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Last post on May 15, 2013 at 4:27 PM
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Chrysler Concorde Forum.
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Chrysler Concorde, Sedan
#456 of 1272 Potential Purchase-Need HELP Quick
by sligirl
Oct 26, 2000 (2:26 am)
I looked at a dealer demo 2000 Concorde LXi model today which has 5250 miles. The car has extra's - CD changer with Infinity speakers, moon roof, full spare tire and 16 inch chrome wheels.
The dealer is asking 23,690 plus $249.00 dealer cost. CT sales tax is 6%.
I want to go through Chrysler for financing (4.90%
48 months). I have not talked to the salesperson about financing nor did I haggle over price, that is "haggle yet". The salesman said, they want to make room for the 2001 models. I can believe that, considering the lack of space at this dealership. My question is, how hard should I push to get a reduction in price? If I should push for a reduction, what price would be equitable for me and the dealership? The salesperson repeatedly said the car was below invoice and it was a good deal. I liked this sales person though, he didn't push, was low key and didn't go with my husband and I on the test drive.
What do you think? Should we take the offer or get them to come down. I love to haggle so give it to me straight.
Thanks for the help!!!
#457 of 1272 sligirl
by jj34
Oct 27, 2000 (9:30 pm)
Apparently, you must be a first-time Chrysler victim in the making. My wife just dumped her '98 Concorde LXi in favor of a '01 Accord EX-V6 Sedan.
Do yourself and your husband a favor and choose anything but a Chrysler. Should you decide to purchase a Chrysler, you will remember this post when your electrical system begins to go haywire, the window motors start giving out, the A/C evaporator goes out, the heater coil goes bonkers and the car begins to leak right around the driver's side floorboard.
Good Luck because you're going to need it.
#458 of 1272 sligirl
by 401k
Oct 27, 2000 (10:17 pm)
A few comments on various subjects...
First of all, on the face of it, it would seem that the price that the dealer offered for the 2000 LXi was pretty decent. It would appear (without doing real number-crunching) that it is a couple thousand below invoice. My humble opinion is that it doesn't hurt to haggle, but be prepared to pay the asking price if the dealer stands firm.
Secondly, I am sorry that jj and his wife had a bad experience with their Concorde. My wife and I have been THRILLED with our 1998 Concorde LXi as well as our 1999 Chrysler 300M. Neither of us had ever owned Chryslers before, and we would have no hesitation buying another Chrysler in the future. I'm also sorry that jj felt compelled to come to this forum and bad-mouth all Chrysler products because of his unfortunate experience. He may wish to look up "Karma" in the dictionary.
Regarding jj's wife's new car, I checked out the Used Car section here on the Edmund's site. I compared the 1998 Concorde LXi to the 1998 Honda Accord EX-V6. This is what I discovered...
Based on a rating system of 1 to 10, the two cars compared as follows...
Safety - Concorde 7.1, Honda 6.9
Reliability - Concorde 8.1, Honda 8.2
Performance - Concorde 7.8, Honda 7.6
Comfort - Concorde 8.5, Honda 8.3
Value - Concorde 9.0, Honda 5.0 (!!!)
Overall - Concorde 8.1, Honda 7.2
These are the unbiased ratings of the automobile experts at Edmunds. The only rating in which the Accord beat the Concorde was in "Reliability", and that was only by one-tenth of a point. The "Value" rating is extremely telling, don't you think?
I wish jj and his wife well with their purchase of their new Honda Accord.
Happy Motoring!
Tom
Oct 27, 2000 (10:37 pm)
401K.- I agree with you,what a nice and informative post you gave us,the truth!,I also share with you the good experience with my Intrepid 98,and now with a ī01 Concorde,they are the best for your money,they are a good cars.
jj34.- Not all people have the same luck in life donīt you think so???' You simply canīt say ALL Chryslers are bad,a vast majority of people are very happy with their Chrysler products,and they will recommend themĄ
So good luck to you with your Honda,and hope you never crash,beware of the thickness of the sheet metal Honda uses,visit any shop where you can see Hondas with a frontal impact,and then let us know what you saw,what you think; ask any pro. about those Hondas after a crash,I have seen them,believe me.
Oct 28, 2000 (12:18 am)
The thickness of the sheet metal has nothing to do with crashworthiness. In fact, if you look up the ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Concorde rates as "marginal", while the Accord rates "acceptable". The only advantage a Concorde holds, should it crash into an Accord, is size and weight - certainly not safety-conscious design.
Certainly Honda hasn't traditionally been at the forefront of safety-conscious design - but neither has the U.S. arm of DaimlerChrysler. Most of the current DaimlerChrysler products - from Neons, PTCruisers, through Concorde/Intrepid, to Caravan/Voyager, aren't well-regarded for safety in crash tests.
#461 of 1272 401k/copperhead
by jj34
Oct 28, 2000 (2:47 am)
Karma? While I don't waste my time with karma, I do read technical service bulletins (TSB's). If Chrysler cars are so well built, why so many TSB's?
I am now well versed in TSB's based on my wife's experience (nightmare is more like it)with her '98 Concorde LXi. Take a look at the TSB's issued by DaimlerChrysler for the Concorde's "known" problems. While you're at it, take a good look at the TSB's on all of DaimlerChrysler's LH cars (including the 300M).
I certainly hope your Chrysler vehicles continue their satisfactory performance. However, should your vehicle begin a run of legendary Chrysler failures, your frustrations may quadruple when you begin dealing with the dealership's service department and the Chrysler Zone Rep.
As for the sheet metal gauge differences in cars-- neither my wife nor I buy cars in order to drive them as if they were bumper cars. We take excellent care of our cars and never miss the preventive maintenance schedule (oil changes, tire rotations, alignments, etc).
Since we wear our seat belts and drive defensively, the last thing on our minds when buying a car is the fear of a crash. Maybe you buy cars with crashes on your mind but we don't. When we buy new cars, we try to buy reliable six-cylinder vehicles with reasonable gas mileage which won't need repairs every six weeks.
When you spend more than $20,000 on a car, I don't think its unreasonable to expect it to be reliable and trouble free until at least three years down the road.
For example, who would expect a brand new '98 Chrysler Concorde LXi to have a shorted out horn two weeks after its purchase? Then, the flashing dashboard lights as you're driving down the road. Then the seven (yes, seven) window motors which were replaced (four of which were on the driver's side). Then, the transmission sensor went out which meant the car wouldn't shift into overdrive.
How about the cowling cracking twice? How about the engine mount shims which were added after the rack and pinion replacement to try and correct a tendency to drift although the car was within its alignment specs?
I'll spare you the rest of the details, but my favorite was when the evaporator went out and the car began draining its A/C inside the car. You see Chrysler (in its infinite wisdom) decided to design the car with an evaporator up and behind the dash on the passenger side so when it burns out, it takes about 8-9 hours of labor to get to it. It's really a "good design idea" because that way if it occurs out of warrranty, the dealership stands to make a killing in labor costs. Since the A/C problem occurred out of warranty, we weren't about to sink any money into that bucket of bolts so we got rid of it. All of these problems are outlined in Chrysler TSB's so when yours begin acting like a Chrysler, you can look them up on NHTSA's website.
How does that old adage go? Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Once upon a time a Chrysler owner but never again!!!
Good luck to all of you!!!
Oct 29, 2000 (3:02 am)
Talking about TSB,pease take a closer look at any other car,like a Focus,Taurus,Cavalier,Buick,and then compare,after you read about TSB,send us a note!
Just take a Neon,or a Stratus or a Town and Country Minivan,and compare to a Focus,a Windstar etc..
Take care!
#463 of 1272 copperhead1
by jj34
Oct 29, 2000 (5:08 pm)
Why test-drive a Town and Country minivan
when 1.4 million of them were put on a recall list this past week?
That speaks volumes about Chrysler/Dodge vehicles.
Oct 29, 2000 (9:28 pm)
At least that was voluntary on the part of DaimlerChrysler - Ford had to be forced into recalling defective vehicles (and then, so far only in California) by a court decision.
No automaker is doing perfectly when it comes to recalls (though at the moment, it looks like Ford Motor is the recall king).
Oct 30, 2000 (8:31 pm)
Iīm sorry but I have to tell you,that you are a hard nut,(no offense).
If you looked already at Fordīs products,TSB and you are still flaming Chrysler products.......