Re: Want to choose discrete options, not packages

The vast majority of people do not want to wait several weeks for the exact car they want. Most people want a car right away. Plus, many of the incentives may be gone when the car arrives.

And, people usually want the same group of things.

Jeff

(...)

Most people are ignorant of how their cars work. When something is lit that is not usually lit or blinking, it gets our attention. I can't tell you which lights go on when I first turn the key.

Just like most people don't care that much about what happens after they flush the toilet - as long the stuff goes down the drain without a flood, they are happy. And as long as there are no unusual lights on thier dash, they are happy, too.

Jeff

It sure is a lot different from years ago. DVD, Entertainment Systems and now to top it all off, the new Dodge caliber has a place to keep your drinks chilled.

Sounds like another way to sell us something. Why not run lights in the day and night ;-)

You guess? You sound like you don't know much about cars. Why are you posting?

I was just looking at the Chrysler web site, and it apperas that the 300 has gone to manual windows? 8^0 Because of the packaging, power windows are $800 or 900. Surely that can't be right. That'd be stupid. Power windows were standard on the lowest model old LH cars.

Does that mean you would attempt a 5,000 mile trip in a $700 car ;)

mike hunt

New York State with State Farm Insurance, a national company.

A $700 car does not have to be a crap car.

A crap car is one that fails when you don't expect it to fail, irregardless of how much you paid for it.

Then I guess you would attempt a 5,000 mile trip in a $700 car. I would not if I were you ;)

I have not had a $700 car in a while. The last $700 car I had was a used 1973 Fury with a 360 v8. That was 1981. I ran it till 1985. I guess $700 would equate to two or three times that amount in todays dollars.

I have a car in my driveway I'm thinking of selling for $500. I wouldn't consider a 5k mile run with that one because the tranny needs a rebuild.

My Father bought a 1966 2 door Buick Skylark with a v6 in 1993. He paid $150 for it. It was garaged, well taken care of, never taken out on bad weather days, and had 36,000 miles on the odometer. Owner was afraid of it because it was too old and replaced it with a Tempo (ugh!).

So there you have it. A car I would drive 5k miles in with no qualms that cost less than $500 in today's money and a car that was new that I wouldn't trust for 500 feet (the Tempo with every option Ford could stuff into it).

It is not the cost of the car, but the condition of that car. Cheap does not aways equate to crap. Learned that in the 1970's when buying cars from the NYC repo actions under the Whitestone Bridge. I still miss that 1968 Imperial with 40,000 miles we got for $400 with only a broken seat back.

I went by the Chrysler place, and even the $24000 model had power windows, which was what I thought. They just have some kind of "better" power windows bundled with a bunch of other stuff.

Yes, well it's been demonstrated that people in society have not been able to adapt to a technological lifestyle, other than being a pure consumer. People today know less about how the food that keeps them alive is created, then at any point in history I think.

I don't think that state of affairs is really going to last, though. Not over the long term, over hundreds of years. Most of the ability of society to exist as a collection of ignorant consumers is due to the availability of cheap energy, and once the oil runs out, cheap energy is going to go away. At that time people will have to go back to the old way of you buy something then you keep it a long. long time, because the cost to replace what you have with something new will be astronomical. And the only way people will be able to do that is to learn to do their own maintainence. (or a good portion of it)

Ted

I own a 1984 Celebrity with a blue book of $500 and I wouldn't hesitate to take a 5000 mile trip in it. Of course, I replaced the engine with a rebuilt engine about 4 years ago, but the car is still only worth $500 to the market.

Ted

I guess you could, as long as you have a valid credit card. ;)

mike hunt

What's your point in posting this? You and I both know it can't be done that way. You can either buy the packages they offer, not not buy at all. The other option is to buy a stripper and then get after market parts to get what you want. It may end up costing you more and not end up being what you expected.

--------------- Alex

Just because they aren't required doesn't mean you can't have them. My DRLs don't bother me since I'm not looking AT the front of my vehicle. Not to mention that my car also helps to keep me from being forgetful (not lazy) when I have to have my wipers on, my state requires headlights when using wipers, my car turns the headlights on when the wipers have been on for 30 seconds and then off when the wipers have been off for 10. This isn't a DRL feature, but it's another whiz-bang, golly-gee electronic gizmo that wasn't on vehicles years ago yet is a nice safety feature.

I did several 600 mile trips in a car that cost me $1, does that count?

You beat me. I paid $15 for one of mine. (but it was a convertible). Took a couple of lengthy trips.