The best Toyota
I have ever had
This is the
tale of a Toyota Highlander with lots of miles on the odometer.
The owner
had the vehicle at the local Toyota dealer and didn’t like the recommendation they
had made. They looked for great reviews on Google and Yelp and found us. So
they decided to call and get a second opinion.
They
referred to the Highlander as the best car they ever had. And why so you would
ask?
“In all
these years, we’ve never spent a dime on the vehicle, It has been just great!”
I cringe
every time I hear that, and the reasons are simple. They’ve driven lots of
miles and all they do is change the oil. But what about the transmission fluid,
what about the power steering fluid, the coolant antifreeze, the brake fluid,
what about cleaning the fuel injection system for better performance. Yeh! What
about it?
All those
fluids along with the fuel injection system need to be serviced as well for
the car to maintain a great level of performance. After so many miles, what about suspension
control arms, struts, shocks, outer tie rod ends, sway bar bushings and links, What
about engine mounts, belts, water pump, power steering pump, and cooling system
as well as heater hoses.
All these items
have a finite life and typically will start to fail soon after 7 years or 80,000
miles.
By the time
they brought the Toyota to us for inspection, the list of items needed was long
and expensive. I should point out the Highlander also needed tires and brakes
all around.
After a long
conversation, they optioned to let the car go and trade it for a new vehicle.
Mind you, had
they asked me for an opinion whether to fix it or buy new, I would have said to
keep what you’ve got (if it is paid for) and fix it. It’s a lot less costly to
fix your car than it is to replace it with a new one.
Don’t believe
me? Follow this link from edmunds.com
where you can find out the true cost to own a car, new or used. And here is the link https://www.edmunds.com/tco.html
