Dude, I Got
A Lemon
Bogus German Engineering
By D.W.
Not too long ago I bought a Chrysler Sebring Convertible thinking
that it would be a car I would cherish for a long time with top down
drives on cool spring days and warm summer nights.
And most importantly, this car was originated by the prestigious
foreign automaker Daimler-Benz, the manufacturer of the impressive
Mercedes. Daimler-Benz’s public relations department was touting
about how their superior German engineering would dramatically
improve the quality of Chrysler vehicles.
The prevailing wisdom was that German cars had a reputation for
mechanical excellence.
However, my wife wanted me to buy a Toyota and she got very upset
when she found out that I had bought the Chrysler.
She warned me that the company had a very mediocre reputation and
that I would have mechanical problems with the car that would make
me regret that I had ever bought it.
I thought she was just upset that I had bought a convertible
because of its perceived sexual connotations. Perhaps she just
jinxed me or maybe she was right all along.
But I had also done my research online prior to actually going
out and looking at cars at dealerships. I searched J.D. Powers and
Associates, Car and Driver Magazine, and other publications to weed
out cars that had a bad history of mechanical problems.
The Sebring model actually kept popping up as one of the most
mechanically reliable vehicle that Chrysler made. The Sebring was
supposed to have a very reliable engine and transmission as long as
I conducted routine maintenance which is what I typically do anyways
for every car I have owned.
I thought I was good to go without taking into consideration how
much of their vehicle line had scored low on quality.
As a result,
I highly recommend all of you perspective Chrysler drivers to check
out as many car review web sites before you consider buying one.
And as for my convertible, perhaps it was just solely my vehicle that
happened to turn out to be the dud of the batch and I am unlucky.
Most states have lemon laws to protect car buyers when they
inadvertently purchase a bad apple from the barrel. These states
require that if a vehicle must be fixed three times within a certain
time frame for the same item, then dealer must replace it with a new
one.
However, my Sebring kept breaking down only twice for the same
component and after it was repaired both times, a completely
different part would break down. At first it was the convertible
top, then the engine, then the power steering, and so forth.
What is even worse is that the body is really fragile and easily
bruised.
The car has a low profile and soft plastic bumpers. Pieces of
unavoidable road debris have caused me to have to the front end
worked on three times. And these repairs are also not covered by the
warranty either so if I chose to place a claim on the repair work, my
insurance premiums would go through the roof. As a result, I
ended up footing all the bills for this precision German
Engineering.
Now I want to ask Dr. Z a few pointed questions about quality!
Apparently there are other unsatisfied Chrysler owners who also
share my sentiments and they collaborate on a few interesting web
sites about these problems. Perhaps I will submit this story to one
of them and hopefully they will post it as my testimony to the world
that my Chrysler was a lemon.
Anyway, I am going to trade in my worthless high-maintenance
Sebring while it still has some resale value. Okay, perhaps I am
pawning it off on some unwitting sucker who has yet to read this
article but I am going to conveniently ignore this moral detail.
And next time around I am going to listen to my wife and buy a
Toyota.
Perhaps I will be lucky this time. Oh and by the way, most of the
vehicles Toyota sells in the U.S. are manufactured right here in
this country so I feel better knowing that I am doing my part in
helping Americans keep a job.
We want your opinion! Tell us what you thought about
this article. Click the
Your Feedback menu item to send us
your comments.
