was off the K car chassi? If you bought a dodge Daytona you were buying a two door Reliant. Even their trucks were the same basic truck from the 70s well into the early 90s. Its funny when people say Dodge has become more reliable. Yeah it had no choice but to. Their sales were lower than dismal.
Their cab forward design didn't last either.
Dodge had plenty of compact cars. Either their design or a copy of Mitsubishi rebadged as Dodge. 36mpg is fairly normal out of a compact. Lmk how that touchscreen works out for you when it breaks and it's not under warranty. As for the glovebox I'm not sure what to say. I guess the. Bigger the glovebocpx the more crap you can stuff in it never to be seen again!
I remember electronic dashes. More electronics in a car may look cool whiz bang but I bet it kills your wallet when they crap out
Good luck with it. One year reliability report means absolutely crap in long term car ownership.
How many Dodge or Chrysler's products have you owned?
How many Dodge or Chrysler's products have you owned?
Bought a brand new dodge 4x4 in 2000. The FIRST new truck I ever bought. At 32000 miles front axle broke. Warranty repair 56000 miles rear axle broke 2600 because it needed a housing bearing wore through the machined surface because it spun was actually cheaper than redoing the machine work.. 74000 miles the motor needed to be rebuilt due to piston slap and wear. 3900 bucks. Truck sounded like a beat up Buick. Not to mention the constant need for brake pads and rotors. Once a year I needed brakes AND rotors. Ball joints were a 2 year thing until I went to greasable joints. Not to mention the o2 sensors that would just fail. All three cat cons went bad at 62k somewhere around there. It was 2000 miles out of the emissions warranty. I had a buddy who was a service writer at Dodge and he was able to goodwill cover the repair. Otherwise 1200 bucks. He discounted a lot of the work because we were friends. The main computer went out twice requiring tow and complete replacement. And before you say I did not maintain it I follow required maintenance schedule. Religiously. The last 20 000 of the 100 k I put on it the truck had no problems. But way too many small AND big problems. Most of my vehicles are trouble free and I maintain them. I'm probably forgetting a few repairs but those are the biggies.
We bought dodge trucks for service vehicles. Back in 1999-2006 Those trucks were ALWAYS in need of brake jobs not to mention just stuff breaking. Maybe they are better I don't know. Too costly to buy a 50k work truck to have it sitting in the repair shop.
So yes I had enough experience with dodge products to personally steer clear of them. That said of course my wife wants a Charger. I told her if she gets it its ALL on her.
Last edited by Electrician4you; 11-17-2013 at 05:53 PM..
Bought a brand new dodge 4x4 in 2000. The FIRST new truck I ever bought. At 32000 miles front axle broke. 56000 miles rear axle broke. 74000 miles the motor needed to be rebuilt due to piston slap and wear. Not to mention the constant need for brake pads and rotors. Once a year I needed brakes AND rotors. Ball joints were a 2 year thing until I went to greasable joints. Not to mention the o2 sensors that would just fail. All three cat cons went bad at 62k pr dome where around there. It was 2000 miles out of the emissions warranty. I had a buddy who was a service writer at Dodge and he was able to goodwill cover the repair. Otherwise 1200 bucks. He discounted a lot of the work because we were friends. The main computer went out twice requiring tow and complete replacement. And before you say I did not maintain it I follow required maintenance schedule. Religiously. The last 20 000 of the 100 k I put on it the truck had no problems. But way too many small AND big problems. Most of my vehicles are trouble free and I maintain them. I'm probably forgetting a few repairs but those are the biggies.
We bought dodge trucks for service vehicles. Back in 1999-2006 Those trucks were ALWAYS in need of brake jobs not to mention just stuff breaking. Maybe they are better I don't know. Too costly to buy a 50k work truck to have it sitting in the repair shop.
So yes I had enough experience with dodge products to personally steer clear of them. That said of course my wife wants a Charger. I told her if she gets it its ALL on her.
I had an 02 ram 1500 and sold it to my cousin a few years back. I had 198k on it when I sold it to him. I never had break problems, and other than normal maintenance the only think I ever had to do to it was put in a water pump.
I have a 07 Ram 1500 with 138K on it now and the only repairs I have had with it was replacing front wheel bearings, and the motor on the front seat keeps blowing a fuse. Since I am the only one who drives it I just keep it where it is.
I do pipeline work and our company drives both Ford and Dodge trucks, both lines are very reliable the only problem I can remember us having with the 5 trucks our crew used is a U joint going out on the f-350 and on the same truck there was some kind of air intake that controls the turbo that went out.
I had an 02 ram 1500 and sold it to my cousin a few years back. I had 198k on it when I sold it to him. I never had break problems, and other than normal maintenance the only think I ever had to do to it was put in a water pump.
I have a 07 Ram 1500 with 138K on it now and the only repairs I have had with it was replacing front wheel bearings, and the motor on the front seat keeps blowing a fuse. Since I am the only one who drives it I just keep it where it is.
I do pipeline work and our company drives both Ford and Dodge trucks, both lines are very reliable the only problem I can remember us having with the 5 trucks our crew used is a U joint going out on the f-350 and on the same truck there was some kind of air intake that controls the turbo that went out.
Well maybe mine was built by a hung over UAW. All I know is that vehicle was by far the most expensive in repairs I ever owned. Out of ALL the vehicles I ever owned. Most go easily 150-190k.And it wasn't even my daily driver work truck. I used to to tow my jet skis to the River and camping. I never abuse my vehicles. Read up on dodge brake and ball joint and front axle breakage. Lots of that going around at that time. There is a TSB on the front axle breaking. Some had no issues others had nothing but issues. Either way it was enough of a bad experience that I won't buy another dodge product. I have a 1999 Ford that I simply do regular maintenance to. 150k and haven't replaced anything but a set of brake pads and a set of rotors along with some shocks in all that time. My wife gas a 04 Kia and we have done nothing but the required maintenance. The only repair was a recall for a. Bolt and I replaced the coolant recovery bottle cause it cracked. Oh and I just replaced her first set of front brake pads.But its 9 years old and its been perfect.
No car is perfect I know that but why would I go buy a dodge when I had nothing but problems? Biased? Sure. Dodge didn't seem to want to be too helpful so why should I give them my hard earned money?
We all base our buying decisions on good and bad experiences and you have had a bad experience or two with Chrysler products so you steer clear of them. Personally I have been buying Chrysler products since 1986 and four of those were K based cars you were bashing. To this day they were the most dependable vehicles I have ever owned. None of them ever left me stranded or drained the wallet, routine maintenance was it. Prior to '86 I bought GM until I had a bad experience. The K chassis was nothing fancy but it proved to be very versatile and many manufacturers today use the same platform to make multiple vehicles. VW/Audi uses the same platform for many applications. I have not had a bad experience with any of the Chrysler cars, K based or not that I have owned.
We all base our buying decisions on good and bad experiences and you have had a bad experience or two with Chrysler products so you steer clear of them. Personally I have been buying Chrysler products since 1986 and four of those were K based cars you were bashing. To this day they were the most dependable vehicles I have ever owned. None of them ever left me stranded or drained the wallet, routine maintenance was it. Prior to '86 I bought GM until I had a bad experience. The K chassis was nothing fancy but it proved to be very versatile and many manufacturers today use the same platform to make multiple vehicles. VW/Audi uses the same platform for many applications. I have not had a bad experience with any of the Chrysler cars, K based or not that I have owned.
Actually I never bashed the K car. It actually saved Chrysler. I simply said all their cars at the time were based off the K chassis. Even the original Chrysler minivan was nothing more than a stretched out k chassis. But you're right we do base our purchases off our experiences.
Well maybe mine was built by a hung over UAW. All I know is that vehicle was by far the most expensive in repairs I ever owned. Out of ALL the vehicles I ever owned. Most go easily 150-190k.And it wasn't even my daily driver work truck. I used to to tow my jet skis to the River and camping. I never abuse my vehicles. Read up on dodge brake and ball joint and front axle breakage. Lots of that going around at that time. There is a TSB on the front axle breaking. Some had no issues others had nothing but issues. Either way it was enough of a bad experience that I won't buy another dodge product. I have a 1999 Ford that I simply do regular maintenance to. 150k and haven't replaced anything but a set of brake pads and a set of rotors along with some shocks in all that time. My wife gas a 04 Kia and we have done nothing but the required maintenance. The only repair was a recall for a. Bolt and I replaced the coolant recovery bottle cause it cracked. Oh and I just replaced her first set of front brake pads.But its 9 years old and its been perfect.
No car is perfect I know that but why would I go buy a dodge when I had nothing but problems? Biased? Sure. Dodge didn't seem to want to be too helpful so why should I give them my hard earned money?
The first Mopar product I owned was a Dodge Stratus. I was a sales rep and had to cover 4 states, OK, KS, MO and Arkansas. I got a good deal on a used one at a Dodge dealer near my house. I think it was a 95, and it had about 35K on it. I mean to tell you I drove that car all over my territory, and other than routine maintenance I never had one problem with that car. I sold it to one of my coworkers for $500.00 I had put 200K on it. She drove it for a few more years and gave it to her niece. Believe it or not my best friend who was from Germany had a Chrysler Cirrus, he was transferred back to Germany and I bought his 96 Cirrus. I had 180K miles on it and the only thing I ever replaced on it was the alternator, and had to have some front stabilizers replaced. I sold it to an old friend for $500 and he is still driving it. The funny thing about that is those cars were suppose to be some of the most unreliable cars made at that time.
The rig our crew used at work was a white 07 Ram 2500 Cummings Diesel and the air-conditioner compressor had to be replaced. It was a $1,200 repair, seemed kind of expensive to me. We had another problem but I can't remember what it was! LOL It had something to do with the injectors, but way too many moons ago, and it was the company vehicle. I'm sure if I had to pay for the repair I would remember exactly what it was! hee hee
Since then I bought the 02 Ram and then got the 07 Ram 1500 and now the Dart. I'm drive the 07 Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi for work and the Dart for puttzing around town.
I can tell you, if I ever get burned on something I'm not going to buy that product again. I have been so thankful for the dependably of the Dodge products I have owned. Maybe I'm the luckiest SOB in world! LOL
Okie its like anything else. A vehicle is the largest purchase most people make outside of a house purchase. So it goes without saying that people expect reliability and will continue to buy x product if the reliability is there. I know people who swear at the same product others swear by that same product.
I kid you not. By 55k the piston slap was bad. I tried everything. 20-50 quieted it down for a while but came back. By 73k it was unbearable not to mention the power loss. Truck literally sounded like a diesel running bad. I wanted to. Sell it but there was no way I would get anything for it as is so I paid to rebuild the engine. I had to bore the engine because the piston wore the liner. After replacing front axle rear axle rebuilding the motor. New cats and two computers I had it. Our work trucks have service bodies and are pretty heavy with tools parts a conduit and transformers etc. We probably carry 2-3000 pounds in those beds on a daily basis. Were due for a fleet change and I'm not sure what to get. We thought about getting. Fords with 6.0 diesels back in 06-07 but were talked out of that nightmare. I just had such bad reliability issue with that truck I just won't even look at it. Especially at today's truck prices.
I'm pretty meticulous about maintenance and don't apbuse my vehicles. There was no reason for that truck to break like it did.
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