Why a Chrysler Bankruptcy Won't Faze Car Buyers

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Chrysler still has no clue. The sales drop-off in Chrysler products is not just a result of bad design, poor reliability, or - as Chrysler would have us believe - the wretched economy and high gas prices. The reason prior Chrysler and Dodge owners have no interest in new Chrysler products, even at bargain prices, is that prior owners have already been subjected to all the swindles they care to deal with. In my opinion, the Chrysler warranty and extended warranty departments conspired with crooked Chrysler and Dodge dealers to deny warranty coverage for items clearly covered in the written contracts. This all started about 20 minutes after Chrysler allied itself with Daimler of Germany. Our ownership of Chrysler products ended with a 1996 Dodge Intrepid. It was the best road car we ever owned, our first with air bags and ABS, and it achieved as much as 28.5 MPG at 70 MPH with a very powerful V6 engine. I just got tired of fighting the crooked dealer service departments. My wife's 1969 Fiat 850 Spyder was cute as it could be, and performed quite well until high-octane unleaded gas became unavailable. Fiat left the US market long ago. Chrysler's brief partnership with a German company was a disaster for consumers. What are the chances that Chrysler product dealers and the Chrysler warranty departments will be any less crooked when aligned with an Italian company? By the way, I easily won the small claims court cases against the Dodge dealers. I just don't want to go through all that nonsense again. And I don’t want to have to drive 75 miles each way for competent routine service when many Chrysler dealerships are within 10 miles.

Lawrence Kahn of CA 6:59PM May 28, 2009

Chrysler and GM have built pieces of fecial material and charge more than an import of the same catigory. As for the imports Toyota is built in America, the Honda is built in America the Acura is American Honda, The BMW has models that are made in America, I think KIA is now being built in America. So I ask, arn't these cars built in America; American cars?
Rick Waggoner (former GM CEO) testified in congress that GM builds inferior quality products. The next day GM bought full page ads apologize and afirm they will not do it any more. (ya right)
The auto dealers rape you with extreme intrest rates, low ball trade values and list price-plus for parts; and expect us to buy them? Let them reap what they so sorly deserve, let them die out as they should. No government money should have been given to them in the first place, it is soo wrong to reward what I consider preditory, lousy run, corporations with our tax dollars. Throughout the pages before the comment section a main theme in most pro/con why to buy or not is the low quality of american car manufacturing GM & Chrysler Nuff said I believe they are both going to be gone in a few years and the tax payer holding more bad debit. So sad, almost criminal the government could have saved medicare and funded universal health care for the trillions this is going to cost with intrest probally going to China

thomas of FL 5:40PM May 02, 2009

We own a Durango & a restored Jeep. My family (back to my grandparents) has owned more Chrysler vehicles than anything else over the years. We will notice! I like my Chrysler vehicles. We also owned (and recently sold) a 10 yr old Saturn w/200K & still running strong. Obozo just killed Saturn...a reliable, affordable car because of the worthless UAW union. He shouldn't be in the business of micromanaging corporations to begin, but he certainly shouldn't be telling corp which cars they can sell. He also killed GM's SUVs which are their BIGGEST sellers. Yeah, real smart. With Ford being the only American car left not micromanaged by the Usurper, we'll be looking to foreign cars because Ford has too many social agendas on their plate, much like Kodak, to worry about quality.

Anne-Marie of FL 5:43PM May 01, 2009

In fact,It`s really difficult for Obama to predict whether the company can still run successfully or not.
So,when he has to make some choices,questions will come out altogether.

Sunny of CA 12:54PM April 26, 2009

If any American wants to buy any car from the big three he or she has pay about $2,000 more compared to most imports. Why would anyone pay extra? In this global economy nobody really cares where it comes from as long as the price is right. Just go inside of any UAW member household and you'll find electronics not made in America bought at Wallmart. We Americans make to much money, is time for all of us to smell the coffe wake up and reduce everybody salaries nation wide; starting with inep executives and striking unions.

Rodolfo Torres of WI 12:27PM April 26, 2009

I just brought a used 2004 pt cruiser, and I love it, what's going to happen to my warrienty on my car? What about everyone else?, are we just left out of luck? Something has to give.

brandi of TX 6:51PM April 24, 2009

The thing is Chrysler is privately held. Its stock is not held in any normal person's 401k, not even buried in a mutual fund. Ford and GM are in many if not most 401k's, one way or another. Therefore, if Chrysler goes away, Ford and GM (as the author says) will benefit. That means that 410ks and pension and trust funds benefit.
...so, goodbye Chrysler already!

Bill Perney of MO 12:58PM April 24, 2009

I have a 2008 Chrysler Town and Country and it is an excellent, good looking and dependable vehicle. It has all the nice features one would want at a fair price relative to its competitors. I have also previously owned 2 Jeeps and loved them and had no problems other than routine maintenance. So, I think the quality issues are outdated concerns based on, as in the case of tim, probably 12-15 year old cars and 10 year old experiences.
As for the Obama auto "task force", hardly any of those clowns drove American cars and most of them drove crummy foreign makes at that. They hardly seem qualified to sit in judgment on the fate of one of America's great auto companies, Chrysler. I would urge Chrysler to hang in there, file a Chapter 11 if necessary to shed the bad debt, and continue in operation for many years to come.

Bill of FL 11:08AM April 24, 2009

In 2000, my Chrysler Serbring with 80,000 miles on it had the Head Gasket AND Transmission go. Because I still had 2 more years of $365/month payments, i had to have it fixed, about $5000 combined. Chrysler refused to even consider repairing my car even though it was barely out of warrenty. It took about 5 years to pay off that bill. NEVER AGAIN after the way I was treated by them. Good Riddance Chrysler, my Mitsubishi & Mazda run great, they could have been Chryslers...

tim of NJ 9:06AM April 24, 2009

If Chrysler has lost market share in the last 10 years from 16% to 11%, so has GM & Ford. Ford is now at 16% down from 26% & GM is running at 21% down from 31%. The notion that Chrysler's 11% could be picke dup by Ford & GM is also flawed. If Chrysler dies, majority of its sales will go to foreign automakers, like Hyundai, Toyota etc.

R. Awan of MI 7:13PM April 23, 2009