Looking for a truck

[skiwee1]

Just thought I'd ask if anyone has or had a Ford 150 before? DS just got his learner's yesterday and now we need something for him. He is not driving my minivan or DH's Hummer. DS really wants one of these Ford 150 extended cabs. We just started looking last night. We are definitely getting him a used one but I'm surprised at how many used ones are out there. Is there something wrong with this particular brand that everyone wants to get rid of? We did find a one in excellent shape, 1999, for $12,000. Don't know if that is a deal or not but we are still shopping around. Any bad stories about these trucks? Thanks!

 

[tiggereyore]

A '99 ford= Fix or Repair daily.

We have a '99 f350 with 20,000 miles that dh uses for business. Let's see the oil pan went this winter we ended up fighting it out with ford only ended up paying $250 the $1950 labor they covered truck was down for a week. Now the front end is gone and all that has to be replaced. I'm sticking my head in the sand when that bill comes. Needless to say I'm going trade that thing as soon as a few other bills are paid. but for now we're stuck with the darn thing. Sorry to be a bummer but the 99 seem to have problems. or maybe it's just ford.

 

[IceQueen777]

My husband owns one. It has 230,000 miles on it, and it is a 2001 model! (He has to drive a lot for our business). No repairs other than routine maintenance.

 

[CajunDixie]

We just bought a '97 F150 last week for $7,900. It's a great truck but I have a feeling it's going to be a gas hog since the boys love the sound of it when you "step on it" For us around here it was difficult finding a truck. We ended up having S-I-L's dad bring us one from his dealership out of state.

 

[elgerber]

I do not have one, but I would not hesitate to buy one. There must be a reason that the F series of trucks have been the number one best selling vehicle (cars included) for the last 18 years.

Erika

 

[Tina]

I think the price has a lot to do with why its so popular. The same goes for the Explorer. Its really the most affordable full size SUV on the market. My neighbor has a 2003 F150. He used to love it, but now he's beginning to have a lot of problems with it. The most recent is the transmission. I'd stay away from Ford. If you want a great, reliable truck that will last forever, go for the Toyota Tacoma. You can't beat it.

 

[Manda1219]

I know a lot of people with Ford SVT Lightnings (think F150, but a lot meaner) and they all love them.

People have problems with every brand of car--just depends on the car itself and the driver/care taken, etc...Sometimes, you just get a bad car.

Fords in general are not horrible (as some people will tell you)-my boyfriends family has pretty much always owned only Fords with very little problem. His grandmothers 90 Taurus is still running strong with almost 200,000 miles on it.

Sure people have problems with Fords, I've had problems with Dodges, and a friend of mine has lots of problems with her Honda.

Get the car checked out before you buy it-take it to someone you know and/or trust. If it checks out, and you like it, I say go for it! I prefer the look of the F-150s over most of the current trucks out there. My boyfriend used to drive a Tacoma, and next to the F-150, I think it looks kinda smallish, and not as "tough" (-puts on
flame retardant clothing-) JUST MY OPINION!! But appearance is strictly a matter of opinion.

 

[Tinkerbelle739]

Ask DS if he would be interested in a Chevy Silverado Ext. Cab. GM has a program right now for current GM owners. $5,000 cash back if you buy a new truck. What that means to you is this, there will be ALOT of slightly used trucks at the dealers. My DH just traded in his 2001 for a 2005. His only had 25,000 miles on it and is in excellent condition. He only traded it in because for about $30 more a month he now has a brand new truck with no miles. Tell him to take a look, I bet he will get a great deal on a used Silverado. DH never had any service problems with it. Good luck!

 

[christineann]

I have a 98 Chevy Silverado extended cab and have never had a problem with it. I have about 96,000 miles. I would not hesitate to recommend it, but I also like the look of the older Chevy trucks.

 

[PenskeSth1]

We have a 1999 F-350 Dually powerstroke Diesel, it has well over 100,000 miles on it. For the longest time it was my cadillac, DH finally bought me a Expedition and he uses the truck for work. It is sent to the shop and serviced regularly and we have NEVER had any problems with it. We only buy Fords and I really think for the most part it is how you take care of your equipment. Although with anything once in a while you will get a lemon.

 

[mommytotwo]

My dad has a F-150 Supercrew and we love it. It fits the whole family and since we live in places where you can go off roading, it will help alot.
I second the reason of Ford being the top selling vehicle. It all depends on your preference, the amount of money you are willing to put out, and you do get the lemon cars at times, even though they are new.
I would have a mechanic check out the truck that you had looked at, and have your son test drive it and see how he likes it. After he test drives it, have your DH test drive it to see what he thinks. When you really want a car/truck when you are that young, you may settle for anything.

 

[Mercy]

My DH has an F150. I think it's a '94, he bought it used paid $10,000 for it several years ago. It is in great shape and he LOVES it. Haven't had any problems with it.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Down here where I live, the majority of vehicles on the road are trucks. And the most popular, most reliable truck seems to be the Ford F series. There's a lot of farming in this area, big ranches, lots of cotton, and some of those trucks really take a beating. When my sons got their driver's liscences, both of them got a used Ford truck as their first vehicle. DS #1 has since graduated from college and "had" to get a fancy new sports car, an Acura. But he still speaks fondly of his truck and sometimes wishes he hadn't gotten rid of it. Even though it had close to 100,000 miles when he got it, and 150,000 when he got rid of it, I bet it's still running.

 

[ToyStory Fan]

The last generation (pre-2004) F150's had REALLY bad frontal crash test ratings - you may want to look into that as part of your selection criteria.

 

[xABearx]

I know this is something probably too expensive for DS, but, I just bought my first truck and it's a 2004 F-150 Supercab Lariat and the frontal crash test was better than previous models ... I absolutely love my truck and probably will never go back to having a car again, although, with gas prices where they are, it spends more time in the garage than on the road which could be a good thing.....keeps it looking newer .... Andy

 

[4cruisin]

My dh had a 1997 F150 and we loved it. The truck was fantastic, never had any mechanical problems and was better on gas than my 99 Taurus!. We purchased a 2003 F150 4wd Supercrew last July and it is very comfortable. Not quite as good gas mileage as the other one but still ok. The only problem we have had so far is the steering box has had to be replaced twice. Ford uses remanufactured parts for vehicles under warrantee and I think the first replacement box was junk also. So far, so good. I know that the 2004 F150 has a better safety rating than the 2003 model.

 

[CindyKansas]

We owned at 93 Ford F-150 that we traded for a 97 Ford F-150, extended cab, in which we traded in 2001 for a F-150 SuperCrew. We absolutely love the Supercrew. We got a great trade-in allowance. Not great gas mileage in town, but out on the hiway we have gotten 22mpg, which I think is pretty good for a pickup.

 

[skiwee1]

Thank you all for your great advice and opinions on the truck issue. Unfortunately during our many truck searching trips DS discovered his new found love of the Mustang. So after more searching we found the perfect one. I love it myself! It is a 2001 Mustang GT 2 dr coupe, V-8 5 speed stick. He was looking for a black one and we found one in perfect condition. We bought it tonight and will pick it up tomorrow. So now you can all tell me what a mistake we made and that we bought a lemon or something! LOL!

 

[Manda1219]

Originally posted by skiwee1
Thank you all for your great advice and opinions on the truck issue. Unfortunately during our many truck searching trips DS discovered his new found love of the Mustang. So after more searching we found the perfect one. I love it myself! It is a 2001 Mustang GT 2 dr coupe, V-8 5 speed stick. He was looking for a black one and we found one in perfect condition. We bought it tonight and will pick it up tomorrow. So now you can all tell me what a mistake we made and that we bought a lemon or something! LOL!

I think you made a TERRIFIC decision Mustangs are absolutley wonderful, you will absolutely adore every second

(hehehe I'm slighty biased....)

 

[disneyfuntime]

In Feb we bought a new F150 super crew. Love it...... My husband did some research and found that the new truck went through a redesign the prior year models had some issues with crash testing, did fair too well.


Good luck with a new driver it's scary and you want them safe but be sure they can handle the vehicle, sometimes too much power can be extremely dangerous. Whatever your decision make it a safe one.