Toyota’s Troubles
Toyota has made their business selling absolutely boring vehicles that had a reputation of running for a long time with minimal maintenance required. With the current round of issues they’re having with brakes, accelarator pedals etc . . . I have one thing to say.
This is the BEST time to purchase a used Toyota product. I’d suggest trying to avoid any that utilize their drive by wire system of course however I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of up-in-arms Toyota owners looking to unload their “Death Trap” and are willing to sell on the cheap.
If you’re considering selling your Toyota due to the issues . . . The hit in resale is not worth it right now. If you’re truly concerned that your car is going to accelerate unexpectedly then learn how to deal with it. Take your car to an abandoned parking lot and floor it. Practice moving your gear selector to neutral and turning the car off. If you use a push button starter read your owner’s manual to learn how to turn the car off in an emergency.
I’ve actually been the driver of a vehicle that was accelerating unexpectedly (NOT a Toyota product). I was able to put it in neutral, coast to the side of the road and turn the car off. Make sure you know how to do the same in whatever car you drive.
Your car is not a thrill ride. Prepare for emergencies so you can work through them confidently.
This all said, the car industry is going to be interesting. Toyota has been on top with a sterling reputation for a long time. People AREN’T up in arms about the problem. They ARE up in arms about Toyota’s handling of the situation up until this point. Toyota has to turn that around and prove that they have otherwise people will let their wallet do the talking as they walk to Ford, Hyundai, Honda, Mitsubishi and a host of other car dealerships when it comes time to trade their vehicle in.
Yes,..Toyota could have done a better job as far as consumer confidence,..we don’t know what they knew and who and when they knew it, and then to go through public relations senario’s, and other corporate meetings and focus groups, some cumbuya, etc, this is exactly how large corporations and government acknowledges and reacts, too many people are protecting their own jobs,……Kind of like their own company accelerator got stuck while driving the corporate bus loaded with all of the executives, and they had to stiffen up and brace as they were approaching the bridge to hopefully smoothly go under and through at about 128 MPH, (and good thing they did, because surely they would have hit the abutment, if they panacked and started to flail around in all directions, the finger pointing alone would have flipped that bus) so that they could get under and through on the other side where the road was straight and long so that they could figure things out,…hopefully they still don’t crash,….. I would buy a Toyota product any day of the week regardless of this situation,..even the cars with suspected problems. They will fix them.
Comment by Steve Weber | 02.16.2010 | 11:11 am
This is true and, I agree, it’s an example of a company that’s just gotten much too large. That said, they’ve at least grown much smarter than General Motors (GM) did. They have a much more streamlined product line. In the U.S. at least we see Toyota, Scion and Lexus. There’s a bit of duplication between Toyota and Lexus (Camry & ES or the Land Cruiser & GX (Is that right?)) but not too much. It is true that Toyota has a LOT of products however to compare to General Motors . . . GM had mass duplication across the board between Pontiac, Buick, Chevy etc. Toyota doesn’t have that problem.
I do think however, at least in the short term, Toyota will take a hit from this in sales. To counter that they’re going to need to get serious and show very publicly what they’re doing to ensure these types of things don’t happen again and make sure that all current Toyota drivers are aware.
There’s a bit more equalization that’ll need to happen as well. Toyota has become a bit more expensive than the other makes because of the quality factor. They’ve been able to ask for a little more because people know they pay more for a Toyota up front however they spend less time & money in the service bay. In addition to the image of bulletproof quality being scarred a bit I also think resale values will be hurt regardless of the Toyota fan-base. As you know there’s people that will pay premium for a used Toyota because “It’s a good car” but they don’t even go so far as to check on the service history. Now people will use this as a bargaining chip when purchasing that vehicle used. Savvy car buyers like you and me would know that this is PRIME TIME to get a great and reliable used car for a song.
That said we have quality vehicles coming from other manufacturers that people will be looking at. Hyundai has come a long way and I think is on their way to becoming a force like Honda and Toyota are today . . . If they’re not already there. Ford has been turning out some very nice cars with good reliability. Their upcoming vehicle tech looks awesome as well. If they can integrate that into their existing vehicles and keep it reliable . . . They’ll be golden. There’s also Honda which has Toyota’s same reputation for high quality vehicles only with a bit more entertainment value. Those are just three examples.
The thing to keep in mind is, next to a house, your car is your largest purchase (and probably your second largest depreciating asset these days) and with the average purchase price of a vehicle being around $25,000 which is more than half of what the average yearly income is . . . And five year loans being considered a normal amount of time to pay on a vehicle. Many people prefer to play their vehicle purchase safe.
The ones that tend to not play their vehicle purchases safe . . . Generally aren’t putting a Corolla or Camry on their shopping list.
Would I buy a Toyota product? I wouldn’t rule it out or not recommend them all together because of this . . . But I’ve ruled Toyota out in the past since I found products I liked better from other manufacturers with similar reliability records.
Comment by Derek Weber | 02.16.2010 | 11:54 am