3rd or 4th gen?????
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I was talking about the 05 and up F150 and I haven't found any research involving common or serious issues with them. Believe me though, I've always hated Fords just for the simple reason I could, but after searching forums and reviews, they seem to be solid rigs. I still would rather have an 08 Ram with the 310hp 4.7 and 6spd!! They are impossible to find.
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ramman, wut are u talking about? un have the 318 and the nv3500 thats the most dependable truck u can get. wut problems have u had? i know that normal things like brakes and bearing and water pumps go but the only problem i have ever had on my 318 nv3500 was the intake gasket. the guy never changed it for 140k it now has 164k. second, my 98 has original engine and trans and rear end and 260k and still runs like a champ. only things replaced outside of ordinary were radiator and the sensor in the rear end ($20). Fords definitley have the worst trucks period. especially when comparing the same vintage. the hoods never shut, the transmissions are worse than ours, they get same if not worse mpg, and to top it all off they are real slow and expensive to repair because of their complicated dual cam 5.4's. that throw spark plugs out of the heads (stripping the threads). Ford just had and still has plain ignorant engineering. they had two seperate metal gas tanks for over a decade and two fill doors (these tanks rusted and leaked) Dodge is the best truck. i would never buy another brand of truck. If someone is going to though, chevy is 2nd best. chevy is the only thing that can come close to the power and reliablility of dodge.
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Psssh. These trucks aren't well built. They last awhile if you maintain the crap out of it and replace everything that breaks. But other makes can go 100k before anything needs changing. I've put so much money into repairing it just to keep it going that I could have bought two vehicles.
Fords are underpowered compared to other makes (they brag about best fuel economy... what a laugh), and the newer ones are to new to tell about problems. Same with 4th Gen Dodges and the newer Chevys/GMCs.
When it comes to our model years, out here, Dodges have the highest resale value. If you want a serious workhorse, you buy a Dodge. If you want a grocery getter that can tow your horse trailer on the weekends, you get a Chevy/GMC. If you want a grocery getter, you get a Ford. (I'm talking about gassers here, not necessarily diesels.)
The Fords, from what I've read and heard from mechanics, have tranny problems almost as frequently as our Dodges do, BTW.
I think 95% of whatever make you get, as far as reliability is concerned, depends on the previous owner and what they did with it, usage wise and maintenance wise.
You think Kia Rios are cheaply made, try a Chevrolet Cavalier. My wife's 2001 Rio was extremely reliable, only thing that went wrong with it in the five years she/we owned it was the thermostat going out once. It was a stick, back when Kia used Mazda transmissions. Her parents bought a Cavalier once, ended up suing Chevrolet over it. The car had dozens of electrical issues, would speed up randomly sometimes when you hit the brake, sometimes on its own, would brake randomly when you hit the gas sometimes, windows wouldn't always work, so on and so forth. The dealership took it for a test drive (her parents looking to return it), pulled up next to my father-in-law who was standing in the parking lot and claimed their was nothing wrong with it. Then as the manager was going to park it, it throttled itself (on its own) over the curb and straight into the dealership wall. The dealership offered to get them a new one, they wanted their money back. Dealership and Chevrolet refused, but later paid them the money plus legal fees after my parents in law won the lawsuit.
According to a friend of mine who worked at a Kia dealership, the rios and Kia minivans have dozens of issues. The SUVs and Spectras seem to have few to none. My wife and I are looking at a Kia Borrego to replace her Grand Cherokee in a year and a half to two years when the truck is paid off. Trying to talk her into one of the newer Grand Cherokees, but she doesn't like the square-ish stance so much.
I checked out the 4th gen today and I must admit, they are beefy trucks. The exterior is very large and the hood is huge. The dash is bigger and there's lots of room inside. They even sit a little higher than my truck stock. Solid doors, soft seats, quality materials and great fit and finish. If they only came in a stick. . .
Last edited by jasonw; 03-23-2009 at 01:19 AM.