Toyota Problems Not Over Yet

[V V V P****D OFF]

Hello all, I am new to this, but I thought you might appreciate yet another nice horror story of the wonders of Toyota Ownership.

My Aygo is 3 years and 3 months old (it is so important to be accurate about these things). It has done a paltry 18300 miles- mostly because it spent almost a year in garage as I recovered from a minor stroke and major heart surgery all in the same week.

Last week the gear linkage broke, "not exactly unheard of" I hear you cry, "one more on the growing list of reasons not to buy a Toyota".

It seems that Toyota expect me to pay for this, and as a magnificent offer they will reduce the cost from £275 to a mere £137.50

I don't feel I should pay anything- it is not as if I have had anything approaching 3 years of motoring.

How would you proceed?

[+Steve]

Hi welcome to TOC

I noticed you said your car is 3 years 3 months old... if i am right it is out of warranty? please correct if i am wrong

In thoery we all know they could of offered zilch. So lucky to get some money off to be honest as other brands would have refused to pay anything.

[Parts-King]

You dont feel as though you should pay anything but at the end of the day where do you draw the line at the warranty expiring? The warranty period is 3 years, not 3 years 3 months. Yes you have a low mileage and you have not used the car a lot but they have offered you a contribution to the cost of repairs. You could argue with Toyota over it but at the end of the day it is a "Goodwill" contribution

Kingo

[kithmo]

Hi V V V, sorry to hear about your illness, hope you are ok now.

I can understand your frustration, due to the minimal use you've had out of the vehicle and sympathise with you, especially now that Toyota are offering a 5 year warranty on new cars, but when a car is stood for a year, things do tend to stiffen, sieze or corrode, depending on where it was stored. For something to break in this situation is not as suprising as you may think. It is a shame that it happened just months out of warranty and although they are not obliged to do so, I probably would expect Toyota to pay in full for the repair, especially if it's not a wear and tear issue. If I were you I'd accept their goodwill offer and let them fix it, it's a lot less hassle than trying to get blood out of a stone.

[dervdave]

If I were you I'd accept their goodwill offer and let them fix it, it's a lot less hassle than trying to get blood out of a stone.

Toyota are under no obligation to pay anything towards the repairs to a car out of warranty whatever the mileage.

Take them up on their generous offer

[+Steve]

I thought you might appreciate yet another nice horror story of the wonders of Toyota Ownership.

A good Majority of members enjoy their Toyota. Sorry it has not worked out for you, but in my 10 years of owning Toyota products I found them to be the most reliable cars I have ever owned. I thought it was so good I even set up this website to share the same experience with others :)

People who usually appreciate horror stories are the press, not an owners club.

[dervdave]

A good Majority of members enjoy their Toyota. Sorry it has not worked out for you, but in my 10 years of owning Toyota products I found them to be the most reliable cars I have ever owned. I thought it was so good I even set up this website to share the same experience with others :)

People who usually appreciate horror stories are the press, not an owners club.

Excellent sentiments ! :)

The OP should have a look around other car forums to see what REAL motoring horror stories are out there.

[+Steve]

I have moved this thread to the Aygo section, as it was in the prius section

[PumpkinSteve]

Personally I think it was good of Toyota to offer you a discount, they could have offered nothing and would be well within their rights to do so. There is really nothing you can do about it...

[Chris Dance]

I think Toyota are being very reasonable considering it is out of warranty, I would take their offer.

As a family we have owned 5 Toyota cars and we have found them most reliable and dealers have always sorted our problems out. The Prius is the best car I have ever owned.

Worst car for everything was a British Leyland Montego it was more in the dealers than on the road and the service and repairs was abysmal.

I hope you are recovering well from operation etc.

Best wishes. Chris.

[AYGOgummy]

As everyone else is saying, Toyota are giving you an offer, which is so much more than most other manufacturers would do. The car is out of warranty, so be thankful it's going to cost you less than it would've done :)

I think most of us would be really grateful of an offer like that...

[3 car blue]

Regardless of timing I would not be a happy bunny if my car had a failed gear linkage at 18,300 miles.

If the car was in a garage for the 12 month or so period when it was unused then, assuming the garage was dry, there should be no corrosion.

While appreciating Toyota have made an offer I would have expected them to do better here taking into account the particular circumstances of this case. Further, and regardless of any warranty, the Sale of Goods Act states items must be "fit for purpose" and of "merchantable quality." I am less than convinced that a failure in 18,300 miles of a component purportedly guaranteed for 60,000 miles, where the age if the item is immaterial, fulfils either of these requirements.

I suggest the gentleman has another go at Toyota along these lines. I adopted this approach with my VW Bora. The turbo failed at 70,000 miles. The car was over four years old and well out of warranty. I was able to achieve a 40% discount on parts and labour as a turbo should be designed to last well over 70,000 miles. If no success, the County Court is another option.

Toyota is a better car firm than many but they are just sitting on their hands here which in my view sullies their business reputation. A bit more research into remedies may be worth the effort.

[Parts-King]

The product is warranted for 3 years 60K, whichever is sooner, you could in theory have a car ten years old and under 60K, so when would you expect the warranty to expire?

Merchantable quality no longer exists, it is now "Fit for purpose" and a turbo would be classed as a major componant and should last more than 70K. A gear linkage would not be classed as a major unit and a decision has been made on that basis. The people who assess these things in customer relations are well briefed on what the law requires of them and I think they have probably made a correct call. You could argue all day long about how unfair it is but you have to start taking responsibility for repairs at some stage, when would it stop otherwise?

Kingo

[dervdave]

Regardless of timing I would not be a happy bunny if my car had a failed gear linkage at 18,300 miles.

If the car was in a garage for the 12 month or so period when it was unused then, assuming the garage was dry, there should be no corrosion.

While appreciating Toyota have made an offer I would have expected them to do better here taking into account the particular circumstances of this case. Further, and regardless of any warranty, the Sale of Goods Act states items must be "fit for purpose" and of "merchantable quality." I am less than convinced that a failure in 18,300 miles of a component purportedly guaranteed for 60,000 miles, where the age if the item is immaterial, fulfils either of these requirements.

I suggest the gentleman has another go at Toyota along these lines. I adopted this approach with my VW Bora. The turbo failed at 70,000 miles. The car was over four years old and well out of warranty. I was able to achieve a 40% discount on parts and labour as a turbo should be designed to last well over 70,000 miles. If no success, the County Court is another option.

Toyota is a better car firm than many but they are just sitting on their hands here which in my view sullies their business reputation. A bit more research into remedies may be worth the effort.

I`ve got to disagree although I wish the OP the best of luck.

My Jaguar is over 4yrs old and also has only done 18k miles but if anything went wrong I wouldn`t have expected any help with the repairs because the car is out of the normal 3yr manufacturers warranty so I pay over £1100 a year for an extended Jaguar warranty.

[ihpj]

First off, I wish the OP a healthy and speedy recovery. Secondly, welcome to the ToC!

Thirdly, I have to admit, I agree that the situation you find yourself in is unpalatable and frustrating. However, until the car turns 3 years old, there is always the option of extending the Toyota Warranty into year 5. People seem to overlook the fact that although cars come with a particular warranty, there is always the option to extend. You know the one time you decide not to bother, you wish you had.

I think they call it Murphy's Law ;) But the thing is, you too would have had the option to extend the warranty but elected not to do so - which your choice. Now the car has broken and it is going to cost £££ to fix so Toyota have offered a goodwill gesture - which I think is good of them as they are not obligated to offer up a penny.

I'd perhaps push for a little more and rope the Dealer into it as well as if the car has been serviced with them all that time they might be able to offer something in addition to Toyota GB.

Good luck!

[Grumpy Cabbie]

I can't believe we're having this discussion. The Warranty is for 3 years or 60,000 miles. Your warranty has expired. If the manufacturers have made a goodwill offer, then accept it.

I just can't believe you're complaining about this! Seriously

[3 car blue]

With regard to Kingo's comments I accept the term "merchantable quality" may be redundant now but I did make reference to "fit for purpose" as well.

I agree there has to be a line in the sand somewhere with these issues but three months after expiry of the warranty on a vehicle which purportedly did not turn a wheel for one third of that period does not cut it with me no matter how small the faulty component may be. Had the car done 50,000 - 60,000 miles then it is a different story.

Accepted that Toyota made a "goodwill" gesture but if the gentlemen was able and willing to prove his medical condition then I believe a little more flexibility in situations such as these would do any manufacturer much more good than harm with regard to customer relations and business reputation. As it is Toyota clearly now have a very "anti" customer - and all for sake of 138 quid.

[kevin65]

I think Toyota are being reasonable by offering a contribution towards the repair. The car is out of warranty, so they are under no obligation to make any contribution towards the cost.

[Jan van de Wouw]

It's been said before: leaving a car stationary over prolongued periods

of time can actually be worse than driving it 3000mi a day for a year...

That's why manufactors state a mileage AND a time period.

[Unklian]

It's been said before: leaving a car stationary over prolongued periods

of time can actually be worse than driving it 3000mi a day for a year...

That's why manufactors state a mileage AND a time period.

3000mi a day for a year???

24 hours per day @ 125mph.

Just exactly HOW is your Aygo modified ?

Only joking.

Ian.

[Raistlin]

It has a Flux Capacitor

[Essex Toura]

It has a Flux Capacitor

i fell off my chair when i saw this, the aygo really has some delorian parts hidden away, with the flux capicator, so it can travel in time, so back to the future

[Jan van de Wouw]

3000mi a day for a year???

What difference a zero makes :D And I didn't notice, since 3000km a day IS feasible: I'm not used to miles...

At top speed (157kmh) you'd only have to drive it for 19+ hours a day :D But my point stays the same!

i fell off my chair when i saw this, the aygo really has some delorian parts hidden

away, with the flux capicator, so it can travel in time, so back to the future

I actually DO have parts for a FluxCapacitor in a drawer, I just never got around to building it and installing into my

DeLorean. Got so tired of people asking where it was that I wanted to just open up the door and show it to them :D

[zakelwe]

Personally given the Aygo seems to be made completely out of parts costing less than £1.99 I think they should charge the cost of the part, ie £1.99. Same with the £1.99 brake discs and £1.99 clutches that seem to need replacing before 20 000 miles too. Maybe that would force them to spend a bit more on them. I am now driving a Yaris and it is a lot better made. As we my old one before it.

I loved my Aygo (RIP) but you have to say it is not up to normal Toyota standards apart from the engine. Which is not even from Toyota ;)

Andy

[Essex Toura]

Engine is from Toyota subsidiary company dihatsu