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| When new ... Actually, doesn't look much different now! |
I am 8 years into my second Toyota Corolla. The first one lasted about 17 years. Without tempting the gods or Fate, these have been the easiest 8 years of driving I've ever had. The only things I have had done to this car are: oil changes, tire rotations, new tires, a few recalls that were free, and, for some reason, replacement of the cabin air filter.
This cabin air filter thing annoys me. My husband has a brand new Corolla and I took it in for an oil change and they said the cabin air filter was dirty. Well, so what? Then I got all annoyed as the guy stood there with a slightly dirty square filter and finally I said to go ahead and change it. Mine, at least, had a mouse nest in it, probably from the two weeks we were away out west traveling in my husband's car and mine was left in the mouse-riddled garage. That made sense. A little dirt on the cabin air filter didn't seem to warrant a change. The next time I took his car in, I told them I didn't want to hear about the cabin air filter. After all, it's the cabin air filter. How is it going to affect the running of the car? With a little dirt on it?
The last time I took my car in, they didn't mention the cabin air filter (I think they have my number now), but they were trying that on some other lady who got annoyed and finally caved because it was only $30-ish dollars to replace it. It just screamed scam to me. But on the way home I thought about it. Re-read the first paragraph. Eight years. Absolutely no major problems. Minimal cost.
I've decided that those poor folks at the Toyota Service place are desperate for anything that will bring in some cash because the darn cars run too well. I had one 1969 Ford that was eating alternators after 4 years and a Ford Pinto that had the worst battery karma imaginable (including theft of the battery).
So, the next time they try to pull this cabin air filter thing on me, for either my or my husband's car, I'm going to say, "Sure, go ahead, knock yourself out. Because I feel sorry for you guys, desperately trying to find something you can charge for on cars that Just Don't Ever Have Enough Wrong with them. And I feel I owe something to Toyota for eight years of absolutely no trouble at all."
