the continual car

78,883 mile service

2012-01-25T12:28:00.000-08:00

in the bay area and needed an oil change so i printed a coupon off the chrysler web site. tried first to go to stevens creek chrysler, but they never returned my call (during business hours, no less), so i went to normandin.

turns out i didn't need the coupon. my oil change package still had one left and they honored that ... the coupons are good throughout the chrysler dealerships, not just at prestige.

as the tech was writing up my car, we got into a funny conversation ...

"have you ever been here before?"

"no. this is probably the only bay area dealer i've never been to. i moved to vegas, so i get most my work done out there now. i've seen a lot of dealers, but it's been strange." i knew i shouldn't have uttered that last word as i said it.

"strange?"

"yeah. like chapman told me my car needed brake fluid and transmission fluid at 35,000 miles. which, it didn't. that prompted a letter to the CEO of chrysler. they're just fraudulent."

if you say this to a service tech what they'll hear is. yeah. like chapman told me my car needed brake fluid and transmission fluid. the rest is something akin to a dial tone if it were made up entirely of the sound of cash registers opening.

i'm looking at the tech's computer screen. he starts opening the service manual for my car. this, my little money grubbing friend, will be a mistake. i'm probably the only person you've ever met or known that can recite the PT cruiser owner manual rote.

"would you say your car is schedule A or schedule B?"

"i say schedule B because that way there will never be a question as to whether or not i'm changing my oil frequently enough."

he spins the monitor around. "there! you need a transmission fluid change at 60,000 miles."

i don't even look at the screen. "look at the footnote. my car's not a taxi."

long long pause. "what! they expect the fluid to last forever?"

i say nothing. it doesn't matter what they think, only what they say. and they say -in writing- i don't have to change it.

one hour passes and i get my car back after watching japanese TV (my choice) in the waiting room.

when i get back my car, my $0.00 receipt says:

SUGGEST TRANSMISSION FLUID FLUSH AND FILTER AS PREV MAINT DUE TO AGE/TIME - MILES $199 + $150.00
SUGGEST FUEL INJECTION/DECARB SERVICE TO CLEAN ANY CARBON THAT BUILDS UP INSIDE THE THROTTLE BODY AND COMBUSTION CHAMBER
NO SVC RECORDS ...
$185.00

what they don't say is neither of these are described as necessary in the owner's manual. don't take my word for it ... read my service contract ... "Your responsibility is to properly operate, care for and maintain the vehicle as prescribed in the owner's manual supplied by the manufacturer."

go me.

76,800 new tire

2011-12-31T13:21:00.000-08:00

day before yesterday i was getting in my car to drive back from CO to vegas and got a low air light ... i picked up a rider from downtown, filled the tire and then proceeded to have a 700 mile drive where sometimes the tire would be losing air and sometimes it wouldn't ... this included me having to do such pleasant things as yanking my spare from beneath the car (in a parking lot full of melting snow) and prep it in case it needed to be used.

but it didn't.

i got to las vegas and everything was fine.

fine, that is, until i had a flat tire greet me in the morning.

turned out i'd picked up a screw in denver and it had apparently been doing its version of the macarena on the drive here.

this means replacing the tire i had replaced only 6000 miles ago. couldn't make it to the new year without one last bite in the pocket book, apparently.

$132. including a $15 coupon i had from goodyear's email list.

74,800 air filter and make-up filter

2011-12-16T18:52:00.000-08:00

this is supposed to be part of my 75,000 mile service, but the parts cost me 13 bucks and is so fast that i just did it in the parking lot of the auto parts store on my way home. i'm guessing there's no way a dealer would do this for < $50.

$13

74,765 mile service (& fourth service contract work?)

2011-12-16T18:27:00.000-08:00

may well take the continual car to CO for xmas and wanted to get the oil changed beforehand. but that's not all i'm needing...

my washers have quit working (or more precisely, i hear the motor, but nothing sprays to the windshield) and, a couple nights ago, a valet was bringing my car out and i noticed the belly pan flapping on the passenger side.

and as i was driving home from my last oil change, the check engine light came on.

after three days in the shop, i get my car back, but here's what's weird ... i pay $100 deductible and $138 on top. but when i look at the receipts, i can't tell what the deductible is paying against and what it's not. it looks as though i'm paying a deductible and for all service? i talked to my service advisor for quite awhile about it, but it becomes ever-more-clear that he doesn't really know what's going on.

this isn't the first time i've been given receipts different than what i've paid, nor the second. i'm not exactly sure what to do here because if i call back, they'll probably end up connecting me with the same service advisor and it's clear that either:

* he doesn't know what's going on and is snowing me.

=or=

* he can't explain it to me in a way i can understand.

the timing on this is a little bad because i was going to write a glowing letter to mr. marchionne about prestige ... this to be the ying to my chapman-is-fraudulent yang letter ...

... but i can't do that yet.

$238
$205 in warranty return ($105 for rental car, $100 saved from service i've been told about, but hold no receipt for.)

my free rental car

2011-12-15T10:02:00.001-08:00

while the continual car is getting its 75K oil change.

74,700 new brake light bulb

2011-12-13T15:40:00.000-08:00

passenger side brake light burned out (but not the tail light ... noticed it when the valet returned my car the other day). it's an interesting fix because the entire taillight cover is actually held in place by a single screw. the swap is remarkably easy -- especially when compared to the hondas i've had.

first bulb of any kind to go.

$7

quote of the moment

2011-12-07T18:38:00.001-08:00

"Fiat now owns more than 50 percent of Chrysler, with the rest owned by the retiree healthcare trust affiliated with the United Auto Workers union. It is possible that Chrysler will have an initial public stock offering in 2013, Marchionne said, as the UAW seeks to cash out or reduce its shareholdings."

-- reuters US

72,190 mile service & third service contract work

2011-10-12T23:57:00.000-07:00

with the write-up from my brake guys in hand, i went to prestige chrysler for an oil change and asked them to look at the rack & pinion sensor and control arms.

i got my service contract rental and waited a day to hear the news ... and big news it was ... they replaced the rack and pinion gear and both control arms ... this is big work that requires a lot of labor, and would be a significant cost ... if not for, that's right, my service contract!

i ended up with the car for four days (that's $140 right there), and roughly speaking, all this under-car work should be about $1500 ...

but with my service contract? a mere $100 deductible ... and i'd already paid for the oil change before.

this means i have now officially saved over $1000 by buying my service contract.

AND the car needed alignment after all the work, BUT i have lifetime alignment at the local goodyear place...so i took it in there for a grand total of $0.

never has anyone felt happier when leaving a dealership after major service ...

... and all i have now is the rest of my life to rack up more.

{radioactive dave, anne and instigator: remind me next time i see you and i'll tell you a continual car story you'll get a kick out of ... i'm not writing it down here.}

death of a continual car?

2011-10-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

TJ public's 'blog is no longer up. i can only guess this means he either got rid of the car, or just didn't feel like paying his domain renewal fee.

sad. i can always use a brother in arms.

PT cruiser

2011-10-03T15:10:00.001-07:00

(not mine)
las vegas, NV

the continual car in great basin national park

2011-09-19T23:29:00.001-07:00

although this is shot in NV, nearly everything in the distance is UT.

dashboard spider

2011-07-04T14:57:00.001-07:00

las vegas

68,909 new front brakes

2011-06-25T15:06:00.000-07:00

after the brake notification from my last service, i did some poking around, and for the first time since moving to vegas i'm suffering a penalty of living in a small town.

unfortunately brake masters and midas are my two best options for lifetime brakes. the problem with both of these places is they'll charge you for labor on the jobs. if i lived in a place with a firestone, or a precision auto that offered lifetime brakes, i wouldn't have to pay for the labor.

after a false start the day before, i went to the brake masters on S eastern.

the bad news was that -according to them at least- not only were the front brake pads worn, the rotors too had gone ... so those had to be replaced as well.

that's the bad news. the good news is the backs still have 50%.

i asked a myriad of questions and learned a couple of good tidbits. one was going 70K miles before needing new brakes is very unusual ("you must be an incredibly cautious driver").

bigger was a non-chrysler set of eyes looked at the car ... they saw the rack and pinion sensor leaking and the control arm bushing cracking ... those don't have to be reported back to chrysler immediately, so that'll be the topic of my next oil change.

they also saw the rear shocks leaking. that isn't covered by the lifetime service contract ... i'll have to be looking into that as well.

$317 (includes the $25 discount from my entertainment book)

[68,500] windshield star repaired

2011-06-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

first class auto glass fixed my second windshield break (unfortunately i forgot to take before/after shots). good service, but the repair looks a bit globby afterward.

insurance companies are moving away from waiving this deductible ... fortunately mine hasn't yet.

$0

68,233 mile service & second service contract work

2011-05-28T01:49:00.000-07:00

i could actually stand to go another 1000 miles before i did an oil change, but the air conditioner has quit working, again. i'm looking at taking a run back to the bay area next week, and i may or may not take my car ... if i do, having AC would be nice, so i might as well get it fixed now ... and as long as i'm there, get an oil change as well (with a coupon that included an air filter).

the dye job from last time came through and exposed a leak in the AC discharge line (don't ask me, i don't know either).

if i didn't have my max care service contract, this repair would have been $485 ... but due to my wrap, it was only a C-note to me.

one thing they did claim was worn brake pads and rotors on the front. i drive a car very light on the brakes, but the vehicle's pushing 70K and its heavy, so anything's possible. unfortunately the brake pads aren't covered by the service contract and chrysler doesn't guarantee their pads for life (some others do) -- i'll be digging into that over the next several weeks.

$20 standard service
$100 service contract deductible
$455 in WR (includes $70 of rental car)

another (not-quite-bad) break

2011-05-23T12:11:00.000-07:00

gotta (another) star in my windshield driving back from CO. need to have it taken care of before my next big run.

67,500 miles

Is 200,000 Miles The New 100,000?

2011-05-22T11:50:00.001-07:00

http://autos.aol.com/article/high-mileage-driving/

Are Small Cars Safer Now?

2011-05-22T11:44:00.001-07:00

ignore or read the comments depending on your thresholds of anger and
humor.

http://autos.aol.com/article/small-cars-are-safer/

66,277 service

2011-05-03T23:45:00.000-07:00

had a website coupon for a $20 air filter and oil change, but when i go into prestige chrysler the "how's-it-goin'-dude?" service rep says "we can sell you four oil changes for $66."

considering that i want/need all my service done you don't have to ask me twice for that deal.

the only downside is i won't be getting my air filter now ... but the last one was less than 10,000 miles ago ... need to look at the owner's manual and see when the next one is due.

prestige chrysler. $66

trivium of the moment

2011-05-03T14:33:00.001-07:00

roughly 800K cars are stolen in the US every year.

source: CNBC

Chrysler restricts 10 colors due to shortage of paint pigment from Japanese supplier

2011-03-27T09:50:00.001-07:00

and note (much to the dismay of henry ford I, no doubt) you cannot
currently order a ford in tuxedo black either.

http://www.egmcartech.com/2011/03/26/chrysler-restricts-10-colors-due-to-shortage-of-paint-pigment-from-japanese-supplier/

lying chrysler

2011-03-09T14:15:00.000-08:00

so a tweet shows up from chrysler saying ...

I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to fucking drive.

... immediately the company backpedals by saying ...

Our apologies - our account was compromised earlier today. We are taking steps to resolve it.

... but that turns out to be a lie. the account wasn't compromised -- they paid some numbskull PR agency, who in turn put some idiot in charge of the chrysler twitter account.

i hate hate the fact that no one, nor any corporation, in america can take responsibility for their own actions.

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/money/auto_news/employee-fired-for-using-'f-word'-in-chrysler-tweet

what chrysler should have said as a follow-up was, "sorry for the comment, but we can't be responsible for the way people in detroit," and then refer all future questions to their latest spokesperson, eminem.

how much you wanna bet the true culprit of this fiasco is a 20-something white guy?

***

3/17 addendum

i win. the culprit is Scott Bartosiewicz. 28.

yes, he was TXTing while driving and he wants to sue tweetdeck because, come on, it's not really his fault.

Fw: Your invitation for Free Oil for Life from Boardwalk

2011-01-18T16:18:00.001-08:00

got this email from my favorite chrysler dealer
(they lost their accreditation ffrom chrysler).
if i was still living in the bay area i'd look into it,
but i'll bet that the filter and service costs would
end up being more than the mopar coupon rates.

my apologies for their formatting from my email
account ... i don't feel like mucking with it to make
it right relative to my template ... all the salient
information is readable, this just looks bad ...
(i took out the formatting and corny animation).

***

As a valued Boardwalk Auto Center
customer, you are invited to participate
in our Oil For Life* program.
Here's how it works: Never pay for
conventional oil, just labor and filter.
Your vehicle, if qualified*, will receive Oil
For Life*, so long as you continue to own it.

Come in for a FREE* inspection to see if your
vehicle qualifies*.

quote of the moment

2010-12-17T13:59:00.001-08:00

"CARE FOR EVERY CAR
AS IF
YOUR FAMILY WAS
DEPENDING ON IT"

-- banner in the service bay of prestige chrysler; las vegas, NV

62,566 service

2010-12-17T12:13:00.000-08:00

wanted to get an oil change before sending my car back to CA. i'm on every mailing list of every dealer i've ever gotten an oil changes with -- so i snapped up the $9.95 coupon that prestige offered me.

minor strangeness in calling "who is this? what do you want? oh, um, you can just bring it in." and then showing up, "what do you want? who's your service manager? what? the oil service guy is on break? oh, um, just sit in the waiting room."

but 40 minutes later, i'm set to go.

just like last time, reality is different from what's on paper. even though my receipt says $30, i'm charged $11.

no up-sells. no "recommendations." i'm happy.

updated chrysler website

2010-12-03T21:47:00.000-08:00

like the rest of the fricken company, the chrysler website has undergone a major overhaul. like any 10 passenger panel van, the front page is cumbersome and overly full of flair and flash that you'd never use.

BUT, the underlying web pages, and especially the "my chrysler" page, is shockingly good. after i input my VIN, i'm able to get a list of recalls (there are none yet), a (soft or hard) owner's manual and a copy of my warranty.

and, very most important of all, a complete listing of my service history. which means i can check the official records and be certain they're tracking the same work i am.

and the record they show is spotless, clean and perfect.

at first i thought they'd done away with the "3 great services, 1 low price" coupon page -since i couldn't hit it from the old "for owners" spot- but all they really did was move it.

which means i'm good to go (and it also means the new chrysler has its act together better than the old chrysler).

{as an aside, my poking and prodding was brought on by a prestige chrysler coupon that i got early this morning for a $10 oil change. a great deal, to be sure, but i needed to be certain i have back-up for the future.

i might drive back to CO in my car over xmas (i can't put chains on it, so it's not a certainty) -- but even if i don't, i'll definitely use that coupon before its expiration at the end of the month.}

great book review ...

2010-10-17T21:24:00.001-07:00

... of the chrysler turbine.

http://mobile2.wsj.com/device/article.php?CALL_URL=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703369704575462133272933798.html?

observation of the moment

2010-09-12T23:16:00.001-07:00

the kid in the current chrysler town and country ad on TV looks like the
vampyre in nosferatu.

60,283 mile service

2010-08-10T16:45:00.000-07:00

a few days ago my car battery died. i was waiting in a v-e-r-y long line inside binion's garage ... i'd left my lights on with my engine off and managed to drain the sucker ... i was lucky enough to be near a pull-over, so i did and waited about an hour for the traffic to clear.

once it did, i went to a nearby firestone -- they checked my battery and said it held a charge just fine ... but when i went into prestige chrysler, they said that, in fact, the battery was dead.

so ...

new battery at the dealer (not the place i'd necessarily want to buy one) and an oil change (with coupon, from the chrysler site, finally) for a total of $200.

and honestly, i have no idea how they came up with this number.

the coupon for a change was $20. they list the battery with labor as $177. they show the oil change as being $83 (pre-coupon). i have a $100 deductible on my service contract, but that shouldn't apply here.

the total they show on the invoice is $284.26.

so ... who knows?

i'll poke into this a bit in the future, but for now, i'll mark it as $200.

state of the moment

2010-08-10T13:29:00.001-07:00

i'm getting my car serviced at prestige chrysler in las vegas, NV. my
"service writer" looked up my VIN and said, "whoa. you've got the
'awesome warranty.'"

damn right.

trivium of the moment

2010-07-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

americans buy 2.6 times as many used cars than they do new.

-- automotive news

true end of an era

2010-07-09T01:33:00.000-07:00

after several threats in the past from chrysler, the *true* last of the
PT cruisers rolled off the line in mexico today.

new spark plugs, wires and air filters

2010-07-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

done at 59,000 miles. saves over $300 in shop costs.

new PCV valve

2010-06-23T11:53:00.001-07:00

$3. putting that in along with the plugs, wires and air filters for my 60k service. here just as a record

{dealerships charge $25 for this service ... you pull a little plastic tube out of the line, you put another one back in ... it's literally as hard as swapping a lego brick out of a stack.}

protection scammers

2010-06-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

got a couple of envelopes at my NV address that are sent bulk mail with no return address ... the inside letter shows a business return address of:

program headquarters
300 north tucker
st. louis, MO 63101

what they are oh so generously offering me is extending the coverage on the continual car. very very nice considering:

1. the car comes with lifetime powertrain warranty by default.

=&=

2. i have the lifetime service contract.

but i call them anyway because i feel like fighting with someone today.

the conversation starts off well enough until we get to the mileage part.

"how many miles does your car have on it?"

"60,000."

"60,000! oh my god! are you sure? did you buy the car new?"

the last question is perplexing because i'm not sure what she's expecting for an answer there.

we talk for a bit. mostly she's doing that sales thing of feigning as though she gives a damn about my life (which, just for the record, i strongly suspect she does not). and we get to the meat of the deal ...

"well, our blah blah blah plan doesn't make sense because blah blah blah on and on so i recommend our premium platinum your penis will be bigger plan."

"you know this car comes with a lifetime powertrain warranty."

"we cover more than that. like the turbo {covered}, the transfer case {covered} and the axles {also covered, beeotch}."

"and how much is that?"

"blah blah blah. very complicated. blah blah blah. you know how it is. blah blah blah. $2800. blah blah blah. and would be good for 60,000 miles from now."

or, $1300 more than my bumper-to-bumper coverage. or $800 more than if i bought the warranty wrap today (only possible if my car had < 48k miles).

i have no idea who these people are, nor how they got my address associated with my car in NV -probably some house buying thing- but they are chock-full of scam. buy your protection from anyone but these guys. that includes the crack dealer on the corner -- at least you know what that guy looks like.

spark plugs and ignition cables

2010-06-10T11:40:00.000-07:00

mopar by my brother's recommendation. $74. these'll go for my 60k tune-up ... entry here just for record keeping.

quote of the moment

2010-05-25T19:34:00.001-07:00

"in traffic cases where you are not represented by an attorney, things
like discovery, the law, your right and presumption of innocence are
mere annoyances."

-- "EWYLTJ" on expertlaw.com

quote of the moment

2010-05-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

"Think of it from a cop's perspective: you spend the day trying to stay alive, work at a thankless job where almost everyone hates you or wants to hurt you....you get this stupid thing in your box...what would you do?"

-- "sexcopper," on NASIOC.com, describing the possible cop-mindset on responding to trials by written declaration

quote of the moment

2010-05-20T18:56:00.001-07:00

"if you learn nothing else from this book, learn that a police officer
with a ticket book in his hand is not your friend."

-- "fight your ticket & win in CA"

quote of the moment

2010-05-20T18:39:00.001-07:00

"the best way, of course, to minimize your chances of receiving a ticket
is not to drive."

-- david brown

how likely is a car to fail?

2010-05-17T18:31:00.001-07:00

this straight from the world's best mechanical engineer:

R=(1/6,000,000)(M^1.5)+(.5(Y^1.4)) where M is miles and Y is time in
years. This would give you about 3.5 failures in the first three years,
which is about the average (I saw the numbers on this once and was
surprised the average car gets so much warranty work done).

57,065 service & first service contract work

2010-05-05T01:33:00.000-07:00

went back to michael stead chrysler for this service ... they have a coupon right now that honors any other local dealer's coupon, so i clipped a $20 oil change at antioch and took it to michael stead instead -- saving me $20 and another 20 miles of driving.

the change went fine, with no inspection problems found again ... but what's more interesting is my first "true" service contract claim. the air conditioning had stopped working and up until this point everything i'd had done on the continual car was bumper-to-bumper warranty work ... my air conditioning complaint would be the first time i was asking to have something done that hit purely against the service contract.

my service advisor (who i would best describe as having a "brusque" demeanor) told me that it would be $165 merely to inspect and diagnose the AC problem; the fix could mean added additional charges. he noted, "if it's covered by your service contract, you'll just pay the $100 deductible, we'll bill chrysler for the rest." the implication, of course, being that if it wasn't covered i'd be on the hook for that ... and maybe a whole lot more.

"okay," i said, "i read through the service contract and i don't see anything about the AC that would not be covered. would there be anything that wasn't covered?"

he shrugged in that just-sign-this-damn-thing manner and said, "i don't know, sign here."

doesn't exactly leave you with a happy feeling in your stomach.

and yet, when i woke up this morning, i had a phone call that my car was finished. the freon level was low so they did a pressure check -- found no leaks -- and re-filled the system with freon and dye. when i called back to ask if the repair was going to be covered by the service contract, my advisor's response was "yes" in an of-course-why-haven't-you-already-hung-up kind-of-voice.

so even if my blood pressure may have been artificially elevated for 16 hours, i did get what i wanted -- no questions or hassles over the work that was done. no matter what my paranoia says, i can't honestly ask for more than that. for the record here i probed a bit on how much the repair would have been had i not had a max care wrap and it looks to be the $165 plus "20 to 30 dollars for the dye." i'll just call that a bill that would have been $200 -- and knowing this is a dealer, it wouldn't have surprised me if it somehow would have become more than that.

oddly, i wasn't charged tax on either service. that might be a mistake, but the $0.00 tax is clear as day on the invoice.

for the records here i'm going to keep separate accounting on the service contract work from the normal work. i will be using the deductible dollars spent in my TVC, but will not be counting it against "standard service" -- that will give me a better feel for what the normal dealer service price is.

for the record, the AC works now, but everyone everywhere is suspicious -- it could well go again at any time.

$20 standard service
$100 service contract deductible

windshield chip fixed

2010-04-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

$0 to me because the insurance waives the deductible.
now, whether or not this raises my premium - since i've only had that
policy for a matter of days before i made my first claim - is another
question.

Ways to Hedge Your Lifetime Service Contract Bet

2010-04-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

If you've read what I've said about buying a lifetime service contract and think you might want one, but aren't sure, there is a way to hedge your bet ...

If your car is new to you, it's covered by a 3 month/36,000 mile warranty and a wrap at this point in your car's lifetime is really just superfluous. By waiting, if you get rid of your car (i.e. sell or crash it), you haven't lost any extra money on the wrap. Waiting also gives you a chance to see if you're going to modify your ride (which, depending on what you do, can nullify the contract).

From a game theory point of view, waiting has three possible snags:

Chrysler drops your ability to purchase a lifetime wrap
I thought this was possible and is why I bought one almost immediately after they were offered. I think that's somewhat less likely now, but still could happen.

You pay more money
If I had waited, I would have paid $366 more than at the point where I bought it; which is to say it would have been 21% more than the original price. Yes, it's true I lost the use of that money -- including possibly investing it -- but let's be honest, I wasn't going to do that and neither are you.

You forget to buy one
You have to purchase a contract in the first four years/48,000 miles. If you miss those magic numbers, you can't buy a service contract. (Pushing up against this deadline also gives you less of a chance to find the lowest price.)

Buying a service contract immediately gives you a couple small advantages:

Free rental car when you take your car in for service
Dealerships will try to keep you from doing this so they don't have to fork over the money/do the paperwork. That's the bad news. The up-side is you'll probably get your oil changed first of all the people in the waiting room.

Roadside assistance
Think: something that is AAA-like. This is only good for the first seven years/100,000 miles. Unless you perpetually run out of gas, get flats you don't feel like changing or continually lock yourself out of your cars, this isn't a big deal.

Concierge service
You talk on the phone with people who can't use Google as well as you can. I list it only for completeness -- not to suggest it's actually worth a damn.

If you do buy a lifetime service contract, I strongly recommend that you buy a one with a $100 deductible (the highest amount possible). By doing this you're paying the lowest possible premium for your contract. Eventually you will get rid of the car (or you'll die and the car gets rid of you); the instant that happens, you didn't need the extra coverage in the contract anyway. Thanks to inflation, $100 will seem to be less-and-less (relatively speaking) in the future anyway, so even the deductible hit to your pocketbook won't be that strong.

Let's look at a real-life example: mine. At $0 deductible my contract was $1270 more than what I paid. In the service sense of the word, I would have to make 13 trips to the dealer before it would be "cheaper" for me to have bought a $0 deductible (and in this case, yes, I have invested that money to cover the difference). Right now the continual car is at 57,000 miles and I've made no service contract trips to the dealer yet (although my air conditioning has failed and as of this second I do need one).

So let's be overly pessimistic and say I'll need a service every 50k miles. In order to make 13 trips, my car would have to go 600,000 miles. Assuming I continue to drive 20,000 miles a year, that would be 30 years from now -- and I'd be at a questionable driving age.

Remember, that's making a lot of abusive assumptions. If you assume I'll need less service, or I start driving less, those numbers become much smaller.

To keep a stupid story short, my advice is if you decide to buy a lifetime service contract on a Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge, you should get the $100 deductible. If you aren't likely to modify, crash or sell your ride, you should buy the contract immediately. If you think any of those three things are likely to happen, you should wait until right before you cross out of the 3 year/36,000 bumper-to-bumper that comes with a new vehicle.

(And don't be afraid to buy one online instead of from a dealer. It's the exact same policy and it's good at all Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge dealers. Look at chrysler.com if you have any doubt as to whether or not a dealer is "real.")

Should I Buy a Lifetime Service Contract on My Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge?

2010-04-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

(for search engine hits, this could be thought of as Should I buy an extended warranty on my car? even though, in a technical and legal sense of the word, a service contract isn't a warranty.)

I get the occasional email/comment here from people asking about lifetime service contracts (aka "lifetime warranty," "unlimited warranty wrap") and feel compelled to write an over-riding article on the concept ...

(Although I'll be making reference to Chryslers here, the exact same ideas apply to all Chrysler Group LLC vehicles, namely Dodges and Jeeps. In fact, their service contract prices and terms are identical to all Chryslers.)

Should you buy a lifetime service contract on your car?

Really, there's no cut-and-dried answer to this. Only you can make the "right" choice, but I can give you enough questions, comments and ideas to lead you to a decision that'll make the most sense in your case ...

Before you ask yourself anything, be prepared to be ready to be brutally frank in with yourself in your answers. In my wanderings through the world I've been struck, time and time again, by how few people are able to either be honest with themselves, or even focus on "larger truth."

{An example that comes to mind immediately: I was working at Danger on the hiptop (ultimately known as the T-Mobile SideKick) and a tradeshow customer -- probably a high tech analyst -- asked what the durability of our device would be. I hate people who give canned answers to questions so rather than be the typical corporate stooge and say that that had not yet been determined (the easy, safe and completely non-informing answer), I explained that although we hadn't gone beyond prototypes, I would expect publicly released final units to last a couple of years.

"A couple of years? As in two?"

"We're not final yet, but that's what I'd expect."

"And you think that's acceptable?"

I un-corked on him. "Yes, I think that's acceptable! How long have you ever used a cell phone?" He hemmed and hawed, acting like the poser that he was. That only boiled me faster. I pressed and pressed and pressed until he admitted he'd never used a cell phone for longer than four months.

In other words, any piece of crap would work for him and two years didn't actually make any difference ... So when I say honesty toward yourself, I mean don't be like that guy.}

In the purist's sense of the word, by buying a lifetime service contract, you're making a bet against yourself ... You're saying you believe the car you're buying will suffer more repair problems over the period of time you own it than you'll pay up-front with a service contract.

Never forget the prime rule of service contracts: All companies make money on these contracts or they wouldn't offer them.

My guess is the way they make the most is simply by pandering to the new American trend of fear. In our collective lifetimes, Americans have become afraid of everything: terrorists, swine flu, illegal immigrants -- you name it. In keeping with this, people fear their cars will break down and will buy a service contract.

Chrysler knows, full-well, that the average American owns a car for 5.1 years, but will own a Chrysler for 4.9 years. If you fall into that category (and odds are good that you do), and you buy a lifetime service contract, Chrysler makes more money by default -- you could have bought a shorter (five, six or seven years; with 60,000 to 100,000 miles).

Looking at it this from any offering company's point of view, they make money on you buying a service contract if one of three broad things are true:

You never have a problem
You have a problem, but never make a claim
You make a claim, but they are able to deny it

Of these three things, the second only happens if you just start neglecting the vehicle all together ...

The last is the one that is under contention and the one that you can work to influence. Although I don't have any solid evidence from Chrysler, it's probably safe to assume that they'll do all they can to back out of paying out against a service contract. That means for you to get paid you'll have to follow everything in the contract to the letter. (That also means you'll have to read and think ... God forbid.)

If you're dealing with a Jeep, Chrysler or Dodge, have a look-see at the hi-lighted version of the maximum care wrap service contract. Speed read it and just look at the hi-lighting if you want -- those are the things that I think are of particular interest, sort of freakishly strange or flat-out gotchas.

(I f you're thinking about some other vehicle, or contract you should read that first ... I'll wait for everyone right here until you come back.)

Howdy. Now that you're more aware, you need to ask yourself seriously how long you plan on holding onto your car. Be honest. Here are some less-obvious things that could affect the term of your ownership:

Your likelihood of a bad accident or hardcore vandalism (neither of which are covered)
Gas being $7-$10/gallon (I'd say this is likely within a decade)
Your life expectancy
How easily you are "bored" by the car you drive

{Regardless of what spudnuts say on Internet fora, you can easily ignore how healthy Chrysler is as a company. I believe a failing Chrysler is no reason to avoid a service contract ... As long as they don't declare Chapter 13 bankruptcy, whoever takes over their assets also has to take over their financial obligations. This has already happened once -- it can always happen again.}

You should NOT buy a lifetime service contract if ANY of the following are true:

You believe your car will experience fewer mechanical problems (in dollar amounts) than the price of your service contract
You plan on modifying your vehicle
You won't religiously service your car in accordance with your owner's manual
You live in an area that is several hundred miles removed from a reputable dealer
You plan on holding onto your car less than seven years or 100,000 miles -- including passing the car along to relatives (other service contracts make more sense if this is true)
You have reason to believe you will live fewer than seven years
You plan on moving your car outside the US
You tend to get in a fair number of accidents (or a serious accident is likely)
You believe that the vast majority of the problems in your car will come from the powertrain (this is already covered in your powertrain warranty if you're the first owner for 2007 - 2009 -- you can get a powertrain only contract if this doesn't apply to you)
You have a manual transmission and are expecting clutch problems
You're paranoid by nature and automatically assume Chrysler will renege on the contract
You do your own car maintenance and can't keep track of receipts or records of your work
You believe your car is at high risk for theft
You have any off-road use that could be classified as "severe"
Your car is likely to be caught in a flood

A lifetime service contract may make sense if you don't fit in any of the categories above and, especially, if one or more of the follow true:

You put an excessive number of miles on your car
You often drive in unusually hostile road environments (extremes in temperature, weather, extremely rough roads or traffic congestion)
You'd rather not worry about fixing your car
You don't know where you'd get money for a major car repair
You insist on having all your car maintenance done by a dealership
You have reason to believe your car may be prone to failure
Your over-arching plan is to never buy another internal combustion car
Your car is fully loaded and/or has a top-of-the-line factory stereo
Your car is a convertible -- especially if it's a hardtop convertible (the convertible motor is covered by the warranty, but a cloth top is not)
Your car was manufactured in the US (I rented a Dodge Calibre that was US built and it was of a considerably worse construction than my Mexican-built Cruiser)

With little bit of thought and your best guesses about your personal situation, you should have a pretty good idea if a service contract is for you or not. Good luck.

Warming up a car engine

2010-04-25T16:50:00.000-07:00

this passed along to me by my pal, cap'n happy -- i don't know his
source.
my rule of thumb on the continual car is idle until the engine RPM
naturally kicks back (it's about 10 seconds).
i also let it idle at all stop lights and intersections, but shut it
down (continually) in things like drive-thrus.

{4/28 -- this came from fortune magazine}

***

"In the past, when cars had carburetors, engines used thick oil that
required warming up," says Mike Harrison, Ford's V-8 engine programs
manager. Today's thinner oils allow engines to be driven away sooner,
making
idling unnecessary.
His rule: If you're operating your car above 0° F, you can drive away
within
10 seconds (he advises 30 seconds for temperatures below zero).
Experts also say you'll save gas by turning off your engine if you're
going
to idle for more than 30 seconds -- some studies suggest even less
time.
According to an EDF report published last year, unnecessary idling will
waste between $44 and $392 on fuel annually (range depends on fuel
prices,
idling habits, and vehicle type).
But won't shutting the car on and off wear down the starter and battery?
Two
extra restarts each day will average about $10 a year in repairs. "If
your
engine is operating fewer hours, there's less wear on the most
expensive
parts," says Jeff Bartlett, an auto editor with Consumer Reports

now things heat up

2010-04-25T10:58:00.001-07:00

the air conditioning on the continual car has stopped working. this
will be the first *true* test of the lifetime service contract because
air conditioning is fully covered (assuming i'm reading the entirety of
the contract right) and i'm well-beyond the 3/36 original
bumper-to-bumper of the car.

what are the odds?

2010-04-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

driving 65mph down US 95 in NV, *with no traffic to be seen anywhere*, i
got a stone chip in the windshield. i assume it was a meteorite.
note for god: use a bigger rock.
55,285 miles

54957 mile service

2010-04-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

chrysler still has not fixed their 3-for-1 coupon, so i head up to stoneride chrysler jeep of dublin who were running a coupon on their website.

in, out, (no inspection problems, again). $31.

the only hitch? i get a speeding ticket for the first time in my life on the way home. so much for saving money.

new tires, goddammit

2010-03-04T13:02:00.001-08:00

at 52,264 miles i'm pulling into a gas station to top off the car for a run to las vegas. just as i do, the tire light flickers comes on.

in most ways the timing couldn't be better, so i pull on in and as i'm filling, check the tires. on first inspection, they seem fine. the passenger rear is two pounds low, but that's not enough to raise an alarm -- or at least it shouldn't be. i've had a false tire alarm on this car before, but still, something seems not quite right. and the fact that that one tire is noticeably lower is interesting ...

i mull it over as i wash my windows and check my oil then go back and look more closely at the tire ... and right there, i see it ... there's a pin nail in the outside tread.

goddammit. tire people will do damn near anything to sell you a tire, including things like tell you that sidewalls can't be repaired and "anything on the outside of the outer or inner third of the tread is a sidewall."

as i'm heading to pick up an accomplice, i get a TXT of a good tire store that i'm just passing. i pull in and after 15 minutes or so, they call me into the service bay.

"well, it turns out the best tire you had is the one with the nail in it."

they've circled all the problems on the various tires with yellow wax pencil and you don't have to be the world's best mechanical engineer to figure out there's problems here. the belt is clearly pulling from the sidewall on one tire, there's burbles on the other two.

i was planning on heading to vegas 30 minutes ago, but now i'm looking at a new set of tires. i'm in no rush -- i try to live my life such a way that i rarely am -- but it's still not the kind of thing that will push your mood up.

fortunately i'd read several reviews of the place on yelp as i was waiting (i'd link to it here, but i can't pull that website up right now for some reason), and it was clear to me that this isn't a clip joint.

i tell the manager he should go ahead and put tires on ... i tell him the car has two unusual traits: one, it has extreme curb weight for a vehicle of this size, so i need something with minimal rolling resistance; and two, it often does desert runs, so i need something with a high temperature rating.

he thumbs through his tire selection and comes up with a set that he's clearly happy with. he'd had an idea for me originally, but his tires were more expensive and not as well temperature rated, as the tires my needs pointed him toward.

an hour later i have a road worthy car for $458, less a $40 rebate (that i have to mail in).

it occurs to me later that 52k probably means i could probably get some kind of a rebate on the original dying tires, had i been a little more aware. with some additional legwork i could still probably get a few bucks back, but i probably won't pursue it ... my life's madness right now.

$418

51,858 mile service

2010-02-24T13:14:00.000-08:00

chrysler's website is broken and you can't see the coupons they advertise (you can click here and then click on the "3 great services for 1 low price" ad to see what i mean). i hit the 51k mark in las vegas, but figured i'd come back and try to cobble together an oil change in the bay area.

fortunately, michael stead chrysler in walnut creek had an ad on their website for a $30 oil change, so i drove the hour up there to get things done.

the staff was courteous but pushy in that weird service way. "this is a turbo, sir, you should get your oil changed every 3,000 miles and it's been 4,000 since you had the last one done."

well, actually there are two service conditions for the turbo engine in a cruiser -- 5,000 and 3,000 -- and i could have it changed at 5,000. in fact, i volunteer to get it done at 3,000 so i won't have chowder heads like you telling me what is in-and-out of warranty. i don't tell him that, of course.

"that's why i'm here."

he suggests my tires are wearing thin, asks if i want a quote ("sure") and sends me to the waiting room to wait for hertz to get me a rental car.

i can see him working on his computer as i talk to an older fellow in the waiting room about the merchant marines ... it looks to me that he's reading something about me on his screen ... it's a body language thing ... and yeah, you could say i'm just making stuff up, but remember, i've written poker books and made a lot of money on the tables ... i'm not completely unfounded, and he sees something ... i can tell.

he comes back to the waiting room. "i was looking at your account and see you live in santa clara. that's a haul from here ... if you'd like, i'll put you next in line -- i have another technician getting done in about 15 minutes -- and we can wait here and then go."

"sure, that'd be great."

okay. so he already knew i was in santa clara. i told him that when i handed him the car and they made the work order. so, unless it just took awhile for that to sink in, that's probably not the real reason. if i had to guess, and this is a guess that could only be categorized as "wild-ass," i'm guessing there's either a mention of my letter to sergio marchionne in my official record, or he was somehow directed to this 'blog and was reading it.

in any event, the tire quote got lost in the shuffle (which is fine). out in an hour, no problems found anywhere on the car again.

$30

new wipers on

2010-02-23T13:05:00.000-08:00

i was given an extra pair of wipers (as a coupon spiff) several oil changes ago and i put them on the continual car today. noting it only for future reference.

47,958 mile service

2010-01-20T13:09:00.000-08:00

using a coupon off the chrysler website i went to stevens creek chrysler and had an oil change and tire rotation.

nothing to report, aside from the fact that their inspection showed, once again, nothing wrong with my car.

$21

... and now it's for reals

2010-01-14T03:58:00.000-08:00

crossed over an important, but otherwise unnoticed milestone today. driving back late down 101 i crossed 48,000 miles on the continual car. this is the point where i would no longer have been able to buy a lifetime warranty wrap ... if i had waited until yesterday to buy it, i would have paid $336 more and would not have been given $376 worth of rental cars while the cruiser was in the shop.

i'm still happy with my purchase of the maxcare wrap and am glad that the car made it this far for the warranty to come into play ... if it'd be totaled by now, i'd simply be out the $1542 i'd paid for the policy, with essentially nothing to show for it.

now one of two things has to happen for me to be happy. either:

* i never have a problem with the car (in which case both chrysler and i are joyous)

= or =

* when i do have a claim, it actually gets paid off by chrysler

time will tell. oh yes.

quote of the moment

2010-01-11T22:59:00.001-08:00

"the most common turbocharger failure is bearing failure related to
repeated hot shutdowns with in adequate 'cool down' periods. a sudden
engine shut down after prolonged operation will result in the transfer
of heat from the turbine section of the turbocharger to the bearing
housing. this causes the oil to overheat and break down, which causes
bearing and shaft damage the next time the vehicle is started."

-- 2008 PT cruiser service manual, volume 3, page 11-23

quote of the moment

2010-01-11T22:48:00.001-08:00

"increasing the turbocharger boost WILL NOT increase engine power."

-- 2008 PT cruiser service manual, volume 3, page 11-22

ta da

2009-12-22T13:21:00.000-08:00

six hours after the post office showed my letter being delivered to chrysler, i got a phone call from a detroit area code ... it is, in fact, a rep. calling from the CEO's office ... this in itself is interesting, not only because the response is so fast, but also because i never put a phone number on my letter -- it means that they've gone through their owners' logs and pulled it out.

the conversation is long, winding and strange (as conversations with me tend to be on the phone -- the robot has suggested that i start publishing all my phone conversations), but i can summarize it succinctly: if i follow what's in the owner's manual, i'm covered for warranty's sake.

some interesting pieces of side trivia:

* chrysler has a record of all my visits to all my dealerships, but they do not have a record of what the results of individual inspections are.

* my chrysler rep. also has a max care service contract on her jeep (and she hasn't read her owner's manual).

* i now have a name and a direct line into chrysler.

i was traveling at the time and forgot to ask for a quick note in the mail stating the same, just for my record purposes, but i will.

we also had a brief conversation about chapman that i will not repeat here, but i will say i am satisfied.

i consider this an early xmas present from chrysler, and given the current circumstance, could not be happier.

(19184486)

they've got mail

2009-12-22T08:06:00.000-08:00

you can get email confirmation on certified mail now ... and it's cheaper than those damn little green cards.

***

b1-66er has requested that you receive a Track & Confirm update, as shown below.

Track & Confirm e-mail update information provided by the U.S. Postal Service.

Label Number: 7107 1692 5290 2804 2861

Service Type: First-Class Certified Mail

Shipment Activity Location Date & Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Delivered AUBURN HILLS MI 48321 12/22/09 8:06am

Arrival at Unit AUBURN HILLS MI 48326 12/22/09 7:46am

Acceptance LOS GATOS CA 95030 12/16/09 11:21pm

Reminder: Track & Confirm by email

and just when it was getting good too ...

2009-12-19T02:00:00.001-08:00

i'm headed back east (which is to say CO and NV) for a few weeks ...
which means there'll be a delay on seeing/reporting anything related to
the chrysler group letter until after the new year.

in other news, my car was 2 years old, yesterday.

a question of faith

2009-12-18T12:11:00.000-08:00

at breakfast with the grumbler this morning, i brought up the letter to mr. marchionne (since i knew he subscribes to my RSS feed) and asked him what he thought of it.

it was a non-topic for him. "i don't think anybody's gonna read it."

but i think he's wrong. i could go on and on about this, but having worked in large corporations (some with the grumbler, in fact), i know that a letter that comes out of the office of the president will get attention ... and very little gets sent certified mail these days ... i think it'll get a response ...

... but i've been wrong before.

quote of the moment

2009-12-18T03:33:00.000-08:00

"The Sacred"

After the teacher asked if anyone had
a sacred place
and the students fidgeted and shrank
in their chairs,
the most serious of them all
said it was his car,
being in it alone,
his tape deck playing
things he'd chosen,
and others knew the truth
had been spoken
and began speaking about their rooms,
their hiding places,
but the car kept coming up,
the car in motion,
music filling it,
and sometimes one other person
who understood the bright altar of the dashboard
and how far away
a car could take him from the need
to speak, or to answer, the key in
having a key
and putting it in, and going.

-- Stephen Dunn

... and the rain came down

2009-12-17T01:49:00.000-08:00

remember how i said that pre-emptive letters were going to go out to the heads of all operations based on the suspicious inspection that was done (and repeated here and here)?

well, that time has now come to pass. i've arranged letters in reverse order of importance so the most important ones are on the top, the lessers toward the bottom.

you're welcome to read along and see:

my letter to the CEO of chrysler outlining the suspicious inspections and my need to have chrysler bring the matter to rest.

my letter to the general manager of chapman chrysler giving notice that i have good reason to believe those inspections are incorrect.

my letter to the president of daimlerchrysler service contracts telling her that i thought the phone conversation with her department was weak.

my letter to the CEO of the southern NV better business bureau opening the door for filing a complaint against chapman.

my letter to the secretary of the treasury letting him know what's happening with the US investment in chrysler from my end.

my letter to the owner of my chrysler, telling him i had great service there along the way.

my letter to autowest chrysler, tell them that i appreciated their service as well (here's another).

(and, yes, this increases the TVC of my car by $14 -- $11 for postage, $3 for envelopes.)

we'll see what happens.

letter to Sergio Marchionne

2009-12-16T01:10:00.000-08:00

{note: original document was sent via certified US post -- hypertext links are for background information, the formatting is not part of the original letter and is a side-effect of the way html appears on a browser screen.}

December 16, 2009

Sergio Marchionne
CEO
Chrysler Group LLC
PO Box 21-8004
Auburn Hills, MI 48321-8004

Dear Mr. Marchionne,

RE: INSPECTIONS, WARRANTY AND SERVICE CONTRACT #ZZZ OF VIN XXX

I’m writing to you due to recent inspections on my 2008 PT Cruiser by Chapman Chrysler Jeep in Henderson, NV, which I believe are not correctly reflecting the state of my vehicle. This letter is an effort to ensure that my lifetime powertrain warranty and the associated “Lifetime Maximum Care Wrap” Service Contract (LMCW) will remain valid and intact.

Allow me to back up...In November of 2007, Chrysler announced the discontinuation of one of the most fun cars I’d ever driven: the PT Cruiser convertible. I had one made to order once I discovered that I could get a LMCW. To be very clear, my LMCW -- combined with the lifetime powertrain warranty -- is the reason I sold both of my Hondas and became a Chrysler customer for the first time in my life.

In anticipation, I read the 2008 Owner’s Manual (OM) online before my car had even been built. Since my Cruiser would be the most expensive single item I would own, I knew that I would conform to the much more rigid Maintenance Schedule B (OM pg. 434), irrespective of how I actually drove the car. I figured that that way if anything ever happened to the car mechanically I could never be challenged as to whether or not I had chosen the right service schedule, and somehow void my LMCW coverage as a result. Even though there’s no mention of this possible objection in the contract itself, I didn’t ever want to broach the possibility of breach of contract in this way with anyone at Chrysler.

I’ve been driving a lot -- my car has more than 46,000 miles in less than two years. Thanks your distributed dealership network, I’ve had the 15 requisite services needed to this point performed by nine different Chrysler dealers in three different states.
On the whole the car has been doing very well, and my experience with your dealer network has been quite good. There is one notable exception...
On May 28, 2009, I took my car to Chapman Chrysler in Henderson, NV for my 33,000 mile inspection. Using a coupon from the Chrysler Web site I received an oil change, an air filter and an inspection for the (much appreciated) bargain price of $22.

The service components were exchanged without a hitch, but the inspection came back shocking. My car “failed” (their term) an automatic transmission fluid check, a power steering fluid check and a fuel line check. In all cases the fluids or components were found to be “dirty.” I was also “cautioned” on the brake fluid level/condition “due to mileage,” and I was told that my tires should be rotated and balanced. Combined, the price of these services would come to more than $800. This on a car that was less than a year-and-a-half old, and at 33,000 miles, still under full warranty.
I was surprised since the (far more extensive) 30,000 mile service at Las Vegas’ United Chrysler (they were still a dealer at this time, they are not any more) showed none of these problems.

I pressed my service advisor a bit. I told him I knew I was responsible for standard maintenance (LMCW pg. 4) but these items were far from standard. The brake service isn’t due until 48,000 miles and even then only if the car is used for towing (OM pg. 441), which it definitely is not. The transmission fluid is due for a change at 60,000 miles only if my car is used for police, taxi, limousine or trailer (OM pgs. 442, 447), which again, it definitely is not. And the fuel injector service? It doesn’t even appear in the OM.

I said, “Listen, if all this stuff is bad, it should still be covered under warranty. There’s no way this is ‘standard service.’ It’s definitely not required as part of Schedule B in the Owner’s Manual at this mileage. None of it’s even close.”

My advisor shrugged and suggested that desert driving can put excessive wear on a car. I said, “Not that it matters, but the vast majority of my miles are not in the deserts. I don’t even live here.” I declined the services.

That same day, I called my brother, b1-67er. He’s a licensed Professional Engineer with several automotive patents to his name (I encourage you to do a Google search -- he’ll show up when you do a search for the phrase “world’s best mechanical engineer”) and is a specialist in failure analysis. He was immediately extremely suspicious of the diagnosis.

This gave me a quandary, what happens if an inspection shows a “failed” component and then subsequently that piece develops a fault and I need warranty work done?
On or about June 2, I called the DaimlerChrysler Service Contracts hotline (800-521-9922) essentially asking, “if Chrysler does an inspection on my vehicle and you find something's wrong (like dirty automatic transmission fluid), and I don't change it, and it subsequently fails, am I still covered by the lifetime powertrain warranty (or the wrap)?”

Mr. Marchionne, you just can’t believe how difficult it was to get a simple answer to that question. It took nearly 20 minutes of back-and-forth conversation, but the service representative essentially said, “no, you would be liable” -- in the most non-committal way you’ve ever heard in your life.

This puts me in an awkward catch-22, because essentially what Chrysler is saying is “no, once we spot a problem, if it’s not fixed, you are not covered under warranty,” but if those components subsequently fail, the warranty is no longer valid. It doesn’t make any legal sense because it’s not “prescribed” in the OM (LMCW pg. 4).

On July 16, my 36,000 mile service is done at AutoWest Chrysler in Fremont, CA. As part of the coupon for an oil change, they too do an inspection of my car. They find nothing wrong.

The 39,000 and 42,000 mile services are both done a Chapman in Henderson. Once again on both of these they claim the same problems from the 33,000 mile service (I don’t know for certain that they actually re-tested at these times -- it’s possible they were just re-publishing their previous tests).
For the 45,000 mile service I go to My Chrysler in Salinas, CA. They do the general inspection as part of my oil change coupon and find nothing wrong.

I’m not going to say if Chapman is correct in their belief that my car has several problems -- as a consumer, I don’t think I should have to. For certain there are three other Chrysler dealers who have not found the problems reported by Chapman during the same rough period of time. Instead I’m going to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
One of three things has to be true (possibly in combination):

Chapman is incorrect about what’s wrong with my vehicle.
Chapman’s tests are far more precise than the other Chrysler dealers I have gone to. That’s why they are showing problems that others do not.
The other Chrysler dealers I have been going to are not actually performing the inspections, or are simply failing to spot what’s “wrong” with my vehicle.

Of these three -- especially given the expert advice of my brother -- I think one of the first two must be correct. My bet is on the first one.

I studiously avoid being confrontational as a consumer of a company’s products. I’d much rather get along with my service provider than try to fight them (and, quite honestly, I want to see Chrysler, in all forms, do well). To this end, this is what I’d like to see you provide to me as a consumer of your product:

Authorize a San Francisco Bay Chrysler dealer (e.g. someone like Stevens Creek) to do an inspection on my vehicle -- looking specifically for the problems reported by Chapman. This ensures that the inspection would be done well-away from any influence that Chapman might exert giving a better chance for a “true” inspection. It’s also closer to where I live.
If the inspecting dealer finds any of the problems that Chapman have reported, give authorization to have that repair done under warranty. Clearly these problems should not be appearing at this mileage (they are not prescribed by the OM at this mileage) and need to be fixed. They were all originally spotted well within the original 3 year/36,000 mile time period.
If the inspecting dealer finds no problem, then have them provide that information in writing -- this would give me coverage for any problems that may arise in the future.
Alternatively, you could simply send a letter saying that as long as I follow the service recommendations in my OM, I am covered by my plans (the powertrain warranty and/or the LMCW), and I do not have to comply with inspection results.

If you are not able, or unwilling, to provide this to me as a service, there are a few things that I want to make clear for the record:

By both Federal law and your LMCW (pg. 4) I am not required to have my car serviced at a Chrysler dealership to maintain the validity of my warranty. Being able to prove that the car was serviced is good enough for fulfillment. I use your dealerships because I never want to have a non-Chrysler service on my car called into question. However, if the inspections are creating difficulties themselves, it’s senseless for me to accept them and I should move outside the dealer chain of reference to minimize my expense and hassle.
I do not consider Chapman’s assessment of my vehicle to be accurate. There are eight other unique Chrysler dealers who have never found a problem with my vehicle -- three of them immediately surrounding Chapman reviews.
Chrysler’s unwillingness to help would make me a vocal advocate against your corporation. I am not saying this as some quasi-form of psychological blackmail (nor do I think I have much clout), it’s merely that I cannot, in good conscience, support a corporation who supports what I believe are predatory business practices. (I do not believe this is true at the present time.)
Nowhere in the LMCW, nor in the OM, does it say that I am responsible for correcting problems found by Chrysler inspections. In fact, due to #1 above, Chrysler inspections are not required. I stand by the sentence on page 4 of the LMCW fully, “your responsibility is to properly operate, care for and maintain the vehicle as prescribed in the OM supplied by the manufacturer” (my emphasis added). That is precisely what I do, and to the letter. There is nothing I have agreed to in principal, nor in print, that says I have to abide by a recommendation resulting from an inspection. (Especially one that equals 4% of the original price of my car in less than two years of use.)

Mr. Marchionne, I don’t delude myself for a second. I know the chances are essentially zero that you will read this letter -- it undoubtedly will be batted from department to department for awhile before it ends on the desk of someone who’d rather not deal with it. But that doesn’t lessen the fact that I believe in my cause, nor does it take away from the fact that I am (at least for the moment) a fan of Chrysler’s. I bought my car when everyone I knew or talked to thought it was an act of folly. Essentially my pals asked, “What good is lifetime if the company has no life?”

But I know a thing or two about business and the law. And I admire what it took to for a major corporation to come out with a lifetime warranty. I was enthralled enough that I decided to come along for the ride. I have a ‘blog dedicated to my car (in fact, this letter appears there, as will any response you send) -- I encourage anyone who sees reads letter to give it a look at http://www.continualcar.com/.

I realize that I’m the smallest conceivable mite on a planet of the much bigger problems you deal with, but before you completely wave me off, consider this: if even one percent of current Honda owners had done the same as I, Chrysler would have no monetary troubles (and, ironically, you wouldn’t have to read this letter right now, because you wouldn’t be running the corporation).

The entire purpose of this letter is to put a stake in the ground now to help stave off any possible problems in the future. This missive isn’t a warning; it’s a request for official help. I bought my PT Cruiser for enjoyment of a fun car and to be a participant in a grand experiment conducted by a company that had its back against the wall.

So far the experience has been great. My car is extremely solid and reliable. On the whole my experience with your dealers has been extremely good (especially Chapman, if you ignore the inspection “problems”) -- better than my old Honda dealers. I don’t want to give you the impression that I’m upset with Chrysler, because I’m not. I’m just doing everything I can to never buy another car again, including writing this letter.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Enclosures: 6

cc: Mark Akbar, General Manager, AutoWest Dodge Chrysler Jeep

Nick Banker, General Manager, Chapman Chrysler Jeep
Sylvia Campbell, CEO, Southern Nevada Better Business Bureau
Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury, United States Department of Treasury
Tom Maher, Owner, My Jeep Chrysler Dodge
Ann Tomlanovich, President, DaimlerChrysler Service Contracts, Inc.
ecc: b1-67er, Professional Engineer
J. Scott Maberry, Esq

letter to nick banker

2009-12-16T01:07:00.000-08:00

December 16, 2009

Nick Banker
General Manager
Chapman Chrysler Jeep
930 Auto Show Drive
Henderson, NV 89014

Dear Mr. Banker,

RE: EXCESSIVE REPAIRS SUGGESTED FOR VIN XXX

On May 28th of this year I took my PT Cruiser to Chapman Chrysler to have a service done using a coupon I had printed from the chrysler.com Web site. For the bargain price of $22 I would get an oil change, an air filter and an inspection.

The oil change and air filter went without a hitch, which was great. Unfortunately this was more than offset by my shock when I learned the inspection had found three items “failed” (transmission fluid, power steering fluid and the fuel line) and that two others were “cautioned” (brake fluid and tire balance) on my car. The suggested maintenances totaled more than $800...This on a car less than a year and a half old and with only 33,000 miles on the odometer.

Aside from your dealership’s inspections, there has never been a hint that this might be the case with my car. In the 12 oil changes and inspections I have had at eight other dealerships, before, in-between, and after those you performed, none have shown any problems with my car.

As you will see in the enclosed letter, I am contacting the Chrysler Group CEO in an effort to rectify the quandary your dealership’s inspections have put me in...It’s extremely important to me that my lifetime powertrain warranty and Lifetime Maximum Care service contract remain valid.

I do not expect any action (including a response) on your part. I just wanted to make you aware of the situation firsthand so you could see the interactions I’m having concerning this matter. Please be aware that I reserve the right to post, even in edited format, any response you have to my ‘blog devoted to my Cruiser: http://www.continualcar.com/.

Sincerely,

b1

cc: Sergio Marchionne, CEO, Chrysler Group LLC

Sylvia Campbell, CEO, Southern Nevada Better Business Bureau

letter to Ann Tomlanovich

2009-12-16T01:05:00.001-08:00

December 16, 2009

Ann Tomlanovich
President, DaimlerChrysler Service Contracts, Inc.
DaimlerChrysler Service Contracts, Inc.
P.O. Box 2700
Troy, Michigan 48007

Dear Ms. Tomlanovich,
RE: PHONE RESPONSES ON SERVICE CONTRACT QUESTIONS

As you will see in the enclosed letter to Mr. Marcionne, I’m concerned about the results and implication of a series of recent Chrysler inspections. I’m writing you for two reasons: one is to let you know that your business arm was mentioned in my letter; the other is I had an extremely frustrating call with your staff.

On or about June 2, 2009, I called your consumer hotline (800-521-9922) to ask this question: if I have a Chrysler inspection done on my PT Cruiser and a car component is seen as problematic, will I be liable (ie. not covered by the lifetime powertrain warranty and/or my wrap) if this particular component ultimately fails?
It was nearly impossible to get a direct answer to this question. In fact, after 20 minutes of probing, the answer I had was essentially, “probably.” It’s actually worse than no answer at all.

I’m not expecting an answer to this question from you (or actually a response of any kind) -- I’m leaving that in the hands of Mr. Marchionne -- but I am letting you know that the training this particular service representative had on this particular question was beyond wanting, it was simply weak.

At the very end of the day, a Service Contract is monetary icing on the cake for your company. You know it, I know it, and it’s the very reason that you have this particular job. As a consumer, what I really want on the other end of the phone is someone who can answer a question simply -- especially if the question has a yes or no answer.

Sincerely,

b1

Enclosures: 1
cc: cc: Sergio Marchionne, CEO, Chrysler Group LLC

letter to sylvia campbell

2009-12-16T01:05:00.000-08:00

December 16, 2009

Sylvia Campbell
CEO
Southern Nevada Better Business Bureau
6040 S. Jones Blvd.
Las Vegas NV 89118

Dear Ms. Campbell,

RE: POSSIBLE COMPLAINT AGAINST CHAPMAN CHRYSLER JEEP

I’ve had a series of inspections done on my car at Chapman Chrysler Jeep on 930 Auto Show Drive in Henderson {ed: here, here and here}. As you will see in the enclosed letter I have sent to Mr. Marchionne, I have reason to believe that I am getting exaggerated claims on the state of repair of my vehicle.

To be very clear and absolutely fair, I am not 100% certain that Chapman’s reports are in error. I just have very good reasons to believe they are.

I’m not familiar with what constitutes a “complaint” with the Better Business Bureau. If my grievance qualifies, please consider this a formal lodging to that end. If not, please accept my apologies for disruption of the BBB routine.

Sincerely,

b1

Enclosures: 2

cc: Sergio Marchionne, CEO, Chrysler Group LLC

letter to Timothy Geithner

2009-12-16T01:00:00.000-08:00

December 16, 2009
Timothy Geithner
Secretary of the Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220

Dear Mr. Geithner,

RE: CONSUMER ANECDOTE CONCERNING CHRYSLER

Although it’s devilishly hard to determine explicitly, my understanding is the federal government now owns a large portion of the Chrysler Corporation and the Treasury is the department responsible for the oversight of this holding.

I’ve copied you on a grievance I currently have concerning the “lifetime” agreements I have in place with Chrysler (their powertrain warranty and the “Lifetime Maximum Care” service contract).

I am expecting no action on behalf of you or your department. No response is necessary. I merely wanted to make you aware of what was happening with your investment at the absolute most microscopic of levels. I know that as an investor I’m always curious about anything that happens relative to an investment of mine and it’s possible someone in your department might actually be charged with knowing this kind of stuff.

Use it as a datum for the larger picture, or ignore, as you see fit.

A happy new year to you,

b1

P.S. As I was looking for your street address, I saw the “free shipping” promotion you have on dollar coins and ordered four boxes. I love the dollar coins and I think it’s a great idea to help pump them into circulation. (And no, I’m not even getting a single frequent flyer mile for it).

Enclosures: 1

cc: Sergio Marchionne, CEO, Chrysler Group LLC

letter to my chrysler dodge

2009-12-16T00:58:00.000-08:00

December 16, 2009

Tom Maher
Owner
My Jeep Chrysler Dodge
800 Auto Center Circle
Salinas, CA 93907

Dear Mr. Maher,

RE: GREAT SERVICE ON VIN XXX

Just the briefest of notes to let you know that I have mentioned your dealership, in passing, in a letter to the Chrysler Group CEO, Mr. Marchionne (enclosed).

As I have stated in my letter, my sole experience with My Chrysler was superlative. My oil change and tire rotation were done cleanly, correctly and on time -- according to my schedule. (You can’t believe how hard it is to get a car serviced in the afternoon -- nearly everyone wants a morning appointment.)

The only reason I mention this to you at all is on the very off chance you hear something from higher authorities due to my letter. I seriously doubt this would happen, but just in case...

A very Happy New Year to you,

b1

Enclosures: 1

cc: Sergio Marchionne, CEO, Chrysler Group LLC

letter to AutoWest Dodge Chrysler Jeep

2009-12-16T00:54:00.000-08:00

December 16, 2009

Mark Akbar
General Manager

AutoWest Dodge Chrysler Jeep

5850 Cushing Parkway
Fremont, CA 94538

Dear Mr. Akbar,

RE: GREAT SERVICE OF VIN XXX

Just the briefest of notes to let you know that I have mentioned your dealership, in passing, in a letter to the Chrysler Group CEO, Mr. Marchionne (enclosed).

As I have stated in my letter, my experience with AutoWest has been superlative {ed: here and here}. The people at AutoWest have always been efficient and gracious (especially Roger Thurman). The work your center has done on my PT Cruiser has been great.

The only reason I mention this to you at all is on the very off chance you hear something from higher authorities due to my letter. I seriously doubt this would happen, but just in case...

A very Happy New Year to you,

Enclosures: 1

cc: Sergio Marchionne, CEO, Chrysler Group LLC

the continual car window is closing

2009-12-11T05:53:00.000-08:00

i just read that last summer chrysler announced the 2010s would no longer have lifetime powertrain warranties. this also means that it will no longer be possible to get lifetime bumper-to-bumper wraps. (oh, and just to blow my own horn, i predicted this happening two years ago.)

so ... if any of the three of you who read this 'blog want a continual car of your own, you better go out and snag a 2009 chrysler, jeep or dodge. otherwise you'll be driving a boring old industry standard warranty.

and seriously, who wants to do that?

... and a filter

2009-12-08T15:57:00.000-08:00

missed one of the little check box-ies that said i need to get a new air filter at 45k. went and installed it myself (which is right at my very limit of automotive mechanics) and learned about this crazy thing called the "make-up" filter -- essentially a little sponge that's sitting in the same box.

$15

44, 911 mile service

2009-11-27T02:41:00.000-08:00

down at my brother's place in salinas for T-day, which means it's time for, that's right, yet another chrysler dealer to change my oil.

this time i've got the coupon i couldn't get hold of last time and head on over to my jeep chrysler dodge.

from the get-go they're super-responsive and friendly, so i figure i'll try a gambit.

"hey, i've got a coupon here that's good for wiper blades and an oil change for 20 bucks ... how about i trade you? you keep the wipers and give me a tire rotation instead for the same price?" i figure it's a good deal for them because it's just a bit of extra labor, but not hard durable goods going out the door.

"sure!"

they set an afternoon appointment with me (car dealerships almost always want you in in the morning) and took the continual car immediately on arrival. i went a couple blocks away for a late pancake lunch and they finished it well before i was done with my tasty meal.

now, in theory, they did an inspection here too and found ... nothing wrong ... once again making chapman look suspicious.

my jeep chrysler dodge is a great dealer ... and once again ... the non-5-star dealer is better than the ones that do have stars. i don't get it.

$24

(this service was supposed to include an air filter, but i did it myself.)

trivium of the moment

2009-11-15T14:04:00.000-08:00

poking around on the NTSA web site today i found that the total number of 2008 PT cruiser convertibles manufactured was 1858.

42,122 mile service

2009-11-05T02:30:00.000-08:00

back in vegas again, so i headed over to chapman. the chrysler website has a coupon for oil change and wipers for $20, but i forgot to print it out before i left CA ... and as punishment, god crashed the chrysler website.

had to settle for a chapman coupon for a $20 oil change (no wipers). they had another coupon that included a tire rotation for $30, but the service guy reminded me that i'd rotated 'em last time and fairly emphatically suggested that i not do it now ... so i didn't.

they also did an inspection and, once again, show contaminated power steering fluid, automatic transmission fluid and a "dirty" throttle body. or to put it in terms warren buffett would understand, $780.

come on, man ... is it really that bad? it feels like they're grasping to me.

$21

milestone for my old car

2009-09-05T18:37:00.000-07:00

'93 honda civic del sol, now owned by radioactive dave. 200k miles.
think of it as a dry run for the continual car.

the continual car rests

2009-08-27T16:49:00.001-07:00

i've bought one of jetblue's all-you-can-jet passes, which means the
continual car is gonna be mostly sittin' from 9/8 to 10/8.

i have a new 'blog for my travel exploits.

and as search engine fodder you can buy AYCJ t-shirts here.
(profits go to carbonfund/org)

39,111 mile service

2009-08-14T00:04:00.000-07:00

i'm back in vegas and it's time for yet another oil change. chrysler has gone through a significant trimming of their dealerships as part of their bankruptcy proceedings and there's only one, yes one, official five-start dealer left in las vegas proper.

and that would be whom?

that's right, chapman. the only dealer in vegas that i'm suspicious about. so i grab my coupon and head on in, not having any idea what's going to happen when i hit my three red lights of their original inspection.

but hey, i'll get a cheapie, mopar-approved, oil change and the good news is i had them hold the parts so i'll get the trim and my interior light fixed (even though now i'm over 36k miles).

unfortunately i let my fricken driver's license expire so i'm not able to get my freebie rental car ... but they do have a shuttle, so it's not all bad ... i'm able to retreat back to the robot's house where i'm staying.

it takes chapman an extra day to fix my car than they originally predicted (making them 1 for 4 in being on-time), but when i get it back everything's done complete and correct. i give a little tug on the roll bar trim and it stays put, so maybe it has a chance.

and how did they handle the inspection? there's a huge red box that says "previously declined recommendations" that includes:

* tire rotation and balance
(i declined the balance before, i told them to rotate -- the work order says they did, the print-out says they didn't).

* brake system flush
(highly suspicious -- they say "brake fluid can become contaminated in as little as 2 years." one would assume this is a worst case scenario. my car is 4 months, or 17%, shy of this figure.)

* power steering flush
("should be replaced with new fluid as part of a preventative maintenance program." the normal maintenance for this isn't even in the owner's manual.)

* automatic transmission service
(needs to follow a "regular maintenance schedule." well, the owner's manual says that shouldn't be happening until 60k miles, and then only if it's a delivery vehicle. please.)

* fuel injector service
(they don't even have a nagging sheet about this one ... i use injector cleaner every oil change and i drive the vast majority of my miles at highway speed for hours on end -- a nice hot engine is the least likely way to have this build-up happen ... unfortunately it's also the only thing that is not covered by the mechanical part of my extended service warranty. hmm)

$21

public warning about chapman chrysler jeep service; henderson, NV

2009-07-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

so here's the deal ... chapman chrysler jeep in las vegas, NV handed me a vehicle inspection (part of a chrysler coupon i had), that showed i needed $814 worth of services (bad fuel injection, dirty power steering fluid and dirty automatic transmission fluid). no inspection before this one by chapman, and the one immediately preceding it, showed any problems with my vehicle.

if you're new here, go ahead and read through some of the stuff i've written to decide whether i'm a flakeball just spouting off, or i have a legitimate complaint about something suspicious going on here ... after you're done with that my advice to you would be to get a second opinion of any recommendation by chapman.

it should be noted that their service, although often slow (they set me up an appointment at 10:00, but don't roll my car into the service bay until 15:30?), is done spot-on the money. everything chapman claimed they'd do eventually got done completely and correctly.

37,042 mile service

2009-07-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

i wasn't able to stop by the shop in vegas before i headed out so i dropped back in to autowest dodge chrysler jeep in fremont, CA on my triumphant return to the bay area.

i had a coupon for tire rotation, oil change and inspection. the inspection should be interesting because if it matches chapman, then i can more firmly suspect there's something legitimately wrong with the car -- and if it doesn't match, it could mean there's something very wrong with chapman's service.

i say nothing about the former inspection and wait for an hour in the waiting area with some guy making hilarious comments about jerry springer (i swear to you, if he sat with me through all TV shows, i'd watch television every day ... instead of only when i travel, like i do now).

the car gets done and guess what? nothing is wrong in the inspection.

hmm.

$19

35,141 mile warranty service

2009-06-19T23:49:00.000-07:00

might as well call this one "roll bar molding, part III"

i'm approaching the magic distance of 36,000 miles on the continual car. to be clear, this is the point where i drop away from the factory warranty (read: "free repairs") and go to the extended service contract (meaning "$100 deductible").

the continual car has had the roll bar trim come loose twice (it's a problem with the air turbulent rolling over it with the top down) and it's loose again, so i need to get it done now ... while i'm at it, i'm going to have them repair the lens on the roll bar interior light -- the fit and finish isn't quite right.

i roll into chapman with 35,141 miles. it takes them a full day to look over the car (i get a rental) and decide that: yes i was right; no, they don't have the parts.

no matter. it's not something that needs to be done right away, but it is something they need to be aware of before i cross the magic number ...

oh, and a mild kicker here is i won't be able to get the roll bar trim fixed in the future under my service contract because it would definitely qualify as soft trim.

no problem ... if it comes off in the future it'll definitely be "paging mr. glue, mr. super glue" ... but i'll take one more chance on chrysler, sure.

a minor catch here is i won't be in town when the parts do come in, but if i can get them to hold on to them long enough, i can get it done next time i'm in town ... maybe even with an oil change.

a call to chrysler

2009-06-02T18:57:00.000-07:00

i call the service contract people with a question that is this:

if you do an inspection on my vehicle and find something's wrong, like automatic transmission fluid is dirty, and i don't change it, and it fails, am i still covered?

you'd think this is a simple question. i certainly do.

but try asking this to a politically correct corporate spudnut that may be being recorded for quality assurance purposes. the guy hems and haws and spews wild different forms of gibberish that are all essentially non-answers.

during the conversation (which takes more than 20 minutes), i point out that the inspection isn't required, that i could have a vehicle serviced anywhere (which means i may or may not change the transmission fluid and they wouldn't know) and that if my car did have bad transmission fluid it would be so early that it should be covered by warranty repair.

after beating him like a rabid dog for an extended period of time he finally said something close to yes, i would be liable.

i'm not happy and this is far from over.

pre-emptive letters are going to go out to the heads of all the operations here. you'll see.

32,985 mile service

2009-05-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

new coupon, new dealership.

what starts as a routine oil change ends very oddly.

i'm supposed to get an oil change and an air filter (not that i need it, but that's what the coupon's for). which is fine and that's what i get.

but their inspection turns up, get this: failure of the fuel injection system, dirty power steering fluid and dirty automatic transmission fluid. at 33,000 miles? this sounds highly suspicious.

i tell them "no thanks" to the $814 worth of service they've suggested and pull out my owner's manual ...

... because if i'm responsible for standard and required maintenance, what's required when?

there's no reference to the power steering fluid change, but transmission fluid is expected, get this, at 60k miles if i'm a taxi, a police car or a delivery truck.

i call my brother and he's immediately suspicious of all their findings. he knows i've been taking care of the vehicle. he also knows how vehicles of this type behave over time. essentially he believes their claims are ludicrous. and because he believes that, so do i.

or more precisely, if those things are in fact, wrong, they should be covered by warranty because they fall into the realm of defective.

and i don't know what it means to have a black mark on my record like this. if they say it's at fault, and i don't fix it because it's not standard maintenance, are they going to filch when i bring it in for warranty repair on failure? (yeah, that's what i think too.)

it all leaves a particularly bad taste in my mouth.

i need to talk to the service contract people.

chapman chrysler jeep, i officially don't trust you.

$22

i told you so ...

2009-05-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

got a letter in the mail from chrysler.

the short version of seven paragraphs:

* chrysler is filing bankruptcy and merging with fiat
(a wrinkle in what my bother and i talked about a year and a half ago)

* "the new company will seamlessly honor all warranty claims and service contracts."
(both what i had predicted and what i'd been told by the service people)

which means the continual car concept lives on.

(this written 12/10/09 as i found the letter in a stack of old stuff. pre-dated to match the date of the letter "may 2009.")

29,595 mile service

2009-04-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

this is the first big service on the car. up to here it's just oil changes, tire rotations and air filters; 30,000 miles includes spark plugs, inspection of the PCV valve (whatever the hell that is), air filter and adjusting the generator belt drive tension.

unfortunately, this also gives me my first shot at getting majorly up-sold. if you call a service center and ask for a "30,000 mile service on a PT cruiser," you're likely to get a whole catalog of items that aren't in the owner's manual (or are at much later mileages). the answer they'll give you, always, is that it's what they recommend.

i'm in NV right now, giving me four choices of dealerships to choose from (and i already called from the bay area about this service as well -- it's about 15% cheaper here than back home).

a quick call shows a whopping difference in price. most NV dealerships are wanting on the order of $750, but i find one, united chrysler jeep, that will do it for $250 minus the amount of my oil change coupon.

i go in, get my rental and get the service done. the dealership on the whole feels a little shoddy, but i'm not arguing with the service, nor the price.

$239

(my brother is appalled that four spark plugs are $167. "i'll teach you how to do that.")

... or maybe so ...

2009-03-31T13:28:00.000-07:00

it appears that bankruptcy is imminent for at least one of the major car manufacturers, and there's no question that chrysler will end up pulling the trigger in that game of russian roulette. the obvious question is what happens to the continual car service contract? because if there's no contract, the continual car isn't a forever living vampire, sucking down the world's resources; it's nothing more than a zombie waiting to get shot in the head -- just like the car you drive.

i don't need that.

it's so easy to get wound up in speculation about "oh, what if this happens?" and "oh, what if that happens?" that it becomes easy to ignore the obvious, which is why don't you just ask the people directly involved. from an information point of view, by far the biggest weakness of the internet is hearsay, false rumor, and the absolute worst -- idle speculation. i'm not going to fall into that trap so i call daimlerchrysler service contracts, the people i have a legal agreement with for the continual car.

i dive deep into a voice recognition phone tree for my service contract number, ultimately not being able to tell what choice i'm supposed to make so i just say "operator." a short pause brings me to a real live person that batters me with questions. what's my name? what's the last 8 digits of my VIN? what's my address and phone number? who was president after millard fillmore?

i know all that stuff and at four minutes past my dialling the telephone we're through all the nonsense. which means we're to the good part.

me: "as i'm sure you're all too aware, chrysler is in big time financial trouble. they might go bankrupt. if they do, what happens to this service contract?"

service operator guy: "sir, we have no information regarding the financial situation of chrysler. as soon as we do, we'll inform you. but if something like that did happen, your service contract still applies. it's a confidential {i'm pretty sure that's the word he used, it stuck to me because i'd never heard it in that context} legally binding contract."

me: "i just want to be absolutely clear here ... unless something totally insane happens, like chrysler declaring chapter seven {that's the form of bankruptcy where a company just vanishes}, i am covered. if chrysler were to declare bankruptcy, like a chapter 11, i'd still be able to get my car fixed under this service contract."

service: "that's correct. is there anything else i can do for you?"

me: "no, that's quite enough. thank you."

... or maybe not ...

2009-03-31T12:57:00.001-07:00

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/31/details-obamas-auto-warranty-plan-emerges/

making it last forever

2009-03-30T18:35:00.001-07:00

good article here on long term cars, with a focus on a guy that has driven his new '66 volvo p1800 *2.6M* miles.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20090305/CARNEWS/303059998

it's interesting that the 2M guy changes antifreeze only every 100k miles (not to mention that his car isn't even garaged!). his car has the original body, engine block, transmission and differential; with an engine re-build @ 680k miles. front seats replaced 2x due to sun damage -- the rest is original.

salient continual car points below, on the chance the article gets struck in the future. {my comments in braces.}

Top tips from folks who keep their cars over long distances:

1. Regular oil changes are just a start. Check the owner's manual for when to replace coolant, transmission and differential lubricants, brake and steering fluids, air and fuel filters, belts and hoses.
{this one seems like a gimme -- i'm surprised it's on the list.}

2. Fix it as soon as it breaks. A worn ball joint or shock absorber may seem like no big deal at first, but keeping it on the car long-term stresses other components. Minor dings or scratches can become big rust holes. Deferred maintenance turns a survivor into a beater.
{love that last sentence.}

3. Drive gently. Frequent drag-racing starts and F1-style braking maneuvers do not enhance your car's long-term durability.

4. Budget for it. When you're done with car payments, save at least some of that cash for upkeep.
{... or maybe pay a little more up-front with a chrysler lifetime warranty and pray the fates somehow keep you in the game.}

5. Choose quality parts. You're keeping the car, so why cheap out?

6. Find a mechanic you can trust. A wrench who knows your machine inside and out is a valuable ally in keeping it going.

7. Keep records. If you wish to sell or need to make an insurance claim, records make all the difference in proving your car's true value.
{sell a long term vehicle? please.}

8. Enjoy driving! The point of all of this is that you like driving the car. If you come to regard it as and old heap you resent rather than a traveling companion on the journey, it's time to make a trade.
{there's another point here, but if you're in for the Long Term Game, you already know what it is. and if you're not, you wouldn't understand it anyway ...}

obama, fan of the continual car

2009-03-30T15:17:00.001-07:00

this (c) reuters

"To reassure consumers wary of purchasing a vehicle from a financially distressed company, Obama said the government would underwrite warranties beginning on Monday. 'Let me say it as plainly as I can, if you buy a car from Chrysler or General Motors, you will be able to get your car serviced and repaired, just like always. Your warranty will be safe,' Obama said."

26,540 mile service

2009-03-02T02:38:00.000-08:00

chrysler sent me an oil change coupon in the mail that was being honored by boardwalk, so i went back there. although the car was due at 27k miles, i wanted to take it in before i did another vegas drive -- it just made things easier.

i was able to make an appointment, take my car in, wait, get the change and leave all in less than an hour. good deal.

$22

24,028 mile service

2009-01-31T02:19:00.000-08:00

boardwalk chrysler wasn't honoring the latest set of chrysler coupons so i took my car to autowest dodge chrysler jeep. in addition to the oil change and tire rotation, i mentioned the recurrence of the air bag light and the repeating problem with error code po456. i was given a gigantic panel van as my rental car.

i was promised my car in a day, but got it back in two due to a couple of mild complications. it turned out the airbag problem was actually a faulty seat belt connector, so they replaced it -- i could tell just driving it off the lot that they got that right.

they did a pressure check on the fuel system and found a small leak in the gas cap, replacing it as well. that too must have been the right answer because i haven't had any problems since.

two problems that would be easy for a dealer to blow off and both were fixed quickly and correctly. very impressive. they'd get full marks except when they returned my car it had been shat upon pretty heavily by seagulls -- problematic because washing my top is a by-hand, two-step process (i have to wash/brush it, let it dry and then waterproof it again).

$22

i'm leaking, i'm leaking again

2009-01-13T15:58:00.000-08:00

the engine light came on the day before i was due to do* the las vegas, NV -> santa clara, CA drive. desert chrysler were super-helpful and able to take me in in the early afternoon. a quick check from them (so quick, in fact, that i had not left the lot in my [free] rental) revealed the return of error code P0456.

good news and bad news. the good being that i can make the drive back to CA, no problem. the bad being there may be something tiny wrong with the fuel system causing this evaporation leak light to come on. i'll need to get that checked before the 3-year/36,000 mile mark (since i don't have to pay a deductible before that).

*gotta dig lyrics in writing

welcome the snow beast

2009-01-07T03:27:00.000-08:00

my brother referred to my del sol as a "snow pig" due to its lack-of-ease on snow packed roads. the combination of a 50/50 front/back balance, along with a relatively light curb weight, made it tricky on slick streets.

the cruiser comes from the other side of the tracks ... not only is it heavy (probably to the front), but it also has anti-spin and ABS. it runs great on the snow and ice. but the automation is heavy-handed enough that it's hard to have a feel for the car ... i still don't fully trust it, but it laughed at other cars on an icy road in CO and was rock solid on both recent snow drives through UT.

i almost certainly would have had the traction features added if they hadn't have already been included on the car, but i'm glad i didn't have to ...

the convertible top is easily the most insulated i've ever experienced. even in the near-zero temps, i was driving with the seat heater off and heat on the lowest setting with the dial cranked about 3/4 of the way ... compare this to a ride under very similar circumstances in my hardtop sirocco 20 years ago -- i had to drive with the heat on full and my jacket on just to stay comfortable.

the two drives i've taken through UT have been punishingly brutal -- including passing a sander spewing marble-size gravel last night. the car's taken it absolutely in stride.

20,836 mile service

2009-01-07T03:04:00.002-08:00

chrysler is posting their oil change coupons online again. since i'm back in CO, i had the change done there -- they neglected to do the tire rotation, which is fine since it's not technically due on this service.

$21.60

a new low

2009-01-07T03:04:00.001-08:00

in eastern UT

coldest thermometer reading to date

2009-01-04T23:44:00.001-08:00

lakewood, CO

a record never to be broken?

2009-01-01T09:12:00.000-08:00

my mom gets discounts on gas for buying groceries at the local safeway.
she lives alone and buys very little, but that didn't keep me from
getting a 70¢/gallon discount on gas on my new year's eve fill-up.

because of the downward spike in gas prices and this abnormally large
discount, will this end up being the cheapest gas i buy in the US for
the rest of my life?

license plate ice pack

2008-12-23T08:28:00.000-08:00

grand junction, CO

ice build up

2008-12-22T21:02:00.000-08:00

beaver, UT

first birthday

2008-12-18T23:27:00.001-08:00

my car's one year old today so i did something i haven't done in well
over 30 years ... i just went for a drive to celebrate ... up 280 past
the SETI radio telescope ... across 92 to half moon bay ... and down 1
to santa cruz and marianne's ice cream.
really nice drive.

snuffed

2008-12-18T23:22:00.000-08:00

on tuesday the engine warning light went off so i cancelled my appointment. don't ask me, man, i just drive the damn thing.