As I mentioned in the comments of my last entry: after getting the car checked out further we found out it was a leaky head gasket. (expensive!) So Scott asked that Toyota cover part of it since the car is only 5,000 miles out of warrenty and he is a loyal Toyota customer AND this is the second head gasket in a truck he has owned from them. They complied, amazingly, and offered to pay about half of the cost.
Hence, the replacing of the head gasket commenced. But what is this? When they get in there and have replaced the head gasket, suddenly they cannot put the engine block back together again because the head bolts are stripped. We need a new engine block!
This entire episode is getting more and more expensive, with the engine block being around $6,000. However, Toyota is wonderful, and we are only paying about $900 to get this whole episode of the repairs behind us (excluding our previous replacment of the water pump). This is because the head bolts appear to have been stripped during the installation of engine at the factory (I mean how often do you take an engine apart in a normal vehicle?). Therefore Toyota is paying for it. I have to say I am proud of this, I think if it was a Ford or a Chevy they would pretty much say 'screw you sucker'.
Now the only issue is that the head bolts being stripped in the factory probably cause the entire issue in the first place. Since it was stripped it didn't create a tight seal in the engine block and cause overheating... eventually. I am happy that Toyota is paying for any of it, because I know how screwed we could be and compared to the total cost $900 isn't much to spend.
Posted by 10lees at November 8, 2006 09:21 PMthis makes me happy and nervous all at once... i am contemplating a Corolla for my transportation purposes. the point of said car is for the known reliability of Toyota. have you guys found these problems in the past? or is Toyota "reliable" b/c they give you good deals on what's covered under warrenty?
Posted by: dr gonzo at November 9, 2006 07:15 AMToyota is reliable. Or, at least, they used to be. I know nothing of new vehicles, but my old '91 Camery was a tough little sucker. That seriously would not die.
We ended up selling it, so it is probably cruising around Minnesota right now with a whole lot of mileage.
That is awesome that they are willing to pay most of the costs. It is what they should do, but often times that is not what ends up happening.
To speak to my experience: my Toyota has never (outside of accidents, last count: 2) had to be in the shop for repairs. Oh wait, i had a brake issue two years ago, but that was my fault. My back brakes were dirty and they threw off my front brakes. BUT when Toyota told me to get my back brakes cleaned I was like 'yeah, right, how many people have bought that line? cleaning brakes? blinker fluid anyone?'. Well, it turns out it is a legitimate problem, my bad! (and it took another year at least to come up)
Scott's other head gasket was a recall issue on like a 1992 (or so) Toyota truck he had. And my sister in law had a Corolla that was a little jacked because it's alignment was off (like it had been in an accident except she bought it new from a dealership). But I think that was more the dealership than Toyota.
My advice: make sure it is a good Toyota dealership that has a good rep and then you can take your car to them for repairs too. They are pretty nice about it. PLUS if you buy a 'slightly' used one you can have the rest of the warrenty. That should be up to 7 year from original purchase date or 70,000 miles.
PLUS: remember my car is getting repaired for 3600 bucks even though it is a 1999 Camry, that's because it's still work 7600. Pretty sweet.
Posted by: 10lees at November 9, 2006 07:58 AMHey - what's with your sub title of liking to be rocked with lies??? I don't understand that and my raising you to supposedly LOVE THE TRUTH - even if it does roar like a bear in a chimney or was that the wind???? I'm confused.
Anyway, buy SATURN!!! :) I love their cars.
Just my HUMBLE - was i supposed to keep that in somthing other than caps? - opinion!
Love ya,
m