So, now we know. Toyota's have a problem, and that problem could cause someone to die, kill someone else, or hurt themselves or others. That's pretty bad. What we also know is that you can't give a Toyota away right now (except to a Toyota dealer, and then all you get is another Toyota, which you also can't give away) and consumers who haven't (and may never) suffer a problem have suffered an economic injury, namely, diminution in value of their car because of the stigma that's been created.
What we can't do, however, is make things worse. Reports out of California about the "run away Prius" last week left us shaking our heads, wondering what would happen next. And then we find out that the "run away" may be another "balloon boy" hoax (and I emphasize may). While we can't place alot of confidence in anything that either Toyota or NHTSA has to say (given the great job that they have done taking care of these issues), given the public spotlight now on them both, you gotta think that their tests on the alleged "run away" Prius are fairly accurate on what the tests "objectively" showed, namely, that the brakes on the car didn't look like someone "stood" on them driving over 90 mph on a major highway.
The point is, let's not make things worse. If you have a Toyota, and it's suffers a problem, take it to the dealer, or, if it's out of warranty, to a reputable mechanic that has/does work on Toyotas. If you've already done that, and you still have a problem, do it again. Believe me, there's enough litigation going on right now against Toyota to cover any claim that you might have associated with this, and what you need to do is protect yourself.
For those of you that have a Toyota, and you haven't suffered a problem, just hold on. There's alot of things going on out there right now that would appear to insure that either the value to your car is restored or that you will be compensated, in some way, if it's not. In the meantime, don't tell someone there's a ghost in your closet if there's not. It will only insure that the credible claims get lost with the ghost.
0 comments:
Post a Comment