Toyota Meltdown Should Lead to Incredible Deals

While this is bad news for Toyota, this is actually good news for car shoppers because Toyota is in a desperate need to keep up their sales figures.

Toyota has long been seen as a leader in quality, joining Honda in maintaining high residual values even after several years of ownership. Some analysts are arguing that their value will soon be in line with domestic automakers like Ford and General Motors.

The issue is the unintended acceleration that allegedly led to the crash of a Lexus driven by an off duty state trooper in California. Toyota had previously attempted to fix the issue by restricting the movement of floor mats with zip ties, arguing that the pedal had become lodged underneath the fabric.

Now the company is saying that the pedal assembly used in a variety of models is the reason for the recall, including: some 2009-2010 RAV4s, some 2009-2010 Corollas, all 2009-2010 Matrixes, all 2005-2010 Avalons, some 2007-2010 Camrys, some 2010 Highlanders, some 2007-2010 Tundras and all 2008-2010 Sequoias.

There are questions of whether or not the pedal functioning is at fault, or whether the electronic control unit might be behind some of the acceleration issues. The Prius was added to the recall for 2005-2009 models, and former Apple co-owner Steven Wozniak has publicized electronic control issues he faced.

No matter what ends up being the solution, Toyota has taken a major hit in future resale value even if it eventually returns to its previously strong sales figures. Insiders in the automotive industry look at the Ford Explorer/Bridgestone tire recall in 2000, and the plight of Audi in the 1980s as examples of what could happen to Toyota based on current public response.

If you were thinking of buying a Toyota this year, you're now sitting pretty. Toyota is desperate to fix their image and get sales back up. Many car shoppers will be avoiding Toyota like the plague. But consider this: Toyota vehicles are still considered to be great quality. They WILL get the gas peddle issue fixed but their sales are sure to suffer.

We can expect to see some incredible incentives and some incredible deals on Toyota vehicles in the next few months as they try to reclaim lost sales. If you're top priority is to get an incredible deal, this is your perfect storm.