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Comments
I understand about switching to a 4-door. I'm single, and I hardly ever have more than 1 passenger, so having a 4-door isn't a huge thing for me. Room is more important to me than having an extra set of doors.
I'm in Ottawa, and we just got our first snow of the season yesterday, yet it's supposed to melt away tomorrow.
Go here to take a look:
http://users.ev1.net/~gunpilot/misc/bigboost.jpg
Before my seat would rock upon acceleration or deceleration or going up hills.
If you are still under warranty, get it fixed!
For a significant less amount of money, considering handling, performance, build quality and comfort, this 10 year old Mercedes is still better than that 99 Solara, it's even quiter than Solara, and it offers much more convinient features as well.
Though reliability may not be as good as Toyota, this is not a big problem since I am a DIY, I don't expect too much from a ten year old car on that. 400E is such a joy to drive, fast like jet plane, curves like it is on rail, stable like a rock even at speed above 180 km/hr, I dare not even try that in a Solara and afraid it gonna fly at any speed above 140 km/hr.
Again I don't mean to offend Solara owners(some Solara owners seem very sensitive to negative comments), Solara is a reliable daily commuter just like Camry, to someone it even looks "sexy". But for those who requires much more from a car, it then becomes a very boring car. Solara was the only Japanese cars that I have owned, and probably was the last, because they all drives the same anyway.
Most cars these days are boring unless you're loaded and can afford some exotic foreign job. I'd rather have boring and reliable anyday as opposed to great looking, but always in the shop especially if you're NOT a DIY!
Compared to some other cars on the road, I think the Solara is very nice looking. Evidently it didn't suit you. Hope you have good luck with the 10 year old. It's probably good that you're a DIY.
fastdriver
I think the Solara is one of the best looking cars that are currently built. Mercedes is a nice car, but it's just not my type.
Solara is reliable and it does look cool to someone, wife is one of them, but even she hates its awful handling. I once raced with my colleagues in a large empty parking lot, I got beaten by their stock BMW325 and a font wheel drive SABB 9-3, My solara drove like peanut butter, it couldn't even stay on the track.
I actually wasn't looking for a superb road racer. I just want a comfortable car that can soak up the bumps with a sporty and even a bit elegant look. The Solara meets all these requirements.
Where did you buy your Solara? I bought it at Bel-Air. They really treated me well.
LOL.... It took me a few minutes to figure it out too. DIY= Do It Yourself!!!
fastdriver
I bought the car in Toronto then moved to Ottawa, Toyota dealer(Tony Graham)wanted to give me 20K for my Solara, hehe, 20K, you probably don't want to hear that.
See you on the road.
Thanks.
Jia: 20K for your Solara isn't bad, but you were right when thinking you could get more by selling it privately. Tony Graham was probably asking you 20K so that they could sell it for 22K or similar for profit. It's a 1999 right? How many kms. do (or did) you have? Tony Graham is a nice dealership, but it's way in the west end, and I hardly ever go there. That's one of the reasons why I dealt with Bel-Air.
fastdriver
fastdriver
I busted my right turn signal recently and I'm trying to find a replacement. I want to buy one for cheap and install it myself. Can one of you point me in the right direction?
Thanks.
99SE
In general, when I answer a survey, the top score is used only when the service or product is/was way better than I had any right to expect. Usually, the service provider doesn't have the opportunity to demonstrate this level of service (e.g. going in and getting an oil change where the process occurs exactly as I expected will generally get 4 out of 5).
We got questions from the dealership where we bought my wife's Caravan. We were happy with the competent service, had no specific complaints and filled out the survey as I described above. I did notice that the dealership had a sample completed survey with perfect scores (which always pisses me off).
Someone needs to tell the people who grade the surveys and reward the dealerships and their staff that they are using a ridiculous algorithm for grading.
When the dealerships feel compelled to tell you how to complete the survey because they have so much riding on it, or when they treat you like [non-permissible content removed] for filling it out wrong, the survey is being administered incorrectly.
In other regions, only "completely satisfied" scores are looked at. Anything less than that is considered failure. They have a lower threshold (I think about 85%) of what they are expected to maintain. I know the Southeast Region uses this but I don't know about other areas.
The surveys are VERY important to your salesman. There are all kinds of awards, bonuses and trips that are tied to his CSI score. For a good salesman (over 175 cars a year), this can mean a difference of over $10,000 a year on average. There is extreme pressure to keep the scores high.
It isn't fair. Your survey should be accurate, but the salesman has reason to ask you to have compassion for him. If you want to help him out, give him the scores he needs. If you were less than completely satisfied, there is a method to bring it to the dealer's attention without hurting him on the survey. Call 800-GO-TOYOTA and express your concerns after you get the CSI call.
Of course, if the purpose of the survey is to allow Toyota's national advertising to boast high customer satisfaction numbers, then the current system is probably appropriate.
This is not the first nor do I suspect it's the last survey that is used inappropriately. I'm familiar with internal employee satisfaction surveys at some US companies whose results are similarly important. And the result is the same: management puts a lot of pressure on the staff to answer the survey "correctly."
Thanks!
LOL... As I was reading stevenhb's comments about those infamous surveys, I thought of you immediately and was wondering if you were still around. As I got to the end of his message, my question was answered.
I know this came up a long time ago. I understand everything you said at the time about these surveys, when I expressed my opinion. You have to understand, that my point of view was coming from dealing with Chrysler's "award-winning 5 STAR" dealers- three of them! Two of them weren't even worth -5 STARS! AWFUL! I filled out the surveys for exactly the way I was treated and dealt with. It's obvious that their lack of following the "5-STAR" guidelines and my not so glowing comments, did NOT affect them at all. They still tout those 5 stars in their ads. I'm SURE I wasn't their ONLY dissatisfied customer. I understand that there are a lot of nuts out there who expect Rolls Royce perfection on a Corolla like car, but I'm not one of those people!
Speaking of Corollas- I also have a 1994 Corolla, 38,000 miles with the small engine. ONLY thing ever done to that car since 94, except regular oil changes/radiator flushing/transmission fluid/filter, was last year- a new battery and 4 new tires and 2 MINOR recall notices! That's it. Everything else is original equipment. Plus, it sits outside 24/7 because the Acura CL-S has to go in the garage at night! ;-)) This car certainly has Rolls Royce reliability!
I probably should replace the spark plugs and wires. ;-))
fastdriver
Mind you, if your salesman is a jerk, torpedo him. I am NOT in favor of giving a "completely satisfied" score is the salesman doesn't do his job. What I am in favor of is granting him a favor if something happens in the deal that is not his fault. For instance, if the finance guy is a jerk and you answer honestly, the salesman gets knocked for something that is not his fault. This isn't fair to you or the salesman, but this would be an example of telling a white lie on the survey but still using the 800 service to voice a concern.
The same holds true for the "condition at delivery" question. You are asked if there were any problems at time of delivery. The following question asks if the problem was corrected to your satisfaction. Only the first question reflects on the salesman's score. So, if you purchased the car after normal hours and you didn't get a full tank but returned the next day and go the gas, a normal person would say that everything was NOT right at time of delivery. Since this is a yes or no question, the salesman's score automatically drops to 83% even if the rest of the survey is perfect.
Again, don't reward the guy if he doesn't deserve it. If he does, I just want you to understand what he is going through.
Please send me an email with your thoughts/comments.
Thanks!
KarenS
Host
Owner's Clubs
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=598962843
I hate the wipers. Specifically, the blades/inserts. I've already had them replaced once under warranty because the original set fell apart after about 8 months. I think the current set is on its way--they leave streaks on every pass.
I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions about decent blades I can replace the current ones with that will work better. I'm also open to treatments for the windows themselves....
Thanks,
Brad
I love my Solara too... it's the smoothest and quietest car I've ever driven. For those who remember, I got it last week and drove over 500 kms. with it since then. I washed it for the first time last night, and I really like the Diamond White Pearl paint. The dirt doesn't really show up on it as quickly as a darker color, plus the paint has a shimmering effect. I also put "Turtle Wax Emerald Series Professional Tire Dressing" on the tires, and it does a superb job. I hadn't tried it before, but it gives the tires a slick effect. It's a gel I put on the tires, which is nice because there isn't I don't get overspray on my wheels.
Other than that, I can't get enough of driving my Solara. Wow, it's so smooth and quiet, but has plenty of power. A superb car.
Hambone, do you put premium or regular in your V6 Solara?
http://www.auto.com/industry/iwirv17_20011117.htm
Watch out where you put those keys or it could cost you a small fortune.
fastdriver
Starting May 1, 2002, salesmen will not be held accountable for the surveys. The store will, but they will be blind surveys, meaning neither the name of the customer, nor the name of the salesman will be included in the reports. The survey questions will also change to reflect customers satisfaction with the process, rather than the individuals.
This may start sooner in other regions, but here in the Mid Atlantic, May 1 is the start date. No further details are currently available. I just thought you all might like to know.
You only get that initial survey about delivery/dealership buying experience once. If the OTHER salesman would just realize that we ALL talk in boards like this and that we are all BETTER armed with prices/statistics/financing/rebates etc. all they have to do is be honest and their CSI will be fine. It's all the "tactics" they use that drives people crazy i.e. are you buying today- this offer is only good now- let me ask the manager- I'll be right back etc.
I'm MORE concerned with their SERVICE than if the car had spots on the windows when it was delivered. Those are the surveys that should have the most clout.
fastdriver
Salesmen will be more honest as well. No longer will they have to coach the customer into giving "completely satisfied" scores.