The body "rust" issues have been around for quite a while. A friend had a '77 Cordoba that mysteriously developed rust perforations just above the passenger side roof rail, about an inch above, on smooth sheet metal . . . inside out. We traded for a '76 Cordoba a year or so later. No evidence of the roof issues, BUT where the outer skin was bent over the main structure of the deck lid, on one side of the license plate, rust was forming there . . . NO seal sealer applied over that place, just paint which was obviously not that thick or temperature variations caused enough "itching" to create bare metal in that small area. Too bad, it was a 360 HO 4bbl car! Other research revealed the seam sealer application to be variable on Chrysler products, unlike it always being there on GMs back then. Where it was applied on Chrysler products, NO rust, though. Possibly some cost-cutting issues back then . . . or even in more recent times?
As for the sales pitch, IF the salesperson really knows their products, they can usually overcome many buyer's comments about quality and such. This includes, but is not limited to, any awards (mentioned above) particular Chrysler products have received from noted industry sources. Many customers will quote Consumers Research "as gospel", but it's really NOT. As noted, their "reliability charts" can be highly problematic, once you see the pattern of their questions and how they're constructed. Even in the later 1960s, they considered mis-aimed headlights as "a defect", just like a water leak in the floorboard. Reality, to me, is that many "defects" are really quality assembly issues, many of which might be caught by an effective dealer's pre-delivery inspection activities . . . what we used to call "Make Ready". But rather than fix many things in that procedure, some dealers (and manufacturers advocate) waiting until the customer complains before anything is done. Still, though, when failures happen 300 miles after delivery, it's not good for anybody.
I've observed that Toyota seems to have something of a "cult following". It seems that loyal Toyota owners will put up with things which would "cook" GM or Ford of Chrysler (especially!) . . . and still purchase Toyotas in the future, no matter what. Kind of like a secret society they seek to belong to, at any cost. In many cases, Toyota vehicles have MORE recommended factory maintenance than other brands, but few people seem to shop on this orientation. BUT the key thing you can tell a potential non-Toyota purchaser is "That large service department at _______ Toyota? If you drive by, it'll probably be pretty much full all of the time, by observation. Those cars in there are NOT all in there for 30 minute oil changes. Just doing oil changes and tire rotations will NOT pay for that shop being there. Those cars are in there for other mechanical work. Yet all Toyota owners will talk about how bulletproof their cars are? They allegedly "don't break", but Toyotas have historically had many of the same durability issues which other manufacturers have had, over the years, possibly just not the same things, but reasons for the vehicles to need service nonetheless." And you can probably say the same things about Hondas, too.
BUT, you might take a non-attack orientation . . . Toyotas and Hondas are great cars. They have many redeeming features for their customers, but they might not be "for everybody". Compare the interior room of our 200 to a Honda Accord, for example. The luggage compartment room. The type of materials. How the steering wheel "angle" is, compared to what's comfortable to you. The "Right Car For You" is "a matter of feel", both in comfort and useability and in the many tactile responses to your touch when you use the various controls. Not to forget the responsive and comfortable ride of Chrysler products of all types. NOTE: to use this sales approach, which can be a more credible sales approach than a simple attack approach, the salesperson HAS to have more knowledge of the competition's vehicles than just what HIS manufacturer gives them in sales training--period. One reason every sales person should attend ALL corporate ride/drive comparison events--period. OR seek out competitive vehicles from Enterprise (or similar) for weekend rental of their own. Once you know the competition, you can then figure out how to best sell against them.
In 2004, Dollar/Thrifty was using some transitional vehicles as their Chrysler-based fleet vehicles still hadn't arrived. For that year's Mopar Nationals, I ended up with a Honda Accord DX 4-dr sedan. The car had 25K miles on it, but didn't look like it did. Paint was still slick, with some car wash brush marks. The interior was still tight and clean. I didn't realize it had that many miles on it until the next day. I could see why people loved these cars, BUT the whole car seemed dated. The nicely-done interior reminded me of the office cubicles from the middle 1970s, with burlap covering the panels, sort of decor. There was ONLY room for 4 people--period. Not quite a good family car of sorts. The trunk appeared to be decent-sized, but my carry-on bag changed that perception. End result, the physical characteristics of the car looked good, but if you tried to make it a "typical American vacation car" for 3-4 family members (of normal size), it would fail. But for an empty-nester couple or a single city dweller, it would be fine. Not the most stylish vehicle, either, looking rather dated at the time.
Fuel economy was great, but it had poor power below 3000rpm, which the lower low gear ratio in the automatic transmission was there to cover. With the cruise punched at 60mph on the Interstate, any small grade or even using the "+" button on the cruise to increase speed to 62mph for an easy passing maneuver, the trans would kick out of OD into 3rd. 60mph was 2000rpm in OD. I would not have noticed that if I hadn't seen the tach needle move, the trans was smooth and the engine was quiet. BUT, with the new 8-speeds displaying similar behaviour, that's not really something you can mention any more. When everybody had 4-speed (incl OD) automatics, though, it was more important. This lack of low rpm power was something which CAR AND DRIVER never seemed to mention in their Honda road tests, either!
Still, though, if those Toyotas and Hondas were "cars that didn't break", then their service waiting areas would not be FULL many days of the week, on a regular basis. This might be one reason so many have put in more upscale appointments to their facilities, to make you more comfortable as you wait in a more upscale atmosphere.
For potential purchasers, one of my recommendations has been to find a car rental company which can gurantee you a car like you're looking at to purchase. This can be problematic in many cases, though, unless it might be Enterprise. National generally has Chrysler and GM products in their fleet, but also some Toyotas and Nissans. Dollar/Thrifty has historically had Chrysler products, with some Fords, too. Hertz has generally been Ford-heavy. So checking to make sure you can get what you're looking for is key, plus knowing where you might find it. And it can vary with rental location, too. Living with a vehicle for a weekend can give you LOTS of information to use to sell Chrysler products with! It might take a while to look at all of the competition, but it can be worth it. Otherwise, make sure you get to any ride/drive event you can!
Hope this might help,
CBODY67
). If the rust gets a start you have to clean it well or spot blast it and use a good prep primer.
