I took delivery today of a pre-owned '05 T & C. The first time in 30 years I've owned anything but a GM vehicle (it was a difficult move...but my wife liked this one best). I hope it will give me good years of service. I was operating the vehicle this evening and trying to figure my way around this new vehicle. Then I noticed that none of the headlight/dome light switches are backlit. The area on the dashboard behind the turn signal switch is completely dark. I then wondered if it was supposed to be lit and had a burnt bulb. The van is a year old w/ 20k on it. If it is not lit, that's a poor design because you can't see what you're doing to turn on the lights....

Thanks for the info.

 

No, the stuff is not back lit on those vehicles. A cost cutting measure.
The lights have been deleted from the engine compartment, the glovebox, and the under seat drawer.

 

Penny wise and pound foolish, IMO.

 

Also brand new to Chrysler - I just bought a Town and Country.
Two questions - is there no coin holder? Really need one.

Second - The van was less than 1/8 of a tank full of gas when I picked it up.
I complained to dealer and the dealer basically said tough.

This is terrible.. No matter how much I like the Van I just can recommend a company that
doesnt deliver a 30k vehicle with a full tank of gas.

Sign,
Really annoyed.

 

I come here to look at some information on what is soon to be my new company car and the first thing I find is a cross posting winer...my God Dude, get over it already.

I'll give you the coin holder from a 80's car any day, just give it up already.

Gas wise, what don't you get....it's the dealer, not the manufacturer you have a beef with....and obviously you aren't good and getting that fixed, as it's as simple as can be to make that right....I doubt they told you tough....there's something about the story you're not stating.

Personally, I think you have a problem and are just trolling here.

 

Listen - your affliation to Chrysler is your problem. All the cheap shortcusts they put into the Town and Country are mine.
What I lost in gas Chrysler will lose in maintenance. I have already stopped three friend from making the Chrysler mistake I made.
Two went Honda and one Sienna. Its more about a customer complaining to Chrysler about a bad dealer move and Chrysler
not getting involved. Honda and Toyota would be all over the dealership.

Secondly my Van has been in the shop four times already. The quality stinks.

You call it whinning - I call it very poor quality and backing of their product.

Chrysler - NEVER NEVER again!!!!!

 

My affiliation is that I'm picking out the Town and Country as my company car. The shortcuts as you call it were there before you actually signed on the papers, so instead of blaming everyone else, why don't you suck it up and read reviews, take test drives and do some actual research before you buy something. You will never convince me that you aren't the one to blame. You made the call to buy it when you did. some call it buyer beware, I call it buyer be smart...do your homework.

As far as Chrysler getting involved....believe me, no manufacturer would have done anything to get you a few bucks in gas. I grew up in the car biz and I know the level of involvement from the manufacturers. Again, your fault....before you sign the papers, you should have driven the actual van you were about to sign on and noticed the gas was low. Sounds to me like you simply walked in signed and then decided to complain afterwards. I also still don't believe the dealer told you to go pound salt. My guess is you never went back to them in the first place and just decided to hold a grudge. Honda and Toyota do make a good product. No doubt others are playing catch up. HOwever, there are trade offs in all products.

We owned a 2003 Honda Oddy, and while it was a very nice van, it was not trouble free nor imperfection free. On top of that, the dealer here sucks. Took them five attempts to get the wheels balanced and the car aligned. I even had to take the service manager and tech with me to show them that things were still messed up. I was amazed. However, the brand has nothing to do with the service team. Techs are techs and mgrs mgrs, they move from one place to another all the time. It boils down to people and they very from good to bad no matter what dealership you go to.

Sorry you're having issues with your T&C, but my Oddy was in the shop more than four times in the first year for things from the above mentioned, to tons of squeaks, a Friggin Tranny recall and electrical issues.

Our 97 Camery back in the day was a fine car for the 24mos we had it, but it too had issues. Besides, comparing the Sienna which sells for darn near sticker and costs a bunch more isn't exactly in line....for what Toyota is askign for them, they better be better in quality.

Not standing behind the product.....Funny, Honda & Toyota only stands behind their cars for 36/36,000 vs GM which is by far more now and GM at least gives you road side assistance too. Honda & Toyota figure you'll never break down nor need to call anyone...so they say...time for them to live in the real world where $#@t does happen.

Again, sorry about your luck, but you need to learn to actually deal with things and move on. Constantly pissing in the wind is making you look bad and certainly isn't setting an example for others that come into contact with you. You're free not to buy another Chrysler product, that's your choice. If it wasn't free, I wouldn't buy it either, but not because of what you've brought to the table. However, I wouldn't go around living in my own poor issues all the time.

All the best.

 

I have had stated T&C now for 8 years, and it has 173k miles on it now. I have keep the oil changed at least every 4,000 miles, I keep the interior, exterior, and the engine bay looking brand new (the service writer a the dealership has even told others he has never seen a engine of this age still looking like it came off the showroom floor). In my years of ownership let me run down the few repairs/maint. items I have replaced. Rear wheel bearings, 3 sets of tires/alignments, plugs/wires one time, 1 EGR replacement, 1 time valve cover gaskets, placed silicone and a clamp/hose to the condensate drain line to channel condensate away from firewall as it was dripping thru the firewall and soaking the front pass. carpet, 1 replacement each of rack and pinion, control arms, struts/shocks, sway bar link/bushings...... and just today replaced AC compressor due to noise compressor making but still very cold blowing. I have spliced the wiring harness to the pass. side power sliding door no less than 6 times as that design was poor...thin wire on a constantly moving harness- driver side door has been no problem as it is not used as much. Many of these things are maint. type items and 'overall' it has not been a bad vehicle and has been reliable. The only time the Check Engine Light has been on was when the egr went bad. Just an update after 8 years and 150k miles of service.

 

"Fings ain't what they used to be" or so the song goes.
Cars aren't better or worse really IMO than they used to be, it's just that the problems have shifted around somewhat. I speak with just over 50 years of actual driving experience.
Example:-
In the 1960/70s there were no catalysers, no DPFs, no microprocessors. The typical problems were burnt contact-breaker points, arcing inside distributor caps, resistive supressor ignition leads gone bad, failed fuel pumps, flooded carburators, failure to start in the cold.
The real difference today is the horrendous COST* of having anything fixed on your car. And only second to that the almost universal incompetence of people who claim to be able to fix your car at any price. Third to that is the spare parts rip-off.
I think the poster has fallen into the trap of assuming a second-hand car should be fault-free. This is a triumph of hope over reality. Most cars are traded in because they have become "uneconomic" due to the lack of maintenance and its cost. My own GV had this syndrome. So if you buy a second-hand car, expect to have to start repairing it rightaway. I was lucky with my GV in that the poor maintenace only meant spending a few hundred £££s to put it right.

Now can you see why websites like this are so popular?

Leedsman.
* My local Jag. proper dealer charges over £100 per hour for their services. To give them credit, the place looks like part of a german car factory, and the mechanics are most helpful. Still, £100 per hour...

 

Leedsman - "I think the poster has fallen into the trap of assuming a second-hand car should be fault-free."

You were doing so good then you lost me there. dandyd's post sounded like a rendition of facts. His only opinion stated concerned design then "overall" praise though I'd disagree with the latter considering all he's had to do. I have a much older 96 and haven't done half of what he's dealt with.

BTW - L100 is around $150 USD. Egads, but then it is a Jag. Someone told me Jags are made in India now. True? What's that all about?