Is guaranteed 3$/gallon gas worth enough to buy a Chrysler?
 

The title makes it sound like I don't like chrysler very much, don't it?

ABG

Nothing makes it worth it to buy a Chrysler or a Ford. They could be giving away free gas for the life of the car if you bought any one of their cars and I still wouldn't even think about it.

Wow what a gimmic. You have to give up other incentives so in reality instead of get a break up front it's spread out over 3 years. This is really sad.:(

I can save even more by not buying one. ;)

Lol! I love that statement!

Hello -

In the history of selling cars, up until the last few years, have *any* car companies offered free gas programs?

CarloSW2

I thought chrysler had lifetime drivetrain warranty.

I ALSO heard even if you SELL the car you can still keep the $2.99 gas. Makes it interesting to say the least. Alas I can not afford a new car so its a moot point.

Maybe in the US right now. They will certainly get more appealing for our crowd in the next few years. They're far from incapable of making nice economic cars, they've been doing it for years. The executives were just stupid and thought Americans didn't want small efficient cars. They've learned though and have started bringing over successful cars from Europe and selling them in the US. Ford Europe has been quite profitable.

I would seriously consider buying a Ford in the UK. Due to the dollar you can get quite a nice car for dirt cheap over there.

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/03...-co-sub-2-sub/

The Fiesta, and other ford models, with the ecoNetic diesel beat the Prius on CO2 emissions (of course it's smaller). And, they're about half the price of a Prius in the UK. The new Fiesta will also be road tax exempt, which means any gain in fuel economy for the Prius will never pay for itself.

The people who are totally cynical about American motor companies will be surprised in the coming years.

Hmmm maybe things have changed but we have some old late 80's early 90's Ford vans we would never have traded for anything. We easily put more than half a million miles on each of them before moving on to the next van.

Considering that none of their vehicles can break 30mpg, I'd say no. Speak with your wallet and buy more efficient cars. They're following in Ford's footsteps by concentrating on hulking guzzlers. Let them lie in the bed they made. Even their Caliber is a chunky beast. Don't let Chrysler exploit fear of gas prices to buy you off!

How hard is it to buy a new car and then immediately sell it for what you paid? IE if you sell the car you can KEEP the gas card!!

You have hit it right on!!
The deal is that for 12000 miles/yr you will pay only $2.99/gal and chrysler will pay the rest.
If gas goes to 2.99 or less you just forfeited your (substantial) discount on the purchase price. It is a gimmick for those who pay full list price or actually cannot afford to buy/negotiate a purchase.
The best is to wait until conditions are right and negotiate your best discount. As a bonus you save on sales tax too!! It's 7% here.

Actually lots of them do. The 2009 Fiesta breaks 55 MPG, and it really breaks it to when people drive it with their normal driving habits, unlike the Prius.

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/27/n...-by-late-2009/

As I said earlier, Ford never stopped making small efficient cars, they just haven't been selling them in the US. To their loss. You are totally right, and it's consumers voting with their wallets that finally brought about this change :)

I was talking about Chrysler there. But speaking of Ford, how many small cars do they make compared to the slew of SUVs they crank out?

actually for chrysler even there SUV's can get well over 30mpg and even 40mpg even jeeps and stuff. Its just those are diesels they have no interest in selling here. In fact more than half the US made chryslers are VERY good on gas they are just all shipped OUT of the US :-) cute ehh :-)

My beef with them isn't about MPG, it's about reliability, and the fact that they're just plain fugly looking.

World wide, or in the US?

World wide small cars are the vast majority of their production.

I am sure that a lot of people would have the same view of our Ecomodded rides. ;)

If they repossess the car do you have to give the gas back?

I dont see how you would have to give it back. the collateral on the loan would be your car. whatever bank your loan was threw would want nothing to do with a gas card.

$2.99 gas doesnt do you any good if the car wont go.

My friend worked for the local Chrysler/GM dealership and said they have to keep at least 1 of every Chrysler transmission in stock at all times because they fail so often. No so with the GMs. I already have heard time and time again of young failed Chrysler transmissions but this pretty much took the cake. Also this video he got from when he worked at the Ford dealer across the road, comparing the Ram with the F150. The Ram did so horribly that he said Chrysler threatened to sue if they didnt stop showing it. He gave me a copy that I still might have somewhere. I know other companies have had issues too, but at least to me, Chrysler builds junk moreso than the other makers.

Getting back to basics, any "deal" has to be evaluated on its own merit and compared to future worth. When gas is $4/gal you save $1. The plan as i see it is for 15000mi/yr x 3 years. The typical car today will get 25to 30 MPG. So 15000mi/25MPG= ~600 gal. or $600/yr. If gas goes to $5/gal you make double etc. It's a gamble, but not for car buying. The realistic future worth would be ~$1800 over the 3yrs. (It could also go down - at which case you got zip). But in negotiating you should be able to get $2000 additional off the price up front.

I would not fall for this deal at this time. It seems that gas cannot sustain this price level. It will go down.When????How much????
You shouldnt buy a car based on this "distraction". They get you all worked up over the $3 thing and you forget that you should be getting thousands off the sticker on a higher priced car. Watch out that you dont go broke saving money.

Personally i wouldnt waste my time on new cars that get less than 50 MPH. Until then i will keep my gas hogs and save the price of a new one. It makes no sense to buy a new big$ car that gets so-so mpg. You can buy some really great (large/cheap) used lo mile cars that get 25/30+ MPG. Dont be too hasty. Time is on your side. Next year's cars WILL get much better MPG and so on. If you need one immediately, dont fall for these gimmicks.

Yeah, when I saw those ads I just did the math in my head... and it wasn't worth it. If gas was $4.50/gallon, then it would save me 1.51/gallon. Assuming I drive an avg of 33mpg (worst case scenario) and drive 12,000 miles/yr:

12000 mi/yr * 1g/33mi = 363.6 gallons/yr
363.6g/yr * $1.51/g = $548.58 savings / yr

...that's assuming gas is $4.50 the entire year, my mpg is roughly 33 and I only drive 12,000 miles in a year. Seems like it would be better for drivers with bad MPG, who drive a lot in a year and during really high gas prices.

:turtle:

(Forget about that Suzuki deal... that's not even worth running the numbers)

Sorry -- the deal was for only 12000Miles x 3 years. Same idea but about $300 less value over the 3 years.

they offer the choice of a rebate, or 2.99 gas. even at 5.00 gas you still save more with the rebate because of the limit on the amount of fuel they offer at the 2.99 price, pus in the end it costs more to buy a new car to save some money on gas than just keeping what you have, or buying a used ecobox to pump the miles out of. it's a lose lose situation in my book.

My local Nissan Dealer has basically the same deal; but it is $.99 a gallon.3 years; I don't know the mileage though.

I am going to start saving up for a 2009 Ford Fiesta now.

You are so correct. The 2009 Ford Fiesta looks great, and will easily get 40MPG+.
It seems Smarter than the Smart.

maybe a $1,500 savings over two years... think of it as a rebate or incentive, ho-hum

but.... That campaign created quite the media buzz. The marketing team who created the idea should get hefty raises for creativity and effectiveness!

I don't believe Chrysler will live up to the bargain. Chrysler is on the verge of liquidation. Chrysler cars will be as orphaned as Gremlins and Nash Metropolitans.