Update on my car

"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot)
04/06/2015 at 08:30 • Filed to: Jolly Roger

Double Update: I just got the diagnostic back, the tipm was locked up. Technically, this is the first issue on this car that has gone wrong that didn't result from human error (aka me), which I think is pretty good.

So I called the dealership moments ago, despite paying $25 to Firestone !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to see what was wrong, they can't double check out of the goodness in their heart. Their diagnostic will cost ~$105, yay....

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

That doesn't include the price of the part, which if my cousin-in-law's google skills are any good, the Integrated Power Module will cost >$400. Double yay.

I saw the maths adding in my head so I asked her if I get a discount for being restated to someone who works for Chrysler, she said yes, 10%, which is nice. But I'm still carless at the moment, which feels awkward and I miss it. Boy, do I love my PT....

DISCUSSION (29)

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > zeontestpilot
04/06/2015 at 08:37

Ah, the joys of only owning only one car. Then once it's towed in, they got ya by the balls (or sometimes ovaries) :(

zeontestpilot > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
04/06/2015 at 08:50

Pretty much. This has inspired me that, if and when I do get a 2nd car, that it can seat my whole family, and not just me and the missus (sorry Miata, I truly want you, but family comes first).

Blue2010SRT > zeontestpilot
04/06/2015 at 08:56

Whaddaya talkin' 'bout? Miatas got trunks. How big are the younguns?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > zeontestpilot
04/06/2015 at 08:57

Time for an old Trooper or LandCruiser

Flat Six > zeontestpilot
04/06/2015 at 09:01

I think that is the best strategy. However the kids don't have to be comfortable in car #2, they just have to fit in case of emergency.

zeontestpilot > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
04/06/2015 at 09:07

Bad mpg, :(. I commute 80 miles daily, with this guy I get 21 mpg at least.

zeontestpilot > Blue2010SRT
04/06/2015 at 09:07

She is 2 yrs old.

zeontestpilot > Flat Six
04/06/2015 at 09:10

True, but if/when we get a 2nd car, it'll probably become the main car, with the PT as second. Any additional car must have better mpg then the PT.

boxrocket > zeontestpilot
04/06/2015 at 09:10

Take a family road trip to Saint Louis and buy my Volvo wagon . With the Oppo discount, it'll probably be cheaper than this adventure with the new IPM, and will be a fun way to learn about DIY maintenance and such. Fun for the whole family!

#shamelessselfpromotion

Sneaky Pete > zeontestpilot
04/06/2015 at 09:18

Honda Fit! My beater Fit has given 140k reliable miles to date at 34-36mpg and, for a gutless little econo box, is pretty fun to drive.

zeontestpilot > boxrocket
04/06/2015 at 09:18

Ha, I probably would if I had the money, :p. Also, how hard is it to get Volvo parts? I'm in Michigan...you don't see many volvos here...

zeontestpilot > Sneaky Pete
04/06/2015 at 09:22

Ha, how well do they do on dirt roads? And what's the ground clearance? The Internet says it's 5", but I'm not sure if that's all models.

boxrocket > zeontestpilot
04/06/2015 at 09:41

Parts haven't been that bad. I haven't had to order anything from overseas from the factory (unlike some classic BMW and M-B-owning friends I have), and part prices haven't been too bad. Labor used to be the killer until I stopped going to the dealer I bought it from and started going to a nearby Volvo specialty shop. The car is remarkably easy to work on, being a small engine mounted for RWD and made when there was only a computer or two per car, versus the dozens that come equipped in new cars.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > zeontestpilot
04/06/2015 at 09:50

Rockauto.com has a TIPM for ~480 but you get 200$ back if you send in the old one. It looks like you could replace it in a driveway.

zeontestpilot > boxrocket
04/06/2015 at 10:10

Ah, the computer....I just received word, my car stopped working because the tipm locked up.

zeontestpilot > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
04/06/2015 at 10:14

Hit the nail on the head, I just found out the tipm locked up. The dealer is doing it, with the Chrysler family discount.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > zeontestpilot
04/06/2015 at 10:21

Jeez. That commute. I briefly had a 150 total mile commute in college. Of course I had a civic DX I got killer mpgs... Maybe shop for a stock 90s civic?

zeontestpilot > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
04/06/2015 at 10:30

That could very well be feasible. And, seriously not trying to be a negative nancy here, but since I'm in Michigan (where most of its inhabitants bleed either GM, Ford, or Chrysler), finding a '90s "foreign" car in good condition (or at all) would be a difficult task.

I'm not against it though, the idea of driving a "foreign" car to my family who absolutely loves the big 3, to me, is hilarious. :). It's those '90s non-big 3 cars are a rarity here.

boxrocket > zeontestpilot
04/06/2015 at 10:33

I appreciate Mopars (and now FCAs) and would take any number of them before anything GM makes or has made, but some of the electrical issues they've had and can have scare me, and that includes adventures I've had with my menagerie of used cars.

Sneaky Pete > zeontestpilot
04/06/2015 at 10:34

well, it's a FWD economy car, not a 4wd truck/SUV made with off road use in mind, but I do have to drive some dirt roads for work, and it's fine as long as you don't try anything crazy.

zeontestpilot > boxrocket
04/06/2015 at 10:37

Well, the car has 100,9xx miles on it, and this is the first time the issue happened so...I'm counting this as a win. :)

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > zeontestpilot
04/06/2015 at 10:37

Well, there is a rich history of assembling American cars in Mexico, and Chrysler is owned by Italians. If you want to buy American, you could buy an Accord, which is now built in an Ohio factory.

zeontestpilot > Sneaky Pete
04/06/2015 at 10:42

I just asked because I live off dirt roads. The roads are nothing crazy, but it's something I keep in mind when looking at cars. Plus, my PT has a 6" ground clearance, which makes it just enough to drive through unplowed snow, :).

zeontestpilot > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
04/06/2015 at 10:44

Haha, that's the argument I give them, :). My PT was assembled in Mexico, so it's technically Mexican. my dad-in-laws 300 is Canadian.

boxrocket > zeontestpilot
04/06/2015 at 10:49

That's good. The PT and the Neon it's based on aren't so bad, but the models with more features or made more cheaply (Cirrus/Stratus/Sebring/Avenger) tend to be ripe for more issues.

zeontestpilot > boxrocket
04/06/2015 at 11:00

Nice. Though I seriously don't understand why the PT gets so much hate. I've had it nearly 5 years now, and it's been pretty reliable IMO, until now that is.

XJDano > boxrocket
04/06/2015 at 11:18

Dang, I'm not quite in the market for another car. But this would be tempting for my next work car.

#toosoon

boxrocket > zeontestpilot
04/06/2015 at 13:58

I admit to having a distaste for them based on styling (the first one I saw in the flesh was white, at a car show, and the owner had the hood popped and was sitting in the edge of the fender observing people, so it looked like a giant toilet), and having to work on anything that isn't right on top of the engine makes them a pain to work on because of the design of the front. Also, not many owners took care of them, and those few that did babied the heck out of them thinking - like the later Chevy HHR - that they were something special rather than essentially a bigger body on an economy car platform. The interior was a rash of late-'90s/early-'00s cheap plastic, and the shifter is too low.

Other than that, they aren't too bad, and more interesting than a corolla, and a better buy than a cavalier or cobalt from the same years.

zeontestpilot > boxrocket
04/06/2015 at 14:10

The first one I saw was a red one with wood paneling...it was ugly. What it is, is a higher sitting car, essentially. Nothing more, nothing less. If anything, it's a bit hipster because it's unlike the other cars on the road.