by "Tristan" (casselts)
Published 11/30/2017 at 02:14
by "Tristan" (casselts)
Published 11/30/2017 at 02:14
No Tags
STARS: 3
About 5 years ago, a friend and I were hanging out at a great little spot in the south of Afghanistan when he informed me that his girlfriend had completely smashed the bejeezus out of his newish Toyota Corolla S, meaning he needed a new car. Being as how he had just arrived in country, he had a few months to research and decide before actually having to buy one.
He wasn’t really a car guy, but he wanted to be. He had expressed interest in buying a fox body Mustang to learn how to work on cars, and always talked about trading his Corolla for something more fun.
He asked me my opinion... Well, the New Dodge Dart was on its way to showrooms at the time. The press was in love with it, it looked fantastic, and could be optioned into a really fun little package.
So, fast forward a few months and he actually buys one. Brand new, 1.4 Multiair, 6-speed manual, red, Rallye package... He let me drive it, and it drove GREAT! And it was great. For about 6 months... Then the electrical gremlins started, the door handles started falling off, the turbo failed at 30,000 miles, then the engine failed at 45,000 miles.
Then, he traded it in for a Corolla. He did not ask for my advice this time.
"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
11/30/2017 at 02:25, STARS: 15
This is brilliant. If you recommend FCA products often enough, eventually no one will ever talk to you again!
"Tristan" (casselts)
11/30/2017 at 02:29, STARS: 1
Mmmmmm... Life goals! The Chrysler 200 is dying soon—I wonder how many I can sell to people I hate...
"C62030" (c62030)
11/30/2017 at 02:44, STARS: 7
"OmerCarrothers333" (omercarrothers333)
11/30/2017 at 03:48, STARS: 2
I had a Dart Ralleye with the Tigershark 2.4. I loved that car.
Then the engine blew up, and FCA could not be arsed to replace the engine. They eventually bought it back.
Sometimes, I see one on the road and I get a little sad. Then I step on the gas in my GTI.
"Powershiftmedia-ResidentDSMGuru" (matt-powershiftmedia)
11/30/2017 at 05:34, STARS: 0
So weird when I hear people talk about FCA quality. I say this because my best friend is a Mopar fanatic.
His wife owns a 1.4 Dart that is indeed a 6 speed manual, and aside from the dreaded “underboost” situation, it’s been flawless with 80k on it. The under boost situation was as easy as adjusting the jamb nut on the wastegate actuator.
He drives a 16 SCAT Pack Challenger that hasn’t experienced any issues yet.
His dad drives a 300 S lease that has been absolutely stellar. That thing is awesome to ride in and is really nice.
Before his SCAT he had a 15 Charger RT and it too was absolutely without flaw. He’s hard on cars too.
I wonder what gives. I know all experiences are different, but my first hand experience with FCA products are really good.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
11/30/2017 at 07:06, STARS: 4
It sounds like they’re replacing cars often enough for it to not matter.
"bhtooefr" (bhtooefr)
11/30/2017 at 07:08, STARS: 0
And this is why when normal people ask what car to buy, I direct them to the correctly-sized Toyota for their needs, because they don’t give a shit about sportiness, and will not tolerate unreliability.
There may be some exceptions here and there, where another automaker offers the best normie option, or Toyota simply doesn’t offer an option (small vans in the US being the biggest example, where it’s a choice between the Transit Connect, the ProMaster City, and the NV200 - and the Transit Connect’s the only one with a third row, the NV200 doesn’t even have a second row if you need that, and the ProMaster City is FCA with a ZF 9-speed randoshift), but the Toyota is usually a safe bet, and that’s why they’re so successful.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
11/30/2017 at 07:13, STARS: 1
This is why I don’t recommend cars. People bounce questions off me, and I’ll offer advice, but I stop short of saying, “You should buy _____.”
I’m actually just shocked to hear someone listen to car buying advice, that never happens. A couple years ago, my wife’s friend came to me with a list of five small SUV’s she was interested in. I told her, “Buy any of these. Whichever one you like best, or whichever one you get the best deal on. Except the Patriot, they are complete piles of shit. If you tell me you’re on the way to go buy a Patriot, I will literally tackle you.” She, of course, bought a Patriot. One which she tried to lemon-law, but it didn’t quite make the cut.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
11/30/2017 at 07:13, STARS: 0
Hmmmmmm ......
"Milky" (jordanmielke)
11/30/2017 at 09:23, STARS: 0
I had a friend take my advice and buy a Dart too! 1.4t, auto and its been great! Nothing has gone wrong. But my friend who bought a Focus went to the dealer like half a dozen times and had to have his transmission replaced.
"LJ909" (lj909)
11/30/2017 at 12:10, STARS: 1
Bandwagon hate because its fun to shit on FCA and hit and miss horror stories. Ive never known anyone to have problems with any FCA products personally. Thats just me though.
"Tristan" (casselts)
11/30/2017 at 13:06, STARS: 0
I can’t recommend any recent Toyota for one reason: every one I’ve spent time in has made me want to drive it straight to my chiropractor. The seats are designed to rival medieval torture devices. Everything else about them is just fine in a milquetoast way.
The only other person who took my advice was my sister. I saved her from a Jeep Patriot by telling her to buy a CR-V. So far, so good.
"Tristan" (casselts)
11/30/2017 at 13:08, STARS: 0
My sister called to ask my opinion on a Patriot when they were practically giving away new ones at her local dealership. I successfully talked her into a Honda CR-V.
"SpeedSix" (speedsix)
11/30/2017 at 13:25, STARS: 2
FCA has been known for hit and miss since the major build-quality problems that became noticeable around the early 70s - if you got a good one, it was a really good car because of Chrysler engineering (back when it meant a lot), but if it was a poor one, it really was shoddy.
They were cars that you wouldn’t order - you’d go down to the dealer’s lot and pick out a well-assembled one.
"SpeedSix" (speedsix)
11/30/2017 at 13:27, STARS: 0
Well, if resale is their number one concern, I’d recommend Toyota as well. Otherwise, recommending Mazda means more money for Miata development, and recommending Hyundai means better Genesises.
"SpeedSix" (speedsix)
11/30/2017 at 13:27, STARS: 0
Well, the dual-clutch in the Focus and Fiesta has been a noted problem - turning otherwise competitive cars into lemons.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
11/30/2017 at 13:34, STARS: 0
Good! Because you’d have to literally give me a Patriot, for me to drive one.
"bhtooefr" (bhtooefr)
11/30/2017 at 14:10, STARS: 0
Although recommending Hyundai is iffy with their modern turbo engines...
Mazda, though, sure.
"Powershiftmedia-ResidentDSMGuru" (matt-powershiftmedia)
11/30/2017 at 14:31, STARS: 1
Haha just the Charger
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
11/30/2017 at 17:48, STARS: 1
What if I pay you to take it?
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
11/30/2017 at 18:27, STARS: 0
I think that could be arranged. It’s not a DustBuster van after all.
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
11/30/2017 at 18:44, STARS: 0
I’d rather have a Dustbuster Pontiac any day
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
11/30/2017 at 20:32, STARS: 0
You ever actually driven one? It’s like being in a torture device.
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
11/30/2017 at 20:34, STARS: 0
But..
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
11/30/2017 at 22:29, STARS: 0
I have on multiple unfortunate occasions experienced the pain ... the literal physical pain ... of driving those piles of shit. DustBuster vans are the one vehicle I wouldn’t take for free. I wouldn’t rallycross one. I wouldn’t gamble one. I wouldn’t even let one darken my driveway.
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
12/01/2017 at 11:11, STARS: 0
I would
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
12/01/2017 at 11:56, STARS: 0
Well, if anybody ever tries to give me one, I’ll send them your way.
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
12/01/2017 at 12:11, STARS: 0
Lol ok