Anyone Plan on keeping Their Toyota beyond Ten Years Read here

[charlier180]

My point is not every part that Toyota stops producing is going to be picked up by an after market outfit. I am having a simalar issue with my 80's vintage Toyota. For those who keep their vehicle long term it is an issue.

Good point. I have four VWs from 1980 to 1987. Every single one of these vehicles has a list of parts that are No Longer Available from Volkswagen. Many of these parts are not available from any supplier here in the USA. Given the differences in parts used in VWs around the world, many parts are not available from overseas either since some of these parts are USA specific.

There is a law in the U.S. regarding how long an auto manufacturer must keep parts available. I forget what the period of time is (Toyota might just be following that law).

How long parts are available also correlates to how many vehicles were sold. I have a 20 year old VW I drive to work. I have no problem getting any part for it. But that vintage was one of the most popular vehicles sold throughout the world at that time (but not here in the U.S.).

For the last 9+ years I have heard about this "law". Some people have said that the "law" states auto makers are required to supply parts for a car for 10 years after production stops. Interesting how so many people have heard about this "law" but no one (so far) has been able to actually produce a copy of it. If this law exists and if it is 10 years after production ceases I can cite several examples of an automaker that violated this 'law".

I suppose we will have to wait until about 2018 to find out if this is "blown out of proportion" or not. See you then....

 

[aljodoro]

Parts Availability

Life is a series of choices. This is an interesting discussion which I would characterize as, "I don't know if I want to buy a Toyota because the parts may not be available after ten years and my Toyota is going to last longer than that.

 

[kimboy]

Don't worry about 'After 10 years'. There will be parts available at junk yards, and EBAY will mostlikely be your friend.

 

[Uneek]

As mentioned before... IMO, I think this being blown out of porportion. While none of us have 10+ years on our trucks, a better way is maybe to gauge other Toyotas made a few years ago in the next couple years and see how they're coping with parts availability. Many people now rack up miles faster than before, more than 12k/year and warranty expires due to mileage rather than time (my friends do 15-20k/yr, I'm about 12-15k), so I say some replace their vehicle due to mileage and not age. Even then, since I live by the coast, the weather and fog will wreck havoc on the body that my Toyota will be rusty and still be mechanically sound. The drums on my '05 Taco is covered with rust after a few months and the rear axle has rust. Damn fog!

Our past '90 Toyota truck didn't require anything else other than typical fluid changes. The only major maintenance items was a water pump, timing belt and starter. I'm expecting my current Toyotas to hold similar track records.

 

[drake3]

While none of us have 10+ years on our trucks...

Speak for yourself. You must have missed the third post in this thread.

And speaking as an owner/driver of a '93 runner I am not too worried. There will be plenty of aftermarket parts and salvage sources to purchase from. I have purchased several parts for my older runner from ebay with satisfactory results.

 

[Uneek]

Speak for yourself. You must have missed the third post in this thread.

And speaking as an owner/driver of a '93 runner I am not too worried. There will be plenty of aftermarket parts and salvage sources to purchase from. I have purchased several parts for my older runner from ebay with satisfactory results.

I should've clarify my statement and opinion. The majority of the responses are from 4th gen owners, thus the 10+ year statement. My interpretation of the original post is this is a recent change in Toyota policy, thus this would affect owners of recent models more than owners of past owners. Based on my interpretation, it's possible that prior to change, Toyota could've been making replacement parts for maybe a 15 year old vehicle. However it's possible with this change Toyota may've ceased production for anything older than a '95.

In no way did I intend to disrespect anyone who owns an older Toyota. A Toyota is a Toyota and the vintage ones are awesome. I plan to drive my mine until the wheels fall off or hand it off to another family member.

 

[drake3]

In no way did I intend to disrespect anyone who owns an older Toyota. A Toyota is a Toyota and the vintage ones are awesome. I plan to drive my mine until the wheels fall off or hand it off to another family member.

I didn't take your statement as disrespectful at all. Just trying to represent the owners of former gens as I definitely know this board is geared toward the 4th gens.

Loyal Toyota owners like you and I know where we have come from, but the topic of this post is especially relevant to those who are driving earlier models since they will be affected sooner.

You know, before my 4th gen I always thought I really loved my Toyotas, however, looking back I just respected them for being ultra-reliable. None of them really satified me because lack of power. My 2006 SE is the first Toyota I actually love to drive and the most satisfying because is has a "complete" package. Just sharing that thought.

 

[Uneek]

You know, before my 4th gen I always thought I really loved my Toyotas, however, looking back I just respected them for being ultra-reliable. None of them really satified me because lack of power. My 2006 SE is the first Toyota I actually love to drive and the most satisfying because is has a "complete" package. Just sharing that thought.

We owned various Japanese makes (two Nissans, a Mazda and a Chevy). I've always wondered back then after our '90 Toyota truck, which Japanese brand we buy again. I agree with you, and I was a little bit disappointed that Toyota opted to stay out of the HP wars with Honda and Nissan a few years ago. As the old saying goes, "HP sells cars, torque wins races." I'm glad they'er back in the game, with the GR and UR engines. The '90 had good power for it's size, but under a full load, more power would be nice. But definately Toyota's long term reliability and low cost maintence is what attracted us to buy Toyotas again.

Not to thread jack and go into power, I hope this change in Toyota parts policy doesn't increase the long term cost of ownership based on supply and demand of parts. The relatively competitive pricing of Toyota OEM parts compared to aftermarket is another key reason I pick a Toyota over another make. Oil filters as an example is $3.50-4 for OEM, not much more than an aftermarket from Kragen. Brake pads for my Mazda and Chevy were $80 for OEM vs. Toyota's $40, and $30 for aftermarket.

With all of that said, I still love my Toyotas and chances are, Toyota will be the front runner when it comes to my vehicle needs. My friend who just got an '07 said, "I'm Toyota for life" after discovering what he's been missing with his Accord before the 4R.

 

[HRunner]

My 85 supra still runs well... and I still didn't have any problem getting oem parts.

It's true that I have difficulty finding performance parts in the market. Almost no choice for most brand names, but custom make still available (lucky~).

Toyota's engine is the strongest and could last~

 

[Ill4Runner]

I've had my '90 pickup for 12 years and there are a plethera of aftermarket and oem parts available still. I'm not worried at all.