Bye Bye Problem Car

[Ringo64]

Originally Posted by rainey85

Interesting that I never had rub marks on my Miata or my 1st. Solara. It is not normal and GM is just giving bs excuses. My Camaro was my 1st. American car in about 15yrs and it will be my last! My husband has a 2002 Honda that has only had the a/c compressor go bad and nothing else. We will stay loyal to Honda and Toyota from now on!

Funny we're a GM family, I will never buy anything other than GM, but my sister bought a Toyota. I have owned 3 GM cars and they have never been in the shop combined time among the 3 of them as much as her Toyota has in the couple years she owned it. Not that I would ever think to buy a Toyota but that sure has scared anyone else in the family.

Sorry to hear about your problems. Even though I love the Camaro, I would not have bought a vert the first year available. Sorry to anyone who has one but with something that big like replacing a roof, I would let them work the kinks out before I put my money down. Then again I'm not a convertible kind of guy so again it wasn't really an option

Anyway hope you're happy with what you moved on to. Just don't be one of those Toyota drivers that try and hit my Camaro :( lol

[Bonanza7]

Originally Posted by Ringo64

Funny we're a GM family, I will never buy anything other than GM, but my sister bought a Toyota. I have owned 3 GM cars and they have never been in the shop combined time among the 3 of them as much as her Toyota has in the couple years she owned it. Not that I would ever think to buy a Toyota but that sure has scared anyone else in the family.

Sorry to hear about your problems. Even though I love the Camaro, I would not have bought a vert the first year available. Sorry to anyone who has one but with something that big like replacing a roof, I would let them work the kinks out before I put my money down. Then again I'm not a convertible kind of guy so again it wasn't really an option

Anyway hope you're happy with what you moved on to. Just don't be one of those Toyota drivers that try and hit my Camaro :( lol

Since GM claims to have the best of engineers, they should have been able to figure out that the design was bad in the first place. They have a long record of bad rag top designs, and I will still bet that they did not bother to do the design, but farmed it out to the lowest bidder. After all, who cares what happens to the customers? The LEAST they should have done was check the disign of whoever did it, and make sure it was properly done.

[Bonanza7]

Originally Posted by gbosh

Rainey85,you sure do have a remarkable 2002 Honda! I have never owned a 10 year old car that didn't need a new battery or not have to rebuild the brakes! Please for your saftey replace the front brake lines as they do become spongy and become weak from all the turning. You must do the regular maintenance or this Honda could be a death trap. Have you ever seen some of the first Honda's in car collections? Go and buy a 1969 SS 396 cherry Camaro and compare it too a one of the first Honda's value!

Most people don't consider batteries and the like as "problems", just normal wear and tear. That said, I have an 06 CR-V, and the brakes are still good at nearly 60,000 miles, as are the struts. The ONLY thing that has needed replacing was a battery, once. Yes, it is boring as hell...but competent and reliable.

[Ringo64]

Originally Posted by Bonanza7

Since GM claims to have the best of engineers, they should have been able to figure out that the design was bad in the first place. They have a long record of bad rag top designs, and I will still bet that they did not bother to do the design, but farmed it out to the lowest bidder. After all, who cares what happens to the customers? The LEAST they should have done was check the disign of whoever did it, and make sure it was properly done.

Replicating real world conditions and slight manufactured defaults is hard to do till you know what exactly they are.

Not saying they did it right but there are some errors that will just happen even with the best quality engineering, quality control, etc...

[Bonanza7]

Originally Posted by Ringo64

Replicating real world conditions and slight manufactured defaults is hard to do till you know what exactly they are.

Not saying they did it right but there are some errors that will just happen even with the best quality engineering, quality control, etc...

Sure, but this isn't the first time GM...chevy...has done this. They farmed the Cavalier top out to ASC, and it had EXACTLY the same problems. Somewhere, you would think they would look for stuff they had problems with before. What was it...insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?

[Fiveg56]

Originally Posted by rainey85

Lemon Law Summary for Florida

Summary: Florida Vehicles sold, transferred or leased , in the state, and used primarily for personal, family or household purposes, excluding off-road vehicles, mopeds, trucks over 10,000 lbs., the living facilities of recreation vehicles, and motorcycles.

Repair Attempts/Days Out of Service: 3 repair attempts – 30 calendar days out of service

Coverage Period: 18 months or 24,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

Unfortunately I was past the coverage period as my car had over 26,000 miles.

With the amount of issues listed on your first post, it seems you could have done the buy back before you passed the 24,000 miles and not taken the huge loss on trade in. Keep in mind that you now have a car with NO warranty...unless it has an extended warranty purchased.

[Fiveg56]

It sucks that your Camaro was junk, but I hope you did your research on the Toyota...

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f135b26/0

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffwor...a-solara-2.htm

[concrete jungle]

Originally Posted by rainey85

I was so excited when my car arrived at the dealer (March 16, 2011) and I was able to pick it up, but little did I know the car would be in the shop a month later with top issues. If that had been the only problem it would have been ok, but unfortunately it wasn't. In 1 years time my car would be in the shop 15 times for a total of 29 days. These are the issues we dealt with on a $37,000 car.

1. 4/25/11, Marks in top, modification done on sharp metal edge in top frame.

2. 4/25/11, Excessive wind noise.

3. 4/25/11, Driver door rattle. Couldn't find problem.

4. 5/10/11, Driver door still rattling. Regulator was ordered and replaced a few
days later. In shop 2 days.

5. 5/19/11, Driver seat made loud groaning type noise when moved forward,
new track ordered and replaced a few days later. In shop for 2 days.

6. 6/20/11, There was a bulletin from GM that the a/c body control module
needed to be reprogrammed, service performed. In shop for 1 day.

7. 6/20/11, Right rear seat back loose, part ordered and replaced a few days
later. In shop for 2 days.

8. 7/7/11, Wear marks on top getting worse. Top replaced. In shop for 4
days. Wears marks starting showing up on new top a week later. Decided
to wait to replace again until GM came up with a permanent fix.

9. 8/1/11, Rattle in trunk, service dept. found bulletin, after I told them I
found it online, on this issue and tape was ordered and installed a few
days later. In shop for 2 days.

10. 8/1/11, Still having excessive wind noise. Told that it was normal in a
convertible, I told them I NEVER had this issue with my Mazda Miata or
Toyota Solara. Very frustrated!

11. 8/1/11, Problem with bluetooth. Problem fixed.

12. 8/1/11, Rear passenger window making loud noise when going up,
regulator ordered and replaced a few days later. In shop for 2 days.

13. 8/1/11, Lumps in new top, was told there was nothing that could be done.
GRRRR

14. 8/24/11, Driver seat back loose, part ordered and was replaced a few
days later.

15. 9/26/11, Water/puddle on rear passenger floor. Waterbag replaced, but it
still leaked so they kept car and found 2 body seams that had not been
sealed. Problem fixed and car in shop for 10 days.

16. 11/22/11, Squeak in car when top up. Rear seat adjusted. In shop 1 day.

17. 11/22/11, Top of rear seat uneven, seat adjusted.

18. 12/2/11, Squeaking noise returned. Seals in top were lubricated.

19. 12/2/11, Right rear speaker not working. Part ordered and replaced. In
shop for 2 days.

20. 6/22/12, Squeaking started again.

21. 6/22/12, rear passenger window making loud noise again.

22. 6/24/12, So long problem car!! Me and my husband have had enough and
traded the car in for a 2008 Toyota Solara Convertible. It may be couple
yrs. older than the Camaro, but we know we won't have the problems we
had with the Camaro. I sold my 2006 Toyota Solara to my father-in-law
to get my Camaro, what a HUGE mistake. It is still running great and has
NEVER been in the shop for anything but regular maintenance!!


Good luck to everyone with their cars, hopefully you won't have the issues I had.

I hear you, nothing more frustrating then spending that kind of money and having issues.
I had issues like that with my 2002 Z06 Corvette. Damn thing was in the shop every other month for days or weeks at a time with electronic issues and engine fail.
I got kinda scared with my 2012 Camaro SS when I didn't even make it home from the dealer with 8 miles on it and had my passenger air bag light go's off. At less then 500 miles I noticed a rattle in my frame and took it to the dealer 2 times and they couldn't find it. Thanks to someone here I found the culprit a rock in the suspension that looked to me like it came from the factory that way.

I've owned lot's of new car's and brands of cars but never had issues except for my last 2 Chevrolet's. I prolly had the most fun with my Z06 Corvette more then any other car I ever owned, but at the same time it was prolly the biggest and best looking POS I ever owned.

Good luck with your Toyota.

[themoneypit]

Originally Posted by Fiveg56

With the amount of issues listed on your first post, it seems you could have done the buy back before you passed the 24,000 miles and not taken the huge loss on trade in. Keep in mind that you now have a car with NO warranty...unless it has an extended warranty purchased.

its a toyota, they dont need warranties, they dont break. ive owned several toyotas in the past, tundra, solara vert, camry. other than routine maintenance i never had a single issue with any of them. camry had 200+k when i got rid of it, and is still on the road today with almost 300K on it. original motor, trans, everything. my ex g/f still drives it everyday, everywhere...

[HDRDTD]

Originally Posted by themoneypit

its a toyota, they dont need warranties, they dont break. ive owned several toyotas in the past, tundra, solara vert, camry. other than routine maintenance i never had a single issue with any of them. camry had 200+k when i got rid of it, and is still on the road today with almost 300K on it. original motor, trans, everything. my ex g/f still drives it everyday, everywhere...

Just curious, and no sarcasm, but if you had the good of luck with Toyota's, what made to change and go with a GM?

[rainey85]

Originally Posted by gbosh

Rainey85,you sure do have a remarkable 2002 Honda! I have never owned a 10 year old car that didn't need a new battery or not have to rebuild the brakes! Please for your saftey replace the front brake lines as they do become spongy and become weak from all the turning. You must do the regular maintenance or this Honda could be a death trap. Have you ever seen some of the first Honda's in car collections? Go and buy a 1969 SS 396 cherry Camaro and compare it too a one of the first Honda's value!

I guess I should have clarified that we always have regular maintenance done and have replaced the battery, I figured that it was implied, what I meant, I was talking about problems outside of regular maintenance. We also don't purchase a car because it might one day be collection car, we buy them for reliability. I agree that a 69 Camaro is a sweet car, but unfortunately GM doesn't build cars like they used to.

[decepticon-vert]

Well too bad your car had so many troubles it discouraged you.. When you build in mass production theres bound to be a few bad ones in the batch, I think you got one. I have been trouble free with mine. Just did top recall and on the squeak you heard theres a tech bulletin on that, they are installing insulators as the fix. Well good luck with Toyota, they are good cars, I owned a few in the past.

[rainey85]

Originally Posted by Fiveg56

With the amount of issues listed on your first post, it seems you could have done the buy back before you passed the 24,000 miles and not taken the huge loss on trade in. Keep in mind that you now have a car with NO warranty...unless it has an extended warranty purchased.

I failed to mention that in Fl. you have to have the same issue repaired 3 times and if it still is not fixed after the 3rd time then you can lemon law it. My toyota being an 08 still has a warranty until 2015 because the warranty is 7 yr or 100,000 miles and also because it is a certified used toyota the toyota dealer where i bought it gives a 1 yr warranty for things not covered on the 7 yr warranty.That being said, I still would have bought it w/o a warranty because it is a toyota.

[JRsRS12]

I bought a brand new 2002 Toyota Camry Sport Edition that was built in Japan. Before the first 10,000 miles the back window was loose; not installed correctly and had to be reinstalled, drivers side window was getting damaged/rubbing on metal inside the door, had to have a new window and track installed. Every part of the dash rattled, the dealer ripped out the dash and installed felt everywhere to stop all the rattles. The A/C smelled like the adhesive they used to install the felt padding, the smell never went away. The engine burned oil from the very first day I bought it. I vowed never to buy another Toyota. I bought the Camaro because it is the best convertible for the money and I was sick of the high and mighty Japan based companies, that wont deal with you on price because they build such flawless cars everyone wants. Not in the case of the car they sold me, it was crap from the start! The Camaro is rock solid and an awesome ride. Toyotas look like every other sedan that is designed to get you from point A to B in as little drama and as possible; they have enough of their own recalls and unhappy customers, and serious mechanical problems for sure, plus when you do have to fix them, prices of parts are insane, better just hand them your wallet. I guess every car company is capable of turning out a number of cars with defects.