Michael McAleer answers your queries.
From Thomas Hogg, Co Clare
I am writing to you in connection with a letter you published in your column on July 9th regarding Toyota Ireland Ltd. It is with great regret and disgust that I have had the same experience as your correspondent in my attempt to purchase a Toyota Avensis 1.8 Luna. Initially I came to an agreement with my local Toyota dealer, who indicated to me that there would be a delay of five or six weeks from the launch date, which was on March 20th.
In early June I checked with my local dealer who informed me that he still had no indication from Toyota Ireland Ltd as to when they would supply the above-mentioned model. On two separate occasions I made direct contact by phone with Toyota Ireland Ltd. On each occasion I was only able to make contact with a receptionist who, in turn, informed me that I should contact my local dealer regarding the delivery date, which he could not get from Toyota Ireland Ltd. On both occasions, I gave both my telephone number and name and address. However, no person in a position of authority made any attempt to furnish me with a reply, either by phone or letter.
As I have been a driver of Toyotas for over the past 25 years, I consider this treatment to be both shabby and disgraceful.
It should be pointed out that I am under no obligation to purchase a Toyota but surely the people who supply and distribute them should have the good manners to a simple request - they should have the courtesy to provide a simple answer.
From Jim MacNamara:
For your information - more on the problems with the new Avensis. I am really fed up with the spin (this is not my only correspondence with them). The dealers are a dead loss as regards info and customer service. All I want is honesty.
They say eight weeks and it's now 16 and still they can't give me even an approximate date, be it August/September.
According to Ian Corbett at Toyota Ireland: "We have experienced a phenomenal demand for the new Avensis since launch. The 1.8 Luna version is particularly popular amongst our valued existing and new customers.
"We are doing our utmost to secure extra delivery of Avensis and hope to have back orders filled shortly, so that customers would not be waiting beyond eight-10 weeks from order.
"We endeavour to sell as many cars as possible and keep our customers satisfied. The Avensis has been number one in its segment for 17 out of the last 18 years and this new Avensis is proving even more popular than previous ones. We do hope our loyal customers will bear with us as we try to secure more cars for the Irish market."
From Ted Morrissey:
I wonder can you throw any light on the motor manufacturers' illogical approach to renewing wiper blades?
The cost of buying a new insert/refill is usually about half the cost of buying a complete blade unit.
Yet, depending on the make and model, the punter has little choice. Not alone within one car manufacturer, but as I found out this week, even for one car (Honda Civic). Of the three wipers, the rear refill cost 11 but the pair of blade units for the front had to be replaced at a cost of 37. Surely a wasteful practice as well as being unnecessarily costly?
It's a problem that's not unique to the car industry.
From computer firms to vacuum cleaners, the various manufacturers realise that your purchase decision will not be changed by the type of wiper blade. Therefore they can make the blades unique to their particular make or even model, thereby guaranteeing that they will control the replacement market.
Unfair, yes. Likely to change, no. Apologies for being so cynical but in every level of technology, from vacuum bags to mobile phone chargers, we come across this type of activity. Without a market regulator to set a common standard there will never be a solution. While we might see no difference between the blades, various manufacturers will argue that theirs should be the standard as it is far superior to its competitors.
Send your queries to
Motors Help Desk, The Irish Times, Fleet Street, Dublin 2 - or e-mail them to motorshelp@irish-times.ie