PT Cruiser production to end

[Capt Worley PE]

Front and rear end body damage. It looks like the drive train is okay. The air bag did deploy but I can get one off of ebay. I read that if the repair bill is more than 30% of the car's blue book value then it's considered totaled and the insurance company won't pay to fix it.

OK, here's the deal. I know you don't want to hear this, but I have to say it, then I'll let it go.

My Mom was an insurance adjuster, so she is pretty familiar with what it takes to total a car. the number is far higher than 30%, but that number does change with the age of the car as its value decreases. The value of the car goes down, repair cost never does.

But, she was adamant to never, never, ever by a totaled car, partly because our first car was a total. It was a simple repair, but we were still finding glass in it six years down the road. But that was in 1965. Stuff is a lot more complicated now, and it is easy to have unseem damage that causes big problems down the road.

I would bet there is some frame damage on that truck.

Anyway...just had to say it, so I wouldn't feel bad if something happened.

The 2007 was the first year of the new body style and its intro was fast tracked by six months. despite this, the trucks didn't have any major problems. You might want to check some GMT900 websites. gminsidenews might be a help, too. there are a lot of techs on that site.

Good luck. Those really are nice trucks.

 

[Bean PE]

I wouldn't call the Mustang a sports car period. A sports car to me, and to most other car enthusiasts, include cars such as Corvette, Miata, Boxster, etc... These cars are designed to perform well on race track conditions right out of the box. They're not made for a straight line, necessarily. Mustangs, Camaros, Challengers and the like are pony cars. There are distinct differences between the two categories.
In any case, the two originally discussed cars are American passenger cars. There are good and bad, but countries, in general, don't always have blanket issues (Germany - electrical, etc...). It's a shame that people still label American cars as junk. Sure, the 70's and 80's were broken ankles of American automobiles, but today they're surpassing expectations of both Asian and German counterparts. Sure Japanese cars run forever, but they're supposed to slow down when you take your foot off the gas.

I was trying to avoid the nuances of specific "performance car" categories (sports car [which Miata is - it's as pure a sports car as is available on the market right now], muscle car, grand tourer, rally car, and on and on and on). I guess it's the VAG cars that have most of the electrical problems but the rest aren't immune, such is life when you start overengineering things. American cars are getting better but IMO aren't quite there (with a specific note that Ford is leaps and bounds ahead of GM - and that pains me to say as someone who lusted after a LS1 Camaro for years).

 

[Chucktown PE]

Front and rear end body damage. It looks like the drive train is okay. The air bag did deploy but I can get one off of ebay. I read that if the repair bill is more than 30% of the car's blue book value then it's considered totaled and the insurance company won't pay to fix it.

OK, here's the deal. I know you don't want to hear this, but I have to say it, then I'll let it go.

My Mom was an insurance adjuster, so she is pretty familiar with what it takes to total a car. the number is far higher than 30%, but that number does change with the age of the car as its value decreases. The value of the car goes down, repair cost never does.

But, she was adamant to never, never, ever by a totaled car, partly because our first car was a total. It was a simple repair, but we were still finding glass in it six years down the road. But that was in 1965. Stuff is a lot more complicated now, and it is easy to have unseem damage that causes big problems down the road.

I would bet there is some frame damage on that truck.

Anyway...just had to say it, so I wouldn't feel bad if something happened.

The 2007 was the first year of the new body style and its intro was fast tracked by six months. despite this, the trucks didn't have any major problems. You might want to check some GMT900 websites. gminsidenews might be a help, too. there are a lot of techs on that site.

Good luck. Those really are nice trucks.

Thanks Capt. The 30% number was what they used when my dad wrecked his car about 10 years ago and what they used on mine when I totalled it 2 years ago. But I guess it's case specific.

And your concern is noted. FWIW, I wouldn't even consider doing something like this on my own, but I have a good friend who owns a car dealership and he does this on the side. He has done this succesfully many times before and has a repair shop at his dealership that will handle all of the repairs/body work. I'm factoring in some frame damage into my cost estimate.

 

[MA_PE]

Front and rear end body damage. It looks like the drive train is okay. The air bag did deploy but I can get one off of ebay. I read that if the repair bill is more than 30% of the car's blue book value then it's considered totaled and the insurance company won't pay to fix it.

OK, here's the deal. I know you don't want to hear this, but I have to say it, then I'll let it go.

My Mom was an insurance adjuster, so she is pretty familiar with what it takes to total a car. the number is far higher than 30%, but that number does change with the age of the car as its value decreases. The value of the car goes down, repair cost never does.

But, she was adamant to never, never, ever by a totaled car, partly because our first car was a total. It was a simple repair, but we were still finding glass in it six years down the road. But that was in 1965. Stuff is a lot more complicated now, and it is easy to have unseem damage that causes big problems down the road.

I would bet there is some frame damage on that truck.

Anyway...just had to say it, so I wouldn't feel bad if something happened.

The 2007 was the first year of the new body style and its intro was fast tracked by six months. despite this, the trucks didn't have any major problems. You might want to check some GMT900 websites. gminsidenews might be a help, too. there are a lot of techs on that site.

Good luck. Those really are nice trucks.

Thanks Capt. The 30% number was what they used when my dad wrecked his car about 10 years ago and what they used on mine when I totalled it 2 years ago. But I guess it's case specific.

And your concern is noted. FWIW, I wouldn't even consider doing something like this on my own, but I have a good friend who owns a car dealership and he does this on the side. He has done this succesfully many times before and has a repair shop at his dealership that will handle all of the repairs/body work. I'm factoring in some frame damage into my cost estimate.

Chuck: either your doing the repair work yourself or you're getting a heck of a deal to fix both front and rear damage for $5k. I just paid over $2k to fix my son's '09 Cobalt and it was essentially cosmetic damage to the right front needing a fender and headlight and some scrapes on the side requiring some buffing and paint blending. Also, I'd get the Honda sold first. Might just be me but I wouldn't jump at spending $8k for a car with 120k on the clock, regardless of nice it looks. A quick look shows your value is at "high trade-in" and about $2k below typical retail, but I still think it may take a while to move it. Just my 0.02. good luck.

 

[Chucktown PE]

Front and rear end body damage. It looks like the drive train is okay. The air bag did deploy but I can get one off of ebay. I read that if the repair bill is more than 30% of the car's blue book value then it's considered totaled and the insurance company won't pay to fix it.

OK, here's the deal. I know you don't want to hear this, but I have to say it, then I'll let it go.

My Mom was an insurance adjuster, so she is pretty familiar with what it takes to total a car. the number is far higher than 30%, but that number does change with the age of the car as its value decreases. The value of the car goes down, repair cost never does.

But, she was adamant to never, never, ever by a totaled car, partly because our first car was a total. It was a simple repair, but we were still finding glass in it six years down the road. But that was in 1965. Stuff is a lot more complicated now, and it is easy to have unseem damage that causes big problems down the road.

I would bet there is some frame damage on that truck.

Anyway...just had to say it, so I wouldn't feel bad if something happened.

The 2007 was the first year of the new body style and its intro was fast tracked by six months. despite this, the trucks didn't have any major problems. You might want to check some GMT900 websites. gminsidenews might be a help, too. there are a lot of techs on that site.

Good luck. Those really are nice trucks.

Thanks Capt. The 30% number was what they used when my dad wrecked his car about 10 years ago and what they used on mine when I totalled it 2 years ago. But I guess it's case specific.

And your concern is noted. FWIW, I wouldn't even consider doing something like this on my own, but I have a good friend who owns a car dealership and he does this on the side. He has done this succesfully many times before and has a repair shop at his dealership that will handle all of the repairs/body work. I'm factoring in some frame damage into my cost estimate.

Chuck: either your doing the repair work yourself or you're getting a heck of a deal to fix both front and rear damage for $5k. I just paid over $2k to fix my son's '09 Cobalt and it was essentially cosmetic damage to the right front needing a fender and headlight and some scrapes on the side requiring some buffing and paint blending. Also, I'd get the Honda sold first. Might just be me but I wouldn't jump at spending $8k for a car with 120k on the clock, regardless of nice it looks. A quick look shows your value is at "high trade-in" and about $2k below typical retail, but I still think it may take a while to move it. Just my 0.02. good luck.

I'm getting a heck of a deal. I assume you're going to a dealership to get that done, you're also in MA, which is much more expensive since most of your mechanics are union guys.

I'm not worried about how long it takes to sell the Honda, and if I have to drop the price by $1000 it's not a big deal, I've got plenty of cash to do this, outside of the downpayment money for my house

With the options I have on the car (EX-L package) and since it's in good condition, KBB has it listed as about $8000 as a private party seller. Hondas hold their value extremely well.

 

[Chucktown PE]

But back to the original question, does anyone else have any opinions on the truck. Just go ahead and assume that I'm buying a salvage car and there's nothing you can do to stop me.

 

[MA_PE]

Personally, I'v enever had one, but I'v eheard really good things about the latest Checy trucks. As far asthe reliabilty of this particular one, I guess it's only as good as the repair and it's maintenence. 50k in three years it was certainly used and not necessarily babied.

good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

Check for 4wd components binding because of the wreck. Even subtle alignment issues cause problems for these guys.

Since the airbags went off, check for damage under the dash.

 

[Kephart P.E.]

I've only driven the PT rental car as well and it was crap (i'd say the same for the mustang rental cars I've been stuck with too though...). I used to have to fly into New Orleans for a meeting every month. I would rent a car in the morning, drive to the job site, attend a meeting, and fly back out that afternoon. The PT Cruiser I rented twice and gave up; no power and it sucked down gas. For whatever reason I usually ended up with a Grand Marquis (or similar) and the gas gauge wouldn't even register the trip, so it would look like I was returning the car with a full tank. The PT showed about 1/8 tank gone both times upon returning...

This I think was really the issue, heavy vehicle that wasn't fun to drive and couldn't tow squat but still was reasonably thirsty and there was no option for AWD.

Not that I care, from the beginning the thing looked like something your Aunt Mildred drove.

And my 400 hp LS2 powered Trailblazer gets the groceries just fine. And it is AWD. And it can tow 6,000 lbs. Trailblazer SS mileage is 16/20.

PT Cruiser = 17/21 mpg and from what I hear that is pretty optimistic.

 

[Bean PE]

PT Cruiser = 17/21 mpg and from what I hear that is pretty optimistic.

I never knew it was that bad. It always amazes me when small vehicles have terrible MPG ratings.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

I always liked the Trailblazer SS, but it was too expensive (read, I am very cheap) for me. They are getting reasonably priced used, now. I'd love to have one.

The PT was heavy, had a fairly large engine, and not aerodynamic at all. Perfect recipe for poor mileage

 

[Kephart P.E.]

I took advantage late in 2006, GM offered a bunch of cash back ($8,000) on new leftover 06 models. This was about the time gas had taken a huge jump in price. I then had the dealer find me a base model SS (no leather, no GPS, no moonroof, etc) with AWD. Took him a couple of weeks it was not easy to find but I bought the thing for $22,500.

I really like the vehicle, I had test drove a regular Trailblazer and it drove horribly compared to its competitors. The SS has upgraded suspension that should have been on every Trailblazer, but that is another story. The weak points of the vehicle are a cheap interior (classic GM shortcoming) and only a 4 speed tranny. Mine has 38,000 miles on it and I haven't had any problems. The 6 liter LS2 is a wonderful engine, really the pinnacle of V8's IMHO. My previous vehicle was the 2001 V8 Tundra which I liked but didn't have the grunt just off idle.

The fully loaded SS models were very overpriced IMHO. At least until you look at even a basic Grand Cherokee or a Pathfinder or a 4Runner.

 

[Kephart P.E.]

Want to know another one? Subaru Forester. It is about the same, but at least it has tons of cargo room and is AWD.

I love the neo-Hippies up here in Portland who turn there nose up at my "gas guzzler" then I tell them their Subaru only gets about 1-3 mpg better and I only commute 13 miles per day so really they are the ones killing Mother Nature. But not to worry cause the Forrester is really "green". Or at least it is painted green.

No wonder some Christina's friends loath me.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

I took advantage late in 2006, GM offered a bunch of cash back ($8,000) on new leftover 06 models. This was about the time gas had taken a huge jump in price. I then had the dealer find me a base model SS (no leather, no GPS, no moonroof, etc) with AWD. Took him a couple of weeks it was not easy to find but I bought the thing for $22,500.

Dang! I have never heard of them going for so little. They just got below $20K used here. Of course, I imagine location plays a role.

What are Christina's friends?

 

[Bean PE]

Want to know another one? Subaru Forester. It is about the same, but at least it has tons of cargo room and is AWD.
I love the neo-Hippies up here in Portland who turn there nose up at my "gas guzzler" then I tell them their Subaru only gets about 1-3 mpg better and I only commute 13 miles per day so really they are the ones killing Mother Nature. But not to worry cause the Forrester is really "green". Or at least it is painted green.

No wonder some Christina's friends loath me.

I've got a Subaru and get high-20s to 30. The "neo-Hippies" in Portland are probably biking to work. I don't even live in Portland and my car will sit for weeks on end during the summer.

 

[Master slacker]

...with a specific note that Ford is leaps and bounds ahead of GM - and that pains me to say as someone who lusted after a LS1 Camaro for years.

I agree that Ford's muscle is higher tech than GM, but GM's engines are far more affordable, are easier to work on, and respond better to comparitive mods than the Ford counterparts. Pushrods FTW!

<--- LT1 owner. :blush:

 

[Kephart P.E.]

Want to know another one? Subaru Forester. It is about the same, but at least it has tons of cargo room and is AWD.
I love the neo-Hippies up here in Portland who turn there nose up at my "gas guzzler" then I tell them their Subaru only gets about 1-3 mpg better and I only commute 13 miles per day so really they are the ones killing Mother Nature. But not to worry cause the Forrester is really "green". Or at least it is painted green.

No wonder some Christina's friends loath me.

I've got a Subaru and get high-20s to 30. The "neo-Hippies" in Portland are probably biking to work. I don't even live in Portland and my car will sit for weeks on end during the summer.

Ummm, you aren't getting 30 mpg with a Subaru forester. A AWD 2010 model get 22 mpg and that is the manf. rating. Typically most struggle to ever achieve this rate. I am guessing you must have one of their smaller models.

And I really don't have a problem with our neo-hippies here, I just tire of their ignorance. For example if you commute 40 miles each day even in a Prius you still aren't doing the environment any grand favors.

Or my personal favorite. Buying a 80's era diesel rabbit or Mercedes car and running Biodiesel in it even though these cars are horrible polluters.

 

[Master slacker]

Or my personal favorite. Buying a 80's era diesel rabbit or Mercedes car and running Biodiesel in it even though these cars are horrible polluters.

If there were a market for it, I'd like to run a VW Rabbit on baby seals and spotted owls. It's too bad, though, that getting them in the tank is so messy.

 

[Bean PE]

Ummm, you aren't getting 30 mpg with a Subaru forester. A AWD 2010 model get 22 mpg and that is the manf. rating. Typically most struggle to ever achieve this rate. I am guessing you must have one of their smaller models.
And I really don't have a problem with our neo-hippies here, I just tire of their ignorance. For example if you commute 40 miles each day even in a Prius you still aren't doing the environment any grand favors.

Or my personal favorite. Buying a 80's era diesel rabbit or Mercedes car and running Biodiesel in it even though these cars are horrible polluters.

You're right, I'm getting 30mpg with a Legacy from a few years ago. The 2010MY Forester destroyed what the Forester was supposed to be - a car with good poor-weather handling, decent clearance, respectable fuel economy, and storage space. Now it's just like any other compact SUV.

 

[MGX]

It's one of the most popular carmaker name ever, so naturally GM wants to kill it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/10/automobi...rss&emc=rss