What Truck Do You Recommend

[bigrun]

Originally Posted by Ocala Mike

I'm driving a 2004 Ford Ranger; like it a lot. Would recommend a Ford, definitely.

Originally Posted by Danzig

but ford is on our 'list' (places we don't do business) so i guess it's the last of its kind for us.

My son works for Ford so i push them...Jus sayin.
I had a 97 Ford- Mercury Marquis LS for 12 years, loved it..till my grandson totaled it....Had two caddy's before that and liked the Marquis over them.

[GenuineRisk]

This thread reminds me of how grateful I am not to own an automobile. Not because I don't like driving; I do, but holy cow, do they suck up a lot of money, and for most of the country you don't have a choice; you can't even get to the grocery store without one.

My last car was a 1976 Caprice Classic. My dad was so concerned about any of us kids getting into a wreck that he would only let us drive boats. That thing was the length of a station wagon without actually being a station wagon. Too bad I was such a nerd in HS; it had an enormous back seat that didn't get nearly enough use.

By far, the best out of all of the behemoths we had was my granddad's old Buick. What a nice car. I was p*ssed when my brother totaled it.

Never owned a truck, but my uncle has a 92 Ford that is still kicking.

[hi_im_god]

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

This thread reminds me of how grateful I am not to own an automobile. Not because I don't like driving; I do, but holy cow, do they suck up a lot of money, and for most of the country you don't have a choice; you can't even get to the grocery store without one.

My last car was a 1976 Caprice Classic. My dad was so concerned about any of us kids getting into a wreck that he would only let us drive boats. That thing was the length of a station wagon without actually being a station wagon. Too bad I was such a nerd in HS; it had an enormous back seat that didn't get nearly enough use.

By far, the best out of all of the behemoths we had was my granddad's old Buick. What a nice car. I was p*ssed when my brother totaled it.

Never owned a truck, but my uncle has a 92 Ford that is still kicking.

where do you live that you can get by without a car?

i just started driving to work on monday morning and then leaving it at the train station until friday night a few months ago. it cuts my commuting from 260 miles/week down to 82 but that's still a long way from zero.

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by hi_im_god

where do you live that you can get by without a car?

i just started driving to work on monday morning and then leaving it at the train station until friday night a few months ago. it cuts my commuting from 260 miles/week down to 82 but that's still a long way from zero.

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.

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

This thread reminds me of how grateful I am not to own an automobile. Not because I don't like driving; I do, but holy cow, do they suck up a lot of money, and for most of the country you don't have a choice; you can't even get to the grocery store without one.

My last car was a 1976 Caprice Classic. My dad was so concerned about any of us kids getting into a wreck that he would only let us drive boats. That thing was the length of a station wagon without actually being a station wagon. Too bad I was such a nerd in HS; it had an enormous back seat that didn't get nearly enough use.

By far, the best out of all of the behemoths we had was my granddad's old Buick. What a nice car. I was p*ssed when my brother totaled it.

Never owned a truck, but my uncle has a 92 Ford that is still kicking.

I moved out of Boston in '98 thinking it would save me so much money... While rent is certainly cheaper, factoring in car payments, insurance, gas, repairs etc. it makes it a virtual wash.

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by Sightseek

I moved out of Boston in '98 thinking it would save me so much money... While rent is certainly cheaper, factoring in car payments, insurance, gas, repairs etc. it makes it a virtual wash.

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.

[Crown@club]

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.

[trackrat59]

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

[ntheiroff]

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.

[Crown@club]

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]

[Coup Verville]

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.

[cal828]

Originally Posted by bigrun

My son works for Ford so i push them...Jus sayin.
I had a 97 Ford- Mercury Marquis LS for 12 years, loved it..till my grandson totaled it....Had two caddy's before that and liked the Marquis over them.

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.