New Guy Trying to Make a Decision - Opinions Wanted

[PMattras]

My dad was always a Chevy truck person and I grew up with a lot of different Chevy trucks over the years before I could drive. We always had good luck with the Chevy trucks. My first one was 1983 with a straight six engine which I kept for 18 years and had no complaints. I ended up getting a $1,000 certificate to apply on a new Chevy due to the gas tank issues on my 1983. Since then I had a 2002 and a 2008. Prices were always better. I always like the exterior bodies on the Chevy truck. The Ford trucks have straighter flat square surfaces to give it a tough look where the Chevy truck have more curves and a softer look like how I like my women. The interiors also looked better (softer/blends in nicer) on the Chevy trucks. I dont like the front end of the Ram. My 2014 Chevy truck is the best one I have ever owned. Ford, Ram and Toyota etc. make good trucks and without them, the trucks wouldnt improve at the fast pace they are doing now. You should get what you feel is right and if you get a Chevy truck; you wouldnt be making a bad decision as well as a Ford, Ram etc. You should test drive all the different trucks and write down what you like and dislike. Good luck because it will be a hard decision.

[towdog]

Kudos to you to doing the research and not going on emotion. Kudos to the responders, too, for objective, reasoned responses. I'm glad to not see the your brand sucks, my brand is better BS.

 

Buying a truck used to be pretty easy -- you'd go with the brand you and your dad had before. People were pretty brand loyal. And all brands had some pretty big shortcomings. Today, it's a different game. All of the big three are great trucks. They have each learned and borrowed things from each other to the point where they are all pretty solid and pretty much the same. You know there have been big changes when you see people switching brands now. That NEVER happened before. A Ford guy was always a Ford guy. Today, people, like you, have much more open minds. Look at the Ram numbers. People are buying them solely because of the price discounts because that's one thing in common with all trucks now -- high price point. So with other things being equal, many are just going with the truck they can get the best deal on. I personally HATED the F150s up until the most recent generations. I never would've thought I'd be even interested in them. That said, I think that might be short-lived as I am not a fan of the Tundra-like front-end on the 2015s. Maybe it will grow on me, but for right now, I am not a fan.

 

I suspect you will start to see some good deals on the 2014 F150s as the 2015 release date approaches. Similarily, I think we will finally see some good discounts on the GM at that time because they do not want to lose any more market share. The 2015 F150 is a pretty big release and they will be pushing it hard. So I think we're going to be seeing some price wars to a certain degree.

 

Good luck with your decision. Just drive each of them, think of how you will use the truck and what you need it to do. If you still can't figure it out, get the one your gf or wife thinks is the hottest. That will score you some points.

[MNDaveC]

I drove Ford, Chevy and Ram... and ended up with Z71 LT Crew

 

VS F-150... the interior and electronics were FAR superior in the Chevy vs a comparatively priced F-150...

VS F-150... Ecoboost V6 still seems risky for longevity.. unproven.. some Ford techs are seeing issues that require entire head replacement

VS F-150 ...The V8 lags the MPG of the Chevy

VS F-150 ... F-150 actually felt more nimble / manueverable

 

VS RAM ... Chrysler reliability and warranty have historically been suspect

VS RAM .. need a stepladder to get into the ram

VS RAM.. Ram seems like a truck for somebody who likes a flashy / loud truck

VS RAM ... Hemi has fanstastic power

VS RAM .. Ram had cheesy radio / electronics unless you upgraded

 

Chevy ... Comfortable , good power, great electronics, conservative good looks ... nice overall feature-set in the All-Star package

[Spurshot]

A guy should get the truck that pleases him. The GMC 1500 SLT 4x4, 5.3, 6 1/2 ft bed, All Terrain, crewcab pleased me. I'm a birdhunter. I have two dogs and travel the country frequently during the season. I put a good number of miles on my trucks. The direct injection engines kept me from going to other makers. The rest of the feature comparisons are secondary to me.

[Guapoh]

My Sierra SLT All Terrain 6.2 Crew Cab Short Box will be here shortly. I am also upgrading from a Taco. The SLT All Terrain is just about the best looking truck inside and out in my opinion. Think of the All Terrain as a Z71 Off Road Package with a killer appearance package and significant interior enhancements thrown in. This is especially true when the SLT is ordered over an SLE.

 

6.2 engine, well, what's not to like about having a C7's motor under the hood?

[Rewillia]

GM (GMC and Chevy both) features a new platform and certain to be around a few years...while my understanding is that Ford besides moving to its new uni-body in 2015 may be moving further to a new body style in 2016. That stated, I think most would agree that both products, GM and Ford continue to be good reliable trucks and that's why they respectfully have their fair share of the pickup truck market.

 

I looked at both (in Dec '13) and elected to go with the '14 GMC, principally due to the fact I could not get my head around owning the V-6 ecoboost and wanted my "old school" V-8 to which the 6.2 Sierra met my choices in a number of features.

 

You may also want to consider brand body styling as to avoid the last year of production for a particular truck. Of course, I could be wrong on the Ford styling change.

 

In the event that Ford ever builds its Atlas (2014 prototype), I'll likely be dropping in to seriously consider it.

[Silverado Steve]

Hey PB,

 

I recognize you from TW. As a former Tacoma owner, i went through the same thing. I test drove a 2014 F-150 FX4 SCREW EcoBoost and my issue was as other have said is i didn't trust Turbos overall and the 5.0 Coyote didn't get great mileage. That couple with i really did not like the interior of the Ford; to much painted silver trim similar to the Tacoma. I went with my Chevy with no regrets. My truck on the hwy gets better mileage than our 2011 Toyota Sienna which is impressive for a 4x4 7000 lb with a V8. Whichever way you go, you can't go wrong. All of the Big-3 make a great truck as is the Tundra. What it comes down to is which one looks best to you and be careful posing this question on TW, you'll get flamed....lol

[pb65stang]

Hey PB,

I recognize you from TW. As a former Tacoma owner, i went through the same thing. I test drove a 2014 F-150 FX4 SCREW EcoBoost and my issue was as other have said is i didn't trust Turbos overall and the 5.0 Coyote didn't get great mileage. That couple with i really did not like the interior of the Ford; to much painted silver trim similar to the Tacoma. I went with my Chevy with no regrets. My truck on the hwy gets better mileage than our 2011 Toyota Sienna which is impressive for a 4x4 7000 lb with a V8. Whichever way you go, you can't go wrong. All of the Big-3 make a great truck as is the Tundra. What it comes down to is which one looks best to you and be careful posing this question on TW, you'll get flamed....lol

Haha small world, glad to see another TW person on here who made the same jump I'm considering. Your insight is helpful for sure. The Tacoma was a good truck from a reliability perspective, but it's not worth giving up room and power for really no improvement in MPG or comfort (esp. with how expensive Tacomas are now). I just think the mid size trucks don't compete that well anymore on anything but size (and I prefer a bigger truck anyway). Totally agree that there are lots of good options for me - I just need to see the new F150 interior and then make my decision.

 

I don't dare bring this up on TW. It's a great site for technical info and how to stuff, but half of the guys there would swear to you that Toyota is the only company even making trucks. The fanboy feeling is strong there.

[Silverado Steve]

Tell me about it, it's one of the reasons I never set foot there anymore. I think that Tacoma buyers are a younger crowd overall than the full size market hence why you get all the fanboism. That site was great up to about 2010 for me, the it got overrun by the people you speak of.

 

I saw pics of the 2015 F150 interior and it's laden with plenty of plasticky chrome trim and painted silver pieces. The good thing is it won't hurt to wait in your predicament. Yes Toyota's are reliable, but i don't think anymore so than the newest domestics. There is plenty of talk on how Toyota is cheapening out and going the route GM did in the 90s as I'm sure you've read on TW. However you can't top Toyota's resale. I sold my Tacoma back this past December the day after Christmas for $21K when i bought it new in Dec 2006 for $28K. No domestic can't match that.

[pb65stang]

Yeah, if my Tacoma ends up being totaled, insurance has quoted me about a $24k value, when I paid $27k 5 years and 128,000 miles ago. But hey, I won't argue. Don't think it's totaled, but kinda hoping that it is!

 

Totally agree that the domestic full-size trucks are completely on par with the Tacoma/Frontier. It's a whole new market than it was even 5 years ago, and some people refuse to believe that (TW). I do have the ability to wait a little while, compare both GM and Ford side by side, and then make the most informed decision I can. Right now, GM is in the lead, but it's not a fair fight (until the 2015 F-150 comes out).

[pb65stang]

GM (GMC and Chevy both) features a new platform and certain to be around a few years...while my understanding is that Ford besides moving to its new uni-body in 2015 may be moving further to a new body style in 2016. That stated, I think most would agree that both products, GM and Ford continue to be good reliable trucks and that's why they respectfully have their fair share of the pickup truck market.

 

I looked at both (in Dec '13) and elected to go with the '14 GMC, principally due to the fact I could not get my head around owning the V-6 ecoboost and wanted my "old school" V-8 to which the 6.2 Sierra met my choices in a number of features.

 

You may also want to consider brand body styling as to avoid the last year of production for a particular truck. Of course, I could be wrong on the Ford styling change.

 

In the event that Ford ever builds its Atlas (2014 prototype), I'll likely be dropping in to seriously consider it.

 

As far as I know, 2015 is the Atlas-inspired body design. The F-150 is entirely new for 2015. I'd be shocked if they further update the body in 2016. But hey, I've been wrong before!

[bass mechanic]

My last truck was a supercharged 2009 Tacoma acces cab. Loved that truck! Thought I was going to get a new tundra but after comparing the tundra and the sierra I came to the conclusion that for the money I get a lot more bang for my buck with the gmc. I got the 6.2 all terrain and it's faster than my taco while getting better mpg and has more room, more bed space and way more features than my taco had.

I also think the 4x4 system is more flexible as for use in real world driving conditions for me as well.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rewillia]

 

As far as I know, 2015 is the Atlas-inspired body design. The F-150 is entirely new for 2015. I'd be shocked if they further update the body in 2016. But hey, I've been wrong before!

and you may very well be correct in that the '15 is the new F-150 and that being the case, I steered toward the GM© as I preferred its design and power-train option. The Ford Atlas I referred to is that of the concept vehicle as was displayed at the 2013/14 Detroit Auto Show and still a far distance from the '15 model F series.

[scott19677]

Buy a 6.2 Silverado , take it immediately to a Ford dealer and have them swap the drivers seat out for one of theirs. Then you'll have the perfect truck.