I bought my used '08 Patriot back in April, 2010 with 13,232 miles on the odometer.
It survived a family move to Texas, where it became a capable and dutiful commuter for 6 years. It was the only car serving a family of four, doing damn-near everything for us. It stood up to some serious abuse in that time, and for the most part it did the job. Maybe with a groan or grumble here and there.
It has served us well in that time. It has served us so well, that it has succumbed to it's servile nature, and is now a used-up, tired, broken appliance.
It suffered it's latest failure last weekend, when the clutch -ever problematic- would no longer disengage. I limped it home on Texas Hwy 71, my wife on the verge of tears for fear of hitting someone when i couldn't shift it out of gear at a red light, or of being hit when i couldn't get it back into gear.
It's been through two master cylinder failures, possibly a third. It destroyed a slave cylinder and input shaft bearing. The rear main seal has not stopped leaking since its first transmission service. The second shift boot has torn. The driver seat has torn in two places. The carpet where my right heel rests has worn through the carpet and most of the backing. The outboard seat panels on both driver and passenger sides have broken off. It's wearing it's third set of lower control arms, that were deemed to be loose at the last service. Pretty certain the front wheel bearings are reaching their end of life, as the rears were replaced about two years ago. One failed alternator pulley. One failed AC compressor. One failed intake flapper (which required dealer intervention to get the computer to accept the new parts). About four sets of tires. Two new bumpers, front and rear; bumper covers, front and rear; a new rear hatch; a new AC condenser; a new radiator; and associated bodywork. A new passenger side mirror assembly. Two broken windshields. One failed catalytic converter (the replacement of which has resulted in an exhaust rattle that resonates as 2500 and 3000 rpms).
I paid it off about three years ago. As of Saturday, it sits in my driveway with 161k miles on the odometer.
I don't want to be done with it. Not because I love it - I don't. After all, it is an appliance at heart. It is like a disposable razor, in that it ultimately has a limited lifespan, and continuing to use it beyond that expected end date will eventually leave you bleeding.
And yet, despite all the things I've fixed and/or suffered through, I feel like I haven't done enough to keep it up and running, Like I haven't put in enough effort. Like I didn't change the oil often enough. Like I haven't waxed it in the driveway - hell, I haven't even washed it in a year at least. Like I didn't trawl eBay or the pick-a-part to find enough replacement parts. Like i didn't spend money I didn't have at the time to fix things I should have fixed.
I feel like I let my Patriot down.
But I realize now, that the problem isn't the Patriot - it's my own expectations.
The Jeep Patriot is great in spite of itself. It is robust in spite of its cheap construction. It is rugged is spite of its passenger-car roots. It carves into a corner in spite of its tall stature. It is a sales phenomenon in spite of its complete lack of support during both the Cerberus and FCA eras. It is spacious in spite of its small size. It is cheap in spite of its maker's nameplate.
But at the end of the day, it is the accumulation of all those flaws. It is a small, cheaply-built, passenger car, with no support from it's maker.
And at this point, when I'm faced with spending about $1000 just to get it running again, or accepting a check for less than $1000 for the wrecker to haul it off, I need to drop my expectations, my delusions about what the Patriot could have been, or what it should have been... and I need to simply take the money and let it go.
My Patriot hasn't been a friend to me. It has been a servant. That's not to say we didn't have fun times together. But I can't keep my Patriot on life support any longer.
So, I'm out.
...
I don't know what will replace it. It will be hard to get anything with the measly sum the wrecking yard has offered me, and what little i'll be able to finance. I seriously considered just getting another used Patriot, but the only ones that fit in my price range are about as old and have about as many miles as the one i have now, and I would be in exactly the same position in no time.
So, no, I won't get another Patriot.
But whatever i do get... it will have it's work cut out for it. My broken Patriot can attest to that.
It survived a family move to Texas, where it became a capable and dutiful commuter for 6 years. It was the only car serving a family of four, doing damn-near everything for us. It stood up to some serious abuse in that time, and for the most part it did the job. Maybe with a groan or grumble here and there.
It has served us well in that time. It has served us so well, that it has succumbed to it's servile nature, and is now a used-up, tired, broken appliance.
It suffered it's latest failure last weekend, when the clutch -ever problematic- would no longer disengage. I limped it home on Texas Hwy 71, my wife on the verge of tears for fear of hitting someone when i couldn't shift it out of gear at a red light, or of being hit when i couldn't get it back into gear.
It's been through two master cylinder failures, possibly a third. It destroyed a slave cylinder and input shaft bearing. The rear main seal has not stopped leaking since its first transmission service. The second shift boot has torn. The driver seat has torn in two places. The carpet where my right heel rests has worn through the carpet and most of the backing. The outboard seat panels on both driver and passenger sides have broken off. It's wearing it's third set of lower control arms, that were deemed to be loose at the last service. Pretty certain the front wheel bearings are reaching their end of life, as the rears were replaced about two years ago. One failed alternator pulley. One failed AC compressor. One failed intake flapper (which required dealer intervention to get the computer to accept the new parts). About four sets of tires. Two new bumpers, front and rear; bumper covers, front and rear; a new rear hatch; a new AC condenser; a new radiator; and associated bodywork. A new passenger side mirror assembly. Two broken windshields. One failed catalytic converter (the replacement of which has resulted in an exhaust rattle that resonates as 2500 and 3000 rpms).
I paid it off about three years ago. As of Saturday, it sits in my driveway with 161k miles on the odometer.
I don't want to be done with it. Not because I love it - I don't. After all, it is an appliance at heart. It is like a disposable razor, in that it ultimately has a limited lifespan, and continuing to use it beyond that expected end date will eventually leave you bleeding.
And yet, despite all the things I've fixed and/or suffered through, I feel like I haven't done enough to keep it up and running, Like I haven't put in enough effort. Like I didn't change the oil often enough. Like I haven't waxed it in the driveway - hell, I haven't even washed it in a year at least. Like I didn't trawl eBay or the pick-a-part to find enough replacement parts. Like i didn't spend money I didn't have at the time to fix things I should have fixed.
I feel like I let my Patriot down.
But I realize now, that the problem isn't the Patriot - it's my own expectations.
The Jeep Patriot is great in spite of itself. It is robust in spite of its cheap construction. It is rugged is spite of its passenger-car roots. It carves into a corner in spite of its tall stature. It is a sales phenomenon in spite of its complete lack of support during both the Cerberus and FCA eras. It is spacious in spite of its small size. It is cheap in spite of its maker's nameplate.
But at the end of the day, it is the accumulation of all those flaws. It is a small, cheaply-built, passenger car, with no support from it's maker.
And at this point, when I'm faced with spending about $1000 just to get it running again, or accepting a check for less than $1000 for the wrecker to haul it off, I need to drop my expectations, my delusions about what the Patriot could have been, or what it should have been... and I need to simply take the money and let it go.
My Patriot hasn't been a friend to me. It has been a servant. That's not to say we didn't have fun times together. But I can't keep my Patriot on life support any longer.
So, I'm out.
...
I don't know what will replace it. It will be hard to get anything with the measly sum the wrecking yard has offered me, and what little i'll be able to finance. I seriously considered just getting another used Patriot, but the only ones that fit in my price range are about as old and have about as many miles as the one i have now, and I would be in exactly the same position in no time.
So, no, I won't get another Patriot.
But whatever i do get... it will have it's work cut out for it. My broken Patriot can attest to that.
