New from Oregon

[cruisinbabe]

Hiya--- I'm from Oregon, and am an owner of 2002 PT Cruiser.

I fell in love with the Cruiser when a friend of mine from the theater brought in the brochures and it literally took my breath away to see them coming out for the very first time. (2001 is when they started?)

It wasn't til 2003, that I *finally* gave in and traded in for my current Cruiser.

After I bought my house last year, I was able to pay off the Cruiser; however, the bank lost my title (!!! ) and now I have to wait to get my title before I even go down to drool over a 2006 Cruiser I've been ogling for a week.


I could start a new thread, but I'd rather 'kill two birds with one stone'---

Before I could trade up for a 2006 model, I do have some concerns:

1) should I replace the rear brake pads and fix up the dings or should I just let the dealer handle that part?
2) the 2006 model has 35,000+ miles, and my concern is that the 36 mo/36,000 mi warranty (full, powertrain, & roadside) will run out too soon. I've been really BURNED by Warranty Gold's extended warranty foul-ups, bankruptcy, & the lawsuit against WG and am *very* leery of buying extended warranty. Should I bother with the extended warranty?

Thank you in advance, and I would appreciate some advice on how to approach the issues.

Lori aka crusinbabe


edit: if my intro thread isn't in the right place, please let me know! thanks!

[CREWZIN]

Lori,

WELCOME to the forum. Your post is fine where it is and you filled out your profile so your two steps ahead of a lot of others.

The PT actually came out in early 2000 (around May-June). They were still considered 2001 models. You can tell the early ones as there's only two window switches in the front center console. They went to 4 switches somewhere around July.

I was also burned by Warranty Gold, but at least I did get my Power Steering Pump replaced under them for only the deductable of $50 before they declared bankruptcy. You can always buy the Chrysler extended warranty for used cars. If they go bust, so does everyone else's warranty.

Leave the brakes alone, especially since your trading it in. The dings will cost $50 to $75 per ding at one of those places that get rid of them. Depending on how many you have, may not be worth it. If you can do it yourself, detail the car (engine, interior and outside) before you have anyone look at it. First impressions mean a lot, even when trading it in.

Good luck on going for your new one.

[Mean Green]

That is a lot of mile for an '06. I'd continue looking.

[cruisinbabe]

I loved the 2006 because of the safety features (knee air bags will come in handy as I had total knee replacement 3 months ago)

As for the mileage, I have almost 45,000 on my 2002. 35,000 isn't too bad for a 2006. Plus, the extended warranty I can get from my credit union, than from a dealership.

And pooey on Warranty Gold...it's good to know that I wasn't alone getting burned by them. Nearly took $900 from my credit card before they went bankrupt. GRRR.

BTW, just for fun I had an AAAOOOGAH horn installed (I've always loved cars from 1920's & 1930's) I hope that'd make a nice impression for the trade-in....the OEM horn is still there, so don't worry about that. LOL

[CREWZIN]

Lori,

You might as well take the Ahooga Horn out as you get nothing extra with 90% of your modifications when you trade in a car. The more "stock" a car is the better chance they have of getting rid of it after they get it from you. Take everything off that you've added, clean it up the best you can and you'll get the highest dollar value on a trade-in.

You can always add the Ahooga Horn to the new PT.

[quicksilverdon]

Agree (as usual) with Crewzin. I take "trading in" your '02 to mean dealer - they pretty well go by year, model, and miles, and rear brakes, a few dings, etc, won't vary what you get - it'll be lower than you can sell it for privately, but that can be a hassle, and the dealer can apply the money for the '02 right to your new one with no delay.
If you are disciplined enough, get a quote for an extended warranty, and get a CD for that and put it aside in case you need it. The odds are very strongly in your favor that you won't need a warranty.

I had 87,000 miles on my '02 when I traded it for my '05 (wanted a turbo) and I have 52,000 miles on my '05 - all I did was change oil, brakes, tires, ignition wires, plugs - and I did have a broken sway-bar on my '02 - after a pothole that was bad enough to crack a wheel...
I did have the auto trans flushed on my '02 after 50,000 miles - there was no trouble with it - I wanted to keep it that way.

[bobs turbo pt]

welcome & enjoy !!

[cruisinbabe]

heh....y'all would never believe the dream I had Saturday night:

I drove away in a 2006 cream PT, and halfway home, I remembered I left all my stuff in the old PT so I had to turn back to the dealer to get them before the old PT gets sold.


back to reality:
I just turned in my application for my lost title last week, so the waiting part is hard enough and hoping the one I wanted don't get sold before I get my title.

[CREWZIN]

Originally Posted by cruisinbabe

heh....y'all would never believe the dream I had Saturday night:

I drove away in a 2006 cream PT, and halfway home, I remembered I left all my stuff in the old PT so I had to turn back to the dealer to get them before the old PT gets sold.

I did it and it wasn't a dream. Wife and I traded in our Suzuki for a new KIA crossover a few months back. I cleaned out everything at the dealer and we hopped in the new car and drove off.

Got to my development and went to reach for the front gate opener that we keep on the visor along with the garage door opener and ....you guessed it, we left them on the visors of the old Suzuki. Turned around and had to make the 20 mile trip back to the dealers to retrieve the two controls.

[cruisinbabe]

that's too rich. LOL

in the meantime, whilst I'm waiting for the title, I might as well clean out my car...just in case.