Toyota Recall, Class-Action Lawsuits

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As probably everyone has heard 5 million vehicles by Toyota - mostly due to the accelerator pedal becoming stuck - are being recalled. Now, there are class-action lawsuits coming, not from people who were injured (there have been relatively few of them) but by people claiming that the resale values of their cars are taking a big hit. Here's the story.

My quesiton is a simple one - is the car manufacturer liable if vehicles do not hold their resale value? I currently own a Toyota (a Sienna - one of the vehicles not involved in any recalls), and when I signed the car loan, no where did it state that I was guaranteed a great resale value. I don't see how they could win, or how they can accurately quantify the loss. It seems like it would depend on when you bought the car, when you sell the car, how many miles were on it, it's overall condition, etc.

What does everyone else think? Toyota is certainly responsible for fixing the problems or defects in the car, but do you think they should be held responsible for loss of resale value to their owners?

 

I'm curious how this will effect leasing. When people enter into a lease transaction there is an assumption that the car will be worth a certain amount at the end of the lease when you turn the car in. If that value is now much lower the lessor will be hit with a loss and it may be that the cost of leasing a car will go up dramatically.

 

Your car loses value the second you drive it away from the garage...these people should get over it!

 

I'm somewhat torn on this -- resale value can't really be guaranteed, but that hasn't stopped Toyota from marketing their cars as having the best resale value. I think once they decided to use resale value as a marketing tool, they need to back it up.

 

Why would the resale value drop at all? Seriously, the problem is fixed and the fault won't happen again. The only reason for the value to drop is people being bloody-minded and picky

 

Is there any legal precedent for this? Certainly Toyota is not the first car manufacturer that has recalled their vehicles. You could probably find a dozen examples just in the last 10 years or so, and probably some for things just as serious as this problem.

I also agree with Silvery that the only way your resale value should go down is if you didn't get it fixed. Of course, since recalls are fixed by the dealership with no charge to the customer, there's no reason to not get it serviced.

If you were considering purchasing a Toyota from the affected models and years of production, the seller should be able to provide you proof of the repair. Or alternatively, since the repair would have had to be done by a dealership, you could verify it by going to carfacts website. I think they charge $40, but that's small compared to the investment you'd make for the car itself, and if you're buying from a dealership, they usually provide it to you free of charge.

 

Toyota is not the 1st nor will they be the last auto-maker who will have recalls. They all do. This is nothing new. Class-action lawsuit? Seems to me it's just a bunch of free-loaders with their hands out, looking for a free grab of loot. This should be thrown out of court immediately. Otherwise, pandora's box opens for the rest of the auto-makers.

No vehicle is guaranteed a good resale value, it depends on the owner to take care of it, including the maitenence. A recall is just part of the maitenence. I own a 02 Camry. They are known to have a need of the timing belt changed every 40k. So I have it fixed. They even run a special once a year to help bring the costs down.

 

Toyotas have high resale value because of their great reliability (which they also advertise to sell cars). Reliability is a fickle term and it's based on the number of issues the vehicle has, the severity of the issues and the cost to repair. There is no doubt the reliability of Toyotas have taken a hit by the huge number of recalls.

If the reliability shifts from 'great' to 'above average' the resale value also takes a hit -- a hit caused entirely by the company's failure to use the standards they tout in their own advertisements. The losses may not be much for the customer, but a hit of 5-10% on a $30,000 vehicle is still significant during trade-in time.

As I said, I'm somewhat torn on it. The only people that are really being hit are those who are trying to unload their cars now (for whatever reason); I think a year from now it's not going to be an issue.

 

I feel consumer class-action lawsuits are generally a scam in themselves. Usually, the lawyers clean-up, on both sides, and those sueing end-up with next to nothing - like rebates, or coupons or a discount on their next purchase. I've been in a couple of them, and never got much of anything, in fact, I'm in one at the moment. I think its better to sue on your own, although it's more of work.