John Kogel Posted August 6, 2011 Report Share Posted August 6, 2011 My '98 Tacoma is en route to the boneyard with a rusted frame. I got a call to bring it in for undercoating, warranty recall. Turns out, there's so much frame rust, they condemned it. Toyota will pay me fair market value for the truck. Soon, I hope. The dealership has provided me with a rental car, on their tab for one month, and I've got magnetic signs on the doors, so it's biz as usual, sort of. Funny thing is, I bought the truck used in another town, and only used this dealership once, to get the starter solenoid fixed. They replaced two little contacts and she was good to go. I replaced the ignition switch, which was worn out, brake pads and spark plugs. Not bad for 4 years of daily driving. Probably it was the most reliable, dependable vehicle I've ever owned and that is a lot of cars and trucks. Sniff. Click to Enlarge 48.12 KB Click to Enlarge 56.68 KBMy new Ranger V6 is ready to go. I'll have to get a repair manual. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlieb Posted August 7, 2011 Report Share Posted August 7, 2011 Better outcome than mine. The brides car (Saab 9=3) would not start when she was trying to leave the mall last Saturday. No problem, I have an extended warranty. Had the car towed to the dealer who has serviced the car in the past. Called them first thing Monday morning. They were sorry but no longer serviced Saabs. No one in town would touch the car. The nearest Saab dealer was 190 miles away. The warranty company would pay a total of 150 miles towing. So much for a day at the office. Rented a car dolly, removed the air dam from the car and drug it to Baton Rouge. I got the call Tuesday saying the parts were on back order BUT for the low low price of $75 I would be moved to the head of the list to get a new ignition switch. Of course the warranty company would not pay the extra fee or for a rental car. The car was repaired Wednesday, the dealer waived the $75 fee and a friend with a tow company gave me a receipt for what the bill would have been. The warranty company will wind up reimbursing me for what amounts to the tow dolly, my deductible and much of the fuel cost. Picked it up Friday and made it back in time to perform an inspection. Anybody want to buy a 9-3 that I can't get repaired locally? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted August 7, 2011 Report Share Posted August 7, 2011 Better outcome than mine. The brides car (Saab 9=3) would not start when she was trying to leave the mall last Saturday. No problem, I have an extended warranty. Had the car towed to the dealer who has serviced the car in the past. Called them first thing Monday morning. They were sorry but no longer serviced Saabs. No one in town would touch the car. The nearest Saab dealer was 190 miles away. The warranty company would pay a total of 150 miles towing. So much for a day at the office. Rented a car dolly, removed the air dam from the car and drug it to Baton Rouge. I got the call Tuesday saying the parts were on back order BUT for the low low price of $75 I would be moved to the head of the list to get a new ignition switch. Of course the warranty company would not pay the extra fee or for a rental car. The car was repaired Wednesday, the dealer waived the $75 fee and a friend with a tow company gave me a receipt for what the bill would have been. The warranty company will wind up reimbursing me for what amounts to the tow dolly, my deductible and much of the fuel cost. Picked it up Friday and made it back in time to perform an inspection. Anybody want to buy a 9-3 that I can't get repaired locally? Same story with my wife's suburu. Baton Rouge (75 miles) was nearest service center until they went out of business. Then we would've had to tow it to Beaumont or Houston (250 miles) if the car needed service. We got lucky. New dealership in Lafayette just opened up. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted August 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2011 No problem, I have an extended warranty. Had the car towed to the dealer who has serviced the car in the past. Called them first thing Monday morning. They were sorry but no longer serviced Saabs. No one in town would touch the car. That is a crappy way to treat a former client with a warranty on the car. They should at least have given it a try, simple diagnosis, ordered parts and taken care of it. That is what a service station is all about. Somewhere in your area, there's a mechanic that loves to work on Saabs. You just haven't found him yet. [] Marc, my wife's car is a Subaru Outback, my backup vehicle. We have been lucky with it so far. Yes, I feel extremely lucky with my Tacoma buyback. I hauled a lot of rocks in that truck, filling in a swimming pool last winter. Not the whole thing, just a couple of yards to top it up. Actually about 18 loads. Yes, I've been lucky. [] I hope my new Ranger is up to the task. Next year, the Ford Ranger will go the way of the Model T and the small Tacoma. Too much of a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebennet Posted February 15, 2012 Report Share Posted February 15, 2012 Well, Toyota's reputation has been bad since it's huge recalls that have ballooned to more than 14 million vehicles worldwide.The U.S. government is looking into complaints of fires in the doors of some Toyota Camry, Camry Solara and RAV 4 models. At this time, however, there is no word of a recall. Iit is said that the fires appear to start in the power window switch on the door. There are fires cases reported to the agency but NHTSA has no reports of any person being hurt. The investigation will start on Monday. Source for this article: NHTSA probes Toyota Camry and RAV 4 over door fires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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