toyota reliability and appeal.

[alexanderstollznow]

hi all.

i have just joined. i am not actually a toyota owner, but sisters and exes have owned 6 corollas between them, including a couple of high mileage and/or aged ones, without a single major repair job. my recent ex had an AE92R corolla (smashed it, again...), and currently has an AE102 corolla. similarly my father has had 2 landcruisers, and absolutely nothing went wrong with the first one in 450,000km. so, i have a positive view of this brand, to say the least.

i do participate in an aussie french car enthusiasts forum, and while being interesting and lively, is also populated by people who endlessly disparage toyotas and toyota owners. they are constantly calling the cars boring, claiming that their reliability is overstated, and suggesting they are only owned by boring people who arent into cars. more specifically, one of the members there, who is without doubt the biggest self-stimulator i have ever struck on a discussion forum, frequently says things like ¨i have read that the latest model camry´s have a lot of problems compared with older models¨.

so,i am interested to see what people here feel about these things, specificially:

*is toyota reliability really better than other brands?

*is that still the case with current and recent models?

*what do people here feel about japanese styling, which is admittedly widely typified as a bit bland, compared with european styling?

*what makes you love toyotas over other brands?

*what does an owner of a camry - a car singled out by snotty haters as the epitome of dull transport - love about their camry?

i just want to emphasise that i am not being critical of anything toyota; i am just trying to get some good info from the horse´s mouth so i can challenge these annoying attitudes.

many thanks

alexander.

sydney

(not that it really matters, but my little profile thing should say AE102 Corolla, as that is the one i am currently taking care of. i just cant change my profile yet. ta)

Edited December 18, 2010 by alexanderstollznow

[johnnieboi]

*is toyota reliability really better than other brands?

Yes, toyota owners swear by it.

*is that still the case with current and recent models?

Yes, new and old. Some models had a few glitches/recalls/problems but what worldwide car manufacturer doesnt? Noones perfect.

*what do people here feel about japanese styling, which is admittedly widely typified as a bit bland, compared with european styling?

A bit bland? You serious? Obviously those people havent seen any well done JDM styled cars before, either that or the JDM style doesnt appeal to them. JDM style is aggressive street styling that has spanned over many decades, probli well before european styling.

*what makes you love toyotas over other brands?

Its in the family and experience with them

*what does an owner of a camry - a car singled out by snotty haters as the epitome of dull transport - love about their camry?

Someone should show them Reece's camry aka PrivateNumber.

For some reason, i feel quite reading and replying to this post. sorry

[alexanderstollznow]

For some reason, i feel quite reading and replying to this post. sorry

but thanks for replying anyway. personally, i cant stand that whole attitude of feeling the need to malign other car brands, and their owners!, because you feel your own is better. i have personally made the point elsewhere that when i have looked on a toyota forum for help with a corolla (sydneyrollaclub) i couldnt help noticing that noone ever commented on other brands at all, let alone negatively. and they dont seem to be discussing irritating problems with their cars either. i am just looking for solid ammunition :)

Edited December 18, 2010 by alexanderstollznow

[william777]

Hi alexanderstollznow, welcome to this forum. My experiences with cars are limited to Holdens and Toyotas.

In 1990, I bought 2 new cars, a Holden Calais and a Toyota Corolla. The Corolla lasted more than 11 years until it was written off by the insurance company when it was smashed into the back at the traffic lights. It did not have any major repairs during its lifetime.

As for the Calais, problems started after 6 years and it had went in and out of the workshop with constant frequency. I replaced it with a Commodore VX. However, it was worse than the Calais. At the beginning of this year, it had constant problems. First, I had to replace the radiator. Then, the knock sensor light and the oil pressure light came on every single day after travelling for a couple of kms. The Holden workshop changed the knock sensor but that did not help. The last straw was when I was quoted a figure of $7,000 to dismantle and repair the engine.

So, last month I bought an Aurion ATX.

[Noodle Boy]

different people will have different opinions and experiences with/of toyota. sometimes these opinions are biased based on the facts and figures, i don't know. welcome to the club though.

[alexanderstollznow]

thanks, william and seifer.

seifer, yes it can be hard to sift out folklore from fact, but i think the best way to do that is ask for a range of experiences. have yours been good, bad, indifferent? particularly how do you like the aurion, and what did it replace?

Edited December 19, 2010 by alexanderstollznow

[Ronnyboy]

*is toyota reliability really better than other brands?

Yes, toyota owners swear by it.

*is that still the case with current and recent models?

Yes, new and old. Some models had a few glitches/recalls/problems but what worldwide car manufacturer doesnt? Noones perfect.

*what do people here feel about japanese styling, which is admittedly widely typified as a bit bland, compared with european styling?

A bit bland? You serious? Obviously those people havent seen any well done JDM styled cars before, either that or the JDM style doesnt appeal to them. JDM style is aggressive street styling that has spanned over many decades, probli well before european styling.

*what makes you love toyotas over other brands?

Its in the family and experience with them

*what does an owner of a camry - a car singled out by snotty haters as the epitome of dull transport - love about their camry?

Someone should show them Reece's camry aka PrivateNumber.

For some reason, i feel quite reading and replying to this post. sorry

+1

Also, Welcome to the club :)

[Kroggie]

Toyota ranks 3rd in the reliability stakes, (Beaten by Mazda and Honda. Holden and Ford aren't even in the top 10 in Australia) but I guess what you hear about Toyota's are opinions people have created over time by listening to others and reading car reviews - the same for all cars really.

I had a Mitsubishi Magna before my Aurion and at the time swore that I would only ever by Mitsubishi again. Now that I have a Toyota I would say the same. You have a stand till you take a new one.

you can also look here. http://video.yahoo.com/watch/100875/505090

Edited December 19, 2010 by Kroggie

[DJKOR]

Well since you have asked for personal opinion, I figured I may contribute:

*is toyota reliability really better than other brands?

In the general sense of the question, yes Toyotas' are more reliable than other brands, but then again, there are other brands that could be said to be more reliable than a Toyota. Suffice to say, Toyota's reliability isn't really at the top of the list.

*is that still the case with current and recent models?

I would say their reputation on reliability can be defined for both their past and present models, but I personally think that it is their past models that really stood up to that reputation. I guess the more simple something is, the less there is to go wrong.

*what do people here feel about japanese styling, which is admittedly widely typified as a bit bland, compared with european styling?

Straight out of the factory styling, I reckon each have their own credits. There are some Japanese designed and produced cars out there that I could say are better than those designed and produced in Europe, but then the same can also be said the other way around.

That said as well though, just because it is a Toyota and the brand is Japanese, it doesn't necessarily make every Toyota "Japanese Styled". Take the Aurion for example. You will find a fair bit of information on how Australian design had a large part in it. They even started something called 'Toyota Style Australia' which is where the design of the Aurion all started.

*what makes you love toyotas over other brands?

Well I wouldn't exactly say I solely love Toyota. There are other brands I love as well. When I bought my Toyota, it didn't just come down to brand loyalty. There were many deciding factors and in the end, it came down to which car checked all the boxes, one of them being value for money. From choosing the car, there were then multiple reasons I could come up with as to why I love the car I chose. But that said, I could probably get another brand car and come to the exact same conclusions.

*what does an owner of a camry - a car singled out by snotty haters as the epitome of dull transport - love about their camry?

Can't really comment. You just love the car for what it is and how well it does it's job. Can't really explain the feeling unless you own one.

[benji4138]

*what do people here feel about japanese styling, which is admittedly widely typified as a bit bland, compared with european styling?

Couldn't help but laugh at this. Only because for a period of time my cousin (Australian) was designing the Aurion Interior prior to the model being released :)

And to answer the rest of the question I actually find the European cars (except for the Italian's) to be rather bland - they just don't do it for me. Furthermore I'm quite pleased with the styling of my Aurion, and a few other models as well :D

[eviltwin]

What a well written , well informed topic. Im personally very attached to one of my cars ( 1986 AE82 Corolla ) as my grandfather left me the money for it and ive come to the conclusion it's not so much the car but his memory that makes it worth so much to me , but that said it was a fantastic car from the word go , shes had her issues and prior to pulling it down for rebuilding ground up it was and always was a turn the key drive away type of car never an issue never any extra wallet opening for issues etc.

The other how ever many Corollas ive owned in the last few years have proven to be very very good also but the SX seca i purchased was a little long in the tooth in the end with the clutch going ( which was fine ) but then the gearbox shattering around the speedo cable assembly on the box ( this was not ok ). Other notes would include the two running AE82's i owned one of which had been thrashed before i bought it and stacked but with 450k on the clock she was still good for it. The other was an auto yellow seca i drove out of a scrap yard after seeing it there and wondering why you would cube such a straight car , so on a summers day i jump started it and drove it down the highway back home with just shy of 500k on the clock , air con still working without any evidence she'd been regassed , power steer and all the electrics still in working condition.

From owning older Toyotas and going to newer cars now with my 03 corolla and my missus with her 2010 corolla with time and technology i feel that cars in general are not what they once were , being so much more disposable , more plastic and far more faulty.

My dad tells me back when he was my age that you never or very rarley saw faults in cars in which it would have to be dealershipped to have items replaced etc , and as always when you ask anyone from previous generations about a Toyota someone they know/knew or a son a husband a sister a brother has had that corolla that never died or that cruiser that towed more trailers and carried more kids than hot dinners and so on and so forth.

All of this said , it's not like other companies just make crappy cars or cars that arent reliable , if you ask me , you look after most cars well they look after you , mistreat or don't see the point in maintaining one and it will give you that treatment back.

ive got mates with falcons that have been bullet proof , others with holdens , mazdas you name it they have all been good cars to someone.

To say European cars are boring or anything else i believe taking one apart would be a great exercise , thats where you see how amazing the germans and other areas of europe are , this said the cars ive pulled down from this region have been old and not all Euro cars are suited to our country due partially to our climate and due partially somewhat to poor engineering and or design.

On the other side of the scale who hasn't had some form of issue with a car? i know i have and most people have had something go wrong or something they did not like about a particular car they owned or currently own.

Camrys were never designed to be cool nor inspiring to drive , im not saying that they arent but im saying in general how many people think hmmm that Audi A4 was nice but something jaw dropping like a camry would be the go.

They are and always have been and will be known for their ease or maintenance , afford-ability , and rock solid bullet proof reliability. For people to label them dull spells out they are ignorant of what Toyota market the car for , people that in general terms buy Camry's are usually people that don't care for how fast the window goes up or where the dash was made and how many little kids lived in a box for a week to stitch up the steering wheel - this said you look closer and models like the sportivo invite a new demographic into the picture , i know how i personally feel and for you or i the car does what you want , ticks your boxes and makes you happy that is what is important... similar to reading a car review of a WRX in V8 weekly that spells out the fact that it's not a V8 dont buy it. same goes here people go ohh it doesn't have **** wipers built into the seats how dull and so on.

I best finish this up before christ comes and asks for his bible back but in closing id like to state that if your inputs negative don't bother posting... don't take what people are saying the wrong way it's a discussion not a warzone

[Noodle Boy]

thanks, william and seifer.

seifer, yes it can be hard to sift out folklore from fact, but i think the best way to do that is ask for a range of experiences. have yours been good, bad, indifferent? particularly how do you like the aurion, and what did it replace?

delayed response, sorry. my experience with this car is fairly short because i've only had it since february of this year. seems good so far though. to be honest i chose it based on the facts and figures and experience of other toyota owners to replace my old lemon(ford falcon)which is thirsty and frequently needs parts replaced.

[alexanderstollznow]

thank you all very much for the replies to date.

one thing which comes across quite clearly is the sense of balance in all the above comments. i have found that the french car owners - and this is probably true of owners of all 'premium brands' - tend to have difficulty accepting that most people own cars for transport, rather than projecting their supposedly superior taste to the world, and that one can really like a motor vehicle on the basis that it functions very well as a machine.

my most recent experience with repair was only a few months ago. my ex had smashed her last corolla. i bought her an AE102; used, obviously, but with 129k on it. naturally, it developed a problem about 10 days later ie losing power intermittently, but getting worse over a few days. i took it to a mechanic; he said it just needed fluid top up and new plug leads and plugs! of course the problem came back an hour later. my conclusion was low fuel pressure. so, AutoOne had the parts in stock (tick). they were cheap ie $120 for fuel pump and filter (tick). bought a manual, also in stock (tick). back seat just pulled out and 4 screws to reveal the pump. 6 bolts to remove the pump. 10 mins to remove the items above the fuel filter for access. remove front wheel, and there is a nice big access hole in the wheel well to get at the filter. (multiple ticks). without having done the job before it was < 1.5 hours from when i drove the car into the garage till filter and pump were replaced. problem solved. experiences like that make you really understand why people buy japanese.

alexander

Edited December 20, 2010 by alexanderstollznow

[juvenile]

thank you all very much for the replies to date.

one thing which comes across quite clearly is the sense of balance in all the above comments. i have found that the french car owners - and this is probably true of owners of all 'premium brands' - tend to have difficulty accepting that most people own cars for transport, rather than projecting their supposedly superior taste to the world, and that one can really like a motor vehicle on the basis that it functions very well as a machine.

Ahhh those French :D

Toyota whitegoods on wheels, reliability,value and the very impotrant longevity. Being in Australia makes the whole reliability, access to parts and pricing difficult,I love Euro cars but at the end of the day I have a reliable hatch which I love,parts a plenty, easy insurance and fairly easy to diagnose problems IF they arise. I like to sleep easy at night so having a Toyota certainly helps.. The whole bagging other brands doesn't really happen with many forums unless someone mentions a Commodore for some reason..If I had money to burn I probably would have a old school Fiat,Peugeot or Renault(Clio Williams)to play with on weekends but I would rather the worlds hottest hatch, Lancia Delta Intergrale HF

This topic really is one of those "each to their own" type of conversations as everything has a following,the Lada Samara may even have a club

So just to annoy your fellow Frenchies could you let them know that the current Corolla hatch ZRE was designed in France :)

Cheers

[alexanderstollznow]

So just to annoy your fellow Frenchies could you let them know that the current Corolla hatch ZRE was designed in France :)

Cheers

oh i didnt know that! thanks; i will drop that one when i am feeling really shirty. :)