Filed under: Car Buying, Trends, Crossovers/CUVs, Hatchbacks, Chrysler, LLC.
Buy a Pacifica, get a PT Cruiser for a buck!
Here's an interesting way to clear some unwanted inventory: offer a crazy-sounding deal on two new cars, like buy one car and get the second for just $1. That's the pitch at a suburban Chicago Chrysler dealership that promises a 2008 Chrysler PT Cruiser demo car for just $1 if you happen to purchase one of their five remaining 2008 Chrysler Pacificas. That's practically a 2-for-1 deal and would give buyers two options for family hauling duty. The lame-duck Pacificas in stock range in price from $37,000 to $40,000 and can carry six passengers and their stuff in floaty luxury. The PT, on the other hand, offers a more frugal option for up to five passengers. Dealer Frank Mancari started the deal on Saturday at his Oak Lawn dealership to increase showroom traffic. Once all of the vehicles are sold, however, that's it. We bet more than one person will walk in and tell the dealer he can keep his PT Cruiser, they'll take the Pacifica with a $15,000 discount instead. Who are we kidding, Chrysler doesn't even want these cars anymore. Thanks for the tip, Dave![Source: Chicago Breaking News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Torrent 7:05PM (11/18/2008)
First it was 2 avengers for the price of one, now this. Chrysler's selling their cars the way Levitz did their furniture.
EXTREME LIQUIDATION
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Torrent 7:08PM (11/18/2008)
Holy Crap. To prevent angry people from responding, I seriously didn't mean at all how Levitz filed Chapter 11 and stuff. I swear.
:)
Flashpoint 8:02PM (11/18/2008)
I'm a Chrysler 300 owner. If this sale is real I'd have my sister get a PT cruiser and my mom could take a Pacifica LOL.
This reminds me of a photo from the Great Depression:
http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~jr716196/depression2.jpg
Kotse 12:20PM (11/19/2008)
"Buy a Pacifica, get a PT Cruiser* for a buck!"
* No engine.
Yaroukh 7:10PM (11/18/2008)
I find Pacifica very attractive vehicle. I can't tell anything about its reliability or whatsoever though.
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Tourian 7:11PM (11/18/2008)
Awesome!!
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k.w.a 7:13PM (11/18/2008)
Chrysler needs to stop letting their designs get stale. Out of all the car companies I think Chrysler has had the most one-hit-wonders...they wait for themselves to become almost irrelevant before they come up with another fresh design. I remember when the PT Cruiser was the new design that everybody was talking about ( whether they liked it or not).. now they're selling it for $1.
I dont know how long the 300 and Charger are gonna keep the company afloat; it'll be sad to see a company as historic as chrysler fade into oblivion. Good luck with the bailout....lol.
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P.V. 7:31PM (11/18/2008)
I don't think Chrysler is purposefully letting the models age. I simply think it doesn't have the money to update the models as necessary.
AZZO45b 8:14PM (11/18/2008)
Chrysler-Cerberus is not sanctioning the PT $1 Sale... the DEALER is pulling this BS... The dealership will probably take the losses as a tax write off (if they don't go under).
This was the last year of the Pacifica... I think it looked O.K. it was just launched poorly. I'll bet these dealers are selling '06 + '07 models along with the current Pacificas they have left .
...& Chrysler Corp (& other former Big 3) wonders why their resale/ residual value sucks a$$??? When is the last time you saw Honda or Toyota doing a Dollar Sale?
Jj 8:38PM (11/18/2008)
You’re not getting a PT Cruiser for $1. Someone at the dealership realized that the discount on the Pacifica was equal to the price of the Cruiser so they made a promotion out of it.
I have worked at car dealers and I can assure you that no dealer would ever sell a car for $1. They just make it look like they do, kind of like when they say they are giving you $5,000 for that 95 Taurus.
montoym 8:44PM (11/18/2008)
The dealer probably isn't taking much of a loss at all.
When I sold Chryslers and Jeeps for a short time about 4-5yrs ago, we were selling virtually every new vehicle below sticker price. $29K Grand Cherokees were selling for $23K, $15K PT's for $12K, $23K Libertys for $18K, $40K Pacificas were selling for $32K etc. and all the way down the line.
Add into that the cost of a used PT Cruiser(story mentioned they were demo cars, not new) and I'd bet the dealer is probably making about the same as if they were to have sold the two vehicles seperately. There migh be a small loss there, but not nearly as much as you might think.
Kumail 7:16PM (11/18/2008)
sure it's a good deal, but do people really want the PT Cruiser?
i'll take a used car instead to be honest...
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AZZO45b 8:16PM (11/18/2008)
What used car are you gonna buy for ONE BUCK??? Even if the $1 PT is a mechanical nightmare its CHEAPER than a used anything!!!
Mobius_1 7:17PM (11/18/2008)
Might as well take the PT, heck, sell it off as scrap if it really is redundant and useless.
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Jj 7:24PM (11/18/2008)
I'm willing to bet that once you sit down to sign the contract you see that your really paying like 30 thousand for the Pacifica and 10 thousand for the Cruiser, or however they break it up.
I seriously doubt that you walk out of the dealership with the title to the Cruiser. (Assuming you finance)
So if you really want a Pacifica, you better off demading that they just give you the real discounted price and let them keep their Cruiser.
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montoym 8:51PM (11/18/2008)
Either way you slice it, you're on the hook for $40K. They don't care if it's for 1 car, 2 cars or 5 cars, you still financed $40K.
It's really not much of a deal, you are overpaying for the Pacifica(yes, MSRP is overpaying for many domestic vehicles due to the rebates virtually always available) in order to compensate for the "$1" PT Cruiser.
You'd likely walk away with the same deal by taking the rebates on the Pacifica and bragaining the price of the PT.
Galley 7:29PM (11/18/2008)
The Pacifica is a beautiful car, and they sell very well here.
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aaron 7:51PM (11/18/2008)
The Pacifica is a beautiful car? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but that thing is just boring looking in my eyes, even a well loaded one.
Should I ask what you think of the Sebring?
geo.stewart 8:00PM (11/18/2008)
aaron-
say what you want but the pacifica was a 3-row CUV long before the Flex, Traverse, ...
They all benefitted from the Pacifica being the guinea pig. And the Pacifica is not bad for what it is. Like many other cars, most of the dissing comes from people who havent owned or even taken one for a spin.
Unfortunately, as mentioned, Chryco obviously doesnt have the money to come out with version 2.0.
AZZO45b 8:28PM (11/18/2008)
No geo... Chrysler CANCELED the Pacifica (along with 4 other models) due to poor sales even after major rebates /incentives offered. Had nothing to do with lack of funds to launch a NEW model.
The Pacifica didn't have to be a "guinea pig" for anybody, but Chrysler's Product Planning F*cked the launch royally. The Pacifica was underpowered, overweight, & overpriced (original MSRPs... not the heavily discounted prices that currently exist).
My local Chrysler dealer had '06 & '07 models still on the lot a few months ago... not good & explains why Chrysler cut their losses on this vehicle.
BTW, my parents have had TWO Pacificas... I did a majority of the driving when my Dad & I went to Road Atlanta last month. The Pacifica is one of the better Chrysler cars... but its flaws are also glaring when comparing it to its competition.