Hello,

This is my first post on this board. I am a Mustang guy personally but I am also a Ford salesman. I don't have much experience with trucks but I have driven most of Ford's offerings (F150s, F250s, F350 duallies, Escapes, Explorers, etc).

I was wondering what are the good and bad points to your trucks? That is, what do you enjoy the most and what disappoints you? How do you use your truck, and why did you pick a Ford?

And you folks with 'special' trucks (Harleys, Ranches, Lightnings), do you use them as work trucks or 'trailer queens?'

 

I will try to answer your question but I want a piece of your commision on every F150 you sell! Just kidding.
I think it's great that you've come here to ask questions of the people best qualified to answer them. The ones who own and drive them. I only wish that Ford would take more interest in what all us Ford truck owners have to say. They can spend billions on market research, and pass the expense on to the consumer, or they could see what the onwers like and dislike. Ford?

Personally......
My dad is a Ford guy. I guess I am like my dad in ways (god forbid! )
I think right now Ford makes the best looking trucks in the market. The Triton engines are real good even though the other brands are coming out with better.
Fords have long been known as "strong" trucks. I think that people want a vehicle that is "strong" these days.

Ford has some quality issues. Many owners are feeling ripped off. Some spend close to 40k for thier truck only to have it plauged with problems. Not all the trucks have problems. I certianly hope not concidering how many are sold each year. There are too many though. Could be 5%, maybe even more. I am concerned that my truck will develope chronic problems some day. I hope not!

My truck runs great! I really like to drive it. It has good power, is comfortable to drive and even can get decent fuel milage (for a V8) when driven conservetively. The one problem I have is the transmission. The M5OD is probably not the best choice for the F150. If I were 89 years old and never went over 35mph it would be ok. I'm several years away from 89 and I would like to take atvantage of the power the 4.6 provides. The M5OD is the weak link in the F150. I don't like the way the autos shift. I plain drives me nuts. I wish Ford could come up with a better manual transmission for the F150.

I really like my truck. I plan on having it for some time. It's got an easy life right now, only being driven a few days a week. I don't make it work too hard. If it holds up, I may be in the marked for a '04. I think I will keep my '98 for a "project truck". Time (miles) will tell.

 

Weaks points after owning a GM

Doors are cracking
Why dont they have some lighting on the floor
Frame seems to flex more then the GM
Steering on both Fords (1999 and 2000) seem to like to wander
3rd and 4door rattle (supercab)
Bed seems very thin, dents easily
5.4 liter now has piston slap (GM 350 had 180k when I got rid of it, no noise or oil being burned, I cant fault 350's)

Strong points

Fit and Finish is better (except doors)
Interior holds up better
no strange electrical problesm that the GM's had
Tranny didnt blow at 25k (4l60 in GM)
hasnt been to the shop ( my 94 GM was in no less then 12 times the first year)
AC unit is smoother and quieter

Ill put more when I can think of them

 

I had a full size Ram but traded it for the F-150 Super Crew.
With the X plan at work it was a better deal than Dodge would ever give me for less truck.
We had an Explorer that lasted to 97K before the problems started, then traded that for the Expy. The Expy has been the best vehicle that we have ever owned. With that being said I was already sold on the Super Crew before I even started shopping.
Both vehicle have been flawless, with this web sites help in many, many ways I have been over both trucks in detail.
I have been fortunate that the fit and finish is fine, I have the correct radiators in both, my trans does not clunk, yet.
In fact I really do not have any complaints. I would suggest Ford to put the same trans from the Expy in the 150, the expy's trans is definitely superior. I liked the Ram a lot, it was a good truck. But love the Super crew that much more.
I hope the people at Ford check this site out their is always very good advice on any problem or idea's.
If you get some customer s on the fence of purchase tell them to check this website out, nothing here but the truth.

 

Well both me and my dad own Fords right now, mine being a 97' F-150 XL, his a 98' Explorer. I'll say my dad is very unhappy with the ride of his Explorer, its so rough. I mean you can feal every bump in the road, of cource it has 4 wheel drive all the time. Now I think my f-150 rides very smooth, and its pretty quiet. It's mainly my work and hunting truck so there are not a lot of bells and whistles on it, thats why I bought it. That and it was the biggest thing with 4 wheel drive on the lot when I bought it used. Its just has the V6 which isnt a lot of power for a truck its size which is quite capable of much more. I know it pissed a lot of horse farmers off when the dealers told them a V6 could pull a horse trailer and then well..... it couldnt.

 

Kind of makes up for some of those horses I've bought from those guys.

 

Well I have owned a lot of fords as well. From a T-Bird to a Mustang to an F150 to an Expedition. Ive owned them all. In the last few years I have been into trucks so that is the Only thing I own now. I bought the Expedition so I could travel with my dogs and carry friends if we ever decide to go somewhere. What I do like about the Expedition is the styling. I mean it looks great. The truck is also very dependable with 102k miles on the odometer already. Weak points: Lights stay on when tailgate is opened(running board lights and interior), and teh fact that the seats are not as comfortable as I have seen in other trucks.

Now the F150. I have 41k miles so far and it is a great truck. I like that the 4.2 provides enough power (205hp) and a fair amount of torque to do just about anything. The seats are nice for an entry level truck.

NOW PLEASE, DONT MAKE THE F150s LOOK LIKE THE NEW EXPLODERS/EXPEDITIONS!!!!! PLEASE EMAIL EVERYONE!!!

 

I love my truck. I've never heard as much as a squeak out of it, save the blown speaker in the back. The only complaint I would have as far as these trucks go is the engine's work-on ability. I mean, come on! 3 hours to change a set of spark plugs?!?!? The only other thing to work on is the customer service. I think just about everyone who's had to have work done on their vehicle has had some kind of a bad story to tell... other than that (which some can't be controlled) there is absolutely no flaw I see in these trucks!

-Flea

ps.... tell them to bring back the solid front axle.... PLEASE!!!

 

personaly to me I don't see a difference in the front of the expy/explorers..compared to the f150 already...anyone want to point it out to me?
Personaly I hate the new f150 looks already...all round and feminine looking, I should keep my opinions to my self ...like that one, but I'm in a grumpy mood tonight so oh well. And well if the new F150 owners don't want the looks to get even worse..come on FORD! Ford needs to make the f150 back into a truck...they did a great job with the F250...I'm more into the boxy look...like my 96 f150 or even the chevys.
What is this company coming too..it's needs to stay more with it's history..it needs to stay with the things that sold the vehicles....why did they get rid of the front I-Beams...after being used for so many years? Why did they get rid of the I-6...so called best engine ford ever put out?
Ford needs to stop trying to compete with dodge/chevy so much...if they would just do their own thing and listen to what we want they would notice a improvement on sales, people will always buy the truck..no matter how ugly it gets but if they made it into what the public wants and not what ford wants...they would make a lot of people much happier.

I'm going to sleep now...I won't be so grumpy in 8 hours

 

Weak Points?

No Offense, but its the dealers that sell them and then don't fix them.

BOB

 

I think we can blame the EPA for the demise of the I6, as great of a engine as it was it wouldnt get the mileage and emission ratings it needs. Also its HP wasnt competitive with the newer V6's from the competition. Since everyone wants to compare everthing based off numbers Im sure they knew they needed something new. It would have been nice if Ford could have done something to the I6 like chevy did with the 4.2 I6.

Im not really big on the current F150's look but I sure like it better then the old 18 year old design.

Twin I-bean is a good heavy duty suspension, but it didnt compete well in as far as ride and handling with the A- Arm of the competition. And we know in the 1/2 ton realm most dont care about heavy duty, they want something carlike.

Ford did a great thing though creating the superduty line though. Thats perfect for people who like the boxy, I-Beam trucks of yesteryear.

 

Phew, it is a chick truck. And I was so worried about looking butch in it.

 

This is my 1st truck. I bought it because I am a big guy and I was tired of putting a Taurus on like a tight sweater.
I like the styling of Ford trucks, but more importantly it is the only full sized truck rated as average reliability by Consumer Reports. (The Tundra is not a full sized truck) Chevy and Doge are rated much worse than average. At close to $30,000 I expect at least average.
I bought a 2wd Lariet Super Cab 4.6.
The "premium" sound system could use better speakers, at least as an option.
The shock absorbers could be better.
The bed makes crunching noises when I stand in it. The metal is too thin.
The muffler could be more free flowing than it is.
Check out the most common mods done to the trucks on this site. That will give you an idea of what changes could be made, or offered as an option.
I love the room, the ride is pretty good, and it feels like it is built tough. I hope to own it a long time.

 

Ford just realy needs to work on customer care more...they are all nice when you buy the truck...but first problem you get they give the run-a-round.

 

Bring back the "truck styling", like the new superduty's - the 97+ f150's are a little too round for my liking.

ditch the two-tone requirement on the new '02 f150's - I went with the sportsman pkg to get around two-tone, but got stuck with colored bumpers. Bring back those chrome bumpers - it's a truck. I expect my honda to have colored bumpers, but not my truck. (oh yeah, I got a dang sunroof in my truck now too - don't need it!)

more headroom is needed - a big boy with a cowboy hat is gonna squeeze his head in the cab. ( i could always let my hat go thru the sunroof....)

don't wrap the dashboard on driver's side f150 - I don't like to bang my knee getting in the rig!

the good stuff - shift on the fly (manual) xfer case, a/c unit is strong, good price, ford quality product. I know this thing is gonna last!