From: rrusk@ssd.csd.harris.com (Bob Rusk)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: I HATE MY DODGE
Date: 3 Sep 92 15:02:26 GMT
Reply-To: rrusk@ssd.csd.harris.com
Organization: Harris Computer Systems Division

On 2 Sep 92 17:47:41 GMT, jt3u+@andrew.cmu.edu (Janviere S Thuman) wrote:

>Please read this!!

>I have  a problem that has been occuring for over 4 years with my 1988
>Dodge Daytona.(I bought the car new when I was 16 years old)

[ Description of recurring brake problem deleted. ]

> I will never ever never ever buy another Chrysler. If not for the
>quality of their products, for the inability of the company to help me.
>. . a consumer. (I'm young too! I plan to buy many cars in the future!)

>As I write, I am still conversing with some idiot at Chrysler. I think
>it is their plan to keep me in limbo until the car is completely out of
>warranty. And being in grad school far from home- those miles will rack
>up fast! I think Chrysler should "get out of the way"!!!!!! Toyota,
>Nissan, Porsche, anything. . . next year- after graduation- here I
>COME!!!

>If anyone has any suggestions for what I can do please let me know. At
>this point I have lost hope but it would be interesting to know if
>anyone has had similar problems.
>Thanks-- shellie

Shellie,

Welcome to the reality of car ownership.  _Everybody_ produces lemons.
Some manufacturers produce a higher percentage of lemons than others,
but they all produce them.  There's been discussions of Honda lemons 
here.  I've known owners of Toyota and Nissan lemons.  Porsche parts 
are exorbitant, and I'm sure that they've turned out a few lemons too.  
I know the owner of a Volvo lemon, and the owner of a VW lemon.  I know
the owner of a Subaru lemon.  My uncle owned an '89 Jeep Cherokee lemon.

I've also known people who had great cars from all of the above-mentioned
manufacturers.

My father's '75 Buick Station Wagon's engine kept dying under load, needing
to sit for hours or days before it would run right again.  After 4 years,
the local Buick dealer still didn't have it fixed.

My '81 Ford F250 Pickup truck had brake troubles like yours.  I mounted
a camper on the back and lived in it for a few months.  I spent more time
in Ford dealer's parking lots and waiting rooms than I did in any one city.

My father's '81 Buick Riviera would eat an engine computer every year and
a $300.00 climate-control motor assembly every few months.

My neighbor had a Dodge 600 lemon.

Take a look at the thread 
"Re: Broken seat back ('86 Mustang LX) Ford in general" to read about a
more recent Ford lemon.

On the other hand, 'most everybody makes some good ones, too.  I wish I'd 
saved it, but there was post to rec.autos.tech a few months ago from a 
guy who had the turbocharged version of your car.  With 180K miles on it, 
it was still fast and dependable.

My wife's current car, a '90 Nissan Stanza, is neither exceptionally 
good nor exceptionally bad.  It's no better than the some of the good 
American car's we've had in the family, and it's certainly nowhere near
as good as my step-father's '82 Nissan Maxima was.

Funny thing about cars like yours, and like my father's '75 Buick Wagon:
If you can get that one problem fixed, they often turn into a good car.
The Buick was fixed on the dealer's last attempt, but Dad decided to sell
it before it broke again.  A friend of his bought it, and last I heard the
car had over 140K miles on it.  It never gave his friend any unusual
problems.  Sometimes, like my '81 Ford Pickup, it's a design flaw that
you just have to live with.  If your mechanic thinks that you're having
unusual problems for the model (I think you are), it's just a matter of
finding the problem (often difficult) and fixing it (often expensive).

Sorry you got burned ...

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Bob Rusk			    | An egoless acceptance of stuckness is a
 rrusk@ssd.csd.harris.com	    | key to an understanding of all Quality.
 My thoughts, probably not Harris'. |			   - Robert M. Pirsig
Newsgroups: rec.autos