Toyota’s lawsuit trouble just keeps getting worse as people face diminishing returns on the value of their car, regardless of the fact that their acceleration surges, their brakes don’t work, or the drive line tube might rupture on the car they just bought. As stated in Reuters:

Consumer lawsuits seeking economic damages for diminished value or lost use of a recalled Toyota vehicle have been filed in at least 30 states, mostly in federal court, and could end up costing the car maker over $2 billion, Tim Howard, lead counsel for a team of law firms handling about half the cases, estimated.

Soon it will be 50 states because there are Toyotas everywhere. And 2 billion dollars is a low estimate. Most likely it will cost them, over the long run, the most important thing they currently have in the market, confidence.

Toyota’s Sliding…and Just In Time For the Olympics

Are you in the camp that these lawsuits are frivolous? Well, let’s keep in mind that the company knew last November about many of the problems and perhaps even earlier than that. Did a recall come then? No. It took nearly 31 accidents related with these faults since September to budge the vehicular behemoth. Do you think politicians or under funded non-profit consumer groups are going to force them to compensate? No. The only protection the consumer has is litigation. As stated in CNN Money today:

“Lawyers are champing at the bit to get at these guys, and the company has come out and largely admitted mistakes in respect to these issues,” said Craig Hutson, senior investment grade analyst at Gimme Credit, a bond research service firm. ”It’s hard to put a dollar amount on it, but multi-billion dollar costs are not out of the realm of possibility.”

An 8 Million Car Recall Is Bound to “Ding” Your Credit

Companies have credit ratings just like individuals do. Toyota’s credit is about to go from sterling credit to tarnished-and-in-need-of-some-care credit. Moody’s the credit rating agency is contemplating downgrading the beleaguered company.

This is in spite of the fact that they have a $23 billion dollar surplus. Something that neither the mounting lawsuits, lawyers, plaintiffs, and jurists are going to readily forget. Toyota has had a meteoric upsurge dominating the competition on every level. But look at the list of recalls:

• 2009-2010 RAV4
• 2009-2010 Corolla
• 2009-2010 Matrix
• 2005-2010 Avalon
• Certain 2007-2010 Camry
• 2010 Highlander
• 2007-2010 Tundra
• 2008-2010 Sequoia

Notice that the list goes back a half a decade and keep in mind that they started selling the 2005 cars in early 2004. If it is found that they knew about these faults that long ago and did nothing about it, it will take them at least five hard years to recover.

Next Year Might Be the Time to Buy A Toyota, This Year, We Sue

Would a company build a defective product after a massive scandal like this? Not likely. You never know, they might actually do what their advertising says, “We build the most reliable cars, blah, blah, blah, resale value, blah, safety rating, blah-de-blah.” Until then, if you own a Toyota, I would call your dealership today and make an appointment. Then park the car until your appointment. Then drive very cautiously to the dealership.

If you or any of your loved ones are affected by these serious problems in Toyota vehicles call Phillips Webster. Find out your legal options. It is the best way for you, the Toyota owner and driver, to be heard. Call Phillips Webster today.