What Makes Toyota Reliable?
What Makes Toyota Reliable?
It’s no surprise that Toyota vehicles have earned a reputation over decades as one the highest quality vehicle makers in the world. In fact, it’s fair to say that Toyota established Japan as the nexus of advanced manufacturing techniques that emphasize quality. The destruction wrought by World War II meant the Toyota had a chance to restart with a clean sheet, and it used the opportunity to optimize quality rather than quantity. This meant, for example, using a single press for each car part – a slower process but one that results in fewer flaws.
The approach evolved into the Toyota Production System (TPS), which was and still is the guiding philosophy for creating reliable vehicles. It consists of two tenets:
- Jidoku: This loosely translates as “automation with a human touch.” In other words, the human eye is the ultimate judge of quality. It’s standard procedure in a Toyota plant to stop a manufacturing line if an engineer perceives a problem, and restart only after the cause has been resolved.
- Just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing: The technique is to order and make only what is needed, which saves money by eliminating waste and conserving resources.
While originally a Japanese manufacturer, Toyota now makes vehicles for local markets all around the world. That’s why Toyota manufactures most of its American-market cars in America. The TPS is easily adapted to the prevailing practices employed in each country and region.
In addition, Toyota practices lifetime employment to the extent possible. This gives workers the opportunity to really master their skills, another facet of product quality. This approach also works for management and engineering. Low turnover allows Toyota to institutionalize the most efficient ways to build high-quality vehicles. And keep in mind – Toyota parts are built to exacting specifications, and we use only Toyota parts to maintain your Toyota car.
Toyota engineers often grab vehicles off the line and strip them down to check for any manufacturing problems. They also disassemble competitor models to stay on top of the latest innovations.
Dealerships like ours employ top service technicians who receive Toyota factory training and industry certification, ensuring that the quality built into a new Toyota vehicle is maintained over its entire service life. We invite you to visit our Toyota dealership today to experience the legendary reliability built into every Toyota vehicle we sell.
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Treat Yourself Sales Event
Now until Labor Day, Continental Motors Group is running a Treat Yourself Sales Event! We believe in ‘ME’ days and taking the time to make your mind and body feel happy and at peace. As a part of the Continental family, Continental Toyota is giving you the opportunity to treat yourself to a new or used car! Our friendly staff is here to assist you with all your needs and make sure you drive off in the car of your dreams.
PLUS, not only can you drive off in an amazing car, you can also drive off with a $250 Spa Day gift certificate! We are currently running a Facebook contest to give one lucky winner a spa day at Mario Tricoci!
A car and a spa day? We think that’s a great way to treat yourself!
Check out our inventory and start thinking about that dream car!
Back to School Car Care
It seems like summer break just started and all of a sudden it’s August and we’re all gearing up for back to school season! To make this busy time as smooth and easy as possible, we’ve decided to give you some tips to get your car ready for school!
- Keep Up with Basic Maintenance:Make sure to complete simple maintenance tasks like oil changes and tire rotations. Check all the fluid levels and top them off if necessary including brake fluid, transmission fluid and coolant. If you can’t remember the last time you changed your wiper blades, you might want to invest in some now before rain’s fall takes its toll. While these are simple, minimal maintenance items, they will extend the life of your vehicle and keep it functioning properly. To schedule a service appointment, click here.
- Check the Owner’s Manual:Familiarize yourself with the recommended maintenance schedule. If it is time for a 30,000 mile service, take the time to have the vehicle serviced. Most major repairs can be prevented by following manufacturer recommendations. If you are wondering which services you might be due for, call our service advisors at 708-589-7653 and they can assist you!
- Check Your Dash Board:Have you grown accustomed to a warning light? Don’t ignore it! Have it checked out sooner rather than later; catching a problem early will prevent costly repairs in the future. For a better understanding of your dashboard indicator lights, read our guide here.
- Be Prepared:Make sure the vehicle has basic safety equipment including jumper cables, a pair of gloves, flashlight with extra batteries, washer fluid and other items. A pre-packaged auto safety kit is also a great choice. They are compact and provide everything you need. Some other good ideas include compact winter shovels, ice scrapers, blankets and bottled water.
- Know Your Car:Pay attention to your car and familiarize the drivers in your family with the car as well. Make sure they know where they can find the safety equipment, spare tire and owner’s manual. Familiarize yourselves with the particular noises of your car so you are more aware of anything unfamiliar and different.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact our Service Department for assistance.
Continental Toyota & the Hinsdale Humane Society
Continental Toyota is very happy to announce that we are now partnering with the Hinsdale Humane Society to feature a ‘Pet of the Month’ in the hopes that we can raise awareness about adopting loving pets. These loving animals have arrived to the shelter from different locations and all under different circumstances, but what is certain, is that they are full of love and ready to find a forever home!
Our first official pet of the month was Porkchop, a friendly Pitbull/Catahoula Leopard Dog, but he’s not the only one hoping to find a home!
If you’re interested in submitting an application for any of these loving pets, click here, or if you’d like to check out their Facebook page for more information, click here.
Plant with Purpose
This month we partnered with Plant with Purpose to plant a tree in the developing world for every vehicle and tire sold in May. Plant with Purpose educates communities and shows them that caring for the environment builds resilience, increases crop yields, and revitalizes their community for a long term future. The implementation of sustainable agriculture techniques has lead to more productive crops, and these family farms have flourished.
Savings groups are established so farmers do not depend solely on outside donations, but on the savings from their agricultural sales. These efforts to employ the farmer’s talents and be active participants in change help contribute to discovering they can grow out of poverty.
In order to help spread the word, we gave our employees desk plants so they can feed them and watch them grow, and tell our customers how their purchases are changing the world one plant at a time.
We would like to thank all of the customers that have taken part in this partnership and contributed to making this world a better place.
If you’d like to join Plant with Purpose’s mission to end deforestation and extreme poverty, you can donate here: https://www.plantwithpurpose.org/purpose-partner/
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- Nathan and his plant
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- Adrian and his plant
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- Some of our employees’ plants
Memorial Day Holiday Hours
Toyota Partners with Javy Baez
Toyota is the official vehicle of the Chicago Cubs, and now the second baseman, Javy Baez, is showcasing his beautiful new Toyota 4Runner!
Below you can see him next to his fancy new ride, getting ready to start the new baseball season! Follow him on twitter to stay updated on Javy’s new SUV!
Dashboard Indicator Lights – What They Mean
Do you ever feel like your car is talking to you but you just don’t know what it’s saying? A light you’d never seen before lights up on your dashboard and suddenly you’re scrambling through everything to find that manual that describes what it means.
At Continental Toyota, we want you to know that our customer’s experience is our number one priority, even when you are not present at the dealership. That is why we have created a page that explains all the lights on your dashboard, in case you’re away from us when your car starts giving you a warning sign. You can find the page under our Service tab, or simply click here. Just click on each light indicator to learn what it means. And don’t worry, this page is mobile-friendly too for those times when you’re away from home and don’t have access to a computer!
Why Your Car Needs Some Spring Cleaning Too
When the weather starts warming up, we usually enjoy planting some flowers, cleaning our closets, and vacuuming our whole place to welcome spring. It’s very refreshing and some even say it ‘cleans the soul’ when you say bye to the old and welcome the new with the changing season. Well, at Continental Toyota, we would like you to know that your spring cleaning efforts are not ignored, and we would even like to help you take it one step further and give your car the spring cleaning treatment it deserves!
Our Continental Toyota Detail Center helps bring back that new car glow you fell in love with when you purchased your vehicle. Here at Continental Toyota we detail all makes and models so we can handle all your detailing needs. From quality full service washes to deluxe exterior waxes, our attention to detail guarantees that your vehicle will not just be turning corners – but turning heads.
For the specific details of our cleaning packages, click here. You can also call us at 708-589-7653 at any time if you have any questions or need to schedule a service!
Buying vs. Leasing
Looking for a new car, but unsure about what is the best choice between buying or leasing? This decision will ultimately depend 
on your needs, not only financially, but also in terms of the purpose of the car. Keep reading to learn more about advantages of each, in order to help you determine what will work best for you!
Advantages of Buying:
If you’re looking to have a car that you can modify to your taste, then buying might be a better choice for you. When you purchase a vehicle, you are the owner and therefore you can modify it as you wish (within the bounds of the law). You can also drive the vehicle as much as you want, since there are no mileage restrictions. If you have longer commutes, or enjoy going on long road trips, purchasing a car may be the better option for you.
If you take proper care of your car to ensure it has a good, long-lasting life, then buying a car might be more economical in the end. If you buy a car that lasts you for several years, and you are able to drive it for thousands of miles, then you’ve really made the most out of it, and are more likely to end up spending less money in the end.
Advantages of Leasing:
If you are looking for lower monthly payments on your car, then a lease might be the way to go for you. Leasing means lower monthly payments and a lower down payment than purchasing a car. In some cases, there may not even be a down payment at all with a lease!
Since you are making lower monthly payments, leasing a vehicle allows you to drive a higher-end model for a very affordable price. Yes, this means you can get that high-level trim with all the fancy details you’ve always wanted for a great price!
We cannot emphasize the lower cost enough, but if you are the type of driver that only uses the car to go short distances, then a 
lease is definitely the better option. There is a restriction on the amount of miles you can put in the car, but if you generally commute short distances, then you can get a better car for a much lower price. In addition, a lease is more affordable to service due to the default factory warranty. This means paying less out of pocket for repair services than you would with a purchased car.
With a lease, the trade-in pressure is lifted because you return the vehicle at the end of the lease period (as stated in your contract) and then it’s up to you to either lease another vehicle, purchase a car, or simply go without one. There is no need to worry about trading in the vehicle, or even finding a buyer when it’s time to let go of the car.
Overall, buying or leasing a car is a personal preference. Our Sales Consultants are here to help you and they will gladly walk you through your different options and their advantages to determine what will work best for you. We also encourage you to check our Incentives page to check out our current offers and specials!
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