Ford vs Chevy vs GMC (not an argument thread!)

[Handsome Rob]

Looks like I'm going to have to suck it up & shell out for a vehicle this year.
I've been driving the same 7.3 Powerstroke for 14 years & it's just got to the point where it's starting to cost more to keep reliable than it's worth & i'd like to move it on while it still has some value.

Trouble is, I've never actually had to look at a vehicle before. My wife knew exactly what car she wanted & what we could pay for it. Found one at a dealership, test drove it, loved it, haggled on the price a bit & slapped a wad of cash on the desk.
My truck was a case of: I had 4 days to find a vehicle when we first moved to the US before I had to return the rental. I saw my truck & bought it for cash on the spot. That was 14 years ago & I've never seriously considered changing it.

Now, as a 48 year old, I'm having to look for, really, my first ever serious vehicle investment.

My only criteria is that it's a truck, it absolutely HAS to have 4wd, second row seating & a bed longer than 6' An 8 foot bed would be ideal, but from the little I've looked around, that puts me into nothing but a 3/4 ton truck or work truck. I don't tow huge weights & I don't commute. From now on I'm guessing I'll probably average 10k miles a year. I do tend to find myself in the occasional offroad-ish situation & I've always used my truck as my camp base for hunting & fishing trips. It'll be getting a shell on the bed & I need it to be long enough to sleep in (I'm 6' 1")

My budget is only $30,000 (only.....) so I'm obviously looking at used. I've also never financed anything before. I do have a 775 credit score, but I haven't really carried any debt whatsoever in 20 years. I'm honestly very nervous about this.

I know nothing about different engines, what to avoid, what common problems different models have had etc. I have no real preference between gas or diesel. I don't want Nissan or Toyota & I definitely don't want Dodge.

I know this is a really broad question & there are die hard fans in every camp but....... any advice?

[BigK]

 

This is TN, no way this won't turn into a fight, LOL. Just kidding. I'm a few years from buying a truck too, so I'm interested to see where this goes.

[Grayfox54]

During the 25 years I worked for my city as a mechanic, we had a huge fleet of pick-ups in all sizes. We tried pretty much everything at one time or another. Ford, GMC, Chevy, Dodge and even a Toyota or two. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing. held up as well as the Fords. We had everything from the little Rangers up to the F-477 Super Duty that I drove as my work truck. Lots of F-150s, & 250s Crew cabs with long beds too. These trucks worked all day, every day and rarely had any problems. The 7.3 diesel was a super work horse and rarely gave trouble. However, I'm not a big fan of the newer Ford diesels. Way too much pollution control garbage has made them a mess. I'd recommend you go with gasoline. 

I don't hate Chevy, they make a decent truck. However, I think you get a better vehicle and more value for the money with a GMC. 

As far as vehicles go, Dodge is a verb. 

This was my office for 18 of the 25 years I worked for the city. 1994 F-477 Super Duty. 7.3 L Diesel. This beast weighed in at 14,000 lbs. I drove this every day at work and it was still going strong when I retired in 2014. 

 

[A.J. Holst]

With a 775, obtaining financing should be a breeze.

As you are in shopping mode, I'd recommend starting with Capital One Auto Navigator; I'm a credit union guy, but that's how I bought my last vehicle.

With the current rate environment, I'd still check with your credit union; if you don't have one, join one - most have a community charter (work, worship, live, go to school in the area the CU serves)

My guess is your budget of $30k for a 3/4 ton quad cab means in excess of 100k miles.

Good luck on your search!

[Tom B]

I went the other way. Driving a 2001 Silverado 1500, and last year the tranny went. Went looking at new trucks and damn near passed out when I saw the prices. Since mine ran well and I have maintained it I ended up biting the bullet and having the trans rebuilt. Yea it has 180k on it and its rusting apart, but I'm hoping it runs for a another few years til the prices come back to normal. Plus, its my 2nd vehicle. I recently bought a new Jetta to run around in since it gets 40mpg, and trade in prices are really high now. I got double for my 2012 Mazda3 than I thought I would.

Funny thing is, back in 2020 I almost bought a leftover Silverado for $10k off. I didnt like the color and figured I'd wait another year. Then Covid hit. Story of my life-lol.

[res308]

Grayfox I’ve never heard it put that way about Dodge being a verb, but if I go off my personal experience I’ll have to wholeheartedly agree with that. I won’t touch another one. 
Up until last year I drove a 2012 Tahoe at work. Hated that thing from day one. The city finally messed up and asked me what I wanted, so now I’m driving a Ford F150 at work.
That said, I desperately needed a truck at home, and I really wanted a Ford or a Toyota, but I absolutely hate car dealers, so I bought a 2005 Chevy 1500 4x4 from a friend’s son. Been a good truck so far. 

Rob I still think you’d be better off sticking with the Fords, but I think GMC might be a good choice too. 

Just kind of a sidebar thought here, but, assuming the body and frame are in good shape, have you thought about just having the whole thing rebuilt?

[Handsome Rob]

I'm really not set on a 3/4 ton truck again & honestly, I'd prefer to drop to a half-ton. I guess i muddied the water by stressing over an 8 foot bed. It's not life or death. It just needs to be over 6 feet.

As far as waiting a while, that's kinda ok, but my current truck is a '97 with 366,000 miles, several oil leaks, excessive duct tape, string & baling wire holding it together. It actually runs perfectly & I've maintained it very well, it's just getting a little old & swaybacked these days & needs to be put to pasture. Other than Jule's Challenger (my reason for wanting to avoid Dodge) it's also my only vehicle. 

To get it to last another 5 years is going to cost, at minimum, a $6k engine & I'd be surprised if I could sell the truck for that. 

Edited May 22, 2023 by Handsome Rob

[Hozzie]

I would just go to autotrader.com and go under advanced search.  Select trucks and long bed only option and see what is out there.  You will get an idea of what you can get in the price range you are looking.  I saw some 2012-2016 F250's with 8' beds for around 35k.  They have about 100k on them, but for a Diesel that isn't bad.

I didn't look deep, but there may be some 1/2 tons with longer beds as well.  

[Erik88]

No one makes a better truck than Toyota. 

 

Sorry, not sorry. 

I would look for a used Tundra long bed online. 

[gregintenn]

Based on your criteria,

1)Ford

2)GMC/Chevy (same thing)

3)keep what ya got

You’re going to have a tough time finding an 8’ bed on a newer truck.

 

I stand firmly in the no car payment camp.

Edited May 22, 2023 by gregintenn

[Handsome Rob]

1 hour ago, Erik88 said:

No one makes a better truck than Toyota. 

 

Sorry, not sorry. 

I would look for a used Tundra long bed online. 

Too spendy

Too thirsty

[Erik88]

22 minutes ago, Handsome Rob said:

Too spendy

Too thirsty

You get what you pay for. I'm pretty sure you could find one in your price range. 

MPG, horrible. If you are concerned about fuel economy then Toyota will disappoint. What you save on fuel with the other big 3 you will likely lose with future repairs. 

My 21 year old Tundra still has the original fuel pump, power steering pump, alternator and starter. It doesn't leak any fluids and doesn't burn any oil. There are people on the Tundra forum with 350k-700k miles. Original engines and transmissions. 

[DJTC45]

The used market is high as far as Trucks go, especially if you have to get a 3/4 Ton for the long bed. I was looking at the possibility of trading my "VERB" 2007.5 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 ST Diesel w/ Cummins 6.7, they wanted just as much as what I paid new for mine back in 2007 when I bought it with 26mi on it. Well the old "VERB" has 280,655mi on it now, put a new Transmission in at 185,000. One thing probably different about my Truck, all that emissions crap "fell off at 20,000mi". I've had the front end completely rebuilt over time, of course new shocks, and basic maintenance that any brand of vechile would require. I'm going to replace the water pump with an after market one even though the original is not leaking, I do need to replace the Oil Cooler and Gaskets, just developed a small leak but nothing major yet. I figured that spending a few bucks here to keep it going  was better than paying today's prices even used and having a monthly payment. I drive it daily and wouldn't hesitate to jump in it and drive to California and back right now. I guess the best advice is do your research on what you want, used or new and set a budget as to what your willing to buy and if you can make a good deal for a cash price that would be the way I would go, but if you can afford the payments then put a healthy down-payment on one that will lower your monthly payments. Good luck on finding what you want to suit your needs.

[Luckyforward]

So one question that I have never had a satisfactory answer for:  is there a difference in a GMC and a Chevy truck?

I've been told that it is the same truck with nothing but logos changed and have heard it said that a GMC is better built.  Anyone have an idea?

As for me, my 2003 Ford Ranger (I bought it at Carmax in 2004 w/4,000 miles on it) just turned 95,000 and still runs great.

[Luckyforward]

Here's your truck . . .

[DJTC45]

37 minutes ago, Luckyforward said:

So one question that I have never had a satisfactory answer for:  is there a difference in a GMC and a Chevy truck?

I've been told that it is the same truck with nothing but logos changed and have heard it said that a GMC is better built.  Anyone have an idea?

As for me, my 2003 Ford Ranger (I bought it at Carmax in 2004 w/4,000 miles on it) just turned 95,000 and still runs great.

I've owned both in the past, I couldn't tell if one was better than the other. I do know for some reason the GMC brought more in trade in value than the Chevrolet with amost the same package. Don't know why but that had been my experience with both.

Edited May 22, 2023 by DJTC45

[Grayfox54]

39 minutes ago, Luckyforward said:

is there a difference in a GMC and a Chevy truck?

JMHO:  but I think the GMC is built better. Chevy makes passenger trucks. GMC makes work trucks. 

[bersaguy]

If I needed or wanted a newer truck without going new it would be a GMC. I bought a used 1991 GMC 1500 Serra long bed with 11,000 miles on it and it had a 4.3 liter V-6 with overdrive tranny. I bought the truck in 1998 and for 15 years it had a Bass boat hooked to it 90% of the time and I fished lakes from Lake Fork in Texas to Santee Cooper in South Carolina and every lake in East Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama. I had to have 1 Tranny rebuild and my  son does that for a living and when he built it he didn't cut any corners and added a shift kit so it would not drag when it shifted. When I got the Jeep Cherokee I have already quit traveling and was fishing local so rather than watching the GMC just sit and waste away I put it up for sale. I cleaned it up and parked it out in front yard with a For Sale sign on it. (A side note, This truck still had the original Timing chain and gears in it) It also had 312,000 miles on it. My mail carrier came by about 30 minutes and saw the truck and came and knocked and she asked me how much I wanted for it and I told her and she gave me a $20 dollar bill if I would hold it till 4PM and I agreed. At 4 sharp her and her husband knocked and he asked if he could drive it and I handed him the keys. When he returned he asked me again the price and I said $2,000.00 firm. He told his wife to go to the bank and get the money. When she returned he handed me the cash and I gave him the paper work and he said he lived in Portland and I told him to use my tags to drive it home. The next day my plate was in my mailbox as his wife put it there.  Now that I have told you the history of my GMC I would positively buy another one!!!  ( note I would look for a little older model with a 4.3 liter)

[No_0ne]

6 hours ago, Tom B said:

I'm hoping it runs for a another few years til the prices come back to normal.

I wouldn't be holding my breath for this ...

[Chucktshoes]

[gregintenn]

2 hours ago, Grayfox54 said:

JMHO:  but I think the GMC is built better. Chevy makes passenger trucks. GMC makes work trucks. 

Could have been at one time. I once an 01 Chevy. My son now has an 06 GMC. Except for the headlights, grille, and a few other cosmetic features, they are the same truck. Same suspension, same engine, same transmission, same interior, etc. One said Chevrolet on the tailgate, one says GMC.

[tacops]

I've had them all.  Chev/GMC same/same.  For what you are looking for I would say Ford hands down.  I pretty much lost all interest in GM trucks in the mid to late 90's and personally think Ford has prevailed since that time.  Two thumbs up to Luckyforward on the Rangers.  I have had them as well and found them to be great little trucks.  I currently have a Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport that suits my current needs.  It like all my other Toyotas of the past has been an excellent truck.  I think Dodge makes the prettiest truck on the road, but the prettiest girl at the dance isn't necessarily the best girl for the long haul. JMO

[MacGyver]

While I'm certain this will be controversial for whatever reason - I'm excited to see the '24 Tacomas with a hybrid power plant.  Same towing capacity with better torque. Increases the fuel economy by a bunch - which as stated above gets it more towards what a reasonable, modern half ton should get.  Nice to see a full 2.4KW inverter on board, too.

FWIW, I think the reliability and longevity of Toyota's has been at the expense of worse fuel economy.

[MacGyver]

But, for this thread, I think I'd probably got with an F-150.

Just the fact that they make sooo many of them - you ought to be able to find one on the secondary market that meets your requirements.

[Defender]

I really don't have a clear preference or much experience with trucks.  I've owned a Ford F-100 and a Toyota Tacoma (when it was a small truck).  I liked both, but were both really too small for me.  I've long wanted a F-150, but lordy they get expensive.  I admired Ford when it didn't take bailout money form the government.  Recently got the truck bug again and went out looking for one.  My cousin recently got his 2023 Ford Maverick hybrid that he ordered last year and he loves it.  I admit I kinda liked it too, but I prefer a truck that sits higher.  Anyway, I went to all of the Nashville area Ford dealers and got the shock of my life.  First, you couldn't order a new truck until they 'open up'.  Second they were all adding a 5000 bucks on top of sticker price, just because they can.  Last time I bought a new vehicle, one could negotiate lower than sticker.  Now its the opposite, apparently. Anyway, I looked at used at carmax, where I've bought several cars in the past, and their prices have usually been good.  Well not for trucks.  They want about as much for a late model used as the new ones.  So now Im back to not getting a new vehicle.  I drive a 2017 Kia Sorento, and so far, mine has been an awesome vehicle.  Its fully loaded and I got it for less than half of what it went for new, a year and a half used with low mileage. So, I'm looking at retiring fairly soon and don't need a car/truck payment anyway, both mine and my wife's car are paid  for, so a new truck for me will be a lottery buy after i win.   Rob, hope you find what you want/need.  keep us posted!