kschilk 0 #26 March 7, 2008 Stay away from diesels, they're all junk. All of them are overpriced, overweight, severely underpowered and about as reliable, as a BIC in a hurricane. If you're looking for a lawn ornament or a counterweight for a towtruck, ya' can't beat 'em! The "Come-ons", "Dump & Craps", "Power Jokes", and even smaller "Scatterpillars" are nothing like their larger displacement relatives...which are nothing to brag about either. As for pickups, in general....nothing made today is really worth a crap, either. They all have their glitches but....well, lemme' put it this way.... I've been a mechanic for at least 35 years, mostly trucks and from S-10s to big rigs. I don't like to work on my own stuff and frankly, I just don't have the time. I own and drive GMs exclusively and except for consumables (brake pads, rotors, lamps, etc.), I never have to mess with 'em. At my garage business, I see Fords constantly, Dodges regularly, Toyotas, with increasing frequency and GMs...usually for the consumables mentioned above and annual state inspections. From my experience.... FORD - often difficult to identify and locate parts, what's supposed to be on it...rarely is. Parts are also usually the most expensive of all, including imports and they are extremely labor-intensive. DODGE - probably the easiest to work on, the least labor-intensive and parts are reasonably priced, though higher than GM and availability is good. Ball joints and wheel bearing assemblies are most prone to failure, especially in frequent off-road applications. CHEVY/GMC - GMC is top of the line but Chevy is comparable and a bit less expensive. GM parts availability is better than the others and the prices are usually much, much lower....quality is equivalent or higher. Probably the only mfgr. whose parts are interchangeable between models and brands...hence the lower prices. I'd say for the most part, they're in the middle of the labor scale but closer to Dodge. TOYOTA - Not your father's Toyota, believe me. Parts availability is spotty and they're priced like platinum. Formerly reliable, I'm seeing more of them and the newer models will beat you up, on labor costs....just below or equal to Ford. I most strongly recommend that you avoid rear disc brakes, on pickups and SUVs."T'was ever thus." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #27 March 7, 2008 QuoteA Toyota Tacoma. Why? It'll run forever, get reasonable gas mileage and is still big enough that you can sleep off a legendary drunk in the bed. I believe the Tacoma is rated to get 1 or 2 mpg better than my Tundra. Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #28 March 7, 2008 I've heard occasional bad things about the new Tundra, but no real horror stories. I've only got 14k miles on mine so far (a few thousand towing, and Turtle knows how much I lay off the gas), and no problems. Guess I'll keep my fingers crossed just in case, but so far I'm seeing nothing but the same reliability I had in my last Tundra (135k miles when I traded it in, with only an antenna complaint that was covered under a service bulletin). As for the Dodge, I think they're sharp looking and I've heard good things about their engines, bad things about their tranny. IIRC, I just read that the new Silverado won Consumer Reports best truck, beating out the Tundra only by its reliability rating. It's an odd world! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The_Don 0 #29 March 7, 2008 Quote Chevy - BAH! You would think this would kill the thread? I got nothing.I am NOT being loud. I'm being enthusiastic! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kschilk 0 #30 March 7, 2008 Dodge formerly had serious issues with their transmissions for a few years but I think they finally got it straightened out. Dodge is probably the most popular for snowplowing, right now...ya' can't do that with a weak tranny.Most Toyota problems I see are well above 20,000 miles and they're not driveability (engine/electrical) issues, usually chassis stuff. Bear in mind, my customers are farmers, oilfield workers, contractors, etc. and their equipment takes a beating....though it's fairly well maintained. The early "Yodas" held up better and were much easier to work on....too early to judge the '08s, though. Honestly, I'm seeing some frequent tranny problems with the heavier GM 2500/3500 series. Several have had to be replaced but most of these are contractors, that pull heavy trailers in a hilly region. Most of them are waaaay overweight, for the tow vehicle employed. Automatics are a poor choice for that kind of towing, anyway. Most people don't consider their potential future maintenence costs, it was never such an issue but things are changing. Many metropolitan shops are already approaching, if not exceeding $100.00/hr. Sure, there'll be competition but you're not gonna' be seein' any deals. The rising gas costs are going to seriously undermine garage businesses...folks driving less to save money on fuel and to make their old cars last....because with what they're paying for fuel, fewer will be able to afford new cars. Garage prices don't follow the supply/demand rules, less demand will only bring higher prices. "T'was ever thus." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
