So you basically have 16,000 'cash' that you could apply to the purchase of a 2008.

What could you get a new 2008 Tacoma 2wd xtra cab with comparable options for? I'd bet after negotiations nothing over 20k... probably less... so you can basically get a zero mile new design truck, 8 years newer, for 4 grand, or an effective financial depreciation of 40 dollars a month. If that's not awesome I don't know what is.

 

I am not a Toyota nutswinger by any means, and I agree they have had hthere fair share of issues... Regardless, I have to hand it to them. The buy back seems very generous and atleast I read about it here before reading about it on CNN.com or hearing about it on the national news at 10:00...

 

Internal rust can indeed be related to salt - slush and salty road grime finds its way into the frame, sits there a lot longer than water ever would, and starts to rust the frame from the inside out. Happens all the time to sheetmetal, and a coworker just spent a lot of time fixing a Jeep CJ frame that had started rotting away due to the same problem.

Will you be informing your customers of Chrysler's crappy response to the strut tower corrosion issue on older minivans, or is that not part of your sales pitch?

 

Why don't you fill me in on it, rather than get smart about my "sales pitch"? I'm not sitting here praising Chrysler, either...I merely said it was good for me. And while everyone always seems to knock Chrysler (many times unfairly), its nice for me to see a ***** in Toyota's so called "legendary reliability." Believe me...I'm no Chrysler nuthugger, nor am I some a**hole slimy salesman either...ok? I've been a part of this board long enough that I think I'd get a little more respect than that, Eric...

RRRR,
I don't care if you buy a Chrysler. Aren't you the same goofball that was owned in another thread when you ran your mouth at me about salespeople? Toyota is not as infallible as everyone seems to think it is...that was my one and only point. What Chrysler has to do with this is beyond me. I don't even own a Chrysler myself!

Threxx,
While I will indeed grant you the resale item, consider that one of the reasons the resale is significantly lower remains the fact that the purchase price new is significantly lower. When you can get a Hemi Ram these days for less than a Tacoma sometimes, then obviously resale will be affected. With that said, the '02+ Rams have actually proved to be pretty damn reliable. Other than EGR valves, the engines never seem to give any issues, the newer 5 speed ATs never have had issues, and the electronics seem to be as good as any other domestic truck. I've seen a few blown PW motors and switches here and there, but overall they're honestly pretty good. Plus, some of the resale on these Toyota trucks is bound to be hurt by something as bad as this...and when I was doing some research on these frame issues online, I ran across a fair amount of people having significant quality issues with the newer design Tacomas as well. That can't help resale, either...

In summary, obviously the only people I see in my showroom are the ones who are NOT happy...I have no idea how many are keeping with Toyota. I will say one thing...if it was me, I wouldn't buy another one.


All I was insinuating by this was that there appears to be a lot of people willing to consider a domestic again that were blind Toyota loyalists for a longtime...something that could be of interest for people on a DOMESTIC enthusiast board Again, it isn't like I praised Chrysler even once here...

 

"Owned" is your word, shooter. You came into this thread gloating (all these Toyota owners are pissed.").

You sell (pimp) Chryslers, but your don't own one.........................

'nuff said!

 

I'd ask what your point is, but based on our last convo, I know you don't have one. And yes, I can gloat all I want about Toyotas issues

And actually, I'm the GSM of the dealer, and make a pretty good living at it. Pimpin' ain't easy

 

BTW...I waited for your fax # last time, and never got it. Not to hijack this thread, but where'd ya go? A couple of us were wondering

 

I work with a guy with a 1999 Extended Cab 4x4 Taco. We climbed under it, and sure enough I was able to stick my finger through the side of the frame rail on both sides of the truck. Truck only had 79k on the clock.

He took a glance under my Avalanche (3 years newer, but I've racked up 30k more miles) and said my frame looked new in comparison, which I agree.

Hopefully he gets top dollar for his.

 

Nah, I know you're no Chrysler nuthugger... but you sure get your rocks off kicking Toyota in the nuts for dealing with a problem in a manner that undoubtedly leaves its customers very, very satisfied.

Compare this, if you will, with Chrysler's handling of strut tower corrosion on '96-'00 minivans. Since this is a unibody vehicle, the strut tower sheetmetal is structural - but Chrysler wouldn't cover any rust repairs outside of the normal warranty period, as it didn't fall under the "cosmetic" sheetmetal corrosion warranty. This became problematic when the strut tower cracks outside of the warranty period, because the customer was left footing the bill for expensive repairs. A TSB was finally issued for the problem, but that still didn't address the problem of customers who had to pay out-of-pocket to deal with a issue that never should have occurred.

An former roommate of mine got the exact same run-around on his '96 Eclipse, which had some significant structural rust in the strut towers when the car was only four years old.

So, pardon me if I'm not quite yet ready to condemn Toyota (for whom I've got little love, if you're willing to believe that) for dealing with customers' problems in a way that find rather impressive. Is the company trying to duck a recall? Maybe, but I gotta admit that this seems a damn bit preferable to the standard GM and Ford tactics of crossing their arms when presented with a particular problem (ABS problems on the GMT800, wheel bearing corrosion on the Focus, oil leaks on the L67) and waiting until the Feds intervene.

And you should know better than to read in-between the lines and find an accusation of slimy sales tactics - but I'm not going to apologize if you happen to find some accusations of blind bias. You may want to tone down the schadenfreude a touch, lest you find yourself on the receiving end at some point in the future.

 

To be completely honest with you, before this post, I have never once heard of or seen a rusted-through strut tower on a Chrysler van. And believe me, I've taken in a slew of them. If they have 100k or less on them, we often resell them rather than wholesale because they're pretty cheap transportation. I'll have to ask our body shop manager what he's seen of these...if you say this has happened, I believe you...but its the first I've heard of it, and I've never seen one with my own 2 eyes after 2 years of working for the dealer.

As for whether or not this is being done in a more "appealing" manner than some of the domestic issues you mentioned, I will agree that to a certain extent, it appears rather generous. However, none of those problems you listed above (save for the issues with the Chrysler vans) leaves someone with a worthless vehicle...frame rot is a helluva lot worse than an ABS issue, and while very few L67s have had engine fires (which indeed is NOT a good thing), according to the local Toyota dealer nearly every single truck inspected has a rotted frame. Is that not a significantly larger problem than a few L67s catching fire? Not that I am trying to minimize the impact of that...I'm not!

You know what? You'd better believe I'm gloating. I've been in this industry for 8 years now, and to be honest, it sucks. I've been kicked in the teeth more times by customers proclaiming how reliable their imported car is, and how "I had a 1985 Minivan that blew a head gasket in 1989, and I'll NEVER buy another domestic car!" These people don't think reliability has changed in 20 years? I mean, gimme a break!!!! Its the ignorance of blind Toyota faith that irritates me. Our local Toyota service department is every bit as busy as my department full of "inferior" Chrysler products. Their stuff breaks, and so does mine. Its a given. Statistically, without a doubt a 10 year old Chrysler car has more issues than a 10 year old Toyota...I'm not debating that. But the big 3 have come a long, long way...and many refuse to notice based on blind bias...

So yeah, after 2 years of denying there was a frame issue to the NHTSA, and offering customers $2,000 to replace a $6,000 frame, you bet I'm gloating. Read Edmunds forums...this didn't happen overnight. There were several letters by angry owners to the NHTSA...don't believe otherwise.

As for the salesperson comment, if I took it wrong than so be it. But asking me about my "sales pitch" has a little bit of a derogatory slant to it, at least IMO. Maybe it comes from being a fairly educated person in a career that, admittedly, seems to have a fair amount of chimps in it...

 

After going to my local dealer this week to have my L67 inspected, I can safely say Toyota seems to have a better handle on this sort of problem.

I got a letter from our friends at GM warning me not to park my Grand Prix in any parking garages until they can recall and fix my car. Two problems with that. 1) I live on a college campus and work in a city where you either park in a garage, or don't park at all, and 2)When I took the car to the dealer, they had no idea what this issue was and had no clue as to how to inspect/fix the issue.

Normally, I'd love to gloat at Toyota's follies. It seems they are hardly the invincible company many claim them to be. But in light of my experience, it seems they still handle certain aspects of their business much better than GM.