Toyota poll?

[Vibe_dude]

Was just wondering what everyone thought of their vibe/toyota product..since i bought this car beacuse of all the stuff i can do in/with it it was a great buy for me...all the good features about this car are all GM designed stuff...the seats the dash the whole interior is all thought out by GM.....toyota just used there platform to build it....and for me this car would not be reason enough to leave GM to switch to toyota....it really has not been any "better" of a car then any GM i have owned before.considering Consumer Reports just loves their toyotas..as we all know.so in saying was just wondering what everyone else thought.

[damronjr]

I said it was only ok b/c of all the problems I have had getting it serviced due to the fact that I bought it at a GM dealership. Had I gotten the Matrix through Toyota I would more than likely be perfectly happy with it. I like Toyotas and would definitely consider another.

[the1stacekiller]

My next car is going to be a Toyota Matrix / Pontiac Vibe.. love the Vibe!!

[gregoire]

I bought 2 Vibes BECAUSE they are toyotas. before the Vibes, I've had 5 toyotashad 1 ford - JUNKhad 1 plymouth - JUNKhad 1 chevy - JUNKhad 5 toyotas - will definitely have more!

[scherry2]

buy american/canadian union built.

[Mase]

I always thought it was the other way around...Toyota designed and rebadged to GM. The Toyota Altis and Toyota Voltz overseas share the same design.Quote, originally posted by Vibe_dude »...all the good features about this car are all GM designed stuff...the seats the dash the whole interior is all thought out by GM.....toyota just used there platform to build it....

[Mavrik]

I need a "Love the Vibe but will likely buy non GM/Toyota next" option to vote for.

[ColonelPanic]

So many good options, which one should I pick? I have to say, I won't be considering any more Toyotas in the future. Toyota certainly hasn't done anything to prove to me that their products are truly worth the inflated price of admission that they demand... I have a car that stickered for $19,300 that is underpowered and underequipped in not only convenience but safety features considering what other cars I could have bought at that price point. I thought it may be worth it due to the "Toyota" factor initially, perhaps that meant I was paying that premimum price for a premimum quality car... Man was I wrong... I find the build quality quite questionable, materials aren't so good, paint is horrible... Plus this thing has even worse reliability than anything else I have ever owned. Having to replace a $4,000+ transmission at a young 63,000 miles is FAR from the "weld the hood shut and it will run forever" Toyotaness that all the Toyota fans are always running aroud bragging about. This thing is junk, pure and simple and it has Toyota's name all over it! I don't get the whole Toyota thing, maybe that's just me. I love what this car has done for me personally, but for the car itself, *barf!*

[O_Positive]

I added the "Own Vibe, own Toyota" vote category. My wife owns a RAV4, and in the past owned an 85 Tercel. I have driven a lot of miles in the "full" Toyotas and they are dependable, quality vehicles. Unlike the Honda and Nissan I have owned, neither of the Toyotas ever stranded me anywhere with routine maintenance. Come to think of it, my wife owned a Honda after the Tercel, and that stranded her once, too.With all due respect, one person's bad experience with a Vibe does not destroy the perceived integrity of a company for me. If the Vibe self-destructs some day, maybe my tune will change; but right now it reminds me of that '85 Tercel hatchback--dependable, versatile, priced right, and convenient. I would not expect anyone to take my Nissan/Honda experience as a wide sample either; my parents are Honda converts through-and-through, but I can remember that '89 Accord stranding my mother a few times, too.I've worked in customer service for over 15 years, and I find that a lot of customers with knee-jerk problems didn't do any research on the product they bought, and didn't put a lot of thought into the purchase. They then blame the manufacturer/dealer/seller for their own lack of foresight. I bought the Vibe after a ton of research and consideration of what I really needed out of a car, and while it may be a quirky little thing, it combines features and advantages as a package that surpass any other car I have owned.Then there are (statistically proven) 2% of customers who are never satisfied with anything you do, ever, no matter what you do, from start to finish. So, 2% of Toyota/GM/whoever owners will NEVER be happy with their car, even if it has no design/operating flaws whatsoever. I feel sorry for those people, because they are never happy with anything. And if they were happy, they'd be dissatisfied with themselves for being happy, and ask for God or the manager to take care of this insult....

[ColonelPanic]

Yep, as always and once again, I am feeling like the bad guy because I have had a horrible experience with Toyota's engineering and I try to say something about it... I'm such a troublemaker because I can't come here or anywhere else for that matter singing the praises of the Vibe's awesome rock-solid Toyota durability and reliability. It's all my fault that I've had in excess of $7,000 in new parts alone installed on this car and it still isn't right despite the fact that I've tried my best to keep the car maintained.... Once again, I guess I have to say I'm sorry for knocking Toyota... *sobbing*I understand that my experiences will not change anybody else's outlook on the manufacturer, nor do I expect them to, and I could really care less even if they did! You're making the payments, not me.. But this car has changed my outlook on Toyota - that was the only point I was trying to make. In the future, you'll be buying your Toyotas - and I'll be avoiding them like the plague. I'll stick with the underdog and save some cash - and god forbid if I end up having problems, well - I have a less expensive lemon than what Toyota would have been able to give me.

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »I need a "Love the Vibe but will likely buy non GM/Toyota next" option to vote for.there is an 'add a new choice" option, if you don't see an option you like, add a new one....CP, you've had uncharacteristic bad luck with the car, and you started out being so excited about it, but all the problems have beaten that out of you. I wish you could have a good one. you need to drive Major Panic's Vibe some. (or is it general panic or private panic )

[kostby]

Colonel:Yada yada yada... and you're next car will be SO-NOT-A-Vibe!

[ColonelPanic]

lol! I'm sure people are wondering why the hell I'm wanting to move from a "Toyota" to a Hyundai and call that an "upgrade"... And even looking forward to it... I can hear everybody making fun of me about right now... I don't care though... But like what was mentioned above about the research, I didn't do much on the Vibe but I have on the Vibe's replacement and it looks very promising.

[mcgusto82]

i already know what i want for my next car. the next gen 300 chassis or the next grand prix. hopefully it'll be rwd.

[kep427]

I've owned three Toyota's (my wife still drives a 4runner) before picking up this Vibe. My wife's prior RAV4 was garbage but my '90 truck and the 4Runner were/is pretty darn good). Overall, they have been much much better than all the many POC American cars I owned previously.Re the Vibe. I had a few problems early on that were fixed pretty quickly. My paint doesn't have the problems many here are complaining about which I find odd. Sure this car has some cheapness, but it is not a $30K-$40K Lexus. It's a $15K-$20K good looking and fun to drive economy car.

[mcgusto82]

you know, my paint is also awesome. i have 3 chips which came from the 500 mile trip from VA to NY i've made so much. they are also small chips. paint still looks new.

[MetalBulldog]

I have owned a lot of Chevrolets, some good, some bad but I have gone back to them when my wife and I bought an 02' Venture. The price was right and the miles were low. A year later and just small stuff has failed like a wiper motor, due mostly to GM's crappy design of those stupid wipers moving away from each other. Before my 04' Vibe was a 96' Pathfinder which we put 140,000 mi on with no trouble what so ever. I love my Vibe for the simple fact that it is both US and Foreign. The price again was right and the reliability is great, plus it's fun to drive. It really sucks for people who have bad experiences with certain cars that turns them away from a brand. I look at it this way..."you got a bad one"!

[ragingfish]

I have never bought anything other then Pontiac. I'll consider Saturn with their new image coming...That being said, I loved the Vibe, but was VERY disappointed in the "Toyota Quality" built into it. So I'll continue to buy Pontiac or GM...but no Toyota joint-venture products.

[ColonelPanic]

Oh, just have a look around problems and warranty issues, I'm sure you'll come up with something.

[Vibe_dude]

i would bet that there are alot of guys here that are not happy with the "Toyota Quality" that they thought they were gettin.....and that we have been told and told and told about....I for one have yet to see it in the car itself.......as far as the motor and tranny......so far so good.......i have 97000 kms on her and i must say other than the lifters and valves makin alot o noise.........they have worked great,but the rest of the car has the same probs that any or all other GM or non Gm cars have......squeaks rattles thumps..groans moans...fit alinment on doors and soft glass.....bad tire wear....for some ppl paint.i could go on but ppl at toyota probley have me in there crosshairs as i type.lol.........once again my 2 cents........take it or leave it.....or better yet tell me your 2 cents about my 2 cents.lol

[ColonelPanic]

I was talking about his. He had a few rather costly malfunctions there toward the end.

[ColonelPanic]

This, for starters...http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=18787

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 »I just read it.... It shoulds like some of the problems were derived from him and it could of lead to the exhaust manifold. As for the wheels and tires, he went through like 2-3 sets if I remember right. There were other issues but I can't recall what else was going on... All in all though, he wasn't impressed...

[ColonelPanic]

Yes indeed! They can be good cars when you get the right one. I like Kari's car, I guess that's good enough. lol!

[NSimkins]

Phew... anyway, I figured I would join in here, and as it seems, to counter the general bashing. I chose "its ok i would test drive a toyota if lookin for a new car." - I haven't had one "problem" so to speak to mention yet with my Vibe (as is the case with most people here) and I'm up near 56k. For my next vehicle, I would definitely consider another US-built vehicle if the opportunity arises as well as Toyota's offerings whatever that may be. My experience with the Vibe (and this site) hasn't changed my outlook negatively toward Toyota.Compared with other vehicles I've owned/experienced before my Vibe of the similar price range, each vehicle had it's pros/cons where it excelled over the other. It doesn't mean that everyone has to believe the 'hype' that Toyota is all this and all that - every manufacturer has issues with it's vehicles.Anyway, that's my general opinion. I'm sure this debate can (and probably will) go on and on and on...

[jasonvibe]

As far as the lifters. It is time to get them checked an adjusted. JUST go to a good Toyota dealer. Pontiac does not know what a solid lifter is. I have the write up on how to do it. I am not afraid of doing it myself. I just rent a car for a few days while doing the job.

[Vibe_dude]

Quote, originally posted by jasonvibe »As far as the lifters. It is time to get them checked an adjusted. JUST go to a good Toyota dealer. Pontiac does not know what a solid lifter is. I have the write up on how to do it. I am not afraid of doing it myself. I just rent a car for a few days while doing the job.Ya i understand that most imorts like toyota and honda have to have regular maintance on the engines..ie drive belts.lifters and such.....that is y i always loved Gm engines.......u never had to tear apart a engine unless u blew it up.......there was never any maintance on a 350......over enen my old 2.4 i had in my 99 z24.....all u had to was keep good fresh oil and filters on her....this is not F1 where u rebuild ur engine every 60,000 miles or so....just really sucks that they make u tear apart ur motor to keep it going......and once it is tore apart they are never the same after.

[jasonvibe]

I have said this before. These are overgrown motorcycle engines. Although not by much. It is routine maint. to pull the cams to adjust clearances on 'cycles. But ... "never the same after"?...Only if the mechanic is a jerk. That's why I am my own mechanic. No, I can't do everything. But I do what I can.Which most of the time is better than most "ASE's" can on a DOHC engine. Been working on DOHC's since '84. I just keep saying to myself..."been there, done that before". Mr. Panic, have you had the valve clearances done yet???

[george]

lets get back to Vibe Dudes original explination! witch is Wrong sorry dude!!! but GM did not design anything in this interior just the body! lets make that clear and as for Gm's I am a Die hard GM man even named my kids after GM cars but for reliablty and enginering toyota all the way.. as hard as that is to say, its true Gm has made nothing but poorly designed vehicles the last 5-10 years short of a couple really cool examples Vibe for one great package does everything well for me i work out of the back of mine everyday have 80,000 miles on my GT and love every minute of it! would I bye another if something happened to this one i'd like to say yes but would really love a little more room for kids aswell , we just bought a new Mazada 5, awesoem car seats 6 4-wheel disc's independent suspension pretty well loaded for $19,000 auto stick tranny great car might just consider another one to match this one but would i miss my vibe hell yeah turns heads everywhere it goes and hauls (removed) with mods done to it, so with all that said I'm keeping my quick little work car and driving the wheels off it after all it is a toyota !! lol

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by jasonvibe »Mr. Panic, have you had the valve clearances done yet??? Sure thing man, I'll get right on that, you got $399.95 I can borrow? I just now got around to finding a Toyota dealer with their head on straight that will actually fricken admit that this procedure may need to be done on these engines but yow!

[Vibe_dude]

Quote, originally posted by george »lets get back to Vibe Dudes original explination! witch is Wrong sorry dude!!! but GM did not design anything in this interior just the body! lets make that clear and as for Gm's I am a Die hard GM man even named my kids after GM cars but for reliablty and enginering toyota all the way.. as hard as that is to say, its true Gm has made nothing but poorly designed vehicles the last 5-10 years short of a couple really cool examples Vibe for one great package does everything well for me i work out of the back of mine everyday have 80,000 miles on my GT and love every minute of it! would I bye another if something happened to this one i'd like to say yes but would really love a little more room for kids aswell , we just bought a new Mazada 5, awesoem car seats 6 4-wheel disc's independent suspension pretty well loaded for $19,000 auto stick tranny great car might just consider another one to match this one but would i miss my vibe hell yeah turns heads everywhere it goes and hauls (removed) with mods done to it, so with all that said I'm keeping my quick little work car and driving the wheels off it after all it is a toyota !! lolok if u have done ur research(which i have) on this car before i bought it....Gm did design the interior......and the external body design on the vibe only.......they came up with the look of the body panles to match the Ponty look.just do a real seach at all the car vibe sites and read for urself.....i would post links but it was 1 1/2 years ago that i did my search.

[Kari]

Also, it's clear that the Vibe's interior is closely related to the interiors featured in the G6 and the HHR, which supports the notion that GM designed the interior, regardless of whether or not things like the window switches are Toyota parts.

[Merzbow]

This is my first car so I can't really say anything. BUT I will say this My Grandpa has worked for Ford so my moms side mostly owns Ford and dad's side mostly owns GM. Grandpas still got a '91 Taurus in mint condition (bought brand new in '91). The only cars that have had any sort of problems in the family was my dad's Dodge Van and step mom's Wrangler. So personally I don't think ANY manufacturers specifically are crappy quality. It all depends on how you drive, how well you take care of the car, and how much luck you have in that no freak malfunctions happen that are uncommon among any cars. As long as you take care of the car, a car should be able to live longer than you!I certainly do love this Vibe though and so far nothing that wasn't my fault has gone wrong except for the paint issues.

[03VibeGT6Spd]

I have owned many GM's a few Fords, a Jaugar And a Mazda (both were Pre-Ford). And Now this Vibe.I Loved and Miss just adding gas and doing oil changes that Gm offers in there real cars and trucks.Why Should we have to spend outrageous amounts of money to fix are newer cars.I know toyota doesnt stand up to Gm standards in anyway shape or form.But I thought I was buying a Yamaha Engine when I bought my car. what a big mistake that was.I won't make that mistake again.If you havent driven a real Gm car maybe you should. Then you can forget about all the money you have to spend on under engineered cars, that require many service trips and down time. Common sence sevice needed every 15-20k miles or every 100k miles. Do the math.

[gregoire]

Quote, originally posted by 03VibeGT6Spd » Do the math.Here's some math...My only Ford = 90K Miles, sold to junkyardMy only Dodge = 130K miles, but required 3 engines to get there, sold to junkyardMy only Chevy = 68K Miles, head blew out, never made it to 100k service! traded for Vibe #1My last Toyota = 190K miles, still ran great, traded in for Vibe #2I'll stick with Toyota (and Vibes), thanks!