Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 22:19:55 -0600
Reply-To: populuxe <populuxe@EXECPC.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: populuxe <populuxe@EXECPC.COM>
Organization: ExecPC
Subject: Toyota?? the toyota myth drivel
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>If you don't mind an utterly dull-handling car, get a new VW.
>Probably unreliable too. If you want something utterly reliable, get
>a Toyota.
Arghh!! Does this guy get $0.05 every time he mentions Toyota???
Am I the only guy getting tired of hearing how great Toyotas are on the
Vanagon list??? Please... let me know if I'm being overly sensitive.
BTW: VW (and Honda, Nissan and Subaru) rates consistently above Toyota
on
nearly every major consumer report in nearly every category. So who we
going to believe: you (a cabbie) or the professional testing bureaus?
Viel Spass,
Jeff
my toyota gripes
my (lexus)toyota,
bought the 1990 es250 at 4 years-old and 45,000(just when the warranty
expires) on a cold snowy day.
i had a merkur xr4ti that i had just sunk 2k into in an effort to make
it go like new and then a rear axel/cv? was on its way out and i was
commuting 130 miles a day---i was sick of repairs etc!!
i want something super dependable that i only go to a shop for oil
changes.
i go to a car lot.
clear the snow off a small sedan. it's a lexus. that's a toyota(made in
japan) and toyotas are supposed to be care-free and go 250,000 miles
bla, bla, bla.
i buy it.
one week later on christmas the battery dies. a preview; i think i have
put about 5 batteries in it in 6 years and 100,000 miles.
needed an alt. about 250 bucks, maybe accounts for one of the batts.
i have gone through my stack of misc. receipts and have put on 4
exhaust pipes, 2 mufflers and a cross over. the shop guy says some cars
just eat up certain parts.
door latch mechanism. $640. yea, i know most of you think you could
have done it yourself, but i tried(drivers door wouldn't open,my wife is
6 mos pregnant and it's our only car) my neighbor(experienced body man)
tried, then my shop of choice couldn't do it so i had to go to toyota.
the speed sensitive pow steering has had a growl since day one that i
should have picked up on before i bought it...you should hear it howl
when it starts in sub zero weather. thats cost me $300
sun roof went off track.
by the way i should have changed the timing belt about 80,000 miles ago
at a cost of 6-700 bucks. i usually stick to preventative maint
schedule.
rear trunk strut went out / froze up. trunk corner now bent-- very
strange.
rust? has more rust on drivers rear fender than any rusty westy i've
seen, but this is wisconsin.
i grow weary of my complaints
the more i think about it the more i could list.
the point is: anyone who thinks toyotas are that great, c'mon over and
compare it to my 90(same year) vanagon(same miles too). both original
engines,and aprox same new price(20k).
i do like the lexus, but i have not realized any long run savings,
except it is nice and always worth spending a little cash to keep it
going. it's our jump in and get somewhere fast car. now that i have 2
kids with child seats that thing is as claustrophobic as an iron lady.
i don't have any plans to get rid of the toyota but for someone to
refer to it as "utterly reliable" should have been with us when the
alternator died in the drive threw of a fast food while i had a trailer
hitched & loaded w/ ladders and painting equipment. i had to push
thes.o.b. up to and past the pick-up window, then into the lot.
now i will shut up about toyota
chris c
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