Yaris Sedan Discontinued?

[djct_watt]

There are soooooooo many threads about these ridiculous claims people are hearing from dealers. Not to flame, but don't people realize that most car dealers are scum? ESPECIALLY Toyota dealers. Just think about it, if the cars sell themselves, it's not going to do much for salesmanship. Walk into ANY GM, Ford, Hyundai, or Nissan dealer and you'll see miles better customer service. Unfortunately, I like Toyota cars so it means I have to deal with the dealers. When I was in the USA (where I spent most of my life), I almost didn't buy a Toyota just because it meant I had to walk into a Toyota dealership (helped friends and family through 12 different purchases, and each case was pure hell).

Some examples of lies I've heard:
1. The Toyota Celica GT (not the high spec GT-S) has a top speed of 150MPH (it's the top indicated on the speedo, lol)
2. The new Supra will be here next year (heard it in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2009)
3. The Scion tC is rear wheel drive and can drift
4. There is no difference in the chassis between Lexus GS300 and a Toyota Camry
5. The FT-86 will be a Scion
6. The car comes with three free oil changes, yes. But because we only give you 5W-30 and your car requires 5W-20, we have to charge you $26 for the oil. (that was Longo Toyota, but I blasted them on every forum and event, and had the service manager call to apologize and give me tons of free stuff)
7. Toyota oil filters will not work on a Lexus.
8. It's common for the alignment of new cars to be off and it's not covered by warranty (bringing it back after about 100 miles).
9. The Pontiac Vibe has nothing to do with the Matrix.
10. The E-shift feature is no different than the SMG's on Ferrari's, BMW's, etc.

[green-phoenix]

Originally Posted by djct_watt

Not to flame, but don't people realize that most car dealers are scum? ESPECIALLY Toyota dealers. Just think about it, if the cars sell themselves, it's not going to do much for salesmanship. Walk into ANY GM, Ford, Hyundai, or Nissan dealer and you'll see miles better customer service. Unfortunately, I like Toyota cars so it means I have to deal with the dealers.

Clearly you've had some bad experiences with Toyota dealers. My experiences over the last 20 years with dozens of dealerships across three states has been the exact opposite. The American companies seem to be the most shady to me, and Japanese are consistently the best. Sure there are bad dealerships; that's why you visit others and get second opinions. This problem I had last week was enough I hit the other dealer within the immediate 50-mile radius, and I called three more. Only the bad local one had problems answering package questions. The rest were also consistent with the same answers that match online info.

The one thing that was different from online data is the "sedan is discontinued" issue. And the dealer that just confirmed that had no incentive to lie to us about it. We'd decided we didn't want to wait the weeks to order one and were already talking price on a sedan they had on their lot. It was at the end of our dealing, after doing an agreement, that the salesman found out he had been wrong, there was indeed a regional meeting about it, and the sedan was not going to be available anymore. He was letting us know what he just found out, and it wasn't going to effect anything with the sale. The only way it's not discontinued US-wide is that it was a regional decision and the entire Midwest will no longer offer Yaris Sedans. I don't see how Toyota would allow that inconsistency; it's easier to believe they have other plans for an economy sedan.

And actually for those talking about Yaris vs. Corolla, while the Corolla has more options, wider availability, more room, etc., the Corolla is not outright "better." We did test drives with three different Yaris sedans and three different Corolla sedans, all different trim levels. In every case the Yaris engine was quieter, has less road noise, and provided a smoother ride. I really did not expect that, but it drives better. Yes if you go sport package on the Yaris it's pretty close in price to the Corolla sport, but if you keep it simple the Yaris is thousands cheaper with similar features and a better ride. I don't think the Corolla can just step into the economy sedan slot and expect to replace the Yaris that easily.