I hope you’re wrong about Chrysler being past the point of no return, because I’ve always had a warm spot in my heart for the company and its products. The full-size Plymouths that my dad owned when I was growing up were better handlers than the comparable Ford and GM cars of the day and had a unique style and character. Even some of the later Mopars from the K-car era and beyond were distinctive. While this wasn’t always good (Chrysler’s TC by Maserati, anyone?), it did make for a more interesting and competitive auto market. I hope the company stays alive long enough to address the weaknesses in its product line and show some of its old-time creativity and audacity again.

As for the specific article, warranty claims are, in fact, a good indication of quality, even beyond the warranty period. If they really have decreased their warranty costs, that is a good sign for Chrysler’s future. Of course, the current private nature of Chrysler means they could basically just make shit up and nobody would be the wiser.

I’ve been very happy with them and would buy from Chrysler again, but I’m tired of the UAW and who they support. So my next car will be a non-union built Honda. :)

Uh, yeah. I suppose what Cerberus did was not in violation of any criminal statutes, and the civil case will go however it goes. But IMO, stripping a going business and destroying hundreds of jobs and screwing up people’s lives is wrong. Legal, but wrong. Nothing personal in this, but this is what comes to my mind when I hear complaints about greedy union types.

Much of the cost of automotive warranty occurs early in the life cycle when companies pay 100%. I am sure that if you look at the fine print, there are some pro-rate clauses in Chrysler’s warranty based on age or mileage. I myself have never looked, as I would never buy a Chrysler product.

It is isn’t it?? You made me laugh too.

jaje,

I have always considered them basement dwellers too.

In my opinion the American automobile market would be better off without Chrysler. I wish an auto maker that has a quality standard would buy Jeep. Then turn it back into the nitch product it was meant to be.

Ryan

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What Chrysler is doing by cutting the allowance for warranty work makes the operation look more profitable in the short-term. If they actually have improved the quality, then this all works out OK. If they haven’t, they’ll be booking additional expenses down the road… but tomorrow gets to take care of itself in Detroit, I think. This is a lot like all of GM’s unfunded liabilities.

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It also occurs to me that Chrysler has lately been stiffing their suppliers. Are they also extremely slow-pay or creatively no-pay to the dealers for warranty work? If the dealers are getting stiffed, that would lead to them straight-arming the customer, too, wouldn’t it? Such a strategy would reduce warranty claims. But it’s another tactic that has adverse strategic implications.

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And the real expense and value of that “lifetime” warranty have yet to be judged. In the short term, no problem.

….STRANDED on the road.
The 1 remaining car actually made it home. ;)

Aside from the dealer taking a half day over their time line on the turbo I’ve been pleased with their honoring the warranty.

Now the people who fell for the “lifetime” power train warranty are SOL. Its going to be the lifetime of Chrysler, not the vehicle.

Fer cryin’ out loud. Cerberus will never win a Corporate Goody-2-Shoes Award. But your wording that Cerberus “had gotten out of Mervyn’s before the filing” means that some financially retarded firm / individuals purchased Mervyn’s from Cerberus.

My guess: Some buyer didn’t do due diligence in the midst of the credit bubble and is now bleating his/her way to a judge.

If Chrysler went bankrupt… eh the matter gets complicated, more or less you’d have to get in line at bankruptcy court with a bunch of other people. It would probably be the largest dollar value failure of in effect warranties in the history of the US. Past precedent does not always apply in those situations.

That was the last time I had to set foot in a Dodge dealership for a mechanical fault. 2001, if I recall correctly.

That was the last time I set foot in a Chrysler dealer.

None of their cars or trucks are competitive except only when it comes down to the deal you can get. In addition to their products being in also ran / or ranked last status, hardly any of their cars are above average in the major reliability studies.

Chrysler’s time has come and gone long ago. In the overall markets’ scheme of things they should have never been bailed out back then. GM & Ford would have conquested almost all of their sales, network, etc. as they had the capacity and reputation (and back then Toyota or Honda still were small boutiques and had no manufacturing presence). Time and time again Gov’t interference does not work well and the market needs to adjust itself by weeding out the weak so the strong can survive. Bankruptcy is required to reinvent companies that are stronger – but we’ll undoubtedly throw money into Waggy’s bank account and he’ll still lead the charge and never set a tone for true recovery – just staving off the inevitable.

I don’t have any idea how they thought they’d be able to strip and flip Chrysler or GMAC, and it seems increasingly unlikely they’ll escape without taking a big time bath. These parasitic bastards are all over the place with their financial ‘instruments’.

Looking at the largest share holders of Ford and GM shows considerable overlap. Thus these outfits that have supported/permitted the dismal performance of these companies stand to get doubly rewarded by a bailout.

In other words: Can they plan to pay any claims only from future revenue? If so, then it seems a desperate company would tap its warranty reserve fund to keep the lights on.

After all, they finance their other future obligations this way (healthcare, pension, etc).

The only good thing out of it, is that the good employees (floor & tech) will wow their new employers with their resourcefulness, and the bad ones will have to learn to survive in the outside (non-auto) world.