Carlton Supporters Club

We had this happened at work, they worked out that the independents assuming you find a good one, was saving them about 35% each and every service, then COVID hit and a lot of them can't get the parts anymore at reasonable pricing.

I recall some debate back when we looked into Ford vs Mazda for factory twin cabs, and we discovered for the bulk of the vehicle they are about 90% the same. But the price and servicing costs were vastly different, so it was all about market size and how the model they choose to make the money.

Personally, I think Toyota are well ahead of the pack on average, although I've noticed servicing costs starting to rise for them as well. No brand is exempt.

Toyota are the market leader in sales and have plenty of fans which allows them the ability to absorb those issues and still sell vehicles based on loyalty to the brand.
I wouldn't be waiting 18 months and would want my toys all onboard and would look at other brands but the reality is none of them have your interests at heart only your wallet.Lexus would be my preferred option but you are paying a premium.
My pet gripe at the moment are these long warranties which are just a marketing trap to force you into  long term dealer servicing..Mitsubishi being the worst con with this new ten year warranty, which forces you to have the car serviced at the dealer or you only get the normal five years if you go independent servicing.

The upside they say is you can buy the same car at the same price anywhere in Australia...just BS marketing from Head Office.

I used to have a hilux, youbused to get bent over at service time.....big time.

I bought a new triton, with the 10 year warranty....and it's capped price servicing, which they show you from the get go. So much cheaper than the hilux services, even through the dealer.
Ended up selling that after 1 year as I'd got a ranger as a work car.
I loved my hilux, but the ranger is every bit as good to drive, if not better, plus comes with all the bells and whistles and new technology that the hilux doesn't have...and for a cheaper price.

I reckon a lot of Toyota fan boys will certainly look elsewhere once they realise their shiny new toy comes without all the fun stuff. If they start driving something else, they might never go back.
I was a Toyota fan boy, but I'd buy a ranger right now if given the choice...and that's even if the Toyota came with all its gadgets installed at time of purchase.
Without? It's not even close.

I would agree on the Hilux, we had them at my old employer and they were reliable workhorses but they dont drive that great in terms of steering or performance and we switched to Tritons based on overall purchase/ownership cost and they were a lot nicer drive and didnt have so much the truck handling of the Toyota.
Never driven a Ranger but Ford sell a lot of them......so many in fact they were the 2021 market leader in 4x4's in Aus ahead of Hilux.
Speaking of toys another gripe of mine is the marketing of safety equipment on many new cars, the base models usually come with basic safety kit and you have to upgrade with a safety package($k) to get the full kit of safety equipment. Sales staff will guilt trip you into it by suggesting its important for your family to have the full kit onboard...my usual reply is are you saying the base model is unsafe?

I would agree on the Hilux, we had them at my old employer and they were reliable workhorses but they dont drive that great in terms of steering or performance and we switched to Tritons based on overall purchase/ownership cost and they were a lot nicer drive and didnt have so much the truck handling of the Toyota.
Never driven a Ranger but Ford sell a lot of them......so many in fact they were the 2021 market leader in 4x4's in Aus ahead of Hilux.
Speaking of toys another gripe of mine is the marketing of safety equipment on many new cars, the base models usually come with basic safety kit and you have to upgrade with a safety package($k) to get the full kit of safety equipment. Sales staff will guilt trip you into it by suggesting its important for your family to have the full kit onboard...my usual reply is are you saying the base model is unsafe?

I would agree on the Hilux, we had them at my old employer and they were reliable workhorses but they dont drive that great in terms of steering or performance and we switched to Tritons based on overall purchase/ownership cost and they were a lot nicer drive and didnt have so much the truck handling of the Toyota.
Never driven a Ranger but Ford sell a lot of them......so many in fact they were the 2021 market leader in 4x4's in Aus ahead of Hilux.
Speaking of toys another gripe of mine is the marketing of safety equipment on many new cars, the base models usually come with basic safety kit and you have to upgrade with a safety package($k) to get the full kit of safety equipment. Sales staff will guilt trip you into it by suggesting its important for your family to have the full kit onboard...my usual reply is are you saying the base model is unsafe?

A mate of mine is an engineer at Toyota, one of their big clients is Santos. He reckons you could walk on the their sites and use the c word at them and no one would bat an eyelid. You use the words Ford Ranger and you will be booted off site. They wouldn't have them for free, apparently they reckon then shake themselves to bits in the rough t country.

Never driven one as I said so I have no idea on their pros or cons but they must be doing something right to be selling so many.
My experience with Hilux wasnt bad, they were reliable but like a lot of Toyotas you wouldnt be buying them for the driving pleasure or performance, maybe thats why they make Lexus.

Having driven a few Rangers, my only criticism is the positioning the the A-Pillar, for me its very annoying and a bit of a blind spot. I have mates who have them and they have had expensive injector problems. Another mate of mine is an engineer at Ford and he has worked not the Ranger project for years, he raves about it. He and my Toyota engineer mate have some almighty dust ups on our WhatsApp group. Thats all I can say about them.

The A pillar is the one that tends to border the windshield isnt it?  If so, this is a gripe in all modern cars for me.  It renders your view at about 2 o clock from the drivers seat obscured in a way that wasnt the case for my xe falcon.  The EF falcon was the beginning of said issue.

The A pillar is the one that tends to border the windshield isnt it?  If so, this is a gripe in all modern cars for me.  It renders your view at about 2 o clock from the drivers seat obscured in a way that wasnt the case for my xe falcon.  The EF falcon was the beginning of said issue.

Now they are a bit more sleek for it (and I have to say look much more appealing) but have unfortunately obscured the view.