Hello, my wife and I are planning on finally getting a Cruiser in about two or three weeks; we have been oooing/aaaawwing over them ever since they came out. Only car in the last 25 years I've been interested in owning! Neither of us has ever had a brand-new car, so we definitely want to get an '03. Only problem is, since we've been "watching" them since the very first year, there are things about the '03's we really love, and things we really DON'T like, so I was wondering if there were solutions.
We want a Touring Edition. Not a prob, it's just that we really don't like the way the PT looks with the bumpers the same color as the car! It ruins the overall look/effect of the car, to our eye. But Chrysler seems to say that's how you have to have it if you want a Touring Edition. Are there alternatives, like could we have the original black bumpers put on at the dealer?
We also like the majority of the chrome trim that's available in the "Tuned Package", but we absolutely HATE that gas-filler door! Ugh! Ruins the entire side of the car! So could we request that they leave the filler door alone and put a piece of the beltline instead? There don't seem to be any provisions for being able to pick and choose, and if you want some chrome, you gotta take that ugly filler door as well. The "DIY" site, which I've been looking at seems to point to the fact that you could buy a roll of molding and do the beltline yourself, but would it last as long as the commercially available "kits"? We also think those "40's Fender" strips that are available are really cool, as are the two little strips at the bottoms of the doors. Does this kind of product hold up? or will it eventually crack and peel, like so much of the "plastic chrome" that's now rotting off our old 1990 Taurus??
We're also thinking of going through the purchase process on-line and buying directly from the fleet manager, and buying the extended warranty online as well. Has anyone else done so, and if so, have you met with surliness/resistance from the dealer as far as trying to get warranty work done?
Thanks for listening to my longwinded question-session!
beebs