I'm looking to buy a new truck. Pretty much everyone on the board that is even slightly familiar with me knows I hate my POS ford with a passion. It's a low quality, overweight, underpowered, low quality piece of junk. Anyhooo... I spent the entire day shopping for a new truck. I am looking for a 1/2 ton/150/1500 2WD, extended cab & all my rants apply to that only. I figured I would cover the entire field to see what's out there. I went to the following dealers: 2 Ford 2 Nissan 1 Toyota 2 Dodge 3 Chevy 1 GMC Out of the 11 dealers, not a single one had a truck I would buy. Most of the salesman were beyond incompetent. Toyota with it's reputation as being THE make for customer service, sucked largest out of all 5 makes. Surprisingly, the Dodge dealers were the most cordial & knowledgeable about the vehicles they sell. Now, most of you are probably asking how it is that I couldn't find a single truck at 11 different dealers. Simple, I want a 2WD & will not even consider a 4WD. Most of the pinhead salesdouches insulted me by saying things, like: "No one would buy a 2WD" Really? I've owned 5 of them. "That's too much truck for a 2WD system to handle." Really? It's the same engine, frame, transmission, rear, & suspension. A 2WD is lighter so it will be just fine. "2WD will kill you at trade in time." Really? A quick check of KBB.COM indicates my truck would be worth exactly $900 more if it were 4WD. A quick rundown of other issues: 1) There is not a single extended cab Nissan Titan available within 30 miles of my house. Considering I live in the most densely populated state in the union, that's pretty shocking. 2) Toyota does not offer the 5.7 V8 unless you get 4WD. 3) Toyota only offers a premium sound system if you buy a $3000 navigation package. 4) Toyota & Dodge do not offer real extended cabs. Both are the stupid midget forward opening doors. Seriously, why on earth would they do this? If I want 4 real doors, I would get a freaking crew cab. 5) 2 of the 3 Chevy dealers told me they won't let me order a truck since they don't know if they will have a job when the truck is built & delivered. 6) The GMC dealer only had $40000+ trucks in stock. 7) The Ford dealers basically offered me hookers & blow if I would buy ANYTHING they had. Here's my take of the trucks currently out there. Ford: Seriously, they only sell these things because of insane rebates. I simply don't have a good thing to say. They still have the same shitty 5.4 V8. It's still underpowered. Chevy/GMC: They are pretty much the same truck. The twins represent the best compromise between power & MPG. They also are the better deal compared to Ford. The Ford is cheaper but it needs to be since it sucks. Toyota: This thing is straight butt freaking ugly. Their option packages suck large. It is a absolute rocket but that comes at the expense of MPG. The back seat in the crew cab has more leg room than most limos. Nissan: A remarkable value. Too bad there are none in the Burlington County area. Dodge: The surprise of the bunch. The new for 09 Ram is without a doubt the best looking truck on the market. The engine is beyond impressive. The new coil spring rear rides great & makes for seriously impressive handling for a 5700lb truck. The back seat on the crew cab is quite roomy. Since my truck is just about paid off, I guess I'm going to drive it until it falls apart. I wonder how much extending the warranty out to 7yr/100K will cost? KC-10 FE out... lane: :usa2:
KC, do you not have any mitsubishi dealers in your area? here in NZ we can get the doublecab as a 2WD for around NZ$30K. No V8 option here but the V6 is very good and very fuel efficent. Quite a nice looking truck I thought.
Figures the land down under gets all the good shit.. :tongue: That said, I have to agree. it would be really hard to put out the cash when there is nothing out there. LOL you could go classic and pick up a clean 72 Chev for half the price and have one hell of a truck that won't depreciate :wink: LOL I've even looked at the Dodge till I see the $$$$$
you dont like your ford? wow, I'm happy with the 2 f150 I've owned the first one had 260000 miles on it same engine rebiult transmission(at 200001 miles) that was a 91 got rid of it a little over two years ago and have a 01 that has the 5.4 triton v-8 extra cab 8 foot bed with a shell. that thing will criuse nicely at 70-75 up hills, down hills, loaded, empty or pulling a trailer. I'm happy with it but your right if you can drive it into the ground and keep it for a few more years. you can save up enough scratch to get one you want from a competant salesman.
we only get good deals on trucks (we actually call them utilitys or utes) because we have soo many farmers......:bs:
KC: Go with the Dodge. And I've heard the same crap about owing 2 wheel drives, yet I am always able to sell them when its time for a new vehicle. I don't live in a an area that requires 4 wheel drive, why buy it? BZ
For what it is worth, if you do consider the Toyota at some point, ask if the starter motor on the V8 is still located underneath the intake manifold... I have a 2000 Tacoma 2WD V6 with about 220K on the clock. It has been an absolutely excellent vehicle. The only thing that ever needed repair was a pinion gear bearing in the differential at about 170K. It still ran fine, just started making a little bit of noise. Everything else has been normal maintenance. Part of my decision to go with Toyota was all the people I know with them. They seem to run just about forever, never have anything major break, and always get you home. Good luck in your search, KC.
I have a 2002 Chevy Avalanche. I like it as it sits 4 comfortably, I can put 2 bikes in the back with the tailgate down, and tow my trailer with 2 bikes in it all at the same time. Even when gas was over $4.50/gallon here in Germany I still drove it when I didn't/couldn't ride. I was also looking for an extended cab truck for track day duty, but didn't really find what I wanted as far as passenger comfort goes. I guess it all depends on how much gear you're planning on stowing in the passenger compartment. Me and a few other guys are looking at going to Spain for a few track days, and the Avalanche will work perfectly, as we borrowed a 3/4 cab truck for our track day at Assen, and it was uncomfortable in the back, that's why I wanted full size seats in the rear. My Avalanche is 4wd, but it's switchable, so 99% of the time I keep it in 2wd. Not too sure if that helps you out at all.
KC, do you use USAA? If so, I think they will hunt down the truck you are looking for and get it to a local dealer if its elsewhere from what I am told. I also heard they will have one of thier auto agents do the haggling for you. You tell them up front what you want in terms of vehicle, options, all the lickies and chewies you want on it, and total price you are willing to pay and then you put them to work to go find it and get the deal. Again, I have no experience with this, but a retired Army buddy of mine got his truck this way. I'd call him a "reliable source".
In addition to what SFPA said, Carmax will also have anything they have shipped in. The catch is they charge a fee to do it. I bought an 06 Titan at Carmax and saved a pretty good chunk, of course that was before the truck market blew up. I do like the way the new Dodges are set up and they seem to offer a lot for the money. Action
I must admit the same when it comes to the '09 Dodge. I was a died in the wool Ford Truck man but got tired of waiting for Ford to offer the truck that I wanted back in '02 when I needed to replace my '92 Ford. I was replacing a '92 Lariat that had 82000 mi. on it and was still really clean but I needed 1/2 ton with a larger 4 door cab and needed to have a useable sized bed. Back then Ford had their F-150 Super Crew but what the heck do you use a 5 1/2 ft. box for, not much! I ended up buying an '02 Dodge Ram Quad Cab and have been satisfied, for the most part. Being a proffessional mechanic I've added some of the factory options to it that weren't on the truck. My Dodge only has 39000mi. on it today as it is used to haul and tow mostly. The only really short trips it sees are running errands for and with my boys. I recently was at the local Dodge dealer to get a couple key fobs programmed, I finally added keyless entry to the '02, and was checking out an '09 Ram. If my truck was high mileage and short for this world I really think I would buy another Dodge today. I'm not impressed with the new Ford or Chevy/GMC trucks. Nissan and Toyota on the other hand.......they are starting to get my attention. - NCHR VI (2004)/NCHR 04 115 Here is a partial pic of the truck with a couple VFR's in the trailer!
Peterbilt.....or even Kenworth. Great in traffic and no chick is crazy enough to cut you off, no matter how good the cell phone conversation is.
Forget about the local dealerships. If the service sucks, use them for test drives and shop over the internet. In the past year I have purchased 2 new trucks this way, my Toyota Tundra (base level, 2WD, 4.7L) which I love, and my wife's Chevy Tahoe (LT1 trim level, 4WD, 5.4L) which is the nicest vehicle I have ever bought. The experience with the Chevy was the best. I communicated with the salesman over the phone and via e-mail. I told him what I wanted to put down, what I expected for my trade-in, and what I would pay per month. We agreed on a price and a pick up date. I went to the dealership and drove away with the Tahoe in about 2 hours. Everything went as agreed upon and no one tried to sell me things I did not want/need. This was Freedom Chevrolet in Dallas, Texas. The salesman's name is Ernest Schoolcraft. Maybe you could find a dealership within a 100 mile radius that could give you a deal. I found the drive was well worth it.
A good friend of mine bought a Honda Ridgeline. He was always a Chevy guy in the past. He absolutely loves the Honda. Better on gas, reliable, and has a built in storage box in the back. It only comes with a V6, no V8 available. I am thinking it will be my next vehicle.
Thanks for all the insight gents. After much deliberation, I am going to wait until I come home from my deployment (i leave in 2 weeks & will be back the beginning of March) before I buy anything. It doesn't make much sense to buy a truck just to have it sit for nearly 3 months. I am going to look into the USAA vehicle service. I am also looking on Exchange New Car Sales. They are a military only company that allows servicemembers buy vehicles at factory direct prices. That's how I got my current F150. I would NEVER own the Honda Ridgeline. It IS NOT a truck. It's a butt ugly car with a big open trunk. There are so many stupid things about that vehicle that I don't know where to begin to talk about them. If you tow anything at all, you DO NOT want a Ridgeline, trust me. My priorities are: 2WD (I simply refuse to pay extra for something I have never needed & have never used. If I didn't need 4WD when I lived in Germany, I surely don't need it in NJ.) Useful power (It doesn't need to be a rocket, but it needs to get the job done. My POS F150 doesn't) Decent MPG (I know we're talking trucks here, but my 91 Chevy with the 350 got 22MPG all day, every day & still had enough power. I want 18-19 regularly) Useable Bed (I will not own a truck with less than the 6.5' bed) Premium Sound System W/Subwoofer (I listen to my music LOUD) KC-10 FE out... lane: :usa2:
