Chrysler vehicles 29% less broke than before
Automakers want top-notch quality in their vehicles because a good reputation for quality sell more cars. The pleasant side effect of high quality is spending less to repair your own vehicles. Millions of dollars can be saved per one percentage point improvement in warranty costs. Cerberus was quick to crack down on quality woes when it took over Chrysler, and the early fruit of its labor is hundreds of millions of dollars in warranty costs avoided. Chrysler cars and trucks are hitting the dealer less for repairs than before, which has resulted in a 29% drop in warranty claims for the automaker. That's good news for the cash-strapped automaker, and a big reason the privately owned company has earned $1.1 billion since the company's sale. The positive swing in warranty claims means Chrysler can appropriate less money for warranty claims in the future, giving it more money to spend on R&D, engineering, and, hopefully, interiors.
If you're asking yourself, "Aren't Chrysler products close to last in J.D. Power initial quality studies every year?" you're not alone. Chrysler does tend to fare poorly in those surveys, but they concentrate more on things like cup holders, fit and finish, and general interior quality, all of which don't necessarily cost a lot to fix. The Pentastar is going to de-emphasize J.D. Power results going forward, and instead focus on the arguably more influential Consumer Reports rankings. Unfortunately, the Chrysler vehicles haven't fared very well there either, but that can always change. Thanks for the tip, Mike!
[Source: Detroit Free Press, Photo by Scott Olson/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Gary 11:04AM (9/09/2008)
Good for them.
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AMcA 8:20PM (9/09/2008)
EXACTLY:
The bias inherent in this reporting is blatant.
If Hyundai had improved its warranty costs by 29% it would presented in a favorable light. It would be: they're better. Not, they're less worse.
J. D. Billiford 11:10AM (9/09/2008)
>>> Chrysler obviously still has a way to go with the quality of their vehicles. But this is definitely good news for them and shows they are headed in the right direction.
Kudos and compliments to the folks at Pentastarland. Keep up the good work!
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TJ 11:14AM (9/09/2008)
The low quality of Chrysler products has been dramatically overblown. Although the NHV may not be up to the levels of other segment vehicles, I have owned MANY, MANY, MANY Chrysler products, almost all have been free of major repairs.
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MemphisNET 11:20AM (9/09/2008)
Totally agree, and I too have been happy with all my Chrysler products - but I do understand why people hate on them. Hard plastics/interior quality, relatively bad gas mileage, and styling that is almost always love it or hate it.
My 95 Neon transmission finally blew up at 423,000km - my 01' is my commuter car, and my Magnum R/T is my hauler. My dad's old 96 Intrepid still roams the streets with its new owner, and his 06 Sebring has been quite pleasant - if only just bland. But he's 64... bland is the name of the game :P
TJ 11:48AM (9/09/2008)
Our family has been through four jeeps of various vintage, two handfuls of Spirits, a couple Shaddow's, a pair of 1st gen and a pair of 2nd gen cloud cars, a dozen models of caravan, a cordoba, etc....
a 89 Spirit 4 cyl lost the oil pump with a clueless behind the wheel = blown engine.
94 sprirt had the trans rebuilt at 90k, was going strong at 180k when it was sold.
that's it for major repairs. Looking at a list of 30+ Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep vehicles over 30 years, only two major issues. Basic maintenance and wear/tear items on all the others.
Chrysler has been good to us. So has GM (Silverado, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Saturn), Nissan (altima and maxima), and we just picked up an 08 mariner, so we'll see how that one goes.
Judy Zik 4:20PM (9/09/2008)
The quality issue with the domestics in general has been way overblown. Unfortunately judging from Consumer Reports instead isn't going to improve things. CR's latest beef is dinging cars for the quality of the headliner materials! So even with CR you have to look past the articles and look at the actual reliability data. J.D. Power ratings can be even more out there because it all depends on whether or not people buying the car like the cup holders and such. A car doesn't have to be unreliable to get bad marks. Even reading online forums I am amazed how often a vehicle is getting trashed for it's basic interior. Then you read further and find out they bought the base model and they are pissed that it doesn't have Cruise Control and other optional features but list price as their main reason for buying it.
Torrent 11:28AM (9/09/2008)
wow. But they're still at the bottom. Don't get me wrong- I love me some Ram, (it's not what you think.....) but Chrysler needs to step up their game or else they will be where Hyundai was in the 90's.
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Mike V. 11:34AM (9/09/2008)
What do you think they are doing? A 29% improvement and you are comparing them to Hyundai in the 90's.
Wow, you are must be one of those guys that thinks they have crappy interiors but has never actually sat in one of the newer models. Let me guess, you haven't owned one either?
Torrent 12:05PM (9/09/2008)
Actually my mom owns an 06 PT Cruiser, and my sister owns an 07 Charger. Pretty good, but the materials are really cheesy, and I found that same quality in the Sebring and Aspen. Her Charger has been in the shop for electronic malfunctions- maybe 3 times in the past 4 months. I understand they are making progress, but progress isn't enough for some people who want a good, reliable car right now at this time, and Chrysler just isn't making them right now.
Sprinter Owner 11:37AM (9/09/2008)
Perhaps Chrysler HAS improved quality. It should be easy at this stage; it can't a lot worse. But I own a Dodge truck and they can't even tell me WHERE to get it fixed as I travel the country.
My experience with the company suggests the possibility that they are just plain paying on fewer claims.
Not so long ago I had a warranty issue w/ the brakes. After finding a Sprinter dealer who consented to look at the problem I got bounced between the dealer and Corporate while both said the other had to make a decision! On top of that, it wasn't fixed correctly.
The very last Sprinter dealer I saw was a real clown act. They did incomplete work and I had to argue, even though I had a service appointment, to get into their shop.
Sure, practices like this WILL lower warranty claims. But are they desirable?
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Tim 11:50AM (9/09/2008)
I suspect this is the problem as a former Chrysler owner. I bought used and its BS that these cars don't depreciate more than other brands. Thing went from 33k to less than 19k in two years with 26k miles on the odo. Dealers were great (did all they could) Chrysler was not and this was when the company was making money.
Frank 1:39PM (9/09/2008)
Your Sprinter is really a Freightliner/Mercedes product, it has no Chrysler parts to my knowledge. Perhaps you would have better luck if you tried a Freightliner or Mercedes dealer.
Sprinter Owner 10:07AM (9/10/2008)
My truck says "Dodge" . That obligates Chrysler to do service. Moreover, Chrysler is about to rebrand Nissans. Should we tell the buyers of THOSE that they are SOL? For sure, then, Chrysler can ride off into the sunset.
Frank 10:30AM (9/10/2008)
"My truck says "Dodge" . That obligates Chrysler to do service. "
Obligates, yes. But does that mean the dealer (an independent business) will know what they are doing? You problem appears to be outside of normal/routine maint. I am only trying to give you a sugesstion to help you out. If you insist on going to the same dealer/dealers out of some sense of "obligation" then perhaps you are more interested in bitching then getting your problem fixed.
As for the rebranding of brand A to brand b car: It all depends on how it's handled. If the Nissan/Chrylser relationship becomes long lived then you can bet the dealers will know how to fix the cars, whether it's the Nissan Versa clone or the Dodge Ram clone. If the relationship is abusive/aborted (like the Mercedes-Chrylser relationship), what incentive does an independent business like a dealership have to spend money on training, equipemnt, certification, etc. to work on an orphan vehicle?
dolphinsrule65 12:57PM (9/10/2008)
interesting comment on the sprinter, 100% mercedese-benz...there isn't one thing dodge on that thing other then some emblems. Blame m/b...
Sprinter Owner 1:11PM (9/10/2008)
Don't blame Mercedes. It is very reliable. At 10,200 lbs it gets 18 mpg!
The problem is wholly Chrysler. They can't accurately tell you who can do what. So they make up information. When that doesn't pan out, you usually can't reach the original employee or subcontractor (Chrysler has largely farmed out customer service; it's now anchored in India). They don't return calls. They often don't identify themselves well, even if you press. So you talk to somebody else and they make up something else.
It's really a Ted Mack Amateur Hour kinda thing. Chrysler IS the weak sister.
Dave T. 11:46AM (9/09/2008)
ummm...if sales are down 30% is this an improvement shown as an adjusted average or just a total which wouldn't really be much of an improvement at all?
Just asking...
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MemphisNET 3:21PM (9/09/2008)
Some things to keep in mind for this year:
Fleet sales have stopped with the exception of emergency services such as Police sales. When I say stopped, I don't mean completely - but I think they were saying something in the neighbourhood of 94% of fleet sales have stopped.
There are also 4 fewer vehicles in their lineup this year. They were considered 'slow' sellers, but they were selling in some capacity. Now they're gone all together.
n8new 11:48AM (9/09/2008)
This is great for them, considering the lifetime powertrain warranty.
About the JD Power results and the term "fare poorly:"
Like someone pointed out before, the brand at the bottom of the list scored 167 problems per 100 vehicles, while the brand at the top of the list scored 87 problems per 100 vehicles. This means that the bottom brand had LESS THAN 2 PROBLEMS more than the top brand per 100 vehicles. Considering that the respondents can complain about anything from an engine that won't start to an ashtray cover that doesn't open smoothly (each counting equally as 1 problem), those are pretty tight results from the top to the bottom! Using that perspective, no one brand is scoring significantly better or worse than the other brands. It underscores the fact that there isn't really that much difference in quality among the brands. Likewise, the subjective use of phrasing such as "fare poorly" when reporting such issues distorts this truth and leads -- maybe with some pre-conceived notions and possible agendas in mind -- to such extreme descriptions by some consumers and posters about what, in the recent past of all manufacturers, consitutes "high quality" and "junk," the use of such extreme terms (undeservedly in most cases), and the difference between the two.
The fact of the matter is that, over the past few decades in this evolving marketplace, no manufacturer of ANY product can continue to produce "junk" or goods that "fare poorly" over any continuous period of time and continue to be in business to this day.
Congratulations Chrysler. May your fortunes continue to improve.
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