Hey all,
Monday, for those of you that have followed my troubles with my Sunfire, I
was making the 25-mile trip back home from my family's camp, and while
turning on to the highway, my Check Engine light came on. After doubling
back to ensure that my dad was following closely (cell phones are dead in
this area, and I didn't want to walk!), I continued on. 4 miles from home,
my entire dashboard flickered (lights on). After this, I made it the rest
of the way home, shut the car down, let it sit for a minute, started it back
up, the light's still on.
By this time, Dad was out of his car and he asked if the light was still on.
I said yes, see... and started the car. The light went out!
So, after this, I made up my mind that I had to be rid of this GM junk.
Here's a rundown of the trouble I'd had with this car in the 32 days that I
owned it:
A nasty popping in the steering that the dealer said was "play in the piston
on the rack and pinion." that remained until I ridded myself of the car this
morning.
The A/C dumped untold gallons of condensate on my floor, due to a plugged
condenser return line.
The blower motor would intermittently die, then start again.
The A/C occasionally emitted a nasty squeal/growl/grind noise.
The blower motor buzzed horribly on high
and last night, the power steering began growling...
Seems like a lot.
So, after hearing that I just didn't want to deal with all the problems (I
take all my long trips in the car, I didn't want to be 60-100 miles from
home and have it break down! I was experiencing approximately one new
problem per week), the dealer quickly offered to buy it back. Great, I
said. So, after this, I went car shopping, because I do need a car.
Finding anything with a manual transmission is tough!
At the third dealership I visited, I found a fern green 1997 Dodge Stratus.
2.0L/5-speed, A/C, tilt, AM-FM/Cassette with 85,000 miles, which is on the
high end of average for a six-year-old car.
Needless to say, I picked the car up this afternoon :-)
I have a couple of questions for you guys:
would you agree to a buyback after experiencing the number of problems in
such a short time as I have, regardless that most were relatively minor
(though the steering _scared_ me... I've never known any play in a piston
to cause a pop you could feel in the wheel, and in the car), and if you did,
what would you expect a fair amount of depreciation for 32 days and 1,300
miles to be?
I think I got the short end of the stick in the deal. Not brutally raped,
but I think I should have gotten a bit more.
Thanks,
-- -Jon jonsdak@midmaine.com http://jonsdakota.tripod.com 1996 Dodge Dakota Sport 4X4, 3.9L V6, 42RE, 3.92:1 8.25 axle, "BackRack" Headache Rack, Dodge Motorsports decals, steering wheel cover, and front license plate, diamond-plate bedrail covers, Lund VentVisors, Lund BugShield, Jensen MP-3310 CD/MP3 Receiver, Pioneer TS-G1347's in front, TS-A5713's in rear, Bulldog RS-82 Remote Starter
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