2009 Journey Manufactured in 1/2008?

[ctryboy78]

I took my 2009 Journey R/T to be inspected last weekend and the man at the inspection place seemed to think that it was very strange that my 2009 Journey shows that it was manufactured in January of 2008. I didn't think about it at the time but it has me thinking now. I bought it used less than a year ago from a local dealership that is now closed. All paperwork and Carfax reports show 2009 and I was told that it was a demo car from New Jersey. At the time I purchased it, the vehicle was six months old and had approx 23,000 miles on it. Now that the manufacture date has been brought to my attention it makes more sense to have that many miles on it with the additional year added. However, I feel misled now somehow, instead of buying a 6 month old used car, I bought a one and a half year old used car.

Does any one else find this strange or am I looking at it wrong? Do they really manufacture the vehicles that far in advance? Using this logic, that would mean that they are currently manufacturing 2011 Journeys somewhere.

Thank you in advance for your input.

[dp360]

I took my 2009 Journey R/T to be inspected last weekend and the man at the inspection place seemed to think that it was very strange that my 2009 Journey shows that it was manufactured in January of 2008. I didn't think about it at the time but it has me thinking now. I bought it used less than a year ago from a local dealership that is now closed. All paperwork and Carfax reports show 2009 and I was told that it was a demo car from New Jersey. At the time I purchased it, the vehicle was six months old and had approx 23,000 miles on it. Now that the manufacture date has been brought to my attention it makes more sense to have that many miles on it with the additional year added. However, I feel misled now somehow, instead of buying a 6 month old used car, I bought a one and a half year old used car.

Does any one else find this strange or am I looking at it wrong? Do they really manufacture the vehicles that far in advance? Using this logic, that would mean that they are currently manufacturing 2011 Journeys somewhere.

Thank you in advance for your input.

I wouldn't worry about it. If you're happy with the car and it seems to be functioning fine, don't fret about it being a little older than you thought. You should look at this from a different perspective - you have one of the first Journey's ever produced, so that makes it "special".

I think January 2008 is actually before they started large scale production, so being a demo unit makes a lot of sense. My recollection is that March 2008 is when large scale production began. Yes, this is relatively common, especially for an all-new platform like the Journey. 2009, however, was not a normal year for all manufacturers, more so for Chrysler. The bankruptcy/reorganization essentially brought everything there to stop for about half the year, so they didn't start producing 2010 until September-ish. Right now, Journey 2011 models are slated to begin production at the end of July.

Just FYI, you can usually find out a vehicles build date by looking at the VIN sticker on the frame of the door. Sometimes it's coded, but easy to pick out. Yours probably says 012008, or something like that. It's not a bad idea to look at this when buying any car. At the very least , you can use it for bargaining purposes. When I bought my 2010 SXT back in November, there were several 2009s on the lot that were built in April, 2008. They tried to get me to look at some of those until I started bringing that fact up!

[dp360]

I took my 2009 Journey R/T to be inspected last weekend and the man at the inspection place seemed to think that it was very strange that my 2009 Journey shows that it was manufactured in January of 2008. I didn't think about it at the time but it has me thinking now. I bought it used less than a year ago from a local dealership that is now closed. All paperwork and Carfax reports show 2009 and I was told that it was a demo car from New Jersey. At the time I purchased it, the vehicle was six months old and had approx 23,000 miles on it. Now that the manufacture date has been brought to my attention it makes more sense to have that many miles on it with the additional year added. However, I feel misled now somehow, instead of buying a 6 month old used car, I bought a one and a half year old used car.

Does any one else find this strange or am I looking at it wrong? Do they really manufacture the vehicles that far in advance? Using this logic, that would mean that they are currently manufacturing 2011 Journeys somewhere.

Thank you in advance for your input.

I wouldn't worry about it. If you're happy with the car and it seems to be functioning fine, don't fret about it being a little older than you thought. You should look at this from a different perspective - you have one of the first Journey's ever produced, so that makes it "special".

I think January 2008 is actually before they started large scale production, so being a demo unit makes a lot of sense. My recollection is that March 2008 is when large scale production began. Yes, this is relatively common, especially for an all-new platform like the Journey. 2009, however, was not a normal year for all manufacturers, more so for Chrysler. The bankruptcy/reorganization essentially brought everything there to stop for about half the year, so they didn't start producing 2010 until September-ish. Right now, Journey 2011 models are slated to begin production at the end of July.

Just FYI, you can usually find out a vehicles build date by looking at the VIN sticker on the frame of the door. Sometimes it's coded, but easy to pick out. Yours probably says 012008, or something like that. It's not a bad idea to look at this when buying any car. At the very least , you can use it for bargaining purposes. When I bought my 2010 SXT back in November, there were several 2009s on the lot that were built in April, 2008. They tried to get me to look at some of those until I started bringing that fact up!

[ctryboy78]

Thanks for your input dp360. My wife likes the vehicle and we got a good deal on it, but it has been in the shop more than any other vehicle we have owned. The extended warranty from Dodge isn't much help even though it was the best one offered on used vehicles and I have had to argue with the dealership on what is covered by their warranty. It all adds up to alot of frustration with vanity mirror covers falling off (not covered by extended warranty), brake rotors warping, power steering pumps & resivoirs (2) and next week it will have the second REN radio with my gig installed. I know its not as bad as some have experienced with engine and transmission troubles but it is disappointing. Almost at 40,000 miles though!

[WOLF]

Thanks for your input dp360. My wife likes the vehicle and we got a good deal on it, but it has been in the shop more than any other vehicle we have owned. The extended warranty from Dodge isn't much help even though it was the best one offered on used vehicles and I have had to argue with the dealership on what is covered by their warranty. It all adds up to alot of frustration with vanity mirror covers falling off (not covered by extended warranty), brake rotors warping, power steering pumps & resivoirs (2) and next week it will have the second REN radio with my gig installed. I know its not as bad as some have experienced with engine and transmission troubles but it is disappointing. Almost at 40,000 miles though!

well dear chap, at 40 000 miles you should think your self lucky... i have a UK spec 2.0L.CRD SXT ,2008 build sold as 2009 model.... that has had every single electrical sensor, computer, module , be it a WIM, ELV or PCM or TPM, or even a TIP module for that matter, its got rattles, it blew the intercooler at 362 miles... (yess less than 500 miles and boom!) , it has been recovered 5 times, stopped working 6 times, been warranty repaired 11 times, and still has a list of 14 complaint/warranty repairs outstanding....

and it has only just covered 10,500 in 11 months... (1852 of that by the techy guys)

AND I AM STILL AWAITING A DECISION BY CHRYSLER.......... low lifes..............

just a shame the car futs the business bill i have in its requirements Perfectly!!!

[ctryboy78]

Thanks WOLF, I feel so much better after reading your post! Reading all of the problems this vehicle has as a whole it really seems that the Journey was just thrown together with poor materials and hardware. I really understand about it meeting your needs well though, that is the one thing that it does well. I just wish that it were more reliable. I wish you the best of luck with your vehicle.

[EMSBronco]

I purchased my Journey in April 2008 and I believe it was manufactured in March.