When I posted my rant about Chevrolet over at My New Choice, I had commented that we have never experienced similar problems with any of the foreign cars we have owned.
Quality Car and Company
The vehicle that I own right now is a 2006 Scion tC and it has been an absolutely fantastic car. As a comparison to our experience with Chevrolet, I thought I would share this recent story with you. In the time I have owned my Scion, there have been two recalls and one was just repaired a few weeks ago.
The first recall was for the wind deflector on my sunroof, as their tests indicated a remote possibility it could shatter if hit with an object at high speed while open. The recall was repaired while I had my vehicle in for an oil change and there weren’t any problems. Much to my surprise, I received a model car (pictured here) a few weeks later with a letter from the Vice President of Scion apologizing for the inconvenience.
The second recall, which I just had repaired about two weeks ago, was for a faulty sensor on the side airbags. This had the potential to be a problem as the airbags could deploy if the doors were slammed to hard. The estimate for this repair was 2-3 hours so I scheduled it take place during another oil change to limit my time at the dealer. However, I also requested a loaner vehicle so I did not have to wait at the dealer and they gladly provided me with a car.
Today I received another letter from the Vice President of Scion with an apology for the inconvenience related to this latest recall notice. In addition to the apology, the letter included a website and instructions for how I can select one of several gifts available to affected owners.
As you can imagine by the picture, I selected this green Army bag from the website. The other options included the following: a black bag like the one pictured here, a black laptop sleeve, a red Scion model car and the car pictured above. Since I already have one of the model cars, I opted against the red one and I no longer have a laptop so the laptop sleeve was out.
Touch of Class
It is small things like this that really make me happy to be a Scion owner. Of course the car itself has been outstanding but the attention to detail and the expression of gratitude to their customers is a trait not often found. When I compare this level of service to my experiences with Chevrolet…actually, there is no comparison as Scion has them beat hands-down.
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It’s always nice to get something back from these guys other than the usual “kick in the balls” and a sorry.
I never buy a car in it’s first production year, gives them an opportunity to work out the kinks first.
First year cars are tough but in the case of our Trailblazer, even 2nd year cars aren’t right. That car has been such a piece of crap but the Scion has been pretty solid.
Good post. I certainly agree with your write-up. I believe that scion has always been a company of quality and innovation. It never fails to bring its consumers something to enjoy.
Scion is made by toyota…and Toyota makes a darn good car. I have owned a Ford, a Nissan, and a Honda…guess which on broke down the most?
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