Non-Biased Reliability
I would like to know where I can find information
about reliability, that doesn't come from someone
like me, who has only driven Fords, and would
normally swear by them. I was considering a Ram
1500, and the mechanix at my shop told me that they
see fewer of those than Ford or Chevy, but that
might be because there are fewer on the road. So,
how do I know which truck will last longest? I
want a fullsize, for I am "full-figured" and my 73
F100 lasted for 325K miles before bending a pushrod
when the timing chain broke. So now, it's time to
move on. Anybody know where to look?
about reliability, that doesn't come from someone
like me, who has only driven Fords, and would
normally swear by them. I was considering a Ram
1500, and the mechanix at my shop told me that they
see fewer of those than Ford or Chevy, but that
might be because there are fewer on the road. So,
how do I know which truck will last longest? I
want a fullsize, for I am "full-figured" and my 73
F100 lasted for 325K miles before bending a pushrod
when the timing chain broke. So now, it's time to
move on. Anybody know where to look?
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Comments
If you got 325 out of the last one, you obviously know how to take care of a truck. Regardless of what you buy, it will probably last between 300 and 350. My only advice is to buy something that you're comfortable with!
Rich
I would investigate your local dealers, and go with the brand that has the best dealer, all else being equal.
come from a survey/study of cases from people
like us anyways
like..
although i have a new f250 sd and my mom has a 98
suburban, both which haven't given any problems
so far (and hopefully continues), we and others
have had awesome reliablity from toyotas (pickup
and cars)--but i think the word "reliability" is
a misnomer because usually if you take good care
of your vehicle, it's reliable. But what
differentiates the 91 pickup we had was that we
didn't constantly take good care of it and
constantly abused it off road, yet it and my mom's
previous and current camry seems to have really
great tolerance for abuse :-) e.g. camry: one time i was driving out in the desert hwy at night, had
to make a stop on the shoulder. but there was
a big metal "thing" (maybe a dumped part from a
semi) ahead of me that i couldn't see because it
was very dark, so as i speeded up looking to
merge, i rammed into that thing and it slid passed
under the car. although bumper was messed up,
nooo problems with the car
sorry for the long reply..
but i would go with ford, according to consumer
reports, they are best in reliability for
domestic. but then again, i guess it just depends
on your luck sometimes to "beat the odds", as my
mom's suburban has over 20,000 and no problems,
but some others have their chevy's just for a
couple thousand until stuff starts falling apart-
case in point: edmund's long term test for the
99 sierra--tester (woman who's not heavy at
all) grabs the A-beam? or whatever the support is
for driver door frame whenever getting in. and
not long after, the interior covering/molding
comes off; and i've also read of other not so good
things about its build quality.. but then again,
there are always those "buts" .. so i guess
i haven't given anything useful/definitive
afterall
My 2 cents:
1991 Nissan Hard Body:173000 miles burns NO oil
leaks NO oil.Clutch may need replacing by 200000.
I do brakes(2 sets), bulbs(5),belts(1) and mufflers(2).
It just keeps going.
simply got it replaced and that's it.
but i wouldn't consider that a factor in
reliability as that's just a "bug" from the
factory--reliability to me is how long something
correctly designed lasts (e.g. low reliability:
no flaw in design, functions correctly, but only
functions properly for a short time), so that would exclude crash worthiness in this case
--if it was somebody like volvo, then ok, that
would be an issue because that's a major part of
their design.
well, that's just my $.02 on my toyota experience
Mike
Luckly I did a lot of this work under warranty, but time has come to depart. I would suggest to all S-10 or Sonoma potential owners to steer clear. Go with the Ranger or Tacoma!
Shu13
108,000 miles and counting on my S10 4.3L, hardly any problems. My exhaust lasted 9 years. Great!
Rich
I have a 94 F150 4x4 with 40,000 miles plus that has been reliable except for the one times I had the transmission rebuilt. It is still a great truck overall. My 99 Tacoma is new and I can't really say that it is as reliable as the F150. I have had 92 Ford Mark III Conversion van that was very good up to the time I sold her at only 45,000 miles. Fords do hold up well, but then I don't have the high mileage to prove it.
The Japanese use better manufacturing techniques, increasing the probability of a good vehicle, but they are human and do make errors. The American manufacturers are catching up by leaps and bounds but still have old habits to overcome. The dealer is a vital link in your happiness and a poor dealer can make a little oops into a big problem and a good dealer will keep you satisfied no matter what. Several years ago, one of the automotive trade magazines did a survey and found that when a vehicle was taken in for warranty work, the American dealers had a higher satisfaction rating but the Japanese dealers saw a smaller percentage of new vehicles sold resulting in more satisfied customers. The used car market place reflects somewhat accurately the actual quality of the vehicles.
I would like to point out that Toyota sells vehicle all over the world and sells many more trucks in the third world (a bunch of smaller markets) than the American manufacturers. On the TV news from other parts of the world, I see a lot of Toyota pickup trucks and Land Cruisers. For the record, I buy Japanese or German because on average my friends and I get 200K out of them vs my friends who get 150k out of their American brands (please notice I said on average). I work for a automotive components supplier with customers in the US, Europe, and Asia.
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