CMoney

Also known as the rebuttal to haters thread. (As far as I'm concerned, this post should be stickied :D).

There are a lot of threads here and elsewhere concerning the various squeeks, whines, whistles, hums, paint bubbles, tranny, etc. of the tC. They invariably say that the whole tC model line is crap because of a bad experience.

Now, on my breaks off from school, I'm a valet driver. I've driven pretty much every type of car you can name. Everything from rental Chevy Malibus to an Aston Martin Vanquish. I've driven automatics, manuals, manumatics. I've driven cars tuned at home and cars tuned by AMG. I've driven brand new cars and cars that one could consider antiques. We have an offsite parking lot for the cars, so I've gotten to know some of them pretty well.

In certain cases, I may or may not have tested/seen tested the performance of these cars. [Legal Disclaimer: This didn't happen. Ever. At all. Trust me. Didn't happen. Nothing to see here. Move along.]

What's my verdict on the tC, after having driven cars that cost $150,000+ to cars that you couldn't pay me enough to drive?

The Scion tC is a damn good car and an incredible value.

What you get for the price tag is great. There is no denying that. But you have to understand a few things:

1) Having taken a fair share of psychology courses, I understand that when a person looks for flaws, they tend to see the flaws they're looking for. If, only the other hand, they look for the positive aspects of something, they'll tend to see only the positive aspects. This is why your friend is dating that guy/girl that you think is an ugly, unemployed, smelly *****. When approaching a new car, try to take note of your bias. And if you hear others talk smack, take into account their bias.

2) All New Cars have flaws. We had a regular at the hotel who always had trouble with his brand new Audi A6. Failures of all sorts. Buying a car takes a lot of luck, sometimes you eat the bar, and sometimes the bar eats you.

3) The Scion tC is a new model. There will be some kinks that need to get worked out. You have to accept this risk.

4) If you're having a problem with your car, immediately take it back to the dealer. Guess what, it's a new car, the problem will most likely be under warranty. Most of the time it will be something small, but sometimes what starts out as a small noise under the hood turns into your car blowing up. Okay, not that dramatic, but you get the point. Take it in, get it checked out.

5) Most states have very good lemon laws. If you feel that you were, indeed, sold a car that is a lemon, you can go back to the dealer and have some leverage getting the car repaired or replaced. However, it usually only extends to 30 days after the purchase of the car. You can check your states lemon laws here: http://www.lemonlawamerica.com

6) Many future problems can be avoided by proper upkeep of the car. Change your oil and oil filters often. Get regular tune-ups. Rotate your tires. Check your air filter. Check all your fluids.

7) Make sure you're driving your car how it is meant to be driven. Just because your car can hit 130 mph, that doesn't mean it should. I know, we all want to be 2 fast 2 furious superstunners, but unless your car is specially tuned to handle excessive speeds, you're damaging your car. (And, oh yeah, it's illegal. And it would suck to kill someone.)

8) The Scion tC is aimed at younger car buyers and because of this, Scion tC's become a lot of peoples "first new car." They don't know what to expect with a new car, and they quickly become outraged when one thing goes wrong. They'll soon become realistic like the rest of us, give them time.

And the most important thing of all:

9) _____ing about something on an internet message board does not make it better.

Sorry, just had to get that out of the way...

The Scion tC is a great car with lots of modding potential. It's backed by Toyota, a company known for its reliability. You get quite a bit for under $17,000. So take a deep breath and put down the keyboard. It will all be okay. I promise.

DespisedIcon

I back this post.

fac3

Quite possibly the best post made on these boards.

KYBoy

i bet it is the fastest car under 19k not to forget all the options that are standard, pw, pl, moon roof, keyless entry...ect

Rivulent

KYBoy don't deride this post with another opinionated post, because I'm sure someone will find a car under 19k that's faster. In any case, best post ever!

91Mike

I could find quite a few that are faster. But I didn't buy a Scion with the hope of making the ultimate race car. I bought it because in terms of overall value (performance, reliability, all those nice standard features that didn't exist 15 years ago) it is probably the best car you can find under 19k.

KYBoy

sorry i did not want to come off like it is the fastest car ever or the best street car, thats why i included some of the standard equipment, b/c of overall value. thats why i bought one.

FW21

Breath of fresh air post, glad to read it. This will be my first new car and I really can't think of another car in this price range that is so worth its price tag and more.

tCdreamer21

i absolutely back this post

hey KYBoy, where at in Louisville are you?

mach5

thank you, either more and more of you are getting it or smarter people are joining this site
the TC is a machine just like any other car, it will have some body noise just like any car

drive a 99 M3 and then drive a tc, see which one is better built ( ofcoarse the M takes it in performance)

Hudnut

Great post. I think the key word here is VALUE. The tC is an absolute steal for what you get. If you want a car that has no problems, is completly quiet, and can get sh ____ raggd out of it, well then buy a ..... I can't think of a car that fits all thoes criteria. I agree quit _____ing and enjoy your car.

TCAV8R

Great post. Sounds like you have a good education and life experiences, aside from valet test driving, that give your post a foundation not found here often.
Not much more to say other than great post and I already stated that.
Sticky here here.

StraitR

Great post indeed. Thank you for saying what so many people want to say, but don't find the time or the words. I think the complainers are a relatively small group considering how many scion owners there are, and your right, probably first time car buyers (*or full time complainers).

Good read!!!

mancide

Kudos for someone finally putting to bed all the whiners who were _____ing about problems with little or no information to back them up. I did a lot of research, and I too came to the conclusion that this was a great value. I knew the risk of a new production model, but I also knew that they were using a lot of tested and good components, so I felt this offset the risk.

And I agree with the _____ing on the internet part, it doesn't fix a thing. Yea, tell us if you have a problem, but instead of saying "OMG THE tC SUXXXXXX!!!!" tell us the problem you are having, what you think might be causing it, and what the dealer said when you took it in. Don't keep complaining thinking the magic Scion gods will give you a new car for your internet posts. Go through the chain of complaints and your problem should be fixed as quickly as possible.

Again, this is a great post, and thanks for taking the time to write it.

Captain_tC

Great post. However I would just like to point out one thing. A lot of people on the forums say "the car is priced so low, therefore you should not complain about ANYTHING". Keep in mind, what one person considers to be a low price tag may be considered expensive by others. If a person just purchased tC brand new, they are somewhat entitled to voice their oppinions and complaints. But not to the point of just pure whining and annoyance.

with that said......"I LOVE MY tC!!"

grnxb

cough, cough, cognitive dissonance, cough, cough (just kiddin, glad you like your car)

mancide

I don't think anyone said don't complain about anything, except maybe to Cybergypsy or whatever the troll's name was. I do think there are an awful lot of complaints that are not entirely needed or are any actual problems. There are also a lot of complaints and people not following the dispute procedures and then still complaining about the problems. But, I think the whiners are probably the vocal minority.

silkywilson

HURAH for this post and people its not just about the TC its about anything.. dealers fix problems.. on new cars.. dont _____ because you have to have somthing fixed on a first year model of ANYTHING!! first year models mean one thing UNTESTED IN REALITY! the xB and xA are leftovers from Japan and testing was done for years on Japanese people.. the tC totaly new from no where expect minor problems, and expect the dealer will fix it.

doctorcue

Great post!!!!!!

Some people can not just understand that their dollar doesn't guarantee them perfection. Glad to know someone else has realized that. Kudos to you for getting this down!

dudechewy

awesome post.