Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow...

[A1an]

If you are into basing your entire opinion of a manufacturer on one friend's experience I am curious how you can overlook the property damage, injuries, and even deaths associated with the Toyota recalls not too long ago. I believe those affected more than one car? ;)


Don't get me wrong I think Toyota is an okay company but I just think they make a very cheap product and these days tend to overcharge for it (same goes for Honda). From a new car stand point I wasn't terribly impressed with either of my xBs. First one had premature bolster wear on the seats and I actually wore through a floor mat in two months (wore through where the heel of my shoe pivoted between the brake and gas pedals). Second one was a complete rattle trap that the dealer couldn't fix. Paint on both was paper thin as was the sheet metal. The glove box on my second one was warped from the factory as well. I've never had these problems with any Fords, Volkswagens, Mazdas, Honda, or Nissans that I have owned in the past.

Hopefully this Yaris is as reliable in the long run for us as this Rabbit has been. My wife really likes it and we got a very good deal on it. The dealer we finally ended up with seems pretty good as well.

[CanIHazYarisHatch?]

Originally Posted by A1an

If you are into basing your entire opinion of a manufacturer on one friend's experience I am curious how you can overlook the property damage, injuries, and even deaths associated with the Toyota recalls not too long ago. I believe those affected more than one car? ;)


Don't get me wrong I think Toyota is an okay company but I just think they make a very cheap product and these days tend to overcharge for it (same goes for Honda). From a new car stand point I wasn't terribly impressed with either of my xBs. First one had premature bolster wear on the seats and I actually wore through a floor mat in two months (wore through where the heel of my shoe pivoted between the brake and gas pedals). Second one was a complete rattle trap that the dealer couldn't fix. Paint on both was paper thin as was the sheet metal. The glove box on my second one was warped from the factory as well. I've never had these problems with any Fords, Volkswagens, Mazdas, Honda, or Nissans that I have owned in the past.

Hopefully this Yaris is as reliable in the long run for us as this Rabbit has been. My wife really likes it and we got a very good deal on it. The dealer we finally ended up with seems pretty good as well.

First, re-read my post. I have three personal friends that experienced major issues with their VWs. I also work at a gas station, and have, for nearly four years (while I attend college) asked customers of all makes with cool cars (I considered VWs cool, once upon a time) how they liked their cars. Dozens always gave me the same story I have already relayed. Funny, I can't find the guy with 7,000,000 miles on his GTI...But I can find the guy with 400,000+ on his Yaris sedan. I can e-mail him right now on this forum.

I have also lurked VWVortex for years, and just observed. It has been very entertaining, to put it lightly. I have taken notes, because a few years ago, I was seriously looking at a 3-door Rabbit w/5-speed and that boat-anchor 5-cylinder "engine"; all the horsepower and torque of a four, all the fuel economy of a six. Great job, VW.

Yet VW has the audacity to make most of their drive-trains in low-cost nations such as Hungary, and many-times their sedans in Mexico, yet charge the "German tax" for the prestige of owning a "German car". Guess that's why VW can't say "German-built" in their ads, eh? But they can say "German-engineered", right? There was a time when that phrase meant something great for the automotive industry, but no longer. That is a shame, because I love the look, the feel, the handling, the "prestige" that these cars often command on the road...but I am too logical to let my heart drive me into a money pit, especially a VW.

Second, the "Toyota recalls" were found to all be people driving automatics mixing up the pedals. Ever wonder why not one "sudden acceleration" case was a person driving a manual Toyota (yes, they still make them, I own one right now in 2012)? There were no findings of some evil, electronic gremlin in the machine, after NHTSA, NASA, and god knows what other agencies scrutinized the cars to the nth degree for 9 months in the media. Also, on the "news show" 60 Minutes, an "experimenter" intentionally cut wires on a Toyota in order to induce this "sudden unintended acceleration". First it was the pedals, then the floor mats...then, it vanished in the media as suddenly as it came.

Funny, they lied about Audi in the 80s, as well, and it nearly made them leave the NA market. 60 Minutes also claimed that Chevy/GMC trucks during the same period exploded when they were t-boned...also proven false, as they loaded the cars with gasoline bladders in the bodywork before the "tests" for ratings. Modern journalism, and journalistic ethics died a long time ago.

Don't believe everything you see on the news; believe your own personal experience.

I can't speak to the experience you have had with Scions, so I cannot be asked to defend them. I have not even sat in one, because there is not a Scion that has been made so far (FR-S excluded) that tickles my fancy. If what you say is true, then Toyota should be ashamed of selling something so sub-standard.

As should VW!

But I can speak to the experiences of those that I have known throughout the years that have owned GM, Ford, VW, Mazda, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes, Honda, Toyota, etc. Want to guess who has the highest repeat buyers in my small data set? You get one guess, and here's a hint: it sure as $%#$ isn't VW.

I can also check out the reliability data in Consumer Reports, AutoBeef, TruDelta, CarInfo, etc. Guess where VW has been as of, I dunno, the past two decades? Guess where Toyota and Lexus have been?

I thought so.

VWs haven't been built to last since they stopped selling the air-cooled cars en-masse. Since then, they have been designed intentionally to fight the mechanic and/or long-term owner at every turn. VWs are built like Mac computers: once it gets a couple of years old, just throw it away/buy a new one.

I can drive my car, because, that is it's purpose. It's purpose is not to make me feel like I am special because it was built in Germany, but I couldn't afford a real German car (BMW , Porsche, Mercedes, and to a slight extent, Audi). In my experience, VWs are all sizzle, no steak. Smells great when new, but when it's time to deliver on their implied promise of quality, they leave you with blue-b@!!$

Enjoy your VW, my friend. I'll enjoy my "okay", "soul-less", Toyota with no worries in the back of my mind.

Cheers.