I had two caddy's before I had my truck and have to say I like my truck better. There was something perpetually wrong with the 2 caddys I had and they were expensive as hell to fix. One thing about a caddy though, not the worse thing to be in an accident with. I got broadsided coming home from work one day in the last caddy I owned. Was traveling westbound in one lane and ended up in the other lane headed the other way. Impact was so hard, it broke the rear axle, but I didn't have a scratch.

I live in Manhattan. And my parents (three hours away) are less than 5 miles from an Amtrak station so it's very easy to take the train to them. Anything not near a train station, we rent a car. Which, admittedly, costs a f*cking fortune to do in Manhattan- $150 a day and up, and that's before insurance and gas. But we don't need to do that more than once or twice a year.

There's lots I can bitch about re: living in NYC, but the public transit is really very good. A long subway ride becomes an opportunity to catch up on reading.

Aqueduct is easy to get to, but Belmont can be a pain when the Belmont Special isn't running. Doable, but it's a train to a very crowded bus.

Lots of FORD bashing.
My 2003 Continental runs like its brand new. Inside of it could pass for 2012.

Love my F350's have an 08 that I use for work and another 11 for everything else. I like another poster I would not buy a GM on principle and have had them in the past and they don't hold up when used for work purposes.

So true. One of the smartest things I ever read about budgeting was not to separate taxes from rent from food, but to look at everything as "money in vs money out" because it gives you a much clearer picture of how much your life actually costs to maintain in different areas of the country.

The 2012 Ford F-150 Lariat has been fabulous.

Had a 2002 Ford Sport Trac before this one. That vehicle was a thing of beauty also, but not recommended for hauling.

Other Fords in the past.
1993 Ford Explorer XLT 4x4 was a POS. Kept finding metal shavings in the transmission filter. No answer for it. Transmission needed replacing constantly.

1989 Ford Escort - another POS that couldn't last long. Constant issues with alternator.

1981 Ford Granada - best car of them all. Ran beautifully with hardly an issue.

1976 Ford Granada - lasted a long time with few issues.

That's my experience with Fords.

Thanks everyone for the great feedback. This has been helpful.

After many GM products, a couple of Mercedes and a Lincoln Towncar, I bought a 2010 Ford F-150 Harley Davidson Model Ford 2 years ago. It has all of the "bells and whistles" including a mechanical running board that extends out when you open the door. It is the most comfortable ride that I have ever owned. Plenty of room front and back. Have had many compliments on it's appearance. It may not be the vehicle that you would drive to your daughter's wedding, but for most other uses, it is perfect. Drove it from NC to Saratoga last August, stopping only for gas and coffee, it was a dream.

Hey off, my granddaughter is a PI lawyer in Winston-Salem, if anyone ever bangs your ride :eek:, hope not, but let me know and i'll put you in touch.:$:
btw, NC is a no no on most betting sites, you use offshore?

I have a 2003 Ford F150 Supercrew 5.4L V8. Pulls 2 horses and a smaller bumper pull trailer just fine. Has 215k miles on it. Original trany and engine, no major issues. I would buy another one, however I would NEVER buy a new truck. You can get such a better deal on 1-3 year old trucks than if you buy them new

Wiphan: Thanks for the insight. Do you have any recommendations regarding the best source for purchasing used? Also, what type of mileage is reasonable for a used truck?

Thanks

If I was to buy another used Ford truck I would look first at the dealers of other brands. Ford trucks at Ford dealers are more expensive than they would be at a GM dealer for instance. In our area we have a good used dealer that specializes in trucks. http://www.lenzauto.com/
I try and find a 2-3 year old truck bought off lease and try to determine if they used it at all for pulling something heavy. A dead giveaway would be does the truck have trailer brakes, etc. Look at the hitch receiver does it look like it has been used, etc. There are a lot of 1/2 ton truck owners that have never pulled anything. I like buying these because they may have less wear and tear. I bought my 03 in 2005 with just over 20k on it. I have also heard of a lot of people going to TX to buy bigger used trucks because they cost less there because there are just more of them. Internet is great for research on prices, etc. Best of luck.

Mileage all depends on what you want to spend. 1/2 ton or bigger trucks if taken care of can run for a long time. Diesel trucks can run even longer. I would not be scared of higher mileage, but again it all depends on what you think the truck is used for. If you have a horse trainer or someone who just uses the truck to pull stuff then 30k might be a lot of wear and tear. If you have someone who never pulls anything 100k might be just fine. It all depends on how the truck was used. That is tough sometimes to determine and people and dealers will lie

this is why i don't buy used. you don't know what you're getting.

I agree but in 5 mins I found this example

2013 Ford F150 Lariat Supercrew for $54,000

a used 2012 with 5k miles on it for $42,000

Is 5,000 miles worth $12k to you? To me I can do a lot with $12,000 extra. Same exact truck just one year older.

i wouldn't buy either! lol too much money for both of them...

That 1993 Ford Explorer was bought used at 18,000 miles. Maybe I should had said that before. Thought I was getting a good deal, even already had trailer hitch set up for it. But like I said this thing had constant transmission issues, and the constant findings of metal shavings in the transmission filter could never get resolved.

My 2002 Ford Sport Trac sits in a Kia lot looking to be sold for $9700. It needs work on, but I doubt anything has been done. Like I said it ran great, but its nothing more than just a regular vehicle. The work that it needs. New brakes, air conditioning fix, replace driver side bucket seat, replace steering wheel. Running boards also some rust. Surprise it hasn't gone to the auction, but their is no way Kia is going to sale it.

EDIT:
The 2012 Ford F-150 Lariat has been fabulous.

Had a 2002 Ford Sport Trac before this one. That vehicle was a thing of beauty also, but not recommended for hauling.

Other Fords in the past
1993 Ford Explorer XLT 4x4 was a POS [EDIT: Bought Used at 18,000 miles]. Kept finding metal shavings in the transmission filter. No answer for it. Transmission needed replacing constantly.

1989 Ford Escort [EDIT: Bought used at 9,000 miles] - another POS that couldn't last long. Constant issues with alternator.

1981 Ford Granada - best car of them all. Ran beautifully with hardly an issue.

1976 Ford Granada - lasted a long time with few issues.

That's my experience with Fords.[/quote]

I have driven Fords my entire life. I currently drive a 2008 F250 with the 6.4 Diesel. I tow a trailer every day for work and on the weekends, tow a 32 foot horse trailer with living quarters. In the 4 years I've had it, it tows like a dream. My only problem with it is that it doesn't get very good gas mileage.

In all honesty, my next truck will probably be a Dodge. Their diesel engine is way more powerful and at the same time, more fuel efficient. While I get around 10 MPG towing, my friend who tows a horse trailer much larger than mine gets around 15. And, his has much fewer miles(in a diesel, the engine isn't even broken in until about 50,000 miles!!!).

If you have any further questions, PM me. I deal with this a lot, so I may be of some help.

i don't know that i'll ever buy a diesel. they cost more on the front end, you get less when you trade it in, and diesel costs more. our gas burner hauls without missing a beat, and gets 16 mph when doing so. i love that truck! :D we made sure when we had it built to get the heavy duty transmission, etc as we planned to eventually buy a 5th wheel camper.
it hauled a pallet plus of shingles, while pulling another load of shingles on a trailer-and that stuff is heavy. no problems at all.