Eye-Opener

When I was 15, I got my first car. It was a 1987 Toyota Corolla. I bought it from the preacher at my church. It had no air conditioning, was a stick-shift and would start to shake if it was pushed past about 65 mph.

I loved that car. And so my love for all things Toyota was born.

That car was more reliable than I ever expected. When I sold it after 4 years, it had over 198,000 miles on it. That was 4 years ago and the same person who bought it from me is still driving it today. Definitely dependable.

My next car was a 1994 Celica. It was also very reliable. I traded it in last summer for a 2008 Matrix. I am head over heels in love with my new car, but I still kind of miss the old ones too. I've always driven a Toyota and the brand has never let me down. That is, until recently.

I was a little shocked when the first recalls were announced for Toyota models. Toyota has always been synonymous with quality. I was relieved that my car wasn't on the list and I didn't think about it again. After all, we're all entitled to a few mistakes and, as compared to the failures of other car companies, this didn't seem so bad.

Then there was another recall...and another. Then came more news of lawsuits followed by a statement that Toyota was halting production and sales on several models (here's a link to Toyota's website with info on the cars that have been recalled). This makes me wonder just how many more problems will surface before it's over (one of many apologies we've been hearing lately). My car still remains off of the recall list so far, but I know that could change. It certainly wouldn't surprise me at this point.

So you probably aren't sure yet of what I'm trying to persuade you to believe with this story. I'll explain a little better.

I've never been the type of person who cares about name brands or puts much value on a name. I buy very few items that are name brand and those items are the ones that have proven in the past to be worth the extra cost. The Toyota name is one of the few that I have always put a lot of trust. Toyota has built a reputation for quality, long-lasting, well-made cars. I've never had a reason not to believe in that reputation.

When my husband and I decided that it was time for me to get a new car, my only absolute must was that it be a Toyota. I narrowed it down to a couple of different models and we researched them, finally settling on the Matrix. The Matrix is almost identical in styling to the Pontiac Vibe, which is generally a little cheaper. A friend of mine tried to persuade me to go for the Vibe instead of the Toyota.

My husband I talked it over and agreed to pay more for the Toyota because of the reputation of the company. We knew we'd get more out of it as a trade-in later on and we believed it would be a higher quality car. Eight months later, I have not had a single problem, but I'm not as confident as I used to be in the emblem on the hood of my car. I'm also worried about the car losing value at the rate Toyota is messing up these days.

My point is this: Don't buy solely base don a brand name. It may very well end up costing you more money for lower quality in the end (here's an article from Consumer Reports about the advantages of buying store brands over brand names). While my car has performed well so far, I'm not so confident that it won't end up being a lot more expensive than we bargained for in the end.