the continual car: July 2010

americans buy 2.6 times as many used cars than they do new.

-- automotive news

about the continual car

at the end of 2007 chrysler announced discontinuation of the PT cruiser convertible -- the funnest car i'd ever driven. in short order i found out that not only did chrysler have a lifetime powertrain warranty, but for less than US$2000 you could "wrap" the bumper-to-bumper warranty changing it from 3 years/36,000 miles to a lifetime/unlimited miles with a $100 deductible. with the underlying idea of having a car for life i had a cruiser made to my specification and sold both my honda del sols in hopes that i'd never buy another car for the rest of my life. what you see in these pages is the result of that decision.

the purpose of this 'blog isn't to brag, show off or even develop any kind of perverse readership ... it's here primarily as back-up of documentation on everything i do to keep the service contract valid ... i'm not sure why you'd read it, but if you do i hope you enjoy the ride.

(if you know of anyone else that is 'blogging their chrysler/dodge/jeep lifetime warranty vehicle, please let me know. i'd like to keep track of them here in the sidebar. thanks.)

continual car at a glance

2008 PT cruiser convertible automatic turbo
my car's lifetime service contract
current mileage: 132,000
months of use: 79
original new car price: $20,801
current total vehicle cost: $50,233
vehical cost per mile: $0.38
my service contract cost: $1542
current service contract return: $6901
amount saved by purchasing a service contract: $5289
approximate lifetime powertrain warranty return: $6000
approximate savings -- all "warranties" combined: $12,831
number of accidents: 0
number of scheduled services performed: 44
fraction of total services done at a chrysler dealer: 44/46
number of different chrysler dealers used: 17
- of these, number that have lost chrysler's blessing: 2
total cost of dealer services: $3983
total cost of non-dealer services: $1094
amount saved with coupons or by negotiating: $1134
average cost of a dealer service: $90
number of warranty/service contract repairs: 12
- my total cost of these repairs: $700
miles towing a trailer: 1920
next trailer tire rotation: 5000 miles
- my rules for towing
cast of characters on this 'blog
(updated 8/23/14)

world resources devoured by the continual car to date

5818 gallons of (87) gasoline (approximate)
250 quarts of oil
44 oil filters
29 bottles of injector cleaner
16 spark plugs
10 tires
9 air filters
8 spark plug wires
5(?) quarts brake fluid
5 quarts radiator fluid
4 brake pads
4 control arms
4 engine mounts
4 pairs of winshield wipers
4 quarts automatic transmission fluid
3 make-up air filters
3 PCV valves
2 back-up lights
2 batteries
2 brake rotors
2 roll bar trims
2 tail lights
1 air intake hose
1 car cover
1 gas cap
1 hub wheel
1 rack and pinion gears
1 rim
1 seat belt attachment
1 timing belt
1 transmission assembly
1 turbo charger
1 vacuum hose
1 wheel bearing
(updated 8/23/14)

the continual car

2010-07-15

trivium of the moment

2010-07-09

true end of an era

2010-07-05

new spark plugs, wires and air filters

about the continual car

upcoming tasks

continual car at a glance

world resources devoured by the continual car to date

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