5th May 2008, 22:39

10;16 Wrong. This isn't a "Toyota" club. This is an offroad club that anyone who wants to can pay the fee and drive off road. I have no idea who most of these guys are, and have never seen them before. It changes month to month, anyone can show up, and you can drive anything. It's just that the guys that do this stuff know better than to try it in a Ford or Chevy most of the time, because they know they'll have to go home and fix it a lot of the time. And no, the Jeeps don't go through anything the Toyota's don't. I'd post pictures to prove it if I could here. I have them; our last run. Not a single Ford or Chevy. Because they break. No other reason, despite whatever you'd like to believe.

6th May 2008, 16:20

So again why are not more Tundras utilized by contractors? Are they in off road clubs? With fuel costs touching $4 a gal... am I missing something in the marketing approach on who and why individuals opt for a full size pickup? I see a long bed on the back and a frame hitch waiting to be utilized as much as possible.

Another telling indicator to me is going 68,000 miles in a Tundra on original brakes from a previous commenter. If it was actually carrying heavy materials in its bed or doing any type of actual towing once in a while it would be a different story. I see highway commuting on the interstate empty as why the brakes are never put to the test. Even on flat terrain brakes wear when you use it as a truck.

I also owned a years ago a large Blazer 4 x 4 with a 400 V8 automatic, which towed my then 21 foot boat with a dual axle trailer like a breeze. But that's a long time ago and then it was new and I cared for it. Although it was loaded it's nowhere near as nice as the newest 2008 GM's out.

Get over 1997, it's over... still to me buying any full size truck you really use the bed a lot and hitch benefit or buy a little fuel efficient car. It's wasting the value of the truck otherwise and wasting fuel as well.

On comments it seems staying close to the age or newer of the vehicle being commented on has the most benefits as well. I could keep commenting on my 20 year old Blazer if anyone wants to still compare it to late models however.

6th May 2008, 17:31

The recall problem for the 1992 Ford products was for a defective ignition part, not cruise control. It had nothing to do with safety issues. Also, how is a defective piece of interior trim or an ignition module a "safety issue"?

As for Toyota recalling a vehicle out of warranty and replacing an engine, I don't believe that for one second. They won't even repair their vehicles during the warranty period, let alone after it has expire.

6th May 2008, 18:01

17:58 Thank You! For stating actual facts that ARE actual facts. Nice to see someone else on here knows fact from fiction/opinion.

To you domestic owners commenting here; show me 1 Toyota recall and I'll show you 15 recalls for a domestic every time in return. Sorry if you don't like the truth, but it is what it is. Toyota is the better product; get used to it.

7th May 2008, 10:01

17:31 You seem to ignore the endless amount of Ford recalls that are without a doubt serious safety issues. You have shown that you don't know when or how Toyota handles recalls. They do, and have replaced engines in warranty, every time, and beyond the warranty in many cases.

Case in point is the camshaft issue in the Tundra's, which was the fault of the camshaft manufacturer, and not Toyota. They didn't even bother to waste time, like Ford would, trying to tear the engine apart and piece it back together. Toyota replaced the entire engine in every single case. Toyota handles their recalls properly and Ford does NOT. That is a fact. I know a person, very well, that works for a law firm that has handles some of the many lawsuits against Ford, specifically concerning their recalls.

Here's another Toyota recall that concerns my truck and is a good example of how well Toyota treats their customers; my '98 Tacoma is under recall because some of the frames were not coated properly and are rusting badly. Not many, and not mine, but just the same, it's a recall. All I have to do, even if mine shows no signs of rot, is bring my truck to the Toyota dealership and they'll extend the corrosion warranty for 10 more years, free of charge. If my frame were bad, Toyota has given me the choice of having them repair it, or, regardless of the condition of my truck, buying it back from me at 1.5 times the Kelly Blue Book price of my truck, in excellent condition.

I could write a book here about factual recalls that have plagued Ford, and how they have mis-handled them.

7th May 2008, 15:44

Nobody ever seems to actually READ these posts. It has been pointed out so many times that I've lost count that the NUMBER of recalls has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the quality of a vehicle. If a maker recalls a vehicle for a faulty trim piece, poorly fitted gas cap, whatever, it is done as a SERVICE TO THE BUYER. In most cases, ONLY DOMESTIC makers do this, so YES, they WILL have 15 times as many recalls while Toyota (or Honda or Nissan) has thousands of customers who are stuck with defective (but not dangerous) problems.

Years ago I worked for Ford and I've never seen a more customer-friendly company regarding the lengths they'd go to for a customer. We'd have buyers who had violated warranty restrictions left and right and horribly abused their vehicles, but unlike import dealers, we'd swallow the cost and repair them anyway when they had problems.

One buyer asked us if a modification he planned to make would void the warranty. We told him "YES, ABSOLUTELY!!" He made the modification anyway, had a problem and brought the vehicle back in. Ford just said "Fix it, it's better to keep satisfied customers."

We have had cases here where Toyota owners had major problems and Toyota refused to repair the cars. One local gentleman bought a Corolla, had the engine seize at 30,000 miles or so, and Toyota refused to fix it. He rented a flatbed truck (Ford, incidentally, I believe) and hauled the Corolla around town with a big sign stating that it was a lemon and Toyota wouldn't fix it. In another well-publicized incident, a judge awarded damages to a large number of people who were cheated out of hundreds of dollars by a Toyota dealership who was billing twice for the sales taxes. So please, save the crap about how wonderful Toyota service is and how Ford doesn't care about their customers. I've seen both sides up close. That's why my last car purchase was a Ford.