lol I guess you cant say c o c k y on here

Andy

 

I was able to test drive my L without signing anything. Of course, it may help that I'm 49 and my wife, who was with me, is 51, and we both look pretty conservative.

I agree with Viper8's comments about reliability vs. maintainence and driving style. I started using Mobil 1 in my '65 Mustang in the mid-'70s, and have used it in every vehicle ever since. I change my oil & filter about every 4,000 miles.

Also, I've been buying new Fords since 1979, and have never had a bad one yet. My '94 Ranger XLT 4x4 was the best: 98,000 miles without any repairs whatsoever (yes, it still had the original belts, hoses and brake pads) -- just oil/filter changes, a couple sets of plugs and about 4 sets of tires. Traded it in on a 2001 Sport Trac which, at 36k miles, has been nearly trouble-free. Not to mention the '90 Probe GT I recently sold to make room for my new L.

So don't fall for that "Fix Or Repair Daily" nonsense. Ford really does make some good stuff.

 

I test drove a brand new Lightning months before I bought mine. Back then, I was 18 and was alone. Just walked in, chatted it up with one of the more knowledgeable SVT salesmen, and took her for a spin.

 

Before I bought my 01 L, test drove 4 L's and 1 Cobra before picked this one...all at the same dealer. Of course have been an established customer there for many years.

 

I dont understand why some dealerships think that these trucks are something like totally radical and you cant drive sit or breath in them before you pay for it. Give me a break when it comes down to it its still and F150 just a little nicer. As far as being reliable stick with your tundra my lightning has had alot of "problems" and so have others. my moms tacoma has 150k on it and we put brakes, tires and a battery into it. But again this is just my opinion.

 

hey guys, feel the need to post in this thread

my father drives a 2001 Tundra, he bought it new.. he's got about 50,000 miles on it, has driven it a lot!

the things he has added, are mostly "external" - a topper, mild suspension upgrades, bumper/wench, k&n intake kit, some other camping goodies.

it is the V8 limited model, its a very nice truck!

however on a recent trip to new mexico, from west texas - he found himself on the side of the road with a blown-up engine.

apparently a whole was blown in a cylinder? cant remmeber exactly, but he went round and round with Toyota on the warranty

they refused at first to pay for the engine, because they blamed it on the K&N (WTF!) Well he finally got them to buy a new block for his truck, and when they replaced it and he tried to drive off, he found he could not go above 50 mph, and it was driving like ***. he drives it back and it fails before it gets there, check engine light, wont run

WTF again

another 2 weeks or some such he finally gets to drive 500 miles and pick up his truck and drive it home. still doesnt feel the same he says



now across the driveway, is my 2000 Lightning with 60k miles, I've only had it a couple months, but no problems at all yet, and I drive the **** out of her

 

Any Lightning will kick the snot out of a GS430.

 

Not quality-wise it won't. Lexus is top-notch, and as much as I love my Lightning, Lexus is better quality and more reliable. We had an LS400 and that thing took 120k like a champ without a single failure. It was solid and my dad drove it daily to work and we took family trips in it across the country.

 

Cyntaxx,

We've had over 10 fords in this family and never have any of them given us any trouble. Quality wise, all of them have been great, great fit and finish, no problems, nothing. Maybe we're just lucky? Our 2001 BMW 530i had 3 major breakdowns it's first year and nagging electrical/computer issues.

I love my Lightning!

 

We've had about 4, and I'm on my second. My TBird had some problems (damn plastic intake manifold cracked), but nothing major.

The best-running and solid car we have had in our family is my dad's old 1981 Mercedes 240D. It was his first Benz and he racked up more than 200,000 miles on it. No rust, paint was perfect. The only thing that needed replacing ever was the AC, which as a known problem in those cars. Other than that, the car ran in tip-top shape.

I almost picked one up for myself as a daily driver not too long ago. My dad would've been thrilled if I had purchased one as he swears by them. But Indiana is too cold for an old diesel without a garage in the winter

The Lexus is a close second though. It was one of the most solid newer cars we've had in the family. We also had an Mercedes E320 but that gave us nothing but troubles so maybe that goes to show why Lexus is beating Mercedes out in quality and reliability? I tried to get my dad to go for another Lexus or a Infiniti G35 but he opted for another Benz...ML320. When we were car-shopping for me, he wanted to get me a used ML500 or brand new ML430 but I just hate the looks too much and couldn't afford the mods. Maybe if he would've mentioned an ML55, I would've considered it

 

He's not the only one who needs a refresher. Your grammar may be ok but your spelling sucks.

 

Also, to make that a correct sentance, it would have to say "stop skipping English class, because..." but common guys, this is the internet, who cares how someone spells or writes something.
Anyways, I went and looked at an L today at a dealership near my house, and well... do all the L's have a fairly large space between the bumper and the grill, and also a large gap between the cab and the bed? seemed to me like they should have beem more snuggly together, so I'm wondering if not its been in a fairly serious accident and just been repaired to resell Theres a lot of people up here that do that.

 

Depends how large. I had mine (both cab/bed and bumper) adjusted for free. There is about 2/3 of an inch between the cab and the bed, and about 1/3 of an inch between my grille/headlights and my front bumper.

 

put the TRD S/C,plus any other go goodies you want. If your truck is still in warranty, put on S/C at authorized TRD dealer, buy extended warranty, and you will be covered for its life. I, for one, wish we had a TRD equivalent that would honor installed mods under regular/extended warranty! Believe Nismo is about to do this for Nissan/Infiniti. Shows company has strong belief in their products. I love my L and almost bought Tundra in 2000 when they were new, but they wouldn't deal. L is more fun,but as others said, quality is not nearly as good. I'm now on 4th supra, and have had 2 4 Runners. The L is first ford since my first '56 'vert ,many years ago. All Toyota since '79,exceept L

 

I haven't owned that many Fords in the past although, my first car of my own was a 1937 customized/hot-rodded Ford Business Coupe. This was back in 1957, in my senior year at Miami High School. No problems with it...........

Now I have a 1997 F150 XLT, 4.6L bought used with 122,000 miles on it. It's slightly modded with a Superchip, BBK th/body, Optima battery, Air Force One air intake, Edelbrock shocks, and a Flowmaster. It get's driven rarely now--mostly to the fishin' pond. No problems---ever--with it.

My 2001 L has 50,700 miles and is very modified. I drive it daily, to-n-from work. I race it(not much lately) at the 1/4 mile track and it's been dynoed three different times. I've had NO problems other than a cracked fog light lens and some unwanted oil in the intake. I got 42,787 miles out of the F1s and the brake pads too.

You've got to decide what you're comfortable with but I highly recommend a Lightning !

Dan