O/T-New car thoughts
 

I've been thinking about something a little more, shall we say, manly for my next vehicle. Though I love my VW Passat wagon and it has served me extremely well, I've been looking at a he-man vehicle. Specifically, a diesel-powered, crew-cab, 4x4, manual trans 3/4 ton pick-up truck <insert Tim Allen grunt here>.

Prices are attractive for this particular combo and with auto sales being soft, dealers are working hard to earn my business. I've looked at a Ford and a Dodge and am partial to the new Ram <No Gomer, it's NOT a Hemi>

What do you all think?

Todd

He Man truck
 

Do you really need one? If so than fine what are you gonna tow with it? Haul with it?

Dodge Rams from new have had tranny issues. Granted they have been improved on but from my understanding it'd be like buying a 97 SVX. Better, but not great.

I think the Diesel's fair a bit better but not sure how much.

Personally I'd shy away from anything Dodge related due to resale. Maybe I'd consider it if I kept it til it died but you need to factor resale value in when you buy. Even for trucks their resale lags greatly behind Ford and Chevy. Others may disagree but working at an auto auction gives me a lot of first hand knowledge on cars and their values.

I can't say I'm as versed as benebob on current truck prices but My father-in-law picked up a Dodge Ram (V8 Magnum) and he really digs it.

Well whatever that is worth

Don't buy a Dodge. The trannys blow up and the front ends wipe everything out at 30k miles. Don't buy a Ford they have more problems than the puplic knows and they start to rot out underneath with 10kmiles on them. The new Chevys seem to be pretty good. The engines are Izuzu and the trannys are allisons so you can't go wrong there. Plus you can get the cool 4ws. Personally unless you are really going to do some hauling I,d just get a nice Toyota Tundra TRD That I force Engine is wicked.

Dodge Ram
 

I must admit too that everyone I've know that had a Ram loved it too.

Subafreak does have a point about the Toy truck though. Did anyone else see that Toy is entering the NASCAR Truck series in 2004? Could be a precursor for a Toy car in NASCAR.

Is Dodge still using those crappy front brakes from the Chevy pick-ups and the rear brakes from a mid-70's Impala station wagon? You know, the ones that go metal-to-metal in 18k miles or less? Have they fixed the problem with the RH A-pillar breaking? I have yet to see any Dodge dealer with less than three transmission mechanics. Let's not forget that all Chrysler products will need a new a/c evaporator before the ink on the sales contract dries. Maybe they'll throw in a Neon to carry around in the bed, just in case... *wicked grin*

Allow me to toss a thought out here: Dodge's diesel is supplied by Cummins, a company owned by Ford. Hmmmm.... would you sell your competitor an engine that was better than yours?

Chevy. It's about time they quit selling that horrible piece-o-crap 6.x diesel they've been sticking suckers with for years now. And I wonder how much it's going to hurt the poor (or soon to be poor) owners that find out that 1) Allison has been so far behind on their rebuild program for the past four years (at least) that your name is put on a list, and 2) you'll be thinking you're buying a new truck when it finally comes in. I'd rather take my chances with a Dodge. Kinda like playing Russian roulette with two bullets loaded.

The Ford (the #1 seller for who knows how many years now) sell their diesel in 65% of their super duty models. However there is a new wrinkle here. Ford has just announced and released a 32 valve 6.0L diesel mated to a new 5speed automatic. Who wants to jump on board with a brand new powertrain? Even though Ford is my personal fav in this segment, I'd probably hold off for a year or two.

So, you wanna know my choice? You wanna be the baddest mofo on da block? Get yourself an International low-boy chassis with a DT366 and a four door cab. Can you say 500,000 miles? Even if you get tired of it there are plenty of people around that want them for hauling their horsies, antique cars, etc. Plus you don't see sixty of them in the lot every time you go to Home Depot or White Castle. I've even seen a few websites from companies that do custom cabs, limo like or RV style. Lookee: http://www.navistar.com/assets/pdf/I...ab_CrewCab.pdf
http://www.cowboycadillac.com/CC-MOTORHOME_3.JPG

Imagine the fun you could have at the valet stand! :D

truck
 

GM all the way!!!!dont they on partof subaru too you cant o wrong with a company that has that kind of rep....my dad has a 99 v8 chevy NICETRUCK plenty of pull power!!!:D

Yeah I quoted the whole thing... good take and right on Beav!!!

There is only one real truck.......MACK !!!

Wow, more feedback than I thought I'd get
 

Thanks for your insight.

My thought process is as follows on this one guys.

Ford - Like the truck, but share Beav's well-founded concern on the new Navistar 6.0, 32V diesel. Many owners have had problems with this one so far. Enhanced rev range (for a diesel) of 4200 rpm red-line is nice however. Ford offers a Cummins powerplant option in their F-550 range-hmmmm.

Chevy - New Isuzu sourced diesel is problematic as well. A personal friend of mine is a Tech Service guru for GM and has reported a rather serious problem with injector leakage which washes oil out of the bore, causing significant wear. The leakage continues, filling the crankcase with a diesel fuel/oil mix until the wear is so bad this mix re-enters the combustion chamber. As diesels run until out of fuel (even with the ignition off) owners have shut off their trucks only to find them continuing to run on the diesel/oil mix until the crankcase is evacuated with disastrous results. He warned I'd be lucky to get 60K out of the new Duramax engine. My uncle has his 2003 Chevy 2500 pick-up in the shop right now for a rear differential replacement. Truck has less than 3000 miles on it!

Dodge - Many friends have had luck with this package (diesel w/MANUAL trans, not the notorious Mopar automatic) and have multiple hundreds of thousands of miles. Price is lower than the Ford for a similar package. Powertrain warranty is longer, remaining warranty is the same as the Ford. Brakes are re-designed this year on the Dodge trucks. My AC functioned fine on my Chrysler 300M, even after 3 years and 75K miles.


I intend on hauling a 24' car trailer with a traveling road show of the products I sell to industry. I'll use it to transport my fathers boat around the state. This will also be used to ferry other purchases I make (cars, tools, car parts, etc.). Otherwise, it will be a daily driver that sees high-mileage. The reason for the diesel is the extended life of the powertrain and enhanced mileage while towing compared to a gas powerplant.

Re: O/T-New car thoughts
 

I thought you said manly. Instead of those candy-ass little trucklets, get yourself a freakin' K-Whopper. :D :D :D

You know old truckers never die, they just get a new PeterBilt.
:rolleyes: