"New" Car!!

I'm proud to announce that we're now the owners of a fantastic 2003 Dodge Neon SXT with ~94,000 miles on it. Sure sure... we've had the car for the last 5 1/2 years, but now we own it. That means something, right?

If you want it, KBB tells me it'll cost you $4270. I'll listen to offers. I have to warn you though, it may have a tendency to spontaneously combust at some point in the future. I use MyCarStats to read up on recall and complaint notices pertaining to my cars, and there are no less than 40 complaints that read something like these:

"WHEN I USE MY HEADLIGHTS FOR 15-20 MINUTES, I BEGIN TO SMELL A BURNT PLASTIC SMELL AND NOTICE THE LEFT SIDE OF THE STEERING WHEEL GETS VERY WARM. AFTER 20-30 MINUTES OF HEADLIGHT USE THE LOW BEAMS JUST GO DEAD, IT "AUTOMATICALLY" SWITCHES TO HIGH BEAMS IMMEDIATELY. IF I TRY TO TURN IT BACK DOWN TO LOW BEAMS, EVERYTHING GOES DARK (*VERY* DANGEROUS AT NIGHT!). THEN I AM FORCED TO USE HIGH BEAMS AND BLIND EVERYONE ELSE FOR THE REST OF MY TRIP, OR I HAVE TO PULL OVER AND LET THE APPARENT CAUSE (THE MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH) COOL OFF FOR AN ETERNITY BEFORE RESUMING MY TRIP. I'M HIGHLY UNCOMFORTABLE KNOWING THAT MY CAR HAS PLASTIC BEHIND THE STEERING WHEEL ON THE VERGE OF ERUPTING INTO FLAMES WHEN I USE MY HEADLIGHTS. I ALSO CONSIDER IT EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS, NOT ONLY FOR THE FIRE RISK, BUT ALSO THE LOW BEAMS DYING SUDDENLY."

"I HAVE A 2003 DODGE NEON AND THE MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH FOR MY HEAD LIGHTS HAS FAILED TWICE. IN BOTH CASES I NOTICED A PLUME OF SMOKE COME OUT OF MY STEERING COLUMN AND WITH IN TWO WEEKS I LOST MY LOW BEAMS AND THEN MY HIGH BEAMS FAILED A WEEK OR SO LATER."

"WIRE HARNESS FROM UNDER STEERING COLUMN CAUGHT FIRE FOR NO REASON WHAT SO EVER. CAR HAS 77000 MILES ON IT. NO COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO MULTIPLE CARS AND DODGE IS NOT COVERING REPAIR ON THIS ITEM."

I'm no car expert, but I think that anything involving burning smells, smoke, and/or flame is probably a bad thing. If anyone happens to have some pull with the recall department of Chrysler you might want them to look at this issue. Ours hasn't flamed out yet, but I have noticed lately that the fog lights come on for no apparent reason from time to time. I'll have the shop look at it next time I take her in.