Toyota Aygo - Japanese badge but not build (Toyota Aygo)

Member Name: carowner

Product:	Toyota Aygo
Date:	24/10/09 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to park, spacey interior, cheap tax

Disadvantages: Flimsy, fault prone, not Japanese

Our Aygo is 3.5 years old with 33,000 miles. Just under a year ago it had a new clutch fitted under warranty but that is now failing and will soon be replaced under its own warranty. Whilst confirming the second failure, our Toyota garage informed us that the front discs and pads need replacing at a cost of £221! In the few days between diagnosis and the car going in, the engine has started to make an odd noise which is worrying - more problems?? NB the car has always been main-dealer serviced and is generally well looked after. Our overall feeling is that the car is now becoming a "problem car" so it is likely that we will get rid of it shortly after having the repairs done. In addition to the repairs, we have so far got through two complete sets of tyres which are some special size and not always available off the shelf. Overall, and with some experience of problems with other non-Japanese built Toyotas, our feeling is that if you want Japanese quality, buy a car built in Japan rather than with just a Japanese badge. For us, the Aygo feels and drives more like a tinny French car, like the 2CV, rather than a solid value, highly reliable and well built Japanese product. Finally, having read many reviews elsewhere on the net, we are suspicious that some at least are written by manufacturers' marketing people rather than real drivers: the give away for us is finding a whole bunch of consecutive, "gushing" reviews.

Summary: Buy another small car built rather than just badged by the Japanese

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