Last Wednesday, I got into our 2004 Dodge Durango to take M to school, turned the key in the ignition and heard a very loud ker-clunka clank. I immediately turned it off again, took M to school in the civic (our trusty Honda civic!), and called to have the Durango towed to the shop that handles our regular car maintenance. After 4 hours of tearing apart the engine, the guys at the shop discovered that the Durango had blown a rod and the only fix was a $7000 new engine. We were floored. We had just paid the Durango off last September, and less than a month ago spent a good chunk of money fixing the breaks and replacing the tires. We expected to be able to drive the Durango for another 100,000 miles or so before needing to replace it. This couldn’t have been more out of the blue.
After some internet research on the subject, we discovered that we were not alone. Turns out that a good many 2003 and 2004 Durangos have blown a rod right around 100,000 miles, rendering the car useless without a total engine replacement. Also turns out that, despite how common the problem is, Dodge (Chrysler) takes no responsibility and rarely aids its customers in covering costs. I called Chrysler customer service myself and was told quite politely (almost cheerfully) that there was no recall on our vehicle and Chrysler would not be able to cover our costs at this time.
We started the hunt for a new vehicle immediately.
In typical B fashion, he locked onto the problem and attacked it full on. I could not get him to relax. Which means that I could not relax. He was online reading consumer reports, memorizing safety specs and cargo area measurements. We were after a crossover model, so he looked up every manufacturer’s mid-sized crossover model. Then he started visiting the dealerships. On lunch breaks, after work, all day Saturday. And M and I were along for the ride. Literally. I think we test drove half a dozen cars—some of them twice.
It was exhausting.
The reason for this frenzied, exhaustive investigative search was that the Durango had been an impulse buy. I was 5 months pregnant with M, and at the time we had a pickup truck and a two-door Civic; nothing a baby seat would fit in. B found an add in the paper for a dealership demo that was on sale, so we went to the dealership to check it out, and ended up going home with it that afternoon. No research + “encouragement” from a shady car salesman = crappy Dodge Durango, dead at 6 years old. We were determined not to make the same mistake twice.
We did our homework this time, stacking up reliability ratings, customer satisfaction ratings, safety ratings, trim packages. We approached car salesmen as we might approach a rock that could possibly have a copperhead under it. We talked to all three of our dads (one of whom is actually a finance manager for a car dealership in Louisiana)—I’m sure they were all sick of hearing from us by the time we were done. We talked to anyone we new who drove any of the makes we were considering.
So, after our comprehensive, no-stone-left-unturned, 4-day search for a new vehicle, we finally settled on a new 2011 Toyota Rav4 with a lifetime unlimited power train warranty (just in case). Though we still feel sick about the Durango (did I mention that we had just finished paying off the Durango last September? Yeah. Good times.), and having to unexpectedly take on a new car payment (although we are able to fit it into our budget without it being a huge strain), we are immensely relieved to be done and over with this episode in our lives.
The Durango is dead. Long live the Rav4. Seriously. Like it better last at LEAST 15 years.
