At 07:49 AM 10/27/04 -0500, Barbara wrote:
>I'm having a hard time deciding on a new-to-me vehicle. I've had station
>wagons and sedans. ...
Exactly one year ago (last week!) I bought a year-old Chrysler PT Cruiser
and so far I've found that it's almost the ideal vehicle for a piano tuner.
I've always said that's what the "PT" really stands for anyway. Mine, in
dark plum pearl topcoat, had 32K easy Kms on it when I bought it (about 20K
miles) and was $10K CDN less than the price of a new vehicle with the same
equipment. Other than a slightly-pitted windshield and a few rock chips on
the front it was like a brand-new car.
The PT seems to be an excellent piano service vehicle if you don't need a
large van. I have all my tools in small individual plastic tool boxes for
each job plus a small parts box, and everything except the vacuum cleaner
fits out of sight under the lowest position of the parcel shelf. My tuning
case fits under the driver's seat. With the shelf in that position and half
the back seat folded down, there's enough flat surface for a concert grand
keyboard to slide right in. If you need lots of room the back seats come
out easily, but I've never had to do that except to clean it. It came with
a decent stereo with CD and cassette and has power door locks with a remote
as well as power windows and powered mirrors. It also came with the
"touring" package, with 16 inch wheels and slightly beefed-up suspension so
it handles very well.
Gas mileage isn't wonderful at about 24 mpg with the auto transmission, but
a K&N air filter boosts that slightly as it does in any vehicle. I highly
recommend them anyway as they'll last longer than the vehicle in most cases.
Some people find the PT a little unnerving to drive because of the "blind
spot", but you soon get used to using the mirrors. The car is short enough
that it's extremely easy to park, and it's very easy to get in and out of
it. The standard engine runs on regular unleaded gasoline, unlike the Turbo
which requires premium gas. It has plenty of pep for me though.
One other thing that's worth noting about the PT is that it's classed
either as a "van" as they do here in Canada or as a light truck, so
insurance is usually a little cheaper than it is with a sedan. I suspect
the convertible version, which isn't as practical as a service vehicle,
would be a little more to insure, especially with the Turbo option.
It appears to be a very reliable vehicle. In the last year other than oil
changes and the K&N air filter I've spent less than $5 on it for one brake
light bulb and it's had one spark plug wire replaced under warranty.
Compared to my last car, a ten-year-old Ford Taurus wagon which cost me
more than two weeks work and a couple of thousand dollars in repairs in the
year I drove it before the engine blew up, the PT has been extremely good.
I have a professionally lettered sign on the back window with my company
name, phone number and web site address on it and the sign, which only cost
$80, has paid for itself many times over. Almost every week I get a call
from someone who has seen the car in their neighbourhood and sometimes I
even get calls from people driving behind me, which was how I found out the
brake light didn't work.. While they're becoming quite common, it's still
an interesting enough looking vehicle that I get a lot of comments about it
from customers and even perfect strangers in parking lots.
I have two negative comments on the car though. First is that it's a little
hard to keep clean on the outside. Automatic car washes tend to miss some
parts of it due to the shape, and the inside door sills tend to get very
dirty and need to be cleaned separately. Hand-washing the car, preferably
at a car wash is required to keep it sparkling clean. The other is the
design of the instrument panel. With sunglasses on it can be a little
difficult to read the white-faced speedometer under some conditions, but
I've gotten used to that and it doesn't really bother me anymore.
Now... if they'd come out with the panel-truck version I have in die-cast
models it would be even more ideal, though its use as a passenger car might
be more limited. There is an after-market panel conversion kit available if
someone wanted to go to that amount of trouble though.
If anyone has any questions about it I'd be pleased to answer them. Email
me privately if you like, or join us on the Tuesday night chat.
John Musselwhite, RPT
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