Consumer Car Buying Advice Blog

In what has to be one of the most topical rebate programs in history, the “New Day” Chrysler Corporation introduces its “Let’s Refuel America” program.

Buy a Chrysler, get a gas card

You have to give the marketing guys at Chrysler credit. When many Americans are putting off buying a new car because they can’t afford one because of the high cost of gas, Chrysler has stepped in and offered us a guarantee that, if you buy a car from them, for the next three years a gallon of gas will not cost you more than $2.99 a gallon. The program begins today and ends on June 2, 2008.

Most of Chrysler’s vehicles are included in the program, although a handful, including all SRT models, the Viper, Challenger, Crossfire, Wrangler, Ram Chassis Cab and Sprinter, are excluded.

Also, lest you think you can begin fueling your entire fleet of vehicles, there is a yearly gallon allotment.

How the program works

When you purchase an eligible new vehicle and choose the fuel card option, you call a 1-800 number or visit the dedicated web site to register. As part of the registration process, you need to tie the fuel card to a credit card.

When you receive your Lets Refuel America Gas Card in 4-6 weeks, simply visit one of the participating gas stations. When you swipe the gas card and enter a PIN number, the gas that you pump will be charged to your credit card at $2.99 a gallon, regardless of the pump price (based on 87 octane fuel – 88-89 octane will result in a $.15 per gallon surcharge, while 90-94 octane will result in a $.30 per gallon surcharge to your credit card).

In addition to your enrollment, the special web site will also enable program participants to view their account transactions.

But wait, there’s more

For most Chrysler vehicles, this program replaces all current incentive programs. That being said, if you happen to fall in love with a PT Cruiser, Dodge Charger, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Dakota or Dodge Ram, the good folks in Auburn Hills will throw in additional bonus cash up to $3,000.

Is this the best deal?

One of the more interesting aspects of the program is its appeal to the gambler in all of us. The higher gas prices go, the better the deal it becomes. In fact, you could look like a genius if you took Chrysler up on it and something unforeseen causes oil prices to spike even further. Well, as they say in Vegas, “you buys your ticket and takes your chance.” Brilliant.

Tags: auto loan

This entry was posted and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.