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Last week the car did us the misfavor of dying.  Unfortunately, it was the transmission and I know that the 99 Intrepids have trends with premature transmission and engine failures.  Plus Dodge has done a good job of denying warranty claims, though this did not apply to me (we did have a problem with that, with the transmission before - at that time I swore to never buy another Dodge/Chrysler/etc.).  

Intrepids are also costly to fix.  So, I coordinated to catch rides with other Marines for a week and we just picked up a new Honda Accord last Friday.   Hopefully, and at least I have the odds well on my side, this will be a much better car.  Today I am home, but Jenna is sick so I have my hands full of a miserable, mucus-creating baby girl.

Funny thing about Jenna, she has it in for her seal bath toy.  We bought a pack of bath toys that can squirt water when squeezed.  She consistently abuses the cute little seal.  The other night she put its head in her mouth and bit down, then held it there like that for some time, chewing.  Last night she started clubbing it with another toy while in the bath.  Really wrong on some level, but Katie and I were laughing.

I am not sure, nor am I a baby expert, but I have seen lots of random and excessive violents towards toy seals. the poor things always get their heads bitten off or something of that sort. Of course, I am thinking plush toys, which most kids were opposed to eating because they tasted (yes, I tried it).

Either way, the save the seals foundation doesn't seem to mind (they're everywhere).

Poor seals, and stupid cars lifes not perfect.

Andrew wrote:

> miserable, mucus-creating baby girl.

Ah the joys of parenting!

For some reason, i pictured a big guy with a BUDs tatoo, wimpering as a baby girl gnaws on his ear.
Must be those proud Marine genes comming to the fore, Andrew!

I can relate to the car story. Last summer, the tranny on my Caravan started slipping in the middle of summer vacation, about 1,000 miles from home. I was fortunate that we were staying at my brother's, and he could chauffeur us around while it was fixed. Three days and $1,600 later, we were on our way home a week early, with our line of credit way up (we'd just done renovations on the house) and about enough cash for gas and a motel.

Two things were ironic. One of our dogs required surgery for an abcessed anal gland (fun vaction all around) while we were staying with friends. Thus, we skipped the camping we'd planned, and went straight to my brother's place. If this hadn't happened, we would have been in the middle of nowhere, rather than a major city, when the van died. Talk about a pooch who would put his butt on the line for you.

The other ironic thing was that the tranny gave out just a couple of days after another Caravan owner asked if I'd ever replaced it, since it is a problem with the model. Nope, I guess I was lucky. Right.

Friggin' Dodge.

So, Andrew, you have my utmost sympathy.

Yeah, I must agree with you guys about Chrysler trannies.  They do have extremely bad luck.

I own a 2002 Dodge Neon SXT, but opted for a manual in the hopes I will not have the same problem as I would with an auto.

But, it does seem that every car manufacturer has similar problems.  Hell, Ford has problems with bad heads.  I dunno which is worse, Tranny going bad or Heads cracking.

6 and half dozen of another.

What I do is look for trends on the web.  The only big trend I found for Honda was the tranny issue for the 1999-2001 era and Honda extended the warranty on them for everybody.  Really hard to argue that they did the right thing.  Dodge and Chrysler might be saving money in the short term, but it has to be costing them money in the long run.  You have to figure that I'll buy 4 or 5 more cars in my life (at least) and none of them will be from that cursed company.

I have a 1995 Ford F150, 302 (well, 5.0 L) and it is running great.  Just did a tuneup and I replaced the plugs, wires, cap, and rotor.  I am very happy with the truck.

And would anyone like to know why I am awake?  Had someone banging on my door at this late hour.  He had sideswiped the Intrepid (in his defense, it is a little foggy and, hey, honest guy no matter what).   Hard to tell what the full extent is, but the driver's side took moderate damage and the rear tire on that side is way forward in its housing.  Along with the rim looking like a peeled soda can - I do mean the rim, the tire is deflated and I can see into it.

yeah andrew i was wondering why you would be posting at a ungodly hour its usually just me rich the vampire posting at this time ;) oh sorry to hear about your intrepid.

"Dont be a fool for ur tool"

I had the same problem with American cars.  I owned a Chevy and then a Ford.  In neither car did any transmission last more than 33,000 miles.  I had to get the Taurus fixed under warranty FIVE times.  Spent a ton on maintenance for both.

You'll like the Honda, Andrew.  I switched to Honda and have no complaints.

I'd LIKE to buy American...  I just couldn't afford to keep fixing the damn things.

Marine offspring having a go at a SEAL - there must be a joke there, right?

Yeah,
Notice she did not tear the head off her Kaiju rated toys...NOoooo!