[Guest]

Hello Everybody,

I am not yet a proud Nitro owner, but after an extended testdrive with a Nitro R/T 4.0 last weekend, I can't stop thinking about joining the club.

So while I am looking though the forum for first hand info and all the pros and cons, enjoy some nice pics of my test-Nitro.

Greetings from Hamburg, Germany
Patman

 

[dk1677]

Welcome patman42! Thats a good looking ride there! Nice to have long test drive too! Hope you take the plunge! Enjoy the forum here also! :Racing:

 

[Quiet Lunatic]

Go for it patman you won't be disappointed, and if you get that red one you will be turning heads everywhere you go.
Keep us informed on your decision, I know you'll do the right thing.

 

[Waldorf]

ues, those are nice pics, the scenery is beautiful also! hope you decide to buy one but do the right thing and get an electric blue one like mine! you won't be sorry!! :chuckle:

 

[dk1677]

I don't think that blue( good thing) and Orange are options in Europe

 

[tamigood45]

I hate to say it.. But, I agree with Crazy4Nitro!

Pat,

I sent you a private post, pls read it before you buy it.......

To all,

Al though it is a HOT looking SUV, let's face it guys it has a lot of designer, engine, enenering faluts like:

1.- The engine is OLD, not even 24V? Mitsubishi has sohc on the out lander , susuki on the grand vitara, ford escape better performance
2.- 4 gears? come on what's up
3.- Mine already sounds like an old pick up, the dealer says "sorry"...
NO Japanese, german SUV sounds ans squeeks
4.- The MPG are bad, mine is 15mpg? after 12K miles? there is no way it will do better
5.- the copilot door makes noice after 60mph? the dealer has not been able to fix it?
ETC....i can go on and on....

Though I have to admit that the looks are very HOT

But not recomend it to buy one.

PLS comments

I really would not recommend this vehicle. If you want to look cool in a vehicle, then buy a Nitro. If you want a dependable vehicle, then buy something else.

 

[dk1677]

I am sorry to see the negative comments but we all have had different experiences with our vehicles , I can only relate my experience which have been very good other than gas mileage its so far better than the Honda I had last and I am willing to sacrifice that for performance. On the quality thing look at the the new JD Powers Buick is #1 and American car company's are in the majority of the top ten! I was talking to a former Toyota rep awhile ago and he said that they have FAR more problems than are heard of in the press they have just covered than up better! Also I had talked to a former Mitsubishi outlander owner who said he was happy to get rid of his !

 

[Dutch Nitro]

Sorry to read the negative advises. I have had more than 20 new cars so far, most of them European (including Mercedes, Audi and Volvo). Only a few I realy liked to drive (Volvo T5, MB 320 CDI). But none of these cars gave me more satisfaction than the Nitro. Okay, the quality of the interior is not European standard and the fuel consumption is high. However there is no other car in this price range you can compare with the Nitro. If you go with the rest buy a car from Azia or Europe, if you are prepared to step outside buy the Nitro.

 

[Quiet Lunatic]

Pat,

I sent you a private post, pls read it before you buy it.......

To all,

Al though it is a HOT looking SUV, let's face it guys it has a lot of designer, engine, enenering faluts like:

1.- The engine is OLD, not even 24V? Mitsubishi has sohc on the out lander , susuki on the grand vitara, ford escape better performance
2.- 4 gears? come on what's up
3.- Mine already sounds like an old pick up, the dealer says "sorry"...
NO Japanese, german SUV sounds ans squeeks
4.- The MPG are bad, mine is 15mpg? after 12K miles? there is no way it will do better
5.- the copilot door makes noice after 60mph? the dealer has not been able to fix it?
ETC....i can go on and on....

Though I have to admit that the looks are very HOT

But not recomend it to buy one.

PLS comments

We live in a world where information is free via the internet. All you have to do is look and you shall find. Before I bought my Nitro I did homework and checked stats, mpg's, problems etc, etc. I knew what I was buying before hand. Is it perfect, no it's not. It has it's issues the same as all other vehicles do. But if I'm not happy with it then it's my fault for buying it and no-one else's.

Basically what I'm saying is do your homework before buying.
Hats off to patman42 for asking questions. He's doing his homework.

What really pisses me off is people who buy a Nitro and then complain about this that and the other. They should have done your homework properly.
I know we live in a country of free speech and your quite within your rights to express them, but you make it sound like all Nitro's are the same. They're not!!!
I and most of the members here are very satisfied with their Nitro's and I wouldn't trade mine in for anything else at the moment.

If your really that unhappy with it, trade it in and be happy.

Maybe one day I'll see you on boringjapanesesuv's.com or the again maybe NOT!

 

[tamigood45]

That is what I did!

We live in a world where information is free via the internet. All you have to do is look and you shall find. Before I bought my Nitro I did homework and checked stats, mpg's, problems etc, etc. I knew what I was buying before hand. Is it perfect, no it's not. It has it's issues the same as all other vehicles do. But if I'm not happy with it then it's my fault for buying it and no-one else's.

Basically what I'm saying is do your homework before buying.
Hats off to patman42 for asking questions. He's doing his homework.

What really pisses me off is people who buy a Nitro and then complain about this that and the other. They should have done your homework properly.
I know we live in a country of free speech and your quite within your rights to express them, but you make it sound like all Nitro's are the same. They're not!!!
I and most of the members here are very satisfied with their Nitro's and I wouldn't trade mine in for anything else at the moment.

If your really that unhappy with it, trade it in and be happy.

Maybe one day I'll see you on boringjapanesesuv's.com or the again maybe NOT!

I was very unhappy with my Dodge Nitro R/T 4X4 that I did trade it in. I was very tired of spending many days at the service department. I did take a hit (dollar wise) on the trade-in of my Nitro R/T. My new vehicle is a 2008 Saturn Vue Red Line AWD. So far so good... I have no surging, the AC is ice cold, the roof rail's are not lifting, the radio sounds beautiful with no speaker buzz, there are no rattles in the dash or doors, the headlights are bright,I have no smoke coming from the grill when it rains, the remote start works every time I use it... I guess I was unhappy with my Nitro.. so I did trade it in.. and now.. I am happy!:wavey:

 

[dk1677]

I was very unhappy with my Dodge Nitro R/T 4X4 that I did trade it in. I was very tired of spending many days at the service department. I did take a hit (dollar wise) on the trade-in of my Nitro R/T. My new vehicle is a 2008 Saturn Vue Red Line AWD. So far so good... I have no surging, the AC is ice cold, the roof rail's are not lifting, the radio sounds beautiful with no speaker buzz, there are no rattles in the dash or doors, the headlights are bright,I have no smoke coming from the grill when it rains, the remote start works every time I use it... I guess I was unhappy with my Nitro.. so I did trade it in.. and now.. I am happy!:wavey: (quote) tamigood45I am glad your happy with it I had a neighbor with one that wanted to burn it on the dealers lot I guess she finally got a buyback and got a Jeep. It can happen I heard of a guy with big problems with a Lexus, no car is perfect

 

[Quiet Lunatic]

I was very unhappy with my Dodge Nitro R/T 4X4 that I did trade it in. I was very tired of spending many days at the service department. I did take a hit (dollar wise) on the trade-in of my Nitro R/T. My new vehicle is a 2008 Saturn Vue Red Line AWD. So far so good... I have no surging, the AC is ice cold, the roof rail's are not lifting, the radio sounds beautiful with no speaker buzz, there are no rattles in the dash or doors, the headlights are bright,I have no smoke coming from the grill when it rains, the remote start works every time I use it... I guess I was unhappy with my Nitro.. so I did trade it in.. and now.. I am happy!:wavey:

Good for you...:smileup:

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the warm welcome, seems like my post sparked are debate on principles here

I am already aware of most issues presented here, and to be honest on the pro side of buying a Nitro two things really stand out, for most buyers:

- The looks (it turns even more heads here than in the US)
- The price (maybe not so true for Europe)

Apart from that one must admit that from an engineering point of view the car offers nothing spectacular. Build quality is average, but my testdriver had no rattles or squeaks and if it stays that way I can live with the bland interior.

One issue here in Europe is definately milage, which directly relates to the Nitros high curb weight. That's why the only option is the Diesel-Nitro, which gives around 22-23 mpg in real world mixed driving.

Unfortunately the Diesel-Nitros are not that cheap (almost 50.000US$ including taxes for the mid-range SXT in Germany) and cars like the Opel Antara (2008 Saturn Vue in the US) offer better handling, a nicer interior and better gas milage. When I look at US-pricing right now, especially with the US$ beeing that weak, Chrysler could really push sales in Europe by lowering prices.

What I am going to do is this: As with most US-Cars (say: Caliber) Chrysler is having a hard time selling cars in Germany, since most people will not even consider cars from the US. So, prices of used cars or cars on the dealer lot usually drop significantly during the first 6-12 months. I'll just wait for that to happen and then I'll make my move, I guess.

Patman

 

[Dutch Nitro]

Buy an import car and save money!

Hi Patman,

In Holland Dodge offers the 3.7 also. Due to the absurd taxes in Holland (BPM and BTW) you can save a lot of money if you buy a Nitro in Holland and import the car to Germany. Without taxes (BPM and BTW) the 3.7 SXT 4-aut is in the pricelist for € 24.269,-. Just add the MWS and import costs and you have a reasonable priced car. Even an Antara is more expensive!

 

[Waldorf]

I was very unhappy with my Dodge Nitro R/T 4X4 that I did trade it in. I was very tired of spending many days at the service department. I did take a hit (dollar wise) on the trade-in of my Nitro R/T. My new vehicle is a 2008 Saturn Vue Red Line AWD. So far so good... I have no surging, the AC is ice cold, the roof rail's are not lifting, the radio sounds beautiful with no speaker buzz, there are no rattles in the dash or doors, the headlights are bright,I have no smoke coming from the grill when it rains, the remote start works every time I use it... I guess I was unhappy with my Nitro.. so I did trade it in.. and now.. I am happy!:wavey:

maybe you shouldn't have bought a first model year vehicle if you are annoyed by little things like that? As CL so eloquently wrote, do you research, know what you are buying!

There might be some things that could be better, but I knew what I was getting into. My father-in-law worked 35 years for Chrysler in Windsor, Ontario and I knew what first model year vehicles can be like. I've had a few irritating things that I've had to get fixed and yes, I have the roof rattle that hasn't been fixed yet. Otherwise, my Nitro has been a pure joy to own and to drive.

Sorry, that's my opinion too! I hope you stay happy with your Saturn.