Whats the best used Truck/Car to buy?

[WATERWINGS]

Soon I will be looking for another truck, or keep my old truck, and get a newer, (but not brand new) car...

Lets have some opinions on what used truck/car holds up the best, and will last for many years down the road, (pun intended)

I have always likes Ford, but lately have heard stories about them catching fire while just sitting in the yard, plus they wont last forever like some rice burners...(neither will Chevy's)

I think the Jap stuff would last longer, and I think that the only time your are taking away from the American workers, is when you buy a Brand New car from the factory, not a used one, cause that doesn't take away from USA??

What are ya'lls feelings ?

[Dukeofchippewa]

Lincoln Town Car, they last forever. My 87 went 180K with only a $42 ignition module going bad. 99 has 77K had a coil go bad. 32.4 mpg highway.

[Riverman]

Any Ford, Chev or Dodge rear drive sedan. Little to go wrong, parts are super cheap, and easy to fix yourself.


I have a 1985 Dodge Diplomat that I paid $2200 for in '92. Still driving it, runs perfect. I presently have my eyes on a CVPI staff car.

[WATERWINGS]

I have a boss here at work that had to put main bearings in his Dodge pick-up at 85,000........

Fords catch fire...........(new ones)

never owned a Chevy in my life......(maybe I should)?

I still think that all the Rice burners last much longer though, (never owned one of those either)

My '89 F-150 has 188,000 on it now...........(for all I know it might have 288,000)(not a place for the last number) but it is starting to have to many small problems now that I am looking for something that I don't have to work on.

All I have had to do to my truck, (up till now) is a battery, a starter, an alternater, and a transmission, and I have had it for 12 or 13 years.

[pyro]

I've been driving a '98 Dodge Avenger for the last 2 years. I did my homework before buying this car. Everything I had read on the internet said they were VERY reliable. I have not had ANY problems with it. It now has 118,000 miles on it. These were built from 1996 to 1999 in the Illinois Mitsubishi plant for Chrysler, so they're an "American Rice Burner." 2.5 Liter 163 HP V-6 with 4spd auto, decent power, AWESOME sporty handling. Decent sized back seat. Good trunk room. NO COMPLAINTS so far. 30 MPG highway. The 17" alloy option requires low-profile $120 tires, which don't carry mile ratings.

-Chad

[1BadAction]

yeah, rice burners last forever the media is so biased against anything american its crazy... heres the real facts.

General Motors models earn eight segment awards and Ford Motor Company models receive five segments awards —a record for both GM and Ford in VDS. Toyota Motor Corporation models receive four awards.

The Lexus LS 430, which earns a score of 90 PP100, is the first model in VDS history to receive fewer than 100 PP100. The LS 430 receives the premium luxury car segment award, and Lexus also receives awards for its RX 300 (entry luxury SUV) and LX 470 (premium luxury SUV) models.

Chevrolet captures the most segment awards, with the Prizm (compact car), Malibu (entry midsize car), S-10 Pickup (midsize pickup) and Silverado HD (heavy-duty full-size pickup) each earning an award in their respective segments. Ford receives three segment awards, for the Thunderbird (entry luxury car), Windstar (midsize van) and E-Series (full-size van).

The VDS is one of three J.D. Power and Associates quality metrics, along with IQS and the Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, which measures customer perceptions on the design, content, layout and performance of their new vehicles. The results of the 2005 IQS were released in May and the 2005 APEAL Study is scheduled for release in late September.

The 2005 Vehicle Dependability Study is based on responses from 50,635 original owners of 2002 model-year cars and light trucks. For more information on vehicle ratings, visit the J.D. Power Consumer Center at www.jdpower.com

WW- i have a 2000 nissan, 100k miles, the timing belt is shot, rear end is making noise, tire wear is poor (even after alignment) piss poor gas mileage from a v6, worse than all of our v8 trucks, and it has NO BALLS. the MPG thing is no fluke, it is rated worse than a v8 truck is. so much for superior jap engineering.

that compared to a 89 fullsize chevy, 368,000+ miles and never had the engine touched, other than alternator, fan, waterpump, and tune up stuff. not to mention, if the part has a jap name on it, the cost is 5X what it should be.

[Riverman]

If you need a truck that's fine, the Chevy appears the best to me (I am a Dodge guy). I like a sedan better, still suitable for towing, better economy, easier on parts, WAY faster!
I have been looking at this one too, RCMP staff car, 5.7 litre LT1, big suspension and brakes, not badly beaten.

[Raceman]

I bought 2 new vehicles last week because of GM's present incentive............ a crew cab Z71 GMC and a work van for the office. I just read on the internet that GM had the best sales month in 19 years because of the promotion after a 1.1 Billion dollar first quarter loss, and ALSO that they're extending the promotion until August 1st. It also said that Ford's sales continued to shrink last month, so they've announced a similar discount program calling it the "Family Plan", and that Chrysler is following with something similar.

Near as I can tell, GM's deal saved me about 4 grand on the Z71 over the best price I could've beat them to otherwise, and amounted to around a 9K discount on a 38K list truck.

The internet article went on to say that the Japs are feeling the pinch of the discounts in their showrooms. Now if we could figure out how to get the theives and crooks that are running the oil industry to actually compete with each other, instead of a conspiracy of price fixing, MAYBE this economy would take off.

[WATERWINGS]

hmmmmm..........Pyro.......a 2.5 V-6......and a Mercury sticker in the window...........I wonder whats REALLY under the hood of that car???

We have Ford and Chevy trucks here at work that the salesman drive all over, I guess I should look at the repair records for each and see which ones require the most work on them.

I always hear about Toyota and Honda running forever without any trouble.....

maybe not?

I think the only thing that has held my truck together is the HYDROSTREAM stickers in the rear windows

[1BadAction]

If you need a truck that's fine, the Chevy appears the best to me (I am a Dodge guy). I like a sedan better, still suitable for towing, better economy, easier on parts, WAY faster!
I have been looking at this one too, RCMP staff car, 5.7 litre LT1, big suspension and brakes, not badly beaten.

yep, i wouldn't hesitate to buy a caprice/lt1, great cars. GM shot theirselves in the foot getting rid of that car. BUT, I have read chevy is getting lower priced rwd/v8 cars based on the new caddy platforms.

I always hear about Toyota and Honda running forever without any trouble.....

maybe not?

its a myth... if not, where are all the mid 80s toyota trucks that everyone said was so great back in that day?

the majority are in a rusty pile somewhere. a few are still around leaving droppings behind them, and theres a small % that some sick individual dropped a 350 chebby into lol

[wing nut]

no one is naming any trucks? i like the avalanche

[Riverman]

I bought 2 new vehicles last week because of GM's present incentive.

IMHO, a new car a the biggest waste of money there is. I can see it if it is a car you desire or if it is used for business and can be written off, but paying retail for a daily driver seems silly when you can get a perfectly good car for 1/4 -1/8 the price of a new one. My $.02

[chris_lacey]

But that's where used cars come from. They all had to be new at some point.
I bought my first brand new car this year and don't begrudge a penny of it.
I have had dozens of used vehicles in the past and had good and bad ones.

[WATERWINGS]

ok.........tell us which were good, and which ones were bad.

That may put me in the right direction.

[pyro]

Yeah, I thought this topic was about USED cars. If you're looking at a used vehicle, I would assume that gas mileage is important, too. That would be the downfall of the V8 rear-drive platforms.

I edited my post to mention that the Avenger gets 30 mpg on the highway, FYI.

Avoid late 90's F-series pickups, unless they have had the transmission re-built. These tranny's had a tendency to fail with low miles due to a design flaw. Once the original owner has took it in the a$s and had it updated and/or re-built, they're a good truck otherwise (if gas mileage doesn't concern you)

Avoid the 94 thry 97 Chrysler/Dodge LHS, Intrepid, Concorde, and 94 New Yorker. These vehicle platforms are borderline lemons. Water pumps, front end/suspension failures, climate control, ignition switches, trans failures. It's a shame, because these cars run strong and handle well, V8 performance in a V6, with gas mileage in the low 20's. I had a 94 New Yorker (same as an LHS, but with a 3-passenger front seat and column shifter), I loved that car, except for the repair bills.