dharte said:
Buy the truck you want-but don't use reliability to justify the purchase.
My statement was not based
on old stereotypes of crappy American cars. It is based on what I have owned, and what my friends have owned.
Dependability, and function, that is about all I look at. If you can't trust the vehicle to be reliable then it is worthless. I have owned Chevy's, and there is two kids of Chevy's. The kind that has had the intake manifold gasket replaced, and the ones that need it replaced.
My Chevy's all needed transmissions replaced under 100,000 miles.
The fords I owned were full sized trucks and Rangers. They got poor millage and were not dependable. The Ranger was close to the lemon law. My ford cars left us on the side of the road multiple times. These cars had under 100,000 miles. My parents only owned fords. Their cars in the early 1970's were used up by 100,000 miles. People replaced them before the 100,000 mile mark because they knew they would break down. The Domestic made trucks and cars I owned were in fact unreliable.
Then I bought my first Toyota. It is a 88 xtra cab. I have 300,000 miles on it and it is my daily driver. I have owned it for 27 years and it has been reliable. When I am 100 miles down a two track on the desert I NEED and RELIABLE truck.
My second toy was a 96 4Runner. Again I still own that truck and I handed it to my son. Over 300,000 miles and it runs strong and is 100% dependable. I now own 7 and have given some to my kids and my wife has two and I have two trucks.
If reliability is not a part of the equation then what is important? Payload? what good is a ultra high payload if it is on a tow truck?
A friend of mine just bought a heavy duty 3/4 ton Dodge. It has less than 20,000 miles and he had to replace the transmission, and fuel injection system.
I know there are good and bad with all makes. But I have never had a bad Toyota and I have had 8 and still have 7 of them. One was hit by a guy texting and was totaled. We have over a million miles on the toys I own, and they are all good reliable vehicles.
Where I work we have a 1999 Ford F350. It has the 10 cylinder engine. It has right at 100,000 miles. The motor mounts have been replaced 4 times. The transmission was replaced once. The seat is uncomfortable to the point of being cruel and unusual punishment.
I just bought a 2016 4Runner trail edition. I bought it because of reliability and it fits a need we have for a small SUV that is dependable.
Resale value is without a doubt higher with Toyota and any of the others. I never sell mine but what that says is a lot of people need dependability.
I could NEVER buy another vehicle from the "Big Three". The price is higher than what I paid for my house and will most likely be worthless by the time it is paid off. I don't play that game any more.