No Dodge NO!

[JcMack]

The company I worked for 35 years provided drive it home company cars. They replaced the cars every 50-60k. They'd lease vehicles from the cheapest of the big 3. In '75 they leased a jillion '75 Plymouth Dustpans and Dodge wagons. Both styles had 318's in them. The 318's all wore out valve guides after 15k. The company dumped all the '75's and in '77 sold them to employees at a ridiculously low rate.. I was newly married and needed a couple vehicles. They limped along and cost me a ton of money in repair. Swore I'd never buy another Chrysler product. I got divorced in '83 and inherited the cars. They barely made it to the junk yard. In 2001 I still had a company car but needed a personal vehicle. Like an idiot I bought a new '01 Dodge 1500. Another disaster. As an example the ball joints on these trucks were tack welded in.

 

[LVSteve]

Most imports are better than Chrysler.

Fixed it for you.

 

[4506517]

Other than the issued patrol cars why did you continue to buy the Chrysler products?
This is a question, not a snide remark.

Even some of the imports are better than Chrysler.

I am ASTONISHED that some folks have not read completely either my first post or any subsequent posts I have made in regards to this.

WOW.

AGAIN.........

MY WIFE bought 2. The last one was almost 10 years ago.

AGAIN, we have purchased Mazda, BMW, and Toyotas since then. They have been great cars.

The vast majority of my experience with the brand has been with AGENCY VEHICLES.

That tells me some folks pay no attention and skip to the end to post, OR they just have no reading comprehension.

For what it is worth, I like the Charger. It has been a really cool patrol vehicle for almost 6 years. Since some don't like to read, let me RESTATE that the first couple I had (2013 and 2014 RWD) were problem free. They are still in the fleet today.

Not sure at this point if I'm more amazed at the lack of Chrysler quality or the inattention of some folks here.

"This is a statement, not a snide remark"

 

[Turn4811]

Back in 92 I bought a 3/4-ton truck with the Cummins engine to pull hay trailers. Great truck and I liked it so much I bought the with a Voyager the next fall. When both were about 4 years old they started falling apart. Mirrot fell off the windshield, glove box would not stay closed, dash rattled, van door fell off at 45k miles (every bolt in the door was loose), Truck hood had to be propped open, radio died in both of them. The drivetrains were solid it was just everything else.

Traded them and I have stayed away from the brand. I am now semi-retired and I have a Ford truck with 135K on it. It is 16 years old and I plan to drive it another year. I have learned my lesson about first year vehicles but I am intrigued by the Jeep Gladiator.

 

[meaneyedcatz]

I am ASTONISHED that some folks have not read completely either my first post or any subsequent posts I have made in regards to this.

WOW.

AGAIN.........

MY WIFE bought 2. The last one was almost 10 years ago.

AGAIN, we have purchased Mazda, BMW, and Toyotas since then. They have been great cars.

The vast majority of my experience with the brand has been with AGENCY VEHICLES.

That tells me some folks pay no attention and skip to the end to post, OR they just have no reading comprehension.

For what it is worth, I like the Charger. It has been a really cool patrol vehicle for almost 6 years. Since some don't like to read, let me RESTATE that the first couple I had (2013 and 2014 RWD) were problem free. They are still in the fleet today.

Not sure at this point if I'm more amazed at the lack of Chrysler quality or the inattention of some folks here.

"This is a statement, not a snide remark"

WOW, just because I have not Committed every word you posted to memory your now butt hurt.
What in your life is bothering you so much besides that?

 

[Donn]

Rented a new, (800 miles on the clock), Ram pickup last summer, drove it to Kansas and back. A sweet ride and the hemi engine was everything I'd heard it was. All that said, I'll never buy a Mopar as long as Fiat owns them. Felt the same when it was Daimler-Benz.

 

[4506517]

WOW, just because I have not Committed every word you posted to memory your now butt hurt.
What in your life is bothering you so much besides that?

LOL..........

You mean "you're" not "your"......

"Butt hurt"? Are you 12?

I guess writing isn't "your" strong suit either....

LOLOLOLOLOL

 

[rubiranch]

I ain't too crazy about the rotary knob transmission control, but otherwise I really like it.

We had a "company" truck here and I HATED that gear shift. That alone would have kept me from ever buying one.

One funny that I'll never forget. As I drove up to my near 40 year old daughters home I was met with "You Bought A Dodge?"

Boy did I take the heat when I bought my Chevy pickup. LOL

 

[REM 3200]

I still remember the Dodge trucks we used in the military way back when. They were always broke.

In 1982 I went to Germany as the 1SG of a separate medical company.
As such we had our own motor pool for our trucks; two 2 1/2 ton ,
one M-151 jeep and the junk pile; nine M-880's, i.e.: Dodge 3/4 ton 4X4 pickups .
Half of the 880's were on dead-line at any given time for a multitude of reasons .
We struggled to stay mission ready.

 

[rubiranch]

I'll never buy a Mopar as long as Fiat owns them.

FIAT - Fix It Again Tony

I worked on Fiats back in the 70s and 80s and they were JUNK!!

And I hear they're no better today.

 

[Protocall_Design]

Yep - they're still junk. Scary, because if the stock market crashes and all we have is fiat currency, that will be the only kind of car we can buy...

 

[Bullseye 2620]

My Dad had this car, a 1957 DeSoto Fireflite Sportsman coupe, custom ordered from the factory with the Chrysler 300 engine. It could hit 140.

Chrysler used to be an engineering innovator. I don't see that anymore, and I was a Mopar diehard until last August. I've owned two Concords, two LHSs, two Daytona turbos, and a Dodge Caliber.

The first Concord threw the serpentine belt when the car was three days old, necessitating the replacement of everything in the engine compartment in front of the firewall. The car ran great after that.

The second LHS (bought used at 76,000 miles, so I blame the dealer not the car) had a transmission that locked up in second on the drive home from the dealership. That's what this transmission was programmed to do when a significant fault occurs. In this case, that meant a huge amount of metal shavings in the transmission case. My wizard of a mechanic opined that without a major overhaul it could go 100 or 100,000 miles. We decided to save the grand and it ran another 112,000 miles before I sold it for $500, basically for parts.

The second Daytona, turbo equipped, was prone to blowing head gaskets -- four as I recall during its 126,000 mile life. I believe this was because two different alloys were used in the fabrication of the head and the block.

The others ran great with zero problems, but the pick of the litter was the 2007 Dodge Caliber, which I traded for $600 at 224,000 miles (it was developing symptoms of multiple organ system failure) for this 2013 Cadillac CTS coupe. Runs like a dream. We'll see how I feel in another 100,000 miles or so:

 

[TheOldPro]

Ummmmmmm......no.

My wife bought both those, the last one 9 years ago. Since then we have purchased Mazda, BMW, and Toyota, all of which have been great.

I have no control over what the agency purchases. You did understand most of the Chrysler products I was talking about were agency owned, right?

My reading comprehension is usually very good. Everyone has an off day. I ask your forgiveness.

 

[TX-Dennis]

My son has a 2001 Dodge Ram SLT that my dad gave him for his first vehicle. Dad bought it new, and he loved that truck despite the fact that it was problematic from the time it was new. It was a very luxurious truck for its time - leather, power everything. But - electrical issues abounded. Power steering, radiator, a/c compressor have been replaced. The glove box literally fell off, and to replace it you have to replace the entire lower half of the dash, so it never got fixed. The connectors molded into the dash are what broke. My son epoxied the glove box onto the dash so it at least looks okay even though it's unusable.

Truck has only 75,000 miles on it. As dad has gotten older he drives less and less. My son and I replaced the front control arms because the ball joints were worn out, and as someone else said the ball joints are welded to the control arms. My son has added a new touch screen head unit with bluetooth and Android auto for his phone, heated seat units, a replacement upper dash (it was badly cracked), a two inch lift kit, 17 inch black wheels and 35 inch tires to replace the smaller factory parts, and nerf bars. Oh, and a Flowmaster to make it "sound like a truck instead of a luxury car." He also replaced the cigarette lighter with a dual port USB charger and the power outlet with the USB connection for his head unit. It all looks very professionally done. I told him he now has the most luxurious 2001 truck on the planet.

He also wanted black bumpers and a black grille, so those got replaced as well. The engine is excellent although it's not especially powerful, and the gas mileage is terrible. But the kid is happy with it, and so far it's been reliable for him. I think everything has already been replaced at least once by now, so it should last him awhile.

That said, I will never buy a Chrysler product myself no matter who owns them.

 

[pmanton]

Wow!! I'm still driving my 1998 Dodge Ram 4X4 which I bought new Sept 97. Many many miles on it and it's still going. At 82, I doubt I'll be replacing it.

 

[drgbike]

Have a 2008 sebring, wonderful car except when the upper control arm fell off while driving! Seems the crossmember, which has all the steering attached rusts out, no warning. 51,000 miles. Wifes 2012 caliber had a recall for, CROSSMEMBER RUSTING OUT, she has to take it in once a year for inspection, until 2022. then its your problem. Seems Chrysler know its a problem since 2006. Has not acknowledged the problem unless you have an attorney. About 2000 bucks to fix. No crossmember no car, so grinned and bought it.

 

[allthumbs]

I also swore off chrysler products but also bought another. I have a 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie, why ? With the options in it it was 15k cheaper than a F150. I have had it a year and love it, new body style so yes recalls and bugs but they seem to have it right now and at 15000 miles it's a nice truck. I will admit my 2015 F150 was a much more solid feeling truck, rode a little stiffer but if I needed a true work truck i'd go with the F150.

 

[LVSteve]

It's funny to me to read the complaints about the ball joints being permanently attached to the control arms. I an think of a legion of reasons for doing this for ease of production and even for making replacement simpler.

 

[BC38]

When mini vans were all the rage Did you ever notice the vast majority of pre owned vans were Chrysler's?
There would one or two other makes but six or seven Chrysler's sitting on a dealerships lot.

One reason for that may be the fact that Chrysler invented the mini van and completely dominated that market segment for several years.

They sold tens of millions of them. That is at least part of why there were so many used ones on the market.

 

[Chukar60]

I have been driving Fords since I was 16, almost 44 years now. Started with a 69 Mustang, then to a 67 Bronco then to a 76 F150 4X4 and on and on.
Owned 1 Chevy pickup and one Dodge pick up. Neither suited me. The Chevy was gutless and the Dodge was prone to failures.
I drive Fords for one reason. I have never owned a bad one. But that is just my experience.
Farmers and ranchers around here seem to favor the Ram pickups and they do not treat them nice. They get the heck beat and worked out of them and the farmers and ranchers just buy another Dodge when the old one finally goes belly up. Most of the farmers I know and the few ranchers won't tolerate a vehicle that is not dependable. Gotta be something there they like.