Went from Ford to Chevy, did I screw up?

[mabr]

This is a little long but I want to give history so you understand why I bought what I did.

Well with the issues I was having on my 06 f150 and no one able to diagnose it without just replacing parts one at a time to eliminate them, I decided It was time for it to be traded in. FYI, my last 3 trucks have all been Fords and all but 1 was bought new.

After reading all the posts on the new eco boost I thought it’s what I would end up with, I went and drove one and was very impressed with it. But after researching and reading message boards for a month and weighting the issues I had with my ford ($700.00 dollar plug change, 3 coils and still having a miss and no one knows what it is) I began worrying about what issues I would have with the (still unproven)eco boost turbo down the road. I decided I didn’t want to take the chance and had the 5.0L priced out instead. Dealer gave me a pretty good price but the truck wasn’t on their lot so It gave me time to think it over.

I had never thought of buying anything but Ford, but I had a meeting with a customer in Brooklyn Park on Monday. Hey why not go look at Toyotas and Chevy while I’m down here and compare them to the ford? I pulled into the toyo dealer and they had 1 on the lot, just looking at it it didn’t feel or look like the truck for me. I’m really not sure why, but I just couldn’t picture myself in it so off I go to the Chevy dealer. I’ve owned 3 Chevy pickups in my life and never really had a bad thing to say about them (other than the interior trim always seemed cheaper to me} so I went in open minded and compared it against the ford. I pull into Luther Chev and see that it’s the last day of their 3 day sale on trucks, giving 10K off sticker. Alright they got me now, I have them write up what I was looking at after trade. Hmmmm pretty good deal especially on a 2011 that’s another 2K off. I already told the guy I wasn’t buying right then and don’t push it or he will for sure loose the deal. I call my ford dealer he counters with a better deal than his first, there about 2K apart with Ford being the higher of the 2 so I need time to think. Get home and remember I just got a rewards offer from my GM credit card for 2 k off on new vehicle purchase. That’s it if they honor that they got a deal. They did and I drove away that nite with a new 2011 LT Z71. I was happy, knew I got a good deal and I’m happy with the way it drives, feels and I like the looks as well.

Im feeling good, who doesn’t like having a new truck? I get home show the wife and boys my new baby and start to unwind. I start searching the internet to see what others have done as far as accessories. Go to a couple Chevy specific sites. Huhhhhh, oh no, OMG, why didn’t I do this before? The little bit of searching I did revealed some people are having a ton of issues with their late models trucks, oil use, tranny problems, brakes etc etc. OH no, did I just buy a lemon?

How many Chevy guys out there with 5.3L and 6spd tranny NOT having issues with your trucks?

To read some of the Chevy forums the complaints are many, and there from LOYAL GM fans!!!! I’m not seeing or hearing anything wrong with mine yet but I’ve only put 300 miles on it so far. What about at 30K. Am I being overly paranoid? There has to be Tons of good ones out there and the ones who are posting are the minority right?

I hate this; I shouldn’t have to be worried about what’s going to happen to my brand new truck at 10-60K miles. GM better start taking care of those squeaky wheels on the internet, or others like me are going to be afraid to buy a GM in the future. I know had I researched the Chevy prior to buying I’d be driving that new ford right now. My mistake, I hope I don’t pay for it in the long run, only time will tell I suppose.

[muddpuppy]

WOW..... Relax and enjoy! Everything with moving parts is going to have it's share of issues. You got a good deal on a nice truck enjoy it PIMP it out have fun!

I have a 03 LT Z71 loaded 140k no real issues. Most people are on line looking to solve a problem. The people not having problems don't think to post positive reviews becuase they are too bussy enjoying their toys.

[Scott K]

To start off I am a Ford guy, and a fan of the EcoBoost. But all vehicles will have something wrong with them sooner or later. You have a new truck, dont sweat what hasnt happened. You may have gotten the best one ever made, and wont ever need anything, or you could have lemon, you wont know til you own it for awhile. The same would go towards any new vehicle. Just because some one had issues with their 2010, doesnt mean the issue wasnt fixed, or that they were doing something wrong to cause the issue.

True story, In 2000 when the Ford Focus just came out, we got one towed in, she said it doesnt start. I looked it over, found the engine to be locked up. And noticed a large hole in the block, with a rod sticking out of it. Apon further inspection, I noticed the grey oil filter on it (installed from the factory when built). The car had 16,000 miles on it, and she never changed her oil. We asked her if she changed it, and she said straight out, NO. We asked her why, she said the salesmen never told her that the car needed to have its oil changed. Even though we gave free oil changes every 3000 miles until 36,000 miles, and it is all over the business as an incentive. She also had the Free oil change chart in her glove box, unused.

Anyhow, Ford didnt cover the engine repair, she bad mouthed Ford to no end, stop making her payments, and sued the dealer because no one told her the car needed to have its oil change done, and she won. I guess the morel of my story is, sometimes the ones complaining the loudest, are just complainers, and was looking to do as much damage to the Ford name as possible, because of something they did wrong, that the manufacturer didnt warranty.

Anyhow, kick back and enjoy your new ride, dont worry about if you made the wrong decision, the majority of vehicles dont have problems, but you dont hear about them very often, you only hear about the bad ones.

[brian6715]

You are worrying way too much. Although, I guess I wish I had a new truck to be paranoid about. Poor you

Anyone who says one brand or another is junk, is just plain wrong. They all have issues; but the fact of the matter is they are all extremely well built in today's day and age (except for a few lemons of course). If anything major goes wrong, it will be covered... so why worry? How would you handle owning a truck with +200k miles?!

I wouldn't worry, there are a lot of people that would love to have your problem

[Macgyver55]

If it makes you feel any better I just got a call this morning in fact from a close family friend with an 08 Ford with an excessive consumption problem at 65,000 miles.

If anyone could predict the future they would be the first. Enjoy the truck!

I'm jealous without even seeing it.....as if that matters!

[BoxMN]

FWIW, on my brother's 07 with the oil usage issue... he got a '12 engine, basically same as '11, and the service guys he was working with told him to not worry, that issue has been fixed and he will 100% NOT see it in this newer engine. Time will tell, but they said it was a specific known problem and been dealt with. So hopefully you won't ever have to deal with it. Even in those years previous, they said the 07 was a specific year that had it worse.

Aside from that, bro's truck is awesome, rides great, mpg is VERY good, power is great (I still have the old'98 with 350 to compare it to) and he has had no other issues with it in 5 years (other than he ripped that goofy front lower air foil thinige off a couple times on brushy/swampy trails).

Good luck and enjoy the rig!

[mabr]

Yeah I knew everyone would say dont sweat it, you've got a warranty, thats one thing GMC has over ford 100K instead of 60K warranty and I plan on driving it to 100K. Unless the Eco Boost proves reliablity after 5 years of actual use. If and when it does, Im getting a turbo boosted engine.

[Dave S]

Hopefully what BoxMN posted is true. I had an '08 Silverado that was serviced on a regular basis. It too had the oil "LEAKING" problem, not consumption. I noticed spots of oil in the driveway between 40-50K miles. By the time I hit 75k miles, the dealership still hadn't been able to figure out where the leak was. It was losing 4 quarts every 2K miles. Come to find out there was supposedly a service bulletin put out about the leak. Just the fact they didn't look into this further lost my confidence so I jumped ship to another Chevy dealer and never looked back.

Needless to say, much of my bad service experience was after a change of ownership and some of the service staff had left this dealership.

[Transporter]

First off, congratulations on your new purchase. Secondly, QUIT READING INTERNET FORUMS FOR MECHANICAL ADVICE! You'll drive yourself nuts, someones' two cents is generally worthless and just hearsay second, third or fourth hand anyway. This particular subforum has at best 3 or 4 participants that I would consider qualified to comment on atomotive diagnosis questions from what I've witnessed. I was a certified Ford mechanic for over 16 years, does that qualify me to talk knowledgeably on Chevs, Toyotas, Dodge? No, I worked on Fords everyday for the most part, I would offer advice and commentary only when I knew the specific cause and repair, not suggesting guesses. The self proclaimed experts on internet forums for the most part mean well, but this stuff isn't simple anymore and just 'cause something happens to one vehicle doesn't mean it happens to yours, leave the diagnosis to the experts, and you don't get that for free. You bought a machine, doesn't matter who built it, it's a machine and all machines break, period. Drive it, enjoy it and quit worrying about the internet forums, unless of course you need some dental surgery advice. Then by all means look to that dental forum expert who is a farmer, but knows something about livestock dentistry.

[Scott K]

First off, congratulations on your new purchase. Secondly, QUIT READING INTERNET FORUMS FOR MECHANICAL ADVICE! You'll drive yourself nuts, someones' two cents is generally worthless and just hearsay second, third or fourth hand anyway. This particular subforum has at best 3 or 4 participants that I would consider qualified to comment on atomotive diagnosis questions from what I've witnessed. I was a certified Ford mechanic for over 16 years, does that qualify me to talk knowledgeably on Chevs, Toyotas, Dodge? No, I worked on Fords everyday for the most part, I would offer advice and commentary only when I knew the specific cause and repair, not suggesting guesses. The self proclaimed experts on internet forums for the most part mean well, but this stuff isn't simple anymore and just 'cause something happens to one vehicle doesn't mean it happens to yours, leave the diagnosis to the experts, and you don't get that for free. You bought a machine, doesn't matter who built it, it's a machine and all machines break, period. Drive it, enjoy it and quit worrying about the internet forums, unless of course you need some dental surgery advice. Then by all means look to that dental forum expert who is a farmer, but knows something about livestock dentistry.

Exactly! Well, except for this forum, we are all pros

[Eric Wettschreck]

I was thinking a while back about switching from Chev to Toyota. I'd heard a lot of good things aboot the Tundras reliability and I thought an upgrade might be in order. I wasn't looking for something brand spankin new, just newer. Then I did a little shopping and I found the price tags outragous. Granted, I find the price tags on all newer trucks outragous so it isn't a knock on any particular brand.

I decided to stick with my rusty but trusty Chev.

It has almost a half million miles on it. Goes through a 4wd actuator every now and then and I put a transmission in it last winter. It's far from perfect and has had mechanical issues just like every other vehicle out there, but it's got almost a half million miles on it.

If you think you got a good deal relax and enjoy. Something on it will eventually break, just like on every brand of truck out there.

[Gordie]

I'm with Eric and the others relax and enjoy.

I have a 1995 1/2 ton ex cab 4X4 Chev with 435,000 miles on it that I just gave to my son and yes its had a few issues the transmission was replaced at around the 230,000 mark and I just went thru the whole front end last year but it starts when I turn the key.

I gave it to him and I got another Chevy and I'm not talking new. I'm sure sooner than later it will have its issues too.

Trucks and cars are not ment to last forever without an issue. IMO they are built to break so the auto companies can make money and if you look back in time you find the reason for discontinuing certain parts/pieces again this my opinion.

[delcecchi]

If you think you got a good deal relax and enjoy. Something on it will eventually break, just like on every brand of truck out there.

Yeah, but some brands and models eventually break a lot sooner and more often. I speak as the former owner of a 68 vw, a 77 impala, and an 85 tempo.

On the other hand, the 99 explorer has been reasonably good so far as has the 95 accord.

[PurpleFloyd]

I think you will do just fine. Having owned Ford, Chevy and Dodge trucks they all have good and bad points. I went with a Ram Cummins this time around and love it.

[Scott K]

Quote:

Yeah, but some brands and models eventually break a lot sooner and more often. I speak as the former owner of a 68 vw, a 77 impala, and an 85 tempo.

No way to tell if a new vehicle will have problems in the future. Unless you can see in the future, and if you can, and you are using your powers to see if your truck will have more issues then a different truck, you have some priorities mixed up.

[1johntimm]

Because I'am called a "troll" on here. I'd just like to state my findings. I see alot more issues with Fords and Chevy's, at least on this automotive forum. So does this mean Ford's and Chevy's have alot more breakdowns? That is a decision everyone has to make.

[rundrave]

Then I did a little shopping and I found the price tags outragous. Granted, I find the price tags on all newer trucks outragous so it isn't a knock on any particular brand.

I have been shopping for a new or used truck for over a year and I cant believe the prices they are not only asking for, but what they are actually selling for. Its ridiculous. For now I am just going to continue saving $$$, and the lack of nasty weather this winter has played to my advantage so far. Hopefully when gas goes up this spring I can find some better deals or incentives to buy because I am not paying the current prices I am seeing.

[Macgyver55]

I wouldn't say you are a troll, rather just a guy who is happy with his truck. Thats a good thing!

What I would say, is that a very large part of the reason you see more posts about the big 3 makers is that even in 2010 alone the numbers tell a big part of the story. Add up the Ford, Chevy and GMC trucks sold for the year and it is over a 7 to 1 ratio over the Toyotas. Now throw in the Dodge brand and its nearly a 9 to 1 ratio.

Not to take away from the Toyota, but with that many more people owning the others it stands to reason that there would be markedly more inquiries about the others.

Published numbers of light duty trucks

Ford F150 sold 313,393

Silverado 1500 sold 296,108

Dodge Ram 1500 sold 123,785

GMC 1500 sold 101,239

Tundra sold 93,309

Source [http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2011/01/the-ultimate-guide-to-us-pickup-truck-sales-in-2010.html]

[ricqik]

Most peeps i know who buy ford, gm, ram, buys a new one ever 3-5yrs n toyota owners tend to buy every 7-10yrs. That seems to reflect sales numbers. Could it be majorit of domestics dont last as long? Could it mean toyota owners just lobe their trucks more? Thats ur call to make. From my witness, some of my siblings have gone thru 3-5 domestic vehicles while those of us who have toyota still have our same vehicles.

[Dave S]

Not to take away from the Toyota, but with that many more people owning the others it stands to reason that there would be markedly more inquiries about the others.

I agree with this 100% but there are some who will continue to bang on the same old drum and say this isn't true or has nothing to do with the number of complaints about a particular brand.

Those are the people I would label a troll.

I didn't dislike my Silverado. Sure it had the oil leak issue but I fault the dealer for not admitting/recognizing there was a service bulletin on this problem. Instead, it seemed as though the truck was being used as an experiment for some fresh out of tech school kid to be able to tear down a truck.

[Macgyver55]

From my witness, some of my siblings have gone thru 3-5 domestic vehicles while those of us who have toyota still have our same vehicles.

That theory might hold up better if the 3 to 5 year old ones just went away for good, but we all know they dont. They just move on to someone else that keeps on driving them.

[SkunkedAgain]

That theory might hold up better if the 3 to 5 year old ones just went away for good, but we all know they dont. They just move on to someone else that keeps on driving them.

It might also be that the Yota's are too expensive to sell/buy in those first 3-5 years. About five years ago, I was in the market for a small truck. I ended up getting a brand new Ford Ranger for the same price that I would have paid for a 3-4 year old Tacoma. Why would I buy used when I got a new truck with warranty?

The point is that it might be tougher for Yota owners to sell them when the "value" is so high.

[Gordie]

Go back and look at the recalls on Yota trucks and you find they have there fair share of problems I own a 88 yota also and its a great little truck but I cant keep a head gasket in it.

They are not built for this kinda winter, well I mean the chemicals the frames rust away I have repaired many older yota's that need frame replacement and some of the newer ones are being recalled for this very thing.

Doesnt matter what you buy its going to be a problem someday in one way or another.

[CJH]

Most peeps i know who buy ford, gm, ram, buys a new one ever 3-5yrs n toyota owners tend to buy every 7-10yrs.

This is subjective. Most truck owners I know hold there trucks a long time, regardless of brand.

[rundrave]

They are not built for this kinda winter, well I mean the chemicals the frames rust away I have repaired many older yota's that need frame replacement and some of the newer ones are being recalled for this very thing.

This has been beaten to death on here about this frame issue with Toyota, I have posted this a few times already. The whole frame/rust issue wasnt even a recall it was an example of the commitment to their customers. It covered trucks from 1995 to 2000. And it was a very very small number of trucks that were even reported.

Toyota received reports on a small number of Tacoma frames that may develop corrosion that goes beyond the normal surface rust that’s commonly found on metal after years of exposure. All Toyota did was extend the rust-perforation warranty covering these trucks for a period of 15 years from each vehicle’s original date of purchase, with no mileage limitation. If the truck met the criteria Toyota gave you 150% value of truck.

It is proof about Toyota that nobody stands behind their product like they do. The big 3 would have been out of business years ago it they offered this type of commitment.