Hi guys. I have to weigh in here because of the comment about "scrapping" the car. These are tough little ostrich eggs when it comes to a crash. When you see where people are killed in relatively low speed crashes, it is very likely GM front-wheel-drive cars were involved. There have been many of these near my city including four people killed in two GM cars near my house. The crash was witnessed by a county deputy on routine patrol. Both cars were going 45 mph in a 55 mph speed zone. A young girl lost control on ice, and slid sideways into the front of the other car. Two people in each car were killed. About the same time my friend's girlfriend was driving his Shadow and pulled into traffic and got broad-sided in the driver's door by a heavy rear-wheel-drive Buick going 35 mph. The car was punted a half block down the road! She got a bad bump on the head but the interior door panel never got touched. If that had been a Grand Am they would still be sweeping plastic and brains off the highway. My friend owned a body shop at the time and it only took a few days to repair the damage. Now they have the Neon with styrofoam bumpers, (that is not sarcasm) to replace those tough little cars. Newer cars use extremely unreliable computers to run the heater / air conditioning system, dome lights, even the wipers, and of course they have all kinds of electrical problems. Just read through the forums here to see all the electrical problems people are having. GM is also real good about separating owners from their money after the sale. It's how they remain profitable when they can no longer find repeat customers to buy their cars. Besides Hyundai and Toyota, Chrysler has some of the best business practices as far as putting the customer's best interests first. If you don't want to repair the car, at least sell it to someone who will rather than sending it to a junkyard. The six cylinder version is especially desirable and rare, and in my opinion you will have a much more reliable car than anything new. (That's why I refuse to give up my '88 Grand Caravan)!
Excuse me for but ting in here, fixitmr. Happy Monday to you both.
Mar 14, 2011 at 5:44 PM
