2002 Toyota Tundra SR5 from North America - All Comments

"If I'm the guy that owns Toyota, I'm offering a 36,000 mile warranty, and STILL outselling GM, why am I going to spend more money offering a longer warranty when I don't have to? It's common sense."

Thanks for making our argument for us. If it means Toyota has to "spend more money offering a longer warranty" that is a clear admission that Toyota would have to make more repairs at their own expense. It's nice to finally see an admission of this.

Domestic trucks don't last? Tell that to these owners with 1 million miles on their trucks and the original engines and transmissions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Ou5vRTW90

http://www.knfilters.com/news/news.aspx?ID=157

http://www.brandcurve.com/frank-oresniks-million-mile-chevy-silverado-for-sale-on-ebay/

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/04/another-million-mile-vehicle-97-ford-e-250-set-to-roll-its-odo/

http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-18020.html

22:50 since the number 1 spot is how you perceive best quality, then explain how GM has held the number 1 worldwide sales spot for over 76 years? 6.7 million vehicles compared to 7.05 million vehicles in 2008; is this the wide gap you are mentioning?

Why not double the Toyota warranty based on how superior the logic of needing no service to 300,000 miles? Wouldn't cost more or would it?

One mechanical failure out of pocket on your next vehicle purchase say $4-5,000 may quickly change your viewpoint on warranties. Feel lucky this has evaded you so far.

I also feel badly when someone works very hard, maintains a vehicle and then gets a major mechanical issue at low miles. If it were not for this very issue, there would be another new Japanese sedan in our driveway.

Why offer zero financing on new imports to stimulate sales? Toyota recent sales are down 32% from a year ago. How come the G6, Aura, Malibu sales are higher than Camry? With increased production, quality better remain or customer retention will likely lose many of us. You can have new customers, but some of us have bought many new cars and are only loyal to a point.

I know some diehard import owners refuse to believe in consumeraffairs.com, but it's there for a reason. I also believe in Carfax including "new" vehicles with more than a handful of miles on the clock. I also believe in driving more than 1 brand and comparing them. I'll do it again and buy on more than a name, only it has to have great drivability, features, benefits and a decent warranty on as much as vehicles cost today. Everyone should have the same warranty, what's the big deal? It was a big factor in keeping us and buying a new vehicle again.

"I know where the money goes when I buy a Toyota. Overseas"

This is sad. The commenter must be one of the very few Americans NOT affected in some way by our current economic crisis. At this time, with my job prospects very uncertain and many of my friends and neighbors out of work, there is simply no way I could justify the destruction of an industry that employees over 12 million Americans. If the U.S. auto industry should fail, we would be facing a crisis on a par with the great depression of the 30's... LITERALLY. Even if imports were BETTER than domestic vehicles (and there is evidence to the contrary) I could never justify buying one at this time.

To be willing to destroy the U.S. economy, as well as do serious damage to the world economy, just to hold onto an ingrained prejudice based on one bad experience with a 20-year old used domestic vehicle is not easily justified. What good will your Toyotas, Hondas and Nissans be to you if we cannot afford to keep roads repaired to drive them on or if we are unable to work and can't buy gas?

Every 7-Series BMW purchased is equal to one year's income for an American auto worker. Every Camry or Accord is equal to the yearly income of the average employee of an auto parts store or jobber. I WON'T be sending my money overseas. It will stay right here where it can benefit me, my friends and my neighbors.

12:17 You misunderstand. I didn't make your point, I proved it untrue. I made my point.

Here's another way to look at it: I see two cars on a sales lot, close in price, a GM and a Toyota, sitting next to each other, and I'm going to buy one... why would I buy the Toyota with the shorter warranty instead of the GM? Because I know that the Toyota is the far better car, and while GM may have the longer warranty, I'd rather just buy the car the will get me to work every single day and NOT have to worry about towing my GM, with the long warranty, to the garage.

And this is what is happening in reality. Toyota and Honda cars are THE top sellers in the United States. Have been for about a decade and a half, and will continue to be. With a shorter warranty period. Because people want a good car, not a warrantied piece of junk.

12:15 Your 'patriotic' pleas don't mean much. First, the auto industry comprising only a very small (tiny) part of the U.S. economy. GM going under isn't going to collapse the U.S. economy. If you want to buy that crap, feel free. And if GM were so high and mighty, they wouldn't be building cars overseas (like the Korean Aveo as just one example) when they could be employing American labor.

Second, if GM were to actually build a decent vehicle, people might buy them right here in America and not be forced to look to Japanese automobiles to find something of quality.

As somebody who goes to work everyday and contributes to the economy, my paycheck is hard earned. And in those times every several years when I shop for a vehicle, I'm spending my money on the best product I can get my hands on for the money. And it's never a Ford, GM, or Dodge when I can buy a much better Honda, Toyota, Nissan or Hyundai. Many years of driving experience have proven this to me. I know which ones are built right and which ones are built cheaply. And which ones cost me money and break down and which don't. My Toyota's never broke down. All my domestics did. Repeatedly.

GM's problems are complex. In many ways, it comes from decades of running a company with bloated upper management and totally inefficient systems developed back in the industrial age when doing business in the US was totally different. I also agree that they have way too many brands and do way too much badge engineering. They also seem to have a talent for coming out with the totally wrong types of vehicles at the wrong time - like bringing out crossovers and advertising the heck out of them during the fuel crisis.

The second part is that they simply built sub-par cars and trucks for years on end. They had no reason to improve because their sales were still very good. The SUV/Truck craze gave them even less incentive to improve.

A good analogy would be Budweiser. Their beer is bland, tasteless, and cheap. Nobody drinks it because the stuff is "good". They drink it because it is cheap and simply sufficient. Then comes all the small microbreweries. At first they didn't care. They were still the biggest/baddest beer company on the planet. But slowly and surely, companies like Fat Tire, Sierra Nevada, and Sam Adams grew and became popular with primarily younger, more demanding Americans. Sure - good ole' Dad might still drink nothing but Budweiser, but the the future generation hates the stuff. Hence Budweiser is losing sales and as of last night, I saw their new "American Ale" on TV, which like GM - is a simply a catch-up product that they should've come out with years ago. Now they simply look like a cheap imitator and the younger generation will heed them no attention.

The story of GM is like a lot of older companies. They grew into a sleepy dinosaur, and ignored the changes happening around them. But despite this, I wish them luck. They are part of our national identity, and the sooner they can get back on track, the better.

12:15, I agree with you 100%! Everybody driving their Toyota down to the County Building to sign up for welfare can contemplate why they got laid off, and why industry is rapidly disappearing in this country.

Maybe it will actually start to filter home that buying things made in Japan or China means somebody here is not working, like them.

It was clear that McCain was the wrong person for the job when he told autoworkers in Michigan that their jobs were gone and never coming back, and then last week there was a shot of him driving a Toyota Sequoia. That's not the guy we need. At least Obama drives a Chrysler 300.

"If I'm the guy that owns Toyota, I'm offering a 36,000 mile warranty, and STILL outselling GM, why am I going to spend more money offering a longer warranty when I don't have to? It's common sense."

Gee, sure SOUNDS like it would cost Toyota more to have a longer warranty to me. If not, how would just changing the numbers on the warranty papers cause Toyota to "spend more money"?? Printing costs are minuscule. No, if it would cause them to "spend more money" it would be on repairing all the flaws listed on the numerous consumer sites that the public is now having to foot the bill for.

What it still boils down to is simple: GM, Ford and Chrysler are not afraid that their cars will require major repairs in the first 100,000 miles or so. Toyota and Honda ARE. Otherwise, why NOT extend their warranties too?? If Japanese makers have so much confidence in their cars, why do they STILL have the worst warranties in the automotive business??

But again, if Toyota's were so superior and never broke down, why would it be an issue for Toyota to offer the longer warranty?

Could it be because of problems like these:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/toyota_engine.html

New engines are going for 5K+ a pop these days. I am guessing Toyota does not want to pay to replace all its engines that have been failing. The problems Toyota is having is not a fairy tale.

I have never had these types of problems with my domestics.

This message is for all the Ford and GM guys making unfavorable comments about Toyota on here...

GM and Ford would kill to be Toyota right now, or to have made the decision to build good cars like Toyota does, 30 years ago. If the government doesn't bail out those mismanaged sub-par automakers, neither of them will be in business next year.

I follow this stuff closely, and I just watched another story on CNN about it. Basically, what got said was that GM has been mismanaged, hasn't kept up with technology (until too late at least), and makes unfavorable, unappealing cars, has gained a reputation for cheaply made vehicles, and are on their way out. ALL TRUE.

I actually hope GM does pull through, and this is the wake up call they need to stop building garbage and make something that can at least be called comparable to a Toyota or a Honda. I seriously doubt that that will happen, and if it does, it will still take years for them to shed the poor reputation they've earned. I don't want to see them go under, I have friends that work there. Too bad they work for a company that doesn't know how to do it right. You domestic fans don't have a leg to stand on when criticizing Toyota.

Heres another view.

The majority of the time, my comfortable new GM SUV is the vehicle of choice to inevitably drive more than 2 adults or my family on a variety of activities. The small sedans, and also including friend's 2 seater sport cars, are parked and I typically always drive.

Smooth, quiet, comfortable and certainly very safe.

I do not know where you get your late model reliability statistics on my latest vehicle, but it has had absolutely zero issues. Maybe you haven't been in a fully loaded full size late model GM large SUV, but they are great.

I hate sitting in the back seat of small cramped sedans with my legs spread. I am thin, over 6 foot, and also hate cramped shoulder confinement. I drive my longest distances on weekends and add family, friends, and it's just a rough way to travel distance. Maybe if you are a solo commuter focused on the gas gauge.

Some are looking for overall quality, pleasure of the ride and driving, comfort, features. I typically buy very loaded vehicles with leather and many amenities. I stopped buying imports due to lack of warranty, or more so the rapid accumulation of mileage I attain in a short time of ownership.

I am not seeing any of the issues you mentioned with late model ownership, in fact my vehicles are extremely reliable, smooth, handle well and are a joy to drive.

Again, take a look at Toyota owners comments on consumeraffairs.com. The comments you are making seem more applicable in your direction.

A weak warranty does not instill faith... all car manufacturers warranties in my mind should be on an even field. All identical. Manufacturers should back them 100,000 miles standard. Maybe I would consider a return to new imports again.

In the interim I have zero complaints. Maybe you can take a long trip in one sometime rather than walk around one to see why everyone rides in mine instead of crammed up.

To the person using the consumeraffairs.com as "proof" of how bad Toyotas are: Have you looked at the section for GM or Ford? Yes, Toyota has some cars listed. But if you look at the threads for say - the Chevy Malibu - there's well over 100 posts about the car. Take a look at some of them:

http://consumeraffairs.com/automotive/gm_chev_malibu.html

We're talking cars with under 50,000 miles blowing head gaskets.

Toyota has a few, but for example, the Avalon only has TWO complaints. Thus you've helped me prove my point: Toyota makes a better product.

It has long been quite obvious that the domestic-bashing comments are based on the commenter's anger over owning a used, 20-year-old domestic with 200,000 miles on it that had minor problems.

This has no bearing whatsoever on new vehicles. All new domestics are as reliable, if not more reliable, than any imports.

If the commenter would take the time to drive a NEW domestic, (ANY new domestic), he would find that they all now have fuel injection, air bags, overhead cams, and all the same technical features imports have. If he actually LOOKED at new domestics, he would discover that the build quality is actually superior to most comparable imports, as is the interior quality.

I drive lots of cars, both foreign and domestic, and belong to 2 domestic car clubs. The Toyotas I've driven have not had any obvious edge over domestics. The feel is pretty similar, though imports tend to have a lighter, flimsier overall feel to me.

For performance and comfort, the domestics take it hands down.

And the final clincher is the warranty. A manufacturer that is afraid to put a decent warranty on their product is a manufacturer that lacks confidence in their product, pure and simple.

11th Nov 2008, 15:03.

"What it still boils down to is simple: GM, Ford and Chrysler are not afraid that their cars will require major repairs in the first 100,000 miles or so. Toyota and Honda ARE. Otherwise, why NOT extend their warranties too?? If Japanese makers have so much confidence in their cars, why do they STILL have the worst warranties in the automotive business??"

I love comments like this, I find them very funny. Cause if you look back a few years, these same people praising the new GM, Ford, and Dodge 100,000 mile warranty, are the same ones that said Hyundai's 100,000 mile warranty was just a marketing ploy aimed to increase sales numbers and you should never buy a car because of warranty. But the Hyundai still has the best warranty.