Toyota Won't Stop!

[shatto]

Toyota Hilux (1968-1972)

[VetteOwner]

lol this a pun? toyotas literally wont stop...they also dont stop rusting haha.(trucks anyways)

i must say it does look pretty decent shape, every now and then i see one thats like woa wtf haha

[GasSavers_JoeBob]

I used to carpool with a guy who had one of those...back when they were pretty new...

[Wyldesoul]

Bah. All pickups with any decent manufacturing quality can last forever.

Heck, I'm in the rust belt, and I see 70's and earlier pickups on the road every day, and obviously in unrestored condition, too. And not just show trucks. A local nursury has used the same 1968 Ford F250 as their work truck since the owner bought it used in 1975.

Also, one of the guys down the street has an early 60's Chevy pickup that he daily drives, and it's unrestored. And my brother in law has a 74 Dodge that is HIS daily driver. Well over 200k on it, as well.

My point is, it's not Toyota magic that does it, but pickup truck ruggedness.

[VetteOwner]

Originally Posted by Biffmeistro

Bah. All pickups with any decent manufacturing quality can last forever.

Heck, I'm in the rust belt, and I see 70's and earlier pickups on the road every day, and obviously in unrestored condition, too. And not just show trucks. A local nursury has used the same 1968 Ford F250 as their work truck since the owner bought it used in 1975.

Also, one of the guys down the street has an early 60's Chevy pickup that he daily drives, and it's unrestored. And my brother in law has a 74 Dodge that is HIS daily driver. Well over 200k on it, as well.

My point is, it's not Toyota magic that does it, but pickup truck ruggedness.

lol how many toyotas of that age exist? actually hell how many from the early 90's do you see? or nissan/datsun for that matter? i htink ive seen more volkswagon rabbit trucks runnin around than all 3 of those put together lol

lol last recall for Toyota trucks i saw was for i think 98-02 tacoma cuz the frames were rusting in half and dangerous to be on the road....

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by Biffmeistro

Bah. All pickups with any decent manufacturing quality can last forever.
{...}
My point is, it's not Toyota magic that does it, but pickup truck ruggedness.

I agree with your general point, that the Toyota name isn't magic, but I'm not sure I see that pickup truck ruggedness is why they last. I think the reason they last is that people are willing to fix them.

See, end of life for a vehicle can be for a few reasons...here's the major ones I can think of:
- Unibody with major structural rot.
- Perceived value or market value is less than the cost of the repair.
- Cost to repair is truly excessive.
- Value as parts is higher than value if repaired (so it becomes a parts car).
- Owner is too tired of the vehicle to bother.

Keep in mind that few people ever have end-of-life vehicles. Most people sell their vehicle to another driver, not a junkyard or scrapyard.

Now, here's the big secret about why some people see far more ancient Hondas and Toyotas with lots of miles on them (besides Honda/Toyota colored glasses): Higher market value of the car makes it worth fixing when another car would not be worth fixing. Where does that higher market value come from? The perceived longevity.

It's a feedback loop. Perception of longevity is bolstered by market value, and market value is bolstered by perception of longevity.

Additionally, Toyota buyers are buying for reliability and are more likely to be responsible with maintenance. Buyers of other brands are less likely because their priorities are more often elsewhere. As far as that issue is concerned, an old used Toyota may indeed be more reliable, but that has nothing to do with how the vehicle is built. Again it's a feedback loop: perceived longevity vs. maintenance.

People plan to invest in a Toyota or they plan to buy a "throwaway" car by other manufacturers.

And, one more: If you've done all the maintenance all the time, you're more likely to pay for a major repair. If you've ignored all the maintenance and theres a million things wrong when something major breaks, you're more likely to be too tired of the vehicle to bother.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by VetteOwner

lol last recall for Toyota trucks i saw was for i think 98-02 tacoma cuz the frames were rusting in half and dangerous to be on the road....

How about this: Mismanufactured ball joints were allowing front wheels to break off of the vehicle at speed, randomly. Happened to my dad's 2002 Tundra. Luckily he was at a low enough speed that it didn't cause a major crash, he was able to skid it to a stop. Luckily the recall was out on it and Toyota covered collateral damage to the truck.

So, you'd think, by the time they finally put out the recall (having previously denied that there was problem) they'd have changed their manufacturing so that the ball joints are made right...wouldn't you? No...vehicles manufactured after that ended up in at least one more recall for the same thing.

Recall campaign numbers 05V225000 and 07V013000 from May 2005 and January 2007 are two examples I found of the ball joint recalls; I'm not sure if there are or are not more.

Toyota is not evil, nor are they making terrible vehicles. They just aren't some pie-in-the-sky company that makes magic vehicles that last forever. In the last decade or so they've let their volume take precedence over ensuring their quality and it's beginning to show.

The reality is that it's possible that they had an advantage at one time when other manufacturers were slacking off, but by the 1990s they all woke up and caught up.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by theholycow

See, end of life for a vehicle can be for a few reasons...here's the major ones I can think of:

- Perceived value or market value is less than the cost of the repair.

A coworker of mine in the early 90's had a mid 70's Accord that he had paid $100 for. He junked it because the starter went out, and a starter was going to cost him $300. He didn't want to pay 3x what he paid for the car to fix it. I told him to buy American next time. I had just replaced the starter in my Buick for under $50, and it came with a lifetime warranty.

[spotaneagle]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

A coworker of mine in the early 90's had a mid 70's Accord that he had paid $100 for. He junked it because the starter went out, and a starter was going to cost him $300. He didn't want to pay 3x what he paid for the car to fix it. I told him to buy American next time. I had just replaced the starter in my Buick for under $50, and it came with a lifetime warranty.

THE JAPANESE MONEY VACCUUM

[Jay2TheRescue]

No, American parts were cheap & plentiful. A starter that fits a 1981 Buick will also fit many Buick, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac models (and maybe a Cadillac or two) from about the mid 60's through the late 80's. A starter for a 76 Accord or Civic probably only fits Honda models of the 60's & 70's. You tell me which one is going to be easier to find. People selling obscure parts know it, and charge more for them. Simple Economics 201 stuff here. Supply & demand.