How Toyota Deals with Lemons--BADLY

My experience with expensive parts is that Toyota dealer service depts. don't stand behind their work. They'll blow off the one year warranty at a whim as well. Nissan and Honda service and sales are much better in my experience. I wouldn't do any business with at least 75% of the Toyota dealers I've come across so far. My Tundra certainly can't hold a candle in reliability to my former Nissan or Honda and the dealership experience on sales and service has been awful.

Gen1 Prius was typical of a vehicle I would avoid as I expected it to have major shakedown issues whether or not it was a good vehicle overall. It's like Microsoft OS'es. It's best to wait for the 2nd major release of a new architecture...and then the interim bug fixes as part of the second service pack. In Prius terms that would be '06 and later.

 

I really think that at least for American and Japanese dealers, it's totally YMMV. When I lived in WA state, one Nissan dealer (I think they're gone now) had a pretty sketchy service department. Unfortunately, it was the closest to me and also one that a coworker could pick me up from in the morning and drop me off at afterwards. A good service department was quite far (35+ miles, 1 away) and near no coworkers of mine.

Here in San Jose, many people complain that Capitol Nissan service dept. sucks (my experience is so-so w/them) and most like Falore Nissan despite the dealership itself being rather dumpy looking.

Toyota Sunnyvale's service dept (also where I bought my car) has been fine.

(Somewhat unrelated) My former roommate discovered that Bellevue Pontiac-GMC in Belleuve, WA was a bunch of scam artists!

When he took his (crappy) Sunfire in for a repair (weird clicking sound of like that of a loud relay/solenoid while braking), they claimed his steering rack was leaking in about every spot it could, his brake rotors were too rusty and needed replacing (car was originally from Kansas), etc. adding up to >$1000 in work.

A coworker recommended a better Pontiac-GMC dealer and funny enough, a steering recall later cropped up on his Sunfire. He took it to the better dealer for that and asked if his steering rack was leaking. Nope. No comments about the rotors either.

 

Well, I have no sympathy for Toyota considering how they treated you. I had similar treatment from GM Canada with my POS 2000 GMC Sierra, and had similar sentitments about them

The Honda Fit is a nice car, much better than the Echo. For one thing, every Fit has ABS and head curtain airbags here, those are optional on the Echo sold here. If you get an automatic, the Honda Fit is a 5 speed auto, the Echo automatic is a 4 speed

I'm sure you will be happy with your Fit. I know a couple of folks who bought them last year, and are *very* happy with them. One had a Aveo hatchback, he was ready to set it on fire just to get rid of it, not even worry about insurance