What is your opinion of this deal? I think i understand how it works but why in the world would Chrysler want to pick up on the slack of what their customers aren’t paying? According to a website that I read, Chrysler is down on their sales right now and this is their way of getting customers committed to buying fuel-efficient vehicles. Am I misunderstanding this or is it precise?
It’s their way of getting customers to buy Chryslers, not to buy “fuel efficient vehicles”.
It’s a gimmick. Sort of like a variable rebate.
There’s nothing special about it. Any savings you receive work out to be about what you would get on a factory cash back/rebate deal. Although I believe Chrysler limits you to 12,000 miles per year with this deal.
There are only so many vehicles that they can buy and get the deal. The Ram, Caravan, Charger, and Jeep Grand Cherokee are all vehicles that they won’t give the deal with. That doesnt really leave much else that they can get if they want something that can get up over a hill without downshifting 3 gears. It does sound like a scam but it seems to me like they wont be making much money on the vehicles after the 3 years is up
I am going to respond to your question with a question:
If Chrysler “goes under”, what would be the status of this deal?
If they just go out of business, that deal is dead. If they are bought out (again), the “deal” would only continue if the buyer also agreed to assume all of the liabilities of Chrysler.
My advice is to buy a Chrysler product only if you feel that it is superior (for your needs) to the offerings of the other car makers. Don’t buy a Chrysler product on the basis of this “guarantee” because you could wind up being very disappointed in the near future.
It is very possible that Chrysler could “go under”. Who knows maybe they are planning on it and they are just looking for a reason to get rid of their cars
Another thing, this lifetime powertrain warranty thing gets me too. How can they be making money on that? We all know that Chrysler, for years, has never had a reliable powertrain in any of their vehicles. They must be losing money on that deal too. Unless of course they are convinced that they have fixed all their problems.
Which means no one should buy a Chrysler, because every one of their vehicles are inferior to, well, pretty near every other vehicle made in the world.
And as for this ‘deal,’ it can only be chosen instead of rebates on vehicles. It ends up that the consumer will save more money by taking the vehicle rebates than the gas price reduction.
Many years ago, International Harvester offered an unprecedented 100k warranty on the engines of their Scout models. About a year or two later, they went out of business. While the Scout was a good vehicle, the owners were left without the warranty coverage that they had assumed that they would have on their vehicles.
I wonder if they offer the same deal on their “Quality 5-star pre-owned vehicles”?
You’re prepaying an assumed difference up front in your car deal…aint nuthin “free”…included perhaps ,but never free…guaranteed.
Committed to buying fuel-efficient vehicles? Then lets ask this! Why did Chrysler get the honor as being rated as the worst out of the eight major automobile manufacters that market vehicles in this country for Corporate Average Fuel Economy? Chrysler’s CAFE number is 22.3 MPG. Everyone else has a higher CAFE rating.
No! What they’re saying is that we’ll help you keep fuel in our gas-guzzlers for the first three years. After that, you’re on your own!
Tester
It’s a sales gimmick and X number of people are going to fall for it, just like the 5000 off MSRP, 0% financing, etc.
A paper and number shuffling game is all it is.
It’s a rebate…pure and simple. it’s a very cleaver rebate that make people think it’s far far more then that.
First off it’s only 12k miles for 4 years. Everything after that you have to pay what ever the price is.
So if gas is $5/gal and the car you’re buying gets 25 mpg then that equates to a rebate of $4800. That’s all it is.
The deal shows one of two things. Chrysler may be out of business soon or there is a huge profit on these vehicles.
We’ve owned numerous Chrysler vehicles and all have been great vehicles and very dependable; We currently own two.
If Chrysler did build fuel efficient vehicles there would be no need for this extra savings gimic.
I got an email awhile back from Nelson Auto in Marysville, Ohio saying they were offering $1.99/gallon on the Chrysler vehicles they sold there(they also have a Lamborghini showroom/sales floor).
Also, taken from Caddyman’s website:
Offer valid with up to 87 octane regular unleaded fuel, E85 fuel or diesel fuel only, depending upon purchased vehicle*
Yearly allotment of gallons provided
Annual gallon allotment ends each year on 7/31 (first year ends 7/31/09)
Enroll
Easily register via a dedicated web site or by calling designated 1-800 number
Personalized Let’s Refuel America Gas Card arrives within 4-6 weeks of receipt of application
Use & Save
Use the Let’s Refuel America Gas Card like any credit card ? just swipe and type in your PIN to use
Check account transactions online
- If mid-grade or premium unleaded fuel is purchased, the customer will be billed for the $2.99 plus $.15 per gallon for mid-grade (88-89 octane) or plus $.30 for premium (90-94 octane).
So basically its false advertising?
as false as all those millions of other “free” stuff which is actually just INCLUDED in the price. But no company has ever chosen to tell that truth instead playing the psycological game of “FREE”. Free freight, second one free, buy three get one free etc. etc. Bull Crap…it’s INCLUDED ! ! NOT FREE . The corperate expense ledger has a bottom line for which all selling prices are calculated to produce PROFIT. These hand-outs, promos, and inclusions are all expenses of doing business just like wages, rent, insurance, taxes, cpa, legal, advertising etc. Only if you can walk in, get one, and leave without paying anything is it free. ( hot dogs on saturday at the Ford dealer ) But even those add to the price for purchasing customers…Aint nuthin FREE, “included” maybe, but never free !