Comments on: Chrysler’s $2.99 Gas Guarantee: A Bad Deal

By: Laughing

Laughing — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 18:21:02 +0000

Hmmmmm Gas has been under $2.00 for quite some time now.

By: Milford

Milford — Sat, 24 May 2008 11:06:20 +0000

On another point I think we all better get used to paying 2.99 or more per gallon. Too much talk of keeping the prices up to drive down demand. By the way, Gas is just $ 1.49 in China. (yes that is US Dollar).

By: Milford

Milford — Sat, 24 May 2008 11:04:09 +0000

Just for the record you use an existing credit card. No additional credit card is required if you already have one. I thought it interesting that you probably can’t do this program if you dont have a card or cant qualify for one.

By: j4311

j4311 — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:55:50 +0000

Chrysler knows that many Americans can’t do math. Fools and their money (should they ever come across any) are soon separated.

By: Angelo Georgini

Angelo Georgini — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:36:08 +0000

$2.99 per gallon is alright for me. in my country the gas is $4-5 per gallon

By: KC

KC — Wed, 14 May 2008 20:04:07 +0000

Yes, I have driven a Chrysler (well it was a Dodge Intrepid). It was an 02, and it was a friend of mines. It’s now in his backyard with a blown out engine because of the incredible sludge build up problem those cars have. It was still under warranty when the engine blew, but Chrysler wouldn’t honor it because they said he didn’t do proper maintenance eventhough he had it serviced at the dealership.

My father-in-law was a judge for 30 years and went through cars like candy because of all the mileage. The worst car he had was a mid-90s LeBaron – got less than 120k miles before it died. He usually put over 200k miles on his Toyota’s and Nissan’s before experiencing any problems.

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:49:35 +0000

I like your point about the other incentives. I was thinking, too, of used cars and how much less a 2-year-old car costs than a new one. That’s years and years of extra money for gas!

By: Aryn

Aryn — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:37:15 +0000

I agree that this is a bad deal, but how are you figuring that gas is going to call below $2.99/gallon in three years? It’s not as if China and India are going to reduce their s some, but I think high prices are here to stay.demand for oil in the next three years. We certainly won’t be seeing a large enough increase in fuel efficiency to reduce US demand that much.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:22:24 +0000

The “have to buy a Chrysler” caveat is an important one. Current Chrysler products get 2+ worse mpg than competitor’s products across the board. In some cases the spread is more extreme. If Flexo’s numbers are right then you’d save just as much on gas by buying a competing product.

Given Chryslers’ terrible resale value you’re probably better off buying used anyway. A new stripped-down Sebring is $19.3k after incentives, and 1 year old rental Sebrings are selling for $14k. It would take a lot of $2.99 gallons to accumulate $5,300 in savings.

By: Justin

Justin — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:42:44 +0000

Whenever a company has some kind of “deal” like this it should always be looked at with a fine tooth comb. Of course they are going to play off of whatever the new “fear” is. DIY bomb shelters in the Cold War rings a bell.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:33:14 +0000

I agree that this is good marketing. The big lesson seems to be that retailers will take advantage of people’s anxieties (in this case about high gas prices). The benefit they’re offering isn’t really much of a benefit, but it strikes right at what people are worried about these days. That’s smart… and it’s our job to be smarter! Thanks for the analysis!

By: Llama Money

Llama Money — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:24:06 +0000

Flexo – you might want to change the title to: Buying a Chrysler: A Bad Deal.

I’ve never met someone who purchased a Chrysler ( Dodge included ) who actually didn’t regret the purchase. Horrid vehicles, terrible quality, generally terrible mileage, ridiculous resale value. Etc Etc. I don’t care if they guarantee gas at $0.99 per gallon, I wouldn’t buy a Chrysler.

By: UH2L

UH2L — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:16:11 +0000

Environmental and economic aspects aside, this is good marketing. You want to appeal to people so that they buy your product and right now what’s preventing some people from buying some of these trucks/SUVs is gas prices. Most people aren’t financially savvy which is also why they go for the lowest monthly payment regardless of overall financial impact. I agree that people should buy more fuel efficient vehicles, but if you work for Chrysler and are in the company’s position, you have to do something to move product.

And as for the comment about driving a Chrysler, their products are not bad. Have you actually driven one? I’ve driven a recent 300 and a Sebring and they’re both pretty nice, would rather drive one of these than a Toyota or a Honda.

By: KC

KC — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:24:08 +0000

That’s always the case with these sorts of incentives. They give you a break somewhere, but take it away somewhere else. Like cheap financing – if you’d pay cash you could finagle a better overall deal.

But perhaps the worst part of this incentive package is in the end…you are driving a Chrysler.

By: David

David — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:50:49 +0000

Please show your math for the 3mpg improvement saving $3000 in 3 years.

By: Chad

Chad — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:05:53 +0000

Good catch. Whenever you see this type of special there is always a catch. The company is always going to limit their loss, or it could potential bankrupt the company. On top of the 12,000 mile limit, uou know Chrysler went to some investment bank and had them set up hedges. This will allow Chrylser to determine the cost of this program to within 5-10%. Take the other incentives and save the hassle of having another credit card in your wallet.