Pickup Truck Shopping

"BKGM Jeepers" wrote: Sorry Steve for the confusion. I had assumed the discussion was on the light duty trucks, rather than diesels.

Sorry....I thought maybe John was on the fence between a 1/2 ton and a 3/4 when he mentioned he was test driving the Cummins and exploring the option of rollin' coal.



John if you are looking at a 1/2 ton truck with a gas engine, you might want to consider going with a 3/4 ton with a gas engine. The difference in price is minimal and it gives you the option of later down the road of towing a heavy trailer or even a 5th wheel.

"JohnDF" wrote: I don't NEED a diesel, I WANT a diesel...Who wouldn't. But it aint gonna happen 😢
The reality is that there only seems to be two choices for me; A Toyota and a Dodge.

I wouldn't! 😂



I'll stick with the base fuel...

"JohnDF" wrote: I don't NEED a diesel, I WANT a diesel...Who wouldn't. But it aint gonna happen 😢
The reality is that there only seems to be two choices for me; A Toyota and a Dodge.

I hear you. I just picked up a couple year old, fully loaded 1 ton dually Duramax a month ago. Smooth, quiet and fast. Much nicer than my 05 chevy dually. I am not familiar with the Toyota product as they didn't make anything that will tow a 5th wheel toy hauler, but I did look at the new Dodges. The interior is head and shoulders above the earlier years like my 04. I was real close to buying one and wanted to get the Longhorn package, but just didn't feel like paying in the low $50's for one, especially with the changes coming on the 2013's , so I decided to go used on a GM or Dodge.



You might even look at the chevy/gmc with the 6.0. Thats supposed to be a great engine from what I hear. The only problem with GM and Ford for that matter is that they are very proud of their trucks and their prices reflect that. Dodge always seems to be lower priced and is willing to usually deal more.

"Howdy" wrote:
I did look at the new Dodges. The interior is head and shoulders above the earlier years like my 04. I was real close to buying one and wanted to get the Longhorn package, but just didn't feel like paying in the low $50's for one, especially with the changes coming on the 2013's , so I decided to go used on a GM or Dodge.

The Dodges definitely have the nicest interiors and also they are the nicest riding trucks.

"Howdy" wrote:

You might even look at the chevy/gmc with the 6.0. Thats supposed to be a great engine from what I hear. The only problem with GM and Ford for that matter is that they are very proud of their trucks and their prices reflect that. Dodge always seems to be lower priced and is willing to usually deal more.

I won't buy a Ford f150 because...well to be honest...they are 'girlie' looking. I really do NOT like the styling of the truck.

I won't buy a Chevy because they are most expensive and have the poorest rating in almost every catagory. But they do look good.

Dodge:

Powerful motor

Decent towing capability

Excellent ride quality

Nicest interiors

Reasonable pricing



but



Have poor gas milage

New front ends look kinda goofy



Toyota:

Nice looking truck

Powerful motor

Decent towing capability

Reliability

Reasonable pricing



but



Poor gas milage

Poor interior quality

Poor interior quality?



Where does that come from? The layout or design may not be to your personal liking (like the Ford's apperance), but the quality of my tundra's interior is pretty darn awesome! However, I have leather, heated seats, heated mirrors, nav, back up cam, bucket seats and the large center console. So, if you're looking at a different design/model/options what you're seeing could be different.



The nicest interior I saw when looking at trucks (I looked at 2011 Fords, Dodges and Toytotas) was from the Ford. I really liked the flexibility of their information center above the steering wheel, and how their center console was laid out between the front bucket seats. This is where the Dodge looked dated to me. But this was apperance and not "quality". Any new truck is going to have great initial quality, but it will be the durability that sets the interiors apart. Younger kids will test the durability becuase of what they eat and spill, but your kids are beyond that age luckily.

"BKGM Jeepers" wrote: Poor interior quality?

Sorry, I didn't mean to say poor quality, of course it's good quality.

I should have said, "Not as 'comfortable' as the Dodge." And I prefer the Dodge's darker colors.

"BKGM Jeepers" wrote:
The nicest interior I saw when looking at trucks was from the Ford. I really liked the flexibility of their information center above the steering wheel, and how their center console was laid out between the front bucket seats. This is where the Dodge looked dated to me.

That's why I prefer the Dodge and the Toyotas. I still want my truck to be like a truck; spartan and basic.

I like comfort and convenience, I just don't want to see it. I like the fact that it does certain things for me, but I don't want to stare at an LCD screen giving me constant feedback. to me, I still want a truck to be a basic workhorse and not a high-end sedan with a box bed. The things that a truck usually gets marked down for in reviews are the things I appreciate about them.

That's where you run into challenges. It seems like manufacturers are busy trying to turn trucks in to cars with a bed in the back. My truck is pretty close (I'd have to admit), so I really have no room to talk. The Ford offered different dashes with their trucks that included/excluded that item. However, I think you'd have to order one to get it left out.



My employee who bought the new 11 F150, got a pretty base model, but with some kind of apperance package and that computer in the dash. The rest is pretty basic - but he has a dark gray interior which I liked. I think he paid 26K or 29K for it, but it was a roll back (returned new truck again sold as new)...

"JohnDF" wrote: [quote="BKGM Jeepers"]Poor interior quality?

Sorry, I didn't mean to say poor quality, of course it's good quality.

I should have said, "Not as 'comfortable' as the Dodge." And I prefer the Dodge's darker colors.

I haven't seen the Tundra interior, but Toyota interiors aren't very impressive to me in general. They all seem to develop little rattles/squeaks/noises that bug me like crazy.

On my current tundra it had a mirror rattle when i got it. It was fixed under warranty. This better not be a sign of things to come!



My 2005 Tacoma zero rattles up to 155k miles when I sold it.

My 2004 tundra zero rattles

My 2001 tundra zero rattles

My 2003 4runner zero rattles

My 2001 sequoia zero rattles

My 1998 4runner zero rattles

My 1996 4runner zero rattles

This is all the toyotas I have owned and none have ever had problems.

I've never owned a "car" from Toyota so I can't speak to whether that's the problem



Toyota has been one of the best brands for us, along with Infiniti, but those are expected to have top notch design and assembly.

Shut up and go dodge! 😎

Buy a 2 wheel drive 3/4 ton. A lot less money, better gas milage, etc. unless you can really justify the 4x4, it is a waste of money and more for insurance. How many times did you really use 4x4 in your Tundra. Not much!! I use 4x4 all the time in my Tundra when I go hunting, so I can justify it. If I just needed a tow rig and the bed for hauling stuff occasionally, I would buy a 2x2 now. I'm to old to think a 4x4 is cool. I have 4 vehicles that are 4x4 and my insurance bill sucks!!

"RobD" wrote: Buy a 2 wheel drive 3/4 ton. A lot less money, better gas milage, etc. unless you can really justify the 4x4, it is a waste of money and more for insurance. How many times did you really use 4x4 in your Tundra. Not much!! I use 4x4 all the time in my Tundra when I go hunting, so I can justify it. If I just needed a tow rig and the bed for hauling stuff occasionally, I would buy a 2x2 now. I'm to old to think a 4x4 is cool. I have 4 vehicles that are 4x4 and my insurance bill sucks!!

Good point, but 4x4s are 😎

"BKGM Jeepers" wrote:
This is all the toyotas I have owned and none have ever had problems.

I'm jealous. Every Toyota I've ever owned and ever one my family has owned (aside from a mid 90s camry) has had some sort of weird interior rattles/squeaks that came up. I don't really count the 4Runner in that category...it earned its squeaks. 😀 The drive trains were well above average, but the interiors were cheap.

The Toyota interior does seem very plastic, but the Tundra I had seemed pretty solid.

X2, my Tundra has an annoying dash rattle 😈

"Bender" wrote: [quote="BKGM Jeepers"]

This is all the toyotas I have owned and none have ever had problems.

I'm jealous. Every Toyota I've ever owned and ever one my family has owned (aside from a mid 90s camry) has had some sort of weird interior rattles/squeaks that came up. I don't really count the 4Runner in that category...it earned its squeaks. 😀 The drive trains were well above average, but the interiors were cheap.

My only rattle was the mirror.



However I do have an annoying brake squeak.

My camry has a irritating squeal/whine that comes from the fan for the heat/vent/ac. Its faint, but once you hear it you can't stop listening to it. My wife has to have to radio on all the time or it drives her crazy. It doesn't bother me as much since I am half deaf, hence the reason it hasn't gone in the be repaired or replaced. 😀



The rotors on the Camry are a joke. We bought the car new and they have been warped since 30K miles. The car is 3 years old with 75,000 miles, so it has seen very little stop and go driving. The brake pads are still in great shape, but I might have to replace them and the rotors to get rid of the shaking while braking. My brother in law rented a Camry last year and had the same warped rotor problem, so it doesn't appear to be isolated to mine.

Just got back from a few days with some toyota master tech's . Tundra's from 2010 up are having lots of wiring problems. The main looms were made with a soy product and a peanut oil based product was used on the engine block. The tailed critters seem to love them. They have seen them while doing PDI's while on the lift. Toyota has TSB's referring to this problem and is now part of doing a PDI.

I went and tested out a Chevy crew cab 4x4 and I have to say that I actually liked it. I know it's kind of behind the times as far as technology and upgraded looks, but that's kind of what I liked about it; It reminded me of the good 'ol days when trucks were rough and tough and not juat glorified sedans. There were no video screens giving constant feedback on milage and vehicle functions and the whole interior was spartan but comfortable. Who knows, I may do my part for the economy and help GM pay back their loans...



It's come down to a choice between the Ram 1500 and the Silverado 1500...and the prices are pretty equal.

Does the chevy have a hemi? 😀

"Bender" wrote: Does the chevy have a hemi? 😀

No. The chevy has less HP, more towing capacity, and better gas milage.

The Chevy also has a stiffer truck-like ride and the Dodge is "squishier."

The Dodge has the interior won hands-down, but I like the exterior of the Chevy better.

Man, this is more complicated than I thought...

The search is over...



Cummins Turbo Diesel Baby!

What!?! How did you get your financial advisor to spring for that!?!