POTR #3 A Glitch

Peace On The Road
A Glitch
October 26, 2004

There has been a lot that has happened since the last chapter. Someone that has been a very special coworker with me sent me an e-mail and said that I should keep these letters and put then together and make a book. As long as the making of a book does not have to imply that I am trying to write something of high quality I like the idea. So if I am writing a book why not call each part a chapter. When I read Dante’s Inferno each section was called a CANTO. I have ever since liked that word, but here “chapter” is a better word I think. I will just say thanks again to the person with the suggestion.

For several months we have been looking a different vehicles to tow behind our motorhome. I had originally thought that I would purchase a trailer and tow our Lincoln. This seemed to be a reasonable decision except for the trailer. What do we do with a trailer when we get to a park and stay for an extended length of time, or for just overnight for that matter? Some parks do not have extra storage areas, and those that do have extra storage charge a substantial fee. So towing a Lincoln on or in a trailer was not really a good idea. It would have to be off the ground to tow, it is not a car that can be towed with all its wheels on the ground. Towing a dolly, with the front wheels off the ground could have been done, but then you have a small trailer instead of a large one. It would have all the same disadvantages.

We want an automatic transmission and not a stick shift. If it were said that we have become spoiled with automatic transmissions for the past fifteen to twenty years I would not disagree. The restrictions of having an automatic and towing with all four tires on the highway limits the choice of suitable cars to just two. The Saturn and the Jeep are the only ones that will work. I wonder if there is one other that could qualify, that no normal person would consider towing? Since the Hummer is actually a military vehicle that has made it to the public, I wonder if it would tow four down? I have never seen it listed as either towable or not towable. It doesn’t make any difference; it would not be an option to me.

We spent a lot of time looking at Saturns. They have several models and all are somewhat sporty, comfortable, fairly lightweight, nice looking and they have most of the amenities that the Lincoln was equipped with. They were low enough that a short person like my wife, or an elderly person like my mother-in-law could get in fairly easily. It was not as easy as the Lincoln, but not bad. To me there was more difficulty in getting in or out because they were so low. There are some stick shift cars that will tow four flat that require a set of instructions to get in and another set to get out. We also looked at several models of Jeep. While the height fits me better, they are a small climb in or out for the others that will be riding in it. The smaller models, like the Wrangler and the Liberty were on the lower scale of luxury. Okay we are also spoiled in that way too. That again narrowed the choice to a Grand Cherokee. It weighs quite a bit more and of course the cost is substantially higher than anything else. On the plus side it has more convenience items, and it will go off-road anywhere I want it to go. I am not one to be crazy off-road like some people I have heard about.

For a while I thought we would buy a Saturn. I was resigned to getting a vehicle I really did not favor a lot. I figured that I could let go of my wishes for the better good of my two ladies. Then one day Erma said something like, “We would be better off with a Jeep.” I did not disagree; it fit my desires a lot better. Then came the problem of which dealership, which color, and which options. We had only seriously looked at two dealerships. One was close to home and the other close to ten miles away.

What a difference in philosophies of sales. The close one was where I had bought my Chevy pickup. When we went over to do the first serious looking to buy we were totally ignored by all the salesmen. It was lunchtime and they were more interested in eating than selling. This was even after a used car salesman had met us and went ahead and told a salesman inside what we wanted to look at. We took a good look at a Grand Cherokee and a Liberty that was in the showroom, picked up a couple of brochures and left. A day or so later we were close to the other dealership and thought we would take a look there. We met an extremely friendly, but not pushy salesman. Jammie would answer any question outright, or he would go find someone that knew the answer. I asked him how the spare tire was lowered. He did not know, but he spent twenty minutes asking others until he found out and then told us. On a subsequent visit one of his co-workers, whom he asked and did not know either, told us to be sure to have Jammie tell us how to lower the spare tire. Jammie said it would be months before he lived that down.

At the time we started looking seriously at Jeeps we had not seen the motorhome. We had only seen the color scheme on the 2004 models and did not really know how the colors had changed. Based on the 2004 colors we had ordered the coach in Watercress. In a very small picture in a brochure, it looked green. To be able to color match the Jeep with the Vectra we figured that Jeep’s Deep Beryl Green would match best. It is a color that sometimes looks green, sometimes looks blue and sometimes looks black. Just to see an actual Jeep, rather than a picture, in Beryl we went to the closer dealership and this time was helped by a helpful salesman. More pushy, but still he tried to be helpful. When we first saw the coach we were startled and pleased to see a lot of blue, especially in some light. That opened up the possibility of selecting Midnight Blue. After we took delivery of the coach we were looking at the brownish colors and began to wonder how either Light Khaki or Dark Khaki would match. If a Jeep had all the options we wanted, why not get the color we liked best. We could drive a salesman crazy because we have the choice of buying a Jeep at any dealership between here and Rochester, New York and even down to Florida. We did not try to keep any of our plans secret. We were discussing the purchase of a Jeep with two salesmen at two dealerships. The salesmen did not know about each other, but that was the only thing we didn’t mention.

When we had the motorhome in our possession we went to the dealership and parked it where the different colors of Jeeps could be parked behind it. Light Khaki, Midnight Blue or Beryl Green all looked good. Each time we added a possible color that we would accept there was a search made for a Grand Cherokee Limited with the options we wanted. Each time the answer can back that they had found the Jeep we wanted, only each time about half the options required were not on the vehicle. The more we looked the more we decided that we were not going to settle for less than we wanted. We have time on our side, if we have to order a specific Jeep in Florida and wait two months for it to be delivered, we can do it. Thursday, October 21, brought about some changes. That was the premier night for all Jeep dealers in the USA to unveil the new 2005 models. Every dealership was trying to have one Jeep that was the very top of the line. We were invited to attend the premier at both dealerships.

The closer dealership had told us that they had found a Jeep that was just what we wanted, and they could have it here in less than a day. That meant that it was in state and not very far away. At the premier we were shown a list of the options it had. They were right; it had everything we wanted. Also with the delivery of the motorhome we received an unexpected benefit. The motorhome is built on a chassis built by Freightliner. Freightliner is a subsidiary of Daimler Chrysler. Jeep is also a subsidiary of Daimler Chrysler. Because we now own a motorhome with a Freightliner chassis we can join the Freightliner Chassis Owners Club, (FCOC). FCOC members can buy certain Daimler Chrysler products, Jeep Grand Cherokee being one, at a discount that is normally available only to Daimler Chrysler employees. We showed the paperwork to the salesman. He said he would have to go to his supervisor to see what they could do. When he came back he said they couldn’t honor the offer. I pointed out that it was Daimler Chrysler that had made the offer and I did not like the idea of them reneging on their own offer. Then they decided that they could go half way. Hadn’t they worked hard with us to get the vehicle we wanted and didn’t they deserve to make SOME profit. I also heard that it would not surprise them if in a week they would be selling the Jeeps with the 5.7 Hemi for $5000 over the sticker price. Needless to say, none of that was about to persuade me into thinking that they would lose money if they honored their offer. And as far as selling over the sticker price, not to me ever.

We still had lots of evening left to visit the premier at the other dealership, Pro Jeep on 104th ave. We asked them about the Daimler Chrysler offer and got a totally different answer. The salesman said, “I wouldn’t know why not, let me check.” In a few minutes he came back with a paper showing the new discounted price, no hesitation at all. He said the Jeep was in Loveland, so we knew it was the same Jeep we were offered before. We agreed to purchase the Jeep. Within a few minutes they had a driver getting another Jeep ready to take to Loveland to swap for the one we wanted. All of this was verbal so far. If we wanted to wait, about two hours to drive to and from Loveland, we could take it home that night, they would like to have it back later to check and clean etc. We declined, but did sign all the paperwork to buy a vehicle we had not seen.

They found a small scratch on the hood, and fixed it. We were also going to have Lo-Jack installed and a clear bra the next week. There was also one very odd thing that happened. When we first saw the Jeep there was a splotch on two different doors that looked about like a bleach mark on a tan shirt. They said they would fix that also. We took the Jeep home Saturday morning. Sometime on Monday we tried to find the splotches and could not. Something about being exposed to the sun caused the splotches to disappear. I do not have a good explanation of what happened, but the paint is perfect. The dealership thinks that some sticker must have been put on the doors at the factory and prevented the paint curing properly until it was removed and exposed to the sun. It all sounds crazy, but any explanation is better than none I guess.

Now all of this has sounded like things were going well and you are undoubtedly wondering, “What is the glitch?” That happened on Monday. We called Nolan’s RV and left a message telling them we had purchased a 2005 Jeep. We asked them to get the front tow plate and we would stop by to schedule a day to have it installed. To this point they had obtained only those parts that were not “vehicle specific”, because we still might get a Saturn. We were taking the Jeep to Pro to have the hood scratch fixed and stopped at Nolan’s to schedule the appointment. The service manager met us with, “I have some good news and some bad news.” The good news was that the Jeep was towable with four tires on the ground. We already knew that and had known it for a long time. The bad news was that Jeep had changed the frame in 2005 and there were no tow plates for it. Roadmaster had designed a plate for the Jeep and was testing it. The design still needed to be sent to the draftsmen and they still had to tool up for production. Bottom line is that it will be four to six weeks before there is a plate available. I have a promise from the service manager that I will have a plate from the first days production. That is a glitch in our plans to be sure.

We have to come up with plan “B” somehow. As close as we plan we are going to take the Jeep to my brothers for storage and then go to Rochester, New York within a week. Spend the four to six weeks there and then come back to Colorado when the tow plate arrives. Perhaps instead of going first to Florida we will go to Texas. At least it is straight south of Colorado. We can drift towards the East Coast at our leisure. Just keep looking for “Peace On The Road” and I will try to keep you posted.

We have slept the last three nights in the Vectra. We have tried to use the house batteries to maintain heater operation. Our success has been marginal. In the cold nights it is taking a lot of energy and by morning it is necessary to run the generator. I have not plugged into house or shore power because I do not think that any extension cord I have is sufficient to carry the load. By rerouting a heavy line in my garage that I had installed thirty years ago, I was able to run a power cord to the coach today. Tonight we will see if the problems are solved. I have no doubts that there will be other problems.

Till Later This Is Doug Of
PEACE ON THE ROAD