Jalopnik On Course to Receive Old Chrysler Money

6 cylinders, 12 spark plugs, and a crank position sensor to stand in for the ballast resistor as a "often failing part that will leave you stranded." The funny thing is I still want one, but only if I could use someone else's money to maintain it.

I would have no problem with that.

Cerberus, even with a crystal ball, could not have planned what actually happened. In fact IIRC they ended up only barely breaking even on the whole debacle. "The private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management will get back much of its troubled bet on the auto industry as a result of Tuesday’s sale of Chrysler Financial to Toronto-Dominion Bank for $6.3 billion. Toronto-Dominion will acquire about $5.9 billion in net assets and $400 million in good will from Chrysler Financial, the former financing arm of the carmaker. Cerberus will retain more than $900 million in Chrysler Financial assets as part of the deal, according to people briefed on the matter who agreed to speak only on the condition of anonymity. The sale will help Cerberus earn back much of the $7.4 billion it paid for an 80 percent stake in Chrysler three years ago, part of the buyout firm’s wager that the auto industry would recover. (In 2006, Cerberus also bought a majority stake in GMAC, General Motors’ financing arm, for $7.4 billion.)" http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/12/21/cerberus-recouping-costs-will-sell-chrysler-financial/?_r=0

@28-Cars-Later "Barely breaking even" >> losing everything

@28-Cars-Later That tells you something - even with a financial disaster in the midst of their plans, they still broke even.

@Corey Lewis Cerberus was always after Chrysler Financial and never wanted the rest of the carcass. Daimler forced them to take it all off of their hands, and Cerberus probably would have either sold off or declared Chapter 7 to liquidate the automotive assets at some point after 2007.

@28-Cars-Later So do we suspect Gawker will default on the loan and be chopped to bits by Cerberus?

@28-Cars-Later Cerebus has made a decent amount of decisions that ended up backfiring a decade or so later. Example: Remington / Freedom Group. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/16/business/dealbook/cerberus-unable-to-sell-remington-will-buy-back-its-shares-from-investors.html?_r=0 Pretty sure the ACA bailed them out and made them a ton of cash with their Cariitas acquisition.

@28-Cars-Later Cerberus' plan was to produce trucks for itself and third parties while it outsourced car production. Cerberus bought a distressed asset, so its investment was relatively modest; it didn't lose much because it didn't pay much. Daimler absorbed most of the cost of the company's decline.

@28-Cars-Later I'm not knowledgeable on this subject but I believe if Gawker could not be sold, then its assets would be given to the creditor. I imagine Cerberus has a higher valuation of Gawker than the amount of the loan so then Cerberus profits on a break up.

@28-Cars-Later Cerberus is acting as a DIP lender. As a DIP lender, its loan takes priority over the pre-bankruptcy debts. When Ziff Davis or some other party buys Gawker's assets, Cerberus will be repaid from the proceeds. The value of the assets that would be sold are well in excess of the amount of Cerberus' loan, so the risk to Cerberus is quite low in today's economy. (In addition to a major publisher being interested, there may be other buyers that could bid up the price further.) The bankruptcy will address the pre-BK creditor claims with whatever is left. Ziff Davis will start with a clean balance sheet; given the nature of successor liability, it will leave the liabilities with the bankrupted seller.

I was considering everything I could see in that photo - and none of it is very reliable, ha. Old Passat, old Discovery, old Jag, old E-Class. I think I'd pick the old E-Class if I had to choose one.

@Corey Lewis I think this is the lot on the Island of Misfit Cars.

I would as well.

@Corey Lewis E-Class? More like no class. Wonder if a LS engine fits in a Jag...

@NoGoYo I'm not enamored with the XJ8 interior build quality, and by this age and [probs] high miles, I bet it's ratty. And leaks water. With cracked walnut trims. The E likely has MB-Tex which will look brand new even if the former owner was a coffee salesman.

@NoGoYo It does! http://www.jaguarspecialties.com/xj8-lsx.asp

@Corey Lewis Water leaks? I know a lot about Jaguars (own 5 different ones myself. Yes, they all run, and run well.) and I'm not aware of the X308 having water leaks. The walnut does crack because it's real wood, and wood moves with temperature changes. Just one of the hazards of using a natural material. Jaguar uses an aluminium substrate, then 7 layers of poplar veneer with the grain alternating at each layer along with glue, then the walnut on top. Gets put in a press under heat and pressure and that's how the wood conforms to the shape of the substrate. Jaguar has their own sawmill to make veneers, so if it looks like wood on a Jaguar, it is.

@Jagboi Are you in the UK? Just wondering. You have lots o' Jag informos.

@Corey Lewis Nope, Canada. Jaguar's are my favourite cars though, toured the factories a few times. One of my best friends is one of Jaguar's "Pro Drivers" for their media launches. Tough job having to drive an F Type around F1 tracks in Spain, but someone has to do it...

@Jagboi After I own all of the Lexus, and eventually get down to having Jaguar play cars I will seek counsel for buying!

@Corey Lewis I'll take the 2nd gen Explorer or whatever that white standard cab pickup is (probably a Chevy)

@Corey Lewis Old Passat? Even better, it's a Peugeot 405! Since it's clearly not in in Africa, it's probably not benefiting from the weird Peugeot Twilight Zone sub-Equator reliability, and is definitely suffering from parts availability.

@28-Cars-Later Well that solves at least some of the XJ8's problems.

@Corey Lewis Heck I would take the previous generation Sebring GTC convertible with the 2.7 and Auto stick (spell check says Autistic) over that bean counter Daimler Cerberus era one in the picture.

@Maymar I almost said it was a Peugeot, honest. Then I thought no, that would be too unusual and I'll just end up wrong. So I was wrong anyway.