Foghorn17

A casual read of the Ford forums about the oil consumption and long block replacements on the '18 5.0 engines would give me considerable pause on buying the Ford. Not being brand loyal, if the truck was one of the ecoboost engines (I can't believe I'm saying this) you'd probably have a better shot at reliability than the 2018 5.0. Here's a few to get you started. Hopefully Ford gets the issues with their 5.0 ironed out. 5.0 oil consumption 5.0 deceleration rattle 5.0 acceleration whistle

I didn't sleep at Holiday Inn last night, but you are absolutely correct. Look at the finance contract. If it is simple interest with no prepayment penalty, you can pay that sucker off ANYTIME you choose. I know this is going to be hard to believe, but some dealers will LIE and tell you 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, etc. Remember, any time a dealer employee's lips are moving, more than likely he/she is lying. Unless there's something in writing to the contrary, finance it and pay it off the next day.

Totally agree. If you are going to jump ship from GM, you might as well see what all the competition offers. If you do Ford, be a little leery of the 5.0....oil burning issues in 18's & 19s. so I hear.

As stated---PDR. When you get a good paintless dent repair guy, make friends with him and keep his contact info in your contacts. When you see the magic they can perform it doesn't make parking lot dings on nice vehicles nearly as stressful. My guy usually will usually fix me up for around $60 to pop a dent. Great money for him as its usually only 5 minutes (if that) of work for him, but what would $60 get me at a body shop? You will not be able to see the slightest indication of a dent when he's done.

The Ram guys seem to think it involves the blend of the HVAC. Some of them are using home plumbing materials to reroute coolant in essence blocking off or restricting coolant flow to the heater core. Those who have done it claim their air is much colder somewhere to the tune of 20 degrees.

While I don't have a T series truck....yet. I'm glad to hear that for the most part AC performance is being reported as it is. I've been reading on the RAM forums and that is one big issue that 19 Ram owners are having. AC vent temps at only 60 degrees F. https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/air-conditioning-performance.990/ I am fortunate that I live where it doesn't become oppressively hot very often, but sweltering in my truck is not on my bucket list. AC that actually works is a good thing. Always had good luck with GM AC performance; glad to hear for the most part AC appears to be okay on the new trucks.

+1 Groupthink! You nailed it.

Ah, give these auto journalists a break. Every week some manufacturer is flying them to some product intro where they get to drive the top of the line model in controlled conditions. Drive a new car, maybe multiple times per week, and rate the latest and greatest from every manufacturer on an ongoing basis....yeah not every vehicle may have the auto butt wipers. BUT if you are a normal consumer who trades, upgrades every few years and new car smell isn't an everyday experience....these trucks are a step up. I've had GMT800's, 900's, and now the K series. If and when I get a new 19+ T series I expect there will be some improvements. With that said there are a couple of things GM should bring back that were on older vehicles. Adjustable pedals for one and an underhood light as well. Otherwise I think I'll manage in a GM product. First GM truck was a 79 with a 250 straight six, vinyl seats, AM radio, no power anything. Yeah things have changed since then. The main thing I'm interested in is a vehicle I can spend my time driving, not nursing back and forth to the dealer for issues and problems. That's what makes a pleasurable ownership experience for me.

https://www.kbb.com/new-cars/best-resale-value-awards/best-resale-top-10-cars/ Both the GM twins generate higher resale values after 3-5 years of ownership. The Tundra and Tacoma are also great in this regard. Both FCA and GM have been trying to limit fleet sales because they destroy residual values, while Ford has been stepping on the fleet sales gas pedal. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ford-maintains-fleet-sales-gm-124639653.html It isn't necessarily about brand loyalty, but about finances. You buy a GM truck and you are historically going to lose less in depreciation vs the other American brands over the course of the intervening years. You are only stupid if you do not realize that cars are a depreciating asset and do not take measures to financially protect yourself to the greatest extent possible.

While F-series boast they are the #1 seller, that isn't necessarily true when you account that Ford is the king of fleet truck sales. Cheap, plain, white, vanilla priced to sell in large volume to fleet customers . When it comes to purchases for individual use GM half-tons are the truck of choice. You also will have a truck that will retain its value because the used market isn't flooded with them. They are the trucks people generally buy to drive long term. Look around and see the #'s of 20 year old GM, Ford, and Dodge/Ram trucks you still see on the road. Anecdotally, in my area the ratio is 5 to 1 GM vs other brands. You certainly can get a lemon, but they are very good vehicles and as a general rule, you won't go wrong with a Silverado or Sierra.

From what I'm reading on the Ford forums the plastic oil pans they have been using leak so badly a drain plug really isn't needed. Ford has started using metal pans on their newer trucks because of the issue. The F150 is a nice truck, but every time I think about considering one for my next purchase there's always some issue out there, usually engine related, that gives me pause.

Any dexos gen 2 oil is going to do absolutely great in these trucks. The only thing I've ever seen to compete between truck brand loyalists is motor oil brand loyalists. But in truth your QuakerPennCasMobiValveAmsPurple in 0W-20 flavor will all do about the same thing. In truth if you really want to save some money go to Walmart and buy this: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Super-Tech-Full-Synthetic-SAE-0W-20-Motor-Oil-5-Quarts/254038905 Buy a quality filter (Wix has been mentioned) and change more often. For basically the same money, I personally would rather have two oil changes with Supertech in the same mileage timeframe as one with the super high perfomance 20K mile oils.

More G80 hate, huh. Well six GM trucks all with the G80 and not one problem. I'm sure the Fords and Rams with e-lockers work great, but I'm not so sure I would be happy with another electronic/electric motor to do a mechanical job, added failure point in my opinion. Anyway from front crank pulley to rear diff. I don't think anyone can match GM on powertrain durability. Pay attention to old vehicles on the road; at least in my area you will see 3x more GM trucks than FoMoCo or Ram with 15 or more years of service. As said, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Well if you want a Chevy you can still do a Laura deal.....just a little further west. https://www.laurachevybg.com/ You are definitely right about one thing, get what you want the first time, otherwise you'll be doing this all over in short order.

Link above didn't seem to be working on my computer, so I posted below. Hope this helps.