mmarshall

Well, they're good salespeople if they can truthfully compare their vehicles to other manufacturers and give you legitimate reasons why you should consider (or actually buy) their products. The main problem is (as some other posters here have indicated), is that, too often, what they say about their own vehicles (and those of other manufacturers) is carefully-rehersed B.S........some dealerships even hold special training-classes for that. Occasionally, though, it is the truth....I have met a few honest salespeople, and, fortunately, the tendency now seems to be towards more honesty rather than less. Too many of the old snake-oil salespeople, though, are still around.

Fizzboy7

Good point. I like to call that technique, "half truths." They cherry pick certain points that are true, but they leave out the other half of the story that can easily make their cars look bad. To the uneducated buyer, this is where it's unfair. Pays to do your research.

lexusls430

Ive been in both and let me tell you for some reason the corolla was a lot quieter with a lot less road noise.

mmarshall

The Corolla and Hyundai Elantra are arguably the top two compact sedans when it comes to noise-control and refinement.

spwolf

indeed... i used to sell cars and i never ever would talk bad about other brands - it makes customers distrustful first of all. And I had other customers coming in with pissed off stories of other dealers telling them Toyota's quality last for 3 years only (like Warranty).

Of course, TUV 11-13 year olds info shows all Toyota cars in the top 10 :-).


And yes, even in Europe, it was VW dealer telling them that crap!

spwolf

yes... beauty is definetly not skin deep when it comes to cars :-)

dunnojack

maybe the corolla's thin skin serves a purpose. less weight?

if you were to bash the front fender, both cars would dent.
so what practical difference does it make?

but really though, a carmaker has to decide what to skimp on, and apparently, fender sheet metal is not that important. It's the car frame that is important.

rdgdawg

When I went to the garage this morning, the electrical system was fried, all 4 tires were flat and 2 wheels had come off, airbags had deployed, engine was seized and the paint fell off......... omen????

mmarshall

I know it's hard to pick numbers out of a hat, but, in general, from what I've seen, the average Honda or Toyota product lasts 200,000 miles (sometimes more) with good maintenance and driving habits, before it gets to be considered unusable. Even some cars formerly considered unreliable can go 125-150K nowadays.

I've seen used 4Runners, for example, on sale at Toyota dealerships with 175K miles on them...too old, of course, to be a CPO, but with a dealer used-car lmited warrranty. That tells you something.

-J-P-L-

I think those mileage figures are more in line with owners that don't drive much highway.

My 2007 has 105,000 miles on it and doesn't look or feel any different than the day it was brand new. Nothing but oil changes thus far (and tires).

I pretty good percentage of the population commonly drives 25,000 miles a year, which f course is a lot of highway. These cars will do 200-300K without a problem. A Toyota will do over 400,000 miles.

mmarshall

What sometimes happens with Toyotas and Hondas is that the frame/underpinnings get corroded after 200-300K, while the drivetrains are still good (or at least driveable). Then, you have a good engine/transmission left on a car that may (?) be potentially unsafe to try and brake or steer with.

LexFather

Can someone tell me which one is the Corolla and which one is the Jetta?

Akachan LS

I've never heard of an issue like that on any Toyotas or Hondas. That must be an issue in the northern climates where salt is used on the roads in the winter. Here in the Southeast, the frames will last.

mmarshall

The one in the shop with the fried electronics is probably the Jetta.

mmarshall

It's not as common now as it once was, but still is not gone. You're correct that it is more of a Northern/Northeastern issue than in the South, but still can be a problem in the South near beaches and areas of salt-water, where the salt-spray attacks exposed underbody metal.

It was a BIG problem back in the 1980s with Toyota trucks, but that's because the separate beds were welded-on, after shipment from Japan, at the Toyota West-Coast supply-yards, using crappy welds that rusted out from the inside. Toyota got that bed-rust problem licked in the 90s.