GM vs Toyota

GM market share and stock price and bond ratings are all on a downward
trend. It is a well deserved trend. GM deserves it and may it
continue.

So what is the difference between GM and Toyota based on my own
personal experience?? Toyota vehicles are not immune to problems but
it how they handle it that makes the difference. My personal
experience is this.....

I purchase a 1990 4runner. This was the first year for a 4 door
hardtop model. A radical design change from previous years. After the
warranty ran out (about 2 years after) I had a front crank bearing go
out. The dealer shop called me that afternoon to inform me of the bad
news, but the shop manager called Toyota and was instructed not to
charge me!!!!!!! but to go ahead and replace the bearing and
immediately ship it to their research center for analysis. They wanted
to see what happened. This was a $1500 repair that they absorbed.
There were two additional occurances similar to this where I did not
pay though the Toyota vehicles were beyond warranty.

I currently own a 1996 Lumina with peeling paint which is a well known
and widespread problem with vehicles from certain factories due to a
defect in the priming process. The dealer told us that something can
be done. Oh boy what a line. Found out later that to correct anything
on the car we would have to deal directly with the dealer we purchased
it from. In other words we were blown off and they assumed we would go
away. This has been a subject on the NBC news program Dateline and I
found on the web that there is also a class action lawsuit in the
works. There has also been a $500 dollar engine repair due to what the
mechanic told me was an engineering design problem associated with that
particular engine (3.1 v6). Good God! Will this ever end??!!

I have absolutely no sympathy for the eventual demise of GM and its
employees. It is a well deserved fate! GM new vehicles leave me
unexcited.

Get a life!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
There are two classes of pedestrians in these days of reckless motor
traffic - the quick and the dead.
~ Lord Dewar 1933 ~

Climbing into a hot car is like buckling on a pistol. It is the great
equalizer. ~ Henry G. Felsen 1964 ~

Your experience with Toyota is similar to my 17-year experience with
Chrysler (excellent after sale treatment and will do things for the customer
far beyond what one would expect). Your experience with GM is similar to my
experience with GM ("we already got your money, now go away"). It is odd
behavior for a competitive business and in my opinion is probably one of the
larger contributors to GMs long slide in losing sales to their competitors.
Many people simply won't come back if they don't believe that company stands
behind their product OR appreciated them having given them their business.
But, GM is huge and can hang on this way for decades, I'd bet.

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 2045 -0500, "James C. Reeves"
<jcnospam@nospam.com> wrote:

>Your experience with Toyota is similar to my 17-year experience with
>Chrysler (excellent after sale treatment and will do things for the customer
>far beyond what one would expect). Your experience with GM is similar to my
>experience with GM ("we already got your money, now go away"). It is odd
>behavior for a competitive business and in my opinion is probably one of the
>larger contributors to GMs long slide in losing sales to their competitors.
>Many people simply won't come back if they don't believe that company stands
>behind their product OR appreciated them having given them their business.
>But, GM is huge and can hang on this way for decades, I'd bet.
>
Well if they buy enough auto companies in enough countries they can
live on government handouts for generations.

That's what's happening here in N-America and if Vauxhall (AKA
GM/Opel) buys the remainder of Fiat there'll be another group of
taxpayers to help keep them alive.

[Shooterman]

I drive an '89 1500 V-6 Chevy Pickup. It has a little over 61000 miles. Had to have a short black put in it at 32000. Looks like heck, but has a 5 speed and there's been few problems since the short block.

I also have a '94 Chrysler Concorde. Runs like a BOOH, got 28.5 mpg this past Tuesday, and will never buy another Chrysler product. Transmission problems and air conditioning problems out the gazoo. The problem is I can not buy a car that will run and handle any better, but the reliability sucks big time.

My wife wants a new Toyota. Either the Tundra four door, or the SUV built on the Camry chassis. The problem is Toyota is proud of their vehicles.

It's your money spend it were you wish buy I hope you don't have
one of those Toyotas with what Toyota calls an oil 'gelling'
problem that is eating up engines. Or a Toyota out of warranty
with the reoccurring brake problem that is eating up rotors or
one with the early tranny failure problem between 40K and 50K.



mike hunt



Trout Fisherman wrote:
>
> GM market share and stock price and bond ratings are all on a downward
> trend. It is a well deserved trend. GM deserves it and may it
> continue.
>
> So what is the difference between GM and Toyota based on my own
> personal experience?? Toyota vehicles are not immune to problems but
> it how they handle it that makes the difference. My personal
> experience is this.....
>
> I purchase a 1990 4runner. This was the first year for a 4 door
> hardtop model. A radical design change from previous years. After the
> warranty ran out (about 2 years after) I had a front crank bearing go
> out. The dealer shop called me that afternoon to inform me of the bad
> news, but the shop manager called Toyota and was instructed not to
> charge me!!!!!!! but to go ahead and replace the bearing and
> immediately ship it to their research center for analysis. They wanted
> to see what happened. This was a $1500 repair that they absorbed.
> There were two additional occurances similar to this where I did not
> pay though the Toyota vehicles were beyond warranty.
>
> I currently own a 1996 Lumina with peeling paint which is a well known
> and widespread problem with vehicles from certain factories due to a
> defect in the priming process. The dealer told us that something can
> be done. Oh boy what a line. Found out later that to correct anything
> on the car we would have to deal directly with the dealer we purchased
> it from. In other words we were blown off and they assumed we would go
> away. This has been a subject on the NBC news program Dateline and I
> found on the web that there is also a class action lawsuit in the
> works. There has also been a $500 dollar engine repair due to what the
> mechanic told me was an engineering design problem associated with that
> particular engine (3.1 v6). Good God! Will this ever end??!!
>
> I have absolutely no sympathy for the eventual demise of GM and its
> employees. It is a well deserved fate! GM new vehicles leave me
> unexcited.

I guess we can assume you don't have one of those Toyotas with
what Toyota calls an oil 'gelling' problem that is eating up
engines. Or a Toyota out of warranty with the reoccurring brake
problem that is eating up rotors or
one with the tranny failures between 40K and 50K.


mike hunt



"James C. Reeves" wrote:
>
> Your experience with Toyota is similar to my 17-year experience with
> Chrysler (excellent after sale treatment and will do things for the customer
> far beyond what one would expect). Your experience with GM is similar to my
> experience with GM ("we already got your money, now go away"). It is odd
> behavior for a competitive business and in my opinion is probably one of the
> larger contributors to GMs long slide in losing sales to their competitors.
> Many people simply won't come back if they don't believe that company stands
> behind their product OR appreciated them having given them their business.
> But, GM is huge and can hang on this way for decades, I'd bet.