Just one example of why I plan to keep my old cars going for as long as I can...

[Snotty]

I totally understand that. I run them all into the ground.
Bad thing about resale is, if the car is only worth a couple grand and this Uconnect craps out and it's 3 thousand to replace just to get the HVAC to work again. What do you do? Or worse yet bringing Dave's cheap Chinese electronics into play. Car is worth 2k repair is $1500 with aftermarket parts, last 2 years. Now car is worth $1800 and repair is another $1500. How deep are you going into a hole on a car that should be worth 5-6k, but because of the nice gadget stuff that sold the car on the front side lowers its value twice as fast as the mid range model.
The other side is just lease a car, by the time it starts nickel dining it's long gone.
Basically it comes down to cars suck until they become a classic.

I say the same about hybrid cars; who wants to pay $3,000 to replace all of those batteries?

However, the Uconnect and the HVAC are not connected. Uconnect is a program I pay for; it monitors all of my systems and tells me if I need service. If I don't pay for it, it stops operating, but my Durango will continue to run. I think you are very incorrect about your complaint.

Lease?? Did it once; never again. I am convinced that people lease so that they can impress their friends by driving a car they can not otherwise afford. No thanks.

Also, some of the things you are describing can apply to any car that was built with an ECM. What happens to an '85 Fifth Avenue if another Lean Burn component cannot be found? In California it's junked because it won't pass Smog, and factory equipment is required. These are concerns for any car that has been built since 1980. Don't know about you, but I am not going to rely on a 40+ year-old car to be my daily driver.

 

[Snotty]

The cash-for-clunkers scam, er, program was so that car and trucks could be, and most were, parted out.

Not in California. Cars turned in under the program were destroyed! No parts were (legally) allowed to be removed. Stupid, angering, and sad.

 

[Snotty]

The only time the $$$ "worth" of a vehicle should enter into one of these scenarios is if the repair is more than the replacement cost of said vehicle and then you still need to calculate the odds of the replacement vehicle having the same failure on the way home from buying it.

I think there's more to it than that. Specifically: What can you better afford, the cost of the repair or the price of another car?

My daughter's 2011 200 S was having transmission problems. She bought the car new and this was her first problem in over 100,000 miles of use. When Chrysler told her she needed to replace it at a price of $1,500 she called me asking what she should do. I asked her that very question. After thinking about it she had them do the job. After all, $1,500 was far less than $25,000. And she still had a car that has served her well for 10 years.

But... Ah-Ha! she bought an extended warranty when she purchased the car. Total cast, including an oil and filter change on her engine, $200. Good for her!

 

[300rag]

I say the same about hybrid cars; who wants to pay $3,000 to replace all of those batteries?

However, the Uconnect and the HVAC are not connected. Uconnect is a program I pay for; it monitors all of my systems and tells me if I need service. If I don't pay for it, it stops operating, but my Durango will continue to run. I think you are very incorrect about your complaint.

Lease?? Did it once; never again. I am convinced that people lease so that they can impress their friends by driving a car they can not otherwise afford. No thanks.

Also, some of the things you are describing can apply to any car that was built with an ECM. What happens to an '85 Fifth Avenue if another Lean Burn component cannot be found? In California it's junked because it won't pass Smog, and factory equipment is required. These are concerns for any car that has been built since 1980. Don't know about you, but I am not going to rely on a 40+ year-old car to be my daily driver.

Actually, the Uconnect is the name for the radio, etc, as shown in the Dodge website...

 

[Snotty]

Actually, the Uconnect is the name for the radio, etc, as shown in the Dodge website...
View attachment 436081

I understand that as I have it in my Durango. It is the monitoring system that displays through the radio face. However, it only comes on vehicles where it is optioned. It is not the operating system of the vehicle.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

However, the Uconnect and the HVAC are not connected. Uconnect is a program I pay for; it monitors all of my systems and tells me if I need service. If I don't pay for it, it stops operating, but my Durango will continue to run. I think you are very incorrect about your complaint

So the screen in your dash does not control the HVAC, or stability control?
I guess I am mistaken.
Maybe I will go get a newer car.
Yeah no!
I'm not talking about a service nobody wants that. I'm talking about that large screen in your dash with menu pages that if it goes blank one day, what will you do?

 

[mr. fix it]

That's why everybody who buys a new car has to pop another few grand for the extended warranty.

The local Dodge dealer is never happy to hear from me when I call about my 2017 Grand Caravan thanks to my top of the shelf extended warranty
The shocks are crap on this mini van
About to have the 6th pair of shocks in less than 3 years and 50,000 miles ...
The transmission has been reprogrammed too many times to count as well...

 

[stubs300]

The local Dodge dealer is never happy to hear from me when I call about my 2017 Grand Caravan thanks to my top of the shelf extended warranty
The shocks are crap on this mini van
About to have the 6th pair of shocks in less than 3 years and 50,000 miles ....

So why do you keep going back and having shitty shocks installed? Normally the 3rd times a charm to learn something doesn't seem to get through your thick skull after the 6th? Your mindset is truly amazing!

 

['66 Fury I]

In my world, my "good" car is the '66 Plymouth. Daily drivers are purchased for a maximum of $2,000.00. I buy them from a "dealer" who also runs a recking yard. The deal includes free parts! I drive them until they go to the junk yard and repeat. With so little invested, I can move on with very little loss. This is what works for me- not for everyone!
We all have different needs, uses and opinions on this (and most) topics but isn't that what makes the world go round?
Lindsay

 

[300rag]

So why do you keep going back and having shitty shocks installed? Normally the 3rd times a charm to learn something doesn't seem to get through your thick skull after the 6th? Your mindset is truly amazing!

You really don't have a choice of what goes on your vehicle if you aren't paying for it

 

[mr. fix it]

So why do you keep going back and having shitty shocks installed? Normally the 3rd times a charm to learn something doesn't seem to get through your thick skull after the 6th? Your mindset is truly amazing!

Well those shitty shocks are Mopar shocks and covered under warranty.
Once the warranty is expired then if I still own the van I will replace them with an AM brand.

Not sure why you feel the need to attack members here verbally.

Your mindset is truly amazing!

 

[stubs300]

Not sure why you feel the need to attack members here verbally.

Your mindset is truly amazing!

Yeah, it truly is amazing, isn't it? 3 sets of shocks in 3 years and 50K mile time frame is truly amazing if you like having your vehicle in the shop every 6 months for a new set of shocks! Not attacking on anybody, only if you want it to be!!!

You really don't have a choice of what goes on your vehicle if you aren't paying for it

That's why I don't waste my hard earned money on foolish scams of extended warranties that will only take you to the cleaners!

 

[patrick66]

An extended warranty is not necessarily a bad thing. If I plan on putting 100K to 150K on a vehicle on a relatively short time (4-5 years), jump on that warranty! Your normal 3/36 warranty goes away quick, in any case. If you're not going to put a ton of miles on something, the normal factory warranty is satisfactory for most owners.

 

[mr. fix it]

An extended warranty is not necessarily a bad thing. If I plan on putting 100K to 150K on a vehicle on a relatively short time (4-5 years), jump on that warranty! Your normal 3/36 warranty goes away quick, in any case. If you're not going to put a ton of miles on something, the normal factory warranty is satisfactory for most owners.

For me, I want to have the peace of mind that if my AC or other big ticket items like engine or transmission go, I don’t need to shell out big bucks on a low resale value car ...
My van has the rear AC system and if it fails it takes out the front system along with it
Dodge is unfortunately notorious for the transmission failure on this and the previous generation of Caravans
I understand that the 3.6 v6 is indestructible though which is a good thing

 

[tallhair]

My 2014 T&C has about 80K on it. I reckon I should get a fluid and filter change. I bought it at about 50K.

Anyone we’ll versed in these vans? I need to change out the drivers mirror, fogged and defroster don’t work, and maybe a rear shock leaking too.

 

[Snotty]

So the screen in your dash does not control the HVAC, or stability control?
I'm not talking about a service nobody wants that. I'm talking about that large screen in your dash with menu pages that if it goes blank one day, what will you do?

The screen on my dash displays the HVAC controls, and I can use that if I desire, same for the stability control. But, the HVAC controls are also below that screen with their own separate buttons. Same for the stability controls. Have you looked at the dash in a Durango???

What will I do if it breaks? I'll do what I've always done when something in my vehicles stops working, fix it or take it to a shop to get it fixed. It's not the end of the world man!

 

[300rag]

... But, the HVAC controls are also below that screen with their own separate buttons. Same for the stability controls. Have you looked at the dash in a Durango???

...

Not all functions are available there, though. You can't change the vent choice without it. That one of the things I don't like about that system. At least in my '15 Ram they also had buttons to control the heated seats and steering wheel. No such thing in the Durango.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

The screen on my dash displays the HVAC controls, and I can use that if I desire, same for the stability control. But, the HVAC controls are also below that screen with their own separate buttons. Same for the stability controls. Have you looked at the dash in a Durango???

What will I do if it breaks? I'll do what I've always done when something in my vehicles stops working, fix it or take it to a shop to get it fixed. It's not the end of the world man!

Continue on. My bad.
I do not want a screen in my dash hooked up to the internet with control over my steering, that's all.
No I have not looked at a dash in a Durango. With any luck I will only have to buy one more newer car before I die. I'll excuse my myself because I have no interest in new cars so I guess I should not comment. Thanks for setting me straight.

 

[WissaMan]

Also, some of the things you are describing can apply to any car that was built with an ECM. What happens to an '85 Fifth Avenue if another Lean Burn component cannot be found? In California it's junked because it won't pass Smog, and factory equipment is required. These are concerns for any car that has been built since 1980. Don't know about you, but I am not going to rely on a 40+ year-old car to be my daily driver.

That is true, but they are piling more and more of the cars systems into a single unit which in itself increases the odds of a glitch/bug/failure affecting multiple things. When systems are discreet, the failure of one is much less likely (though not impossible of course) of causing a failure in another. I know cars ain't copiers, but the evolution of the copier reminds me of cars in many ways. One thing they've done is put a "marketplace" feature on the copiers so you can download apps and so forth onto the copier to expand their functionality. All of about 1% of our customers use that feature. Yet just having that marketplace installed on the copier can cause problems with the whole system (there's a big frustrating story backing up that claim, believe me!) Eventually, due to dealer complaints no doubt, they have made it easy to disable that feature!

In the words of Scotty:

 

[commando1]

I have a Lincoln Sync3.
All I know is if that goes blank, I have nothing.
When the 10 year warranty expires. Then I really have nothing.