Toyota

More Evidence. More Deals. Would You Ever Trust Toyota Again?

Paul Michael — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:00:03 +0000

Recently, Xin Lu wrote an article about the falling price of used Toyota cars. The price drop obviously came about as a result of the 8.5 million cars Toyota recalled globally, due to serious mechanical failures that led to deadly accidents.

How many deadly accidents? Well, in an article by Matthew Fordal, a recent government report alleges 34 deaths from sudden acceleration have been linked to Toyota cars since the year 2000. And since Since Jan. 27, NHTSA has processed 686 complaints from consumers about problems related to "vehicle speed control" on cars and trucks manufactured by Toyota.

The keyword above is "alleges" but there’s no smoke without fire. Sorry, awful analogy. Matthew goes on to write:

Complaints to a database maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the popular Toyota Prius hybrid grew by nearly 1,000 in just over a week.

In the past three weeks, consumers have told the government about nine crashes involving 13 alleged deaths between 2005 and 2010 due to accelerator problems, according to a NHTSA database. The latest reports are in addition to previous complaints from consumers that alleged 21 deaths from 2000 to the end of last year. The database also shows that new complaints skyrocketed over the 2010 Prius gas-electric hybrid, which was recalled last week to replace braking software.

With this new data now floating around the internet, you can bet that Toyota’s bottom line will continue to suffer. And it's not only used cars but brand new cars that are being discounted. There has been talk of yet more rebates and cash incentives, and even completely free maintenance for the first 5-10 years of the car’s life, including oil changes and wiper blades.

These represent significant savings for the consumer, and more financial woes for Toyota. Will you be taking advantage of the savings though?

As an example, my wife will be in the market for a new car soon. Maybe sooner if Toyota cars and trucks continue to go down in value. I mean, they were one of the most reliable cars on the road at one point.

But how much is it worth to have that nagging doubt in the back of your head? How much would you pay for peace of mind? Or lack thereof? I have two young girls, and my wife’s car is their primary source of transport. It gets them to school, and to the park, the swimming pool, parties, that kind of thing. Would I feel my stomach churn every time I heard they were out and about? I mean, can you ever really trust something again after it has been the subject of so much controversy. Mud sticks, right?

So, is Toyota the steal of the century right now, or is it just too much of a risk? Would you drive one away from the dealership if they put $5000 in your pocket? Yes? No? How about if the car was free, only you couldn’t resell it…you had to drive it?

I’m sure Toyota will fix the problem and the cars will be fine. But that huge “what if?” may be too much of an emotional price to pay. And even for me, a deal hunter, I just can’t bring myself to buy Toyota right now.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Used Toyotas Are Being Discounted. Would You Buy One?

Xin Lu — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:00:10 +0000

Recently Toyota Motor Corp. has been plagued with bad news as it recalled millions of cars and stopped selling several of its products affected with braking issues. These problems have prompted Kelley Blue Book, the pricing guide for used car transactions, to lower suggested rates on the affected Toyota vehicles by 1 to 3 percent, and a company spokesperson said "there may be further devaluation ahead." Would you buy one of these vehicles despite of these issues?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's February 1st advisory lists the recalled Toyota vehicles as the following:

Pedal Entrapment recall:

2007-2010 Camry
2005-2010 Avalon
2004-2009 Prius
2005-2010 Tacoma
2007-2010 Tundra
2007-2010 ES 350
2006-2010 IS 250 and IS350
2008-2010 Highlander
2009-2010 Corolla
2009-2010 Venza
2009-2010 Matrix
2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe

Sticky Pedal Recall:

2007-2008 Tundra
2008-2010 Sequoia
2005-2010 Avalon
2007-2010 Camry
2009-2010 Corolla
2009-2010 Matrix
2009-2010 RAV4
2010 Highlander
2009-2010 Vibe

Additionally, the 2010 Prius is currently under investigation for a software bug in its anti-lock brake system that causes a less than one second lag when the system is engaged.

If you are in the market for a used Toyota, Lexus, or Pontiac you have a lot of possibly discounted models to choose from. Right now I think that Toyota's reputation as the maker of a safe and reliable car is severely tarnished even as it is trying to make repairs on millions of cars. It is possible that many Toyota owners will be looking to get rid of the affected vehicles and further devalue these models on the used cars market.

If you trust that Toyota repaired the issue, there may be a good deal out there for a used Toyota that is less than 10 years old. I guess the old cliche "they don't make them like they used to" is really true in this case.

This article is from Xin Lu of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

The Toyota I-Unit; would you drive it?

Paul Michael — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 05:02:47 +0000

We've been talking a lot about gas prices recently. That's no surprise considering we're paying almost three times more for gas than we were six years ago. The problems of oil refinery shortages, devaluation of the dollar and higher costs of extracting oil will not go away. So, what do we do?

Well, a few years ago Toyota launched something called the I-Unit at an Expo 2005 in Japan. At the time, I'm sure it was considered about as silly an idea as the Segway. But not any more. After all, most of us drive alone most of the time. We're always complaining about gas prices. We hate wasting money (especially if "we" are readers of this site). So, is the I-Unit really such a silly idea?

Personal Mobility - a concept, or impending reality?

The I-Unit is a cross between a motorcycle and an open-wheeled racer. Based on a leaf design, it uses some state-of-the-art technology to morph from an upright shape at low-speed to a lower, sleeker shape at top-speed (although I've searched everywhere and cannot find out what these speeds actually are). Here's a video that explains a little more...

Toyota One Person Unit - Free videos are just a click away

One of the most impressive features of the I-Unit, other than saving money, space and energy, is the built-in safety. I-Units can communicate with each other, and have accident-avoidance capability. Meaning however drunk or out of control one driver is, he can't pile into another I-Unit driver.

So, the big question still remains. Would you drive it? I aimed that question at myself and unfortunately, I said no...for now. Until I can be sure that it's safe on the road against a huge SUV, or significantly better with gas mileage without compromising speed, then I'd have to wait. At least until more folks had adopted them and they were a more common feature on the roadways.

I will be watching Toyota's I-Unit closely. It's been two years since the launch of the concept vehicle at EXPO 2005, and I'm sure these cars are more in need in the big cities than ever before. It looks like all those funky, tiny cars in futuristic movies weren't so far from the mark after all.

Photo by Kamome

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: