25th Feb 2007, 16:49
True, but they all have to be loaded and driven onto car carriers and then to the dealerships and then driven off. Its pretty telling when they are not as good in this stage as in the historic past. Brand new... with issues.
25th Feb 2007, 17:32
What a hilarious double standard! If something is wrong with an import, there must be some ready explanation, but if the same thing happened to a Chevy or Ford, the import crowd would be crowing how this is "just another example of the unreliability of domestic cars." Oh, Please!
25th Feb 2007, 18:09
Most DOMESTICS ARE prepped from the factory. Every Ford I have ever bought has been RIGHT OFF THE TRUCK. NO dealer prep. NO messing around with "setting" anything. If Toyota is THAT shoddy at the factory, it's no wonder people are having so much trouble with them. If the factory can't build a car that will RUN, then Heaven help the poor buyer who has to rely on some high-school dropout with an IQ of 60 at a Toyota dealership in Podunk, Mississippi to make his Camry run "right".
25th Feb 2007, 18:12
Sorry, but even Ford's are prepped at the dealer during a process called PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection.) This is when the plastic seat covers are removed, fluids checked, wheel covers placed on etc.
25th Feb 2007, 19:39
To 20:47. You are just plain wrong. I cannot understand why people continue to write in saying that Toyota's are anything, but the best. I don't care if yours has problems or how many other people make up stories about people they know that have had problems. Toyota is still, EASILY the best auto manufacturer on the planet. ALL COMPANIES HAVE ISSUES. SOME YEARS ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS.
Toyota is having one of it's worst years with recalls and such. So &%^*#@$ what?! Shall we look back at Chrysler? Look at the miserable shape that Ford and Chevy are in; in fact, they've been flushing themselves down for a long time now. You're telling me that one of these 3 companies is a better automaker than Toyota? You can't possibly be serious.
Toyota has a long history of making high quality autos, and the name itself has come to mean quality and reliability, just as Honda has unquestionably established itself as the leader in small engines. What has Ford become? Found On Road Dead? Fix Or Repair Daily? Yeah, these are jokes, but the joke is well known for a reason. They have earned the status of being unreliable cars and trucks, same as GM.
GM is worse, in my opinion; I have friends that work at one of their plants, and they have told me stories about things that go on on the assembly line, and mistakes that are made on the cars. If one of the assembly workers sees a car with a problem, they have the ability to pull a handle and stop the whole line of production. Problem is, each stoppage costs a bare minimum of roughly $50,000. Would you want to be the person to pull that cord? Especially knowing that your company is in financial trouble? They let things slide; obviously. Look at the quality of their product.
By their standards, Toyota might be having a bad year or two, but they are still WORLDS ahead of everyone else, excluding their only worthy competition, Nissan and Honda. You may not prefer a Toyota to a so-called "domestic" vehicle, but don't be ridiculous enough to think that your domestic is built as well. It isn't.
25th Feb 2007, 20:55
To 18:12,
Are you one of those shabby techs. that works in the DETAILING shop? Just wondering because you carry on as if you are the one who preps the vehicles. "PDI" is exactly what it states. PRE DELIVERY INSPECTION! Yeap, removal of plastic seat covers, wheel cover addition, oil and fluids check, etc.. "PDI" has nothing to do with the ignition switch sending power from the battery to the starter/engine to crank the vehicle. Please research the meaning before you ASSume what it means. Inspection-Inspection-Inspection! You can't be so far behind to not understand that. I will attempt to educate you, put the key in the switch, turn the key, with the power from the switch & battery, a signal is sent to the brain of the engine (you know, just like us humans-the thing that makes you think) and lets it know that it's OK to start up now! So please tell me what the removal of plastic seat covers, wheel covers, and fluid checks have to do with the vehicle crashing before it makes it off of the shipper's boat; needless to say, the dealer and/or consumer. Heck, we the consumer should be the one processing the "PDI". Especially if you know nothing pertaining to the vehicle starting. I see the term "PDI" defined by yourself as cosmetic additions, engine assembly & installation, oil, filters, tire installation, Ahh shucks lets throw in a fill up too. OK now Mr. or Mrs. Customer see if your vehicle will make it to the stop sign. Shade-Trees! Can't live with'em, but we can live without'em.
Come work with myself and I will introduce you to the world of mechanics. Shoot, I might even let you wear the ASE seal of approval for a day!
26th Feb 2007, 05:12
"No mechanical work or adjustments are made to an arriving Ford"... that's correct, it's the job of the poor fool that bought the Ford to make adjustments and encounter mechanical work for the remaining time that he or she has the car. At least until they realize that Ford is garbage and sell it for something that doesn't break down once a week.
26th Feb 2007, 08:41
I do not own a Toyota... All I know is that when I bought a new Honda and it came off the delivery truck at the dealer it needed some assembly such as fluids added... wiring connecters put on... hubcaps installed..etc. The car isnt even broken in and is covered with shipping tapes and plastics.
26th Feb 2007, 09:17
5:12 my new F Series has none of the issues you mentioned... maybe you are thinking of a Tundra, a Sienna, a Camry perhaps.
26th Feb 2007, 09:25
Read the book "Rivethead" written by a former GM assembly line worker. Granted things have changed since its publication date, but it still proves that GM could care less about quality.
26th Feb 2007, 10:55
So if things have changed since "Rivethead's" publication date, how does it prove that GM still doesn't care about quality? You just contradicted yourself.
In any case, GM is hardly a shadow of their former self and easily the most improved and reformed of the domestic companies to date.
25th Feb 2007, 15:46
To 10:46; Mr. Real Man; actually, a man with any backbone wouldn't be worried that the vehicle he drives will determine whether or not he is a man, so enough with that.
If a car suits my needs, even as a second vehicle, then that is what I'll drive. Great gas mileage and room for other people are my reasons. And of course, if I'm going to own a car, then you can be sure that it will be a Toyota, Honda, or a Nissan, because nothing else can match them for reliability and low cost of ownership (little or no repairs).