RAV4 - Vroom

Dang, I love my Camry but had I seen the new RAV4 last
month, I might have bought that. Last month, the only RAVs I
saw at the dealerships were the old '05 models, which I think
were way too small on the inside.

These new RAVs are very nice, and I bet I coulda bought one
for only 1k more than the Camry--possibly could have negotiated
19k for one--dunno.

One thing that concerns me though is the Long-term Mechanical
Dependability rating from J.D. Powers. How can the rating
be only 3 out of 5 ovals for the 2001 model (only average--not
what one expects from Toyota)? The rating for the following
year's model was 5 out of 5. Did the '01's have some mechanical
problem that was corrected in the '02's?

You can get the J.D. Powers info at Edmunds by clicking the
"Ratings" link in the left margin for a particular car.

I call my Camry "Connie" because she's a sweet, sweet machine.
Connie the Camry. That car is tight, baby--not a rattle or
squeak to be heard. "Sweet, sweet Connie."

Built_Well wrote:
[color=blue]
> One thing that concerns me though is the Long-term Mechanical
> Dependability rating from J.D. Powers. How can the rating
> be only 3 out of 5 ovals for the 2001 model (only average--not
> what one expects from Toyota)? The rating for the following
> year's model was 5 out of 5. Did the '01's have some mechanical
> problem that was corrected in the '02's?
>
> You can get the J.D. Powers info at Edmunds by clicking the
> "Ratings" link in the left margin for a particular car.[/color]

I usually don't put a whole lot of stock into JD Power's data. This is a
publication that awards cars for "initial quality", which is an absolute
joke since most cars these days will fare well in that. The RAV4 has not
had any major mechanical problems, as far as I know. Perhaps these alleged
problems are fit and finish issues.

High Tech Misfit wrote:[color=blue]
>
> I usually don't put a whole lot of stock into JD Power's data. This is
> a publication that awards cars for "initial quality", which is an
> absolute joke since most cars these days will fare well in that.[/color]


Yeah, I don't much look at the Initial Quality scores either. But
I do glance at the long-term ratings of 4-plus years, whatever their
worth.