A Belated Introduction

[fbachman]

Relatively new here... been hangin' out, reading, getting the "feel" of the forum.

 

SO... I am a formerly loyal Ford owner. Have owned F150s, F250s, and an Explorer since the early 90s.

 

The last three Fords I owned gave me enough heartburn to run away and never look back. Here is my assessment of my Ford Experience vs. my GMC experience, in no particular order of importance.

 

1. The last three Fords I owned never made it past 30 days without being back to the dealer for SIGNIFICANT warranty issues.... from water leaks, to "no starts" to paint jobs for which the only response the du-pont guy could come up with is "wow, never seen one THIS bad".

 

My Sierra is pushing 4000 miles, and doesn't know what a GM service shop looks like from the inside. Trust me, after my last two Fords, this is a HUGE step in my mind....

 

2. Ford HVAC systems SUCK.. always told "it meets spec", eventhough cold air was not part of the equation.

 

My Sierra can age beef at idle in the middle of summer.

 

3. The modular V8s get awful mpg. They are reliable, but engine managment has never been Ford's Forte.

 

My Sierra's 5.3 can run circles around a Ford 5.4, gets better milege, and has a much more beneficial transmission map out of the box. Feels much more powerful and it doesn't feel like your pressing on a wet sponge when you hit the gas.

 

4. Ford's interior electronics in the cars I had were lost in the 80s somewhere. I traded an '05 Ford for my Sierra. The Ford factory head units were audiovox blue-light specials.... terrible. The CD changers were known to jam up and reception was terrible. SAT radio was a dealer installed option (only) and was rarely offered for under $600 (!). To be fair, it looks like Ford finally figured it out in their newer models... but, in my mind, too little too late.

 

My sierra has XM, it was a $159 option. The head unit sounds GREAT compared to the Ford equivalent. Many more features for presets, etc.. Love On-Star and the convenience gadgets offered. Reception is GREAT... I like it.

 

5. My ford seats looked like they had 100,000 mileson them when the odo read 20000.

 

My Sierra, although new, looks like it has them beat thus far. Time will tell, but I suspect they'll do better than their rivals.

 

6. The EC bench goes up with one hand, and is split in my NBS Sierra. The F250 (pre 2008) would allow only the small 30% section behind the driver seat to go up.

 

7. Fit, finish and interior quality in the GMC is FAR BEYOND Ford's.

 

8. My GMC dealer has called me no less than 4x "just checking too see how you like your new truck"... and "let us know if you have ANY questions/concerns". Haven't been any BTW.

 

My Ford dealer never called to tell me my special order truck had even arrived. I had to call to find out.

 

Conclusion: Ford lost a customer, GMC gained one with a superior product and a superior dealer.

 

WRT this forum. I like it. Loads of good info. Little if any flaming... although sometimes it can be fun if it's in good humor/taste.

 

In any case, I'll be checking in here and there. I'll try to share my experience when I can.

 

Love my truck. I'll never look back. Cheers, everyone !

 

[CalixEros]

I also owned nothing but Fords until I got my truck a few months ago. I also don't think I'll ever go back to Ford! Nice truck, BTW.

[SinisterSS]

Welcome to the GM world. There's a reason I looked at a Ford back in 1997 and never bought one...

 

Now if Toyota owners would only think outside the box so that they to could have personal revelations.

[unit731]

I have a 1990 Chevrolet 1500 with 145,000 miles and this has been the most reliable truck I have ever owned. Original clutch lasted 15 years. The original air conditioning still works - cold.

 

I did look at the 2008 Ford F150 regular cab long bed. I liked the looks. I liked the 4 doors. In a regular cab, letting the seat tilt back is a plus. Ford offers two colors for the vinyl seats - tan and gray.

I qualify for the Ford X-Plan pricing.

 

Although this is a minor point to almost all people I mention, Ford does not offer factory satellite radio in the XL Work Truck. As factory installed for model year 2008. Not even a factory option. Aftermarket yes, factory no. I don't want some rookie mechanic nor a seasoned mechanic tearing apart my nice new dash to install some aftermarket satellite radio with wires and antenna all over the place.

 

And I priced both Ford and GMC/Chevrolet. The GM truck came in with a better price and I got lots more. Stuff. With XM as standard. Living in the remote mountain part of the country, good radio reception is a luxury. Ever been in an area/road where you press 'scan' and the scan never stops as there are no radio stations to pick up. I rest my case for satellite radio.

 

My guess is that Ford is saving their money for the redesign for model year 2009.

 

Is Chevrolet/GMC any better than a Ford? I guess that debate will go on for eternity.

[sno]

Funny how two people can have such a contrary experience.

 

I've been a Ford guy all my life. They have always been good vehicles and only one had ever been in the shop for more than aesthetic issues. The '05 I traded for the GMC had never needed any repairs.

 

We now own GM vehicles because I can get GMS pricing. At 4,000 miles the Suburban spent a day in the shop because of a water leak in the roof. Now, with only 15,000 miles it has more rattles & squeaks than my 10 year old F250 farm truck with over 200,000 miles.

 

My new GMC pickup with less than 800 miles is now going on it's fourth day in the shop because they can't find out why the front suspension sounds like it's about to fall out when you hit a bump. At least GM supplies a "loaner" vehicle. Although I must say that the Canyon isn't anything for GM to brag about.

[s-ten]

Welcome

 

I believe that both Ford and GM have their strengths in certain areas. I agree that the Canyon/Colorado trucks are definitely not a strength for GM.

[jrrod2004]

Welcome

 

I believe that both Ford and GM have their strengths in certain areas. I agree that the Canyon/Colorado trucks are definitely not a strength for GM.

 

 

Welcome the GM Trucks, the new V8 editions of the Canyon/Colorado will be a strength for GM in the future, (Heck I will trade my 2007 Colorado for one of the V8 models)

[NathanL]

I'm probably one of the few that own both. In the past my personal trucks have been both Ford and GM's thruout the last 30+ years. My work trucks have been whatever I could get for a fair price that could get the job done and were replaced like clockwork everky 2 years.

 

I have a 2007 NBS Silverado Z-71 4WD with 5.3 with 2500 miles. It was bought for work and I've had it about 6 weeks now. So far it's been in the shop a total of about 2 weeks and is on transmission #3 - the factory one, and 2 more ordered and put in. It's had a multitude of problems like the transmission locking up at speed (first one), window falling down into the door, A/C control unit on the dash had to be replaced when the temp button got stuck in the add heat posistion, right rear brake had to be totally replaced as well, Cruise had to be reprogrammed/replaced and the TPMS had to be reprogrammed and one tpms sensor replaced.

 

I couldn't keep making a living with my truck in the sho for 2 weeks so my employeer bought it and we turned it into our office truck which will see field use on occasion for replacement purposes when someone else's truck needs maintenance.

 

So I took the money and went and bouht a 2008 F-150 5.4 4wd STX regular cab truck. I've had it only a week and we are still moving stuff over to it from my other truck such as the toolbox/diesel transfer tank, and adding a winch mount to the front.

 

When I get more miles on it I'll report back in this thread if anyone is interested in how it goes. The Chevy was a little better equipped being an LT with the LT convenience package but many of the options I didn't need but the truck was priced $9,000 below sticker so I took it. The Ford has manual everything (which is a plus to me) like manual transfer case, but has power windows/power door locks. So a straight up comparisson on accesories won't be fair. For instance the Chevy had driver/passenger auto A/C controls while the Ford has manual controls. Both trucks came with Sat radio - the Chevy with 3 months of XM and the Ford with 6 months of Sirrius.

[hubbycap]

Usually had cars until I inherited my father's '86 F150 in '96. Truck only had 100K and had to have virtually every part in the frontend replaced. Wanted an ext cab so I bought a '95 1500 in '98, had 171K on the clock and and I still own it. Currently 345K and a valve cover has yet to be removed. Yes it's tired and I planned to put 400K on it before I got a used '07 Chevy in 2010.

 

Even though I'm a cheapskate, and unemotional about vehicle purchases, the GMT900 was a purchase I didn't want to put off for 3 years. O% financing pushed me over the edge.

 

This truck is a homerun IMO. 20% better mileage, smooth-as-silk ride, creature comforts, and strong. After I finished puking over the new payment, I'm glad I took the plunge.

[fbachman]

After I finished puking over the new payment, I'm glad I took the plunge.

 

 

Ditto... I'll UPS you some of my pepto....

 

I had a '91 F150 for over 150,000 miles (avgd about 15k -16k on 'em per year). Didn't have a payment for a loooooong time. Traded that thing away for an F250 in '99...

 

Sick feeling when that first "envelope" shows up, isn't it?

[04z71steve]

Congrats on the new truck and Welcome to the site! i'm sure your new truck will continue to impress you!

 

steve

[chevinator]

Welcome to the site! It's good to hear other peoples personal experiences with other trucks.

[punmax]

I have owned a 03 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer that spent 60% of its life in the shop getting repairs from water leaking to the differential.

Now I have a 07 Silverado and the plastic linings in the rear right side is coming off. All trucks are not perfect. GM and FORD are both good at making excellent trucks.

[Draenor]

Welcome. I have also came from the same boat. Yes the build quality was subpar, but what really made me come to the GM world was the customer service. Ford has absolutly none. I will never drive a ford again.

[papastoy]

Back in 01 I was shopping for my first new truck. Being a GM man, I looked at both the Chevy and GMC. Unfortunately, my back couldn't handle the seats. Didn't even consider the Mopar. Went and test drove the F150. Bought it mainly for the seat comfort. I traded it in this Sept. on a 05 ECSB Silverado. Man, what a difference! I get better mpg with the 4wd 5.3 than I did with the 4.6 2wd. The Silverado rides 1000% better. Upto this year, the Ford was very reliable (87k), but the A/c was starting to blow warm air, the shocks were shot, and the bottom corners of the radiator core support were about 80% rusted out, not to mention other underhood rust, and the paint on the hood was cracking despite getting waxed at least 2x a year. Also, Ford's engineering or lack thereof - the underhood fires and 4 threads in the aluminum heads to hold a spark plug, not to mention 4 hours to change plugs out, just scared me. I still think the Ford seats were better, but the Silverado seats are pretty close. All in all, I'm happy to be back with my 05.