Dodge vs Chevy vs Ford vs Toyota vs Nissan

Instrument 41 · 02-27-2012, 03:42 PM

Looking for a replacement truck. Of the manufactures listed, what has the highest resale, most dependable, and best fuel mileage? Must have 4 doors, V8, 1/2 ton, 2 wheel drive, not all the bells and whistles but not a base truck either. And if I am looking at a year or 2 old truck is it better to buy new??

pavulon · 02-27-2012, 04:30 PM

lots of low-mileage 2WD trucks for not much money out there. Look a little on cars.com or autotrader.com and you should do really well...especially in the south! I'd buy the lowest mileage, oldest, cheapest Toyota I could find.

RWebb · RWebb's Garage

Toybota

Scott R · Scott R's Garage

Highest resale is going to be the Toyota.

onewhippedpuppy · 07:43 PM

If ever there was a loaded question.....

My opinion is that if you're looking at 2 year old trucks, you really can't go wrong. My wife has a Nissan Armada with over 100k that's been flawless, it's basically the SUV version of the Nissan Titan. The new bodystyle F150 is a fantastic truck, I spent two weeks driving one as a rental and was very impressed. Great to drive, the 5.0 is a great motor, and the back seat is HUGE. We're considering replacing the Armada with a new F150. The GMC/Chevy are nice as well, though I think the interior is very blah and isn't as big inside as the Ford. I haven't been in the new style Ram, but they get excellent reviews. As for the Toyota, they're more expensive but you just can't go wrong with a Toyota truck.

Just a hint regarding the Ford, you want a 2011 or newer so you get the choice of the Ecoboost V6 or 5.0L V8 motors. Frankly you can almost get a new one for as much as a lightly used 2011. There's a bunch of new crew cab 4x4 XLTs that are well optioned on Autotrader for under $30k, I'm sure 2wd is cheaper still.

porsche4life · porsche4life's Garage

Matts right, you basically can't go wrong with all the late model trucks. I've driven several newer GM trucks, and liked them. We have an '06 Dodge 3/4 that we really like. I know people that like Fords, but I'm not a big Ford guy, just prefer the Bowtie or a Ram...

kaisen · 02-28-2012, 06:15 AM

I concur with Matt in that, yes, it's a loaded question, and yes, you can't go too far wrong with any of them.

*IF* you are buying used, the resale component is already working for (or against) you. If resale is higher, you're the one paying more. If resale is lower, you're buying more truck for the money. Scott's idea about the Tundra being worth more doesn't pan out -- a 2007 Tundra is worth about the same as a 2007 Ford F150 or 2007 Chev Silverado, similarly equipped.

The Toyotas and Nissans are a little more expensive to repair, but you shouldn't have to repair them that often, right? Again, that's not as true as you'd think given their track record with cars. All of them are pretty bulletproof, but each have their own achille's heels.

Warranty would be one consideration. All have/had a 3 year / 36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty from new. If you're looking at 2009 lease returns, the Ram would have come with a "Lifetime" powertrain warranty, but the next owners don't get anything past 3/36. The Toyota, Nissan, and Ford powertrains are covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles from new. GM's powertrain warranty is 5 years or 100,000 miles. Will that extra 40K miles make a difference to you? It depends on how many miles are on the unit you buy, and how many miles you drive each year. The different powertrain warranties are worth taking into consideration, for sure.

If you can hold off until mid-Summer, I think you'll find tremendous deals on new 2012s. Esp if gas prices keep making the news. They're already advertising $10,000 off new pickups. Check out your best deal on a new one before you pull the trigger on a used one. It may be your best bet depending on how long you plan to keep it. I'd also consider leasing a new one. Maybe a new Ford EcoBoost 3.5L V6 twin turbo. Yes, I'm serious.

Good luck, let me know if you need any data.

Scott R · Scott R's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaisen

I concur with Matt in that, yes, it's a loaded question, and yes, you can't go too far wrong with any of them.

*IF* you are buying used, the resale component is already working for (or against) you. If resale is higher, you're the one paying more. If resale is lower, you're buying more truck for the money. Scott's idea about the Tundra being worth more doesn't pan out -- a 2007 Tundra is worth about the same as a 2007 Ford F150 or 2007 Chev Silverado, similarly equipped.

The Toyotas and Nissans are a little more expensive to repair, but you shouldn't have to repair them that often, right? Again, that's not as true as you'd think given their track record with cars. All of them are pretty bulletproof, but each have their own achille's heels.

Warranty would be one consideration. All have/had a 3 year / 36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty from new. If you're looking at 2009 lease returns, the Ram would have come with a "Lifetime" powertrain warranty, but the next owners don't get anything past 3/36. The Toyota, Nissan, and Ford powertrains are covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles from new. GM's powertrain warranty is 5 years or 100,000 miles. Will that extra 40K miles make a difference to you? It depends on how many miles are on the unit you buy, and how many miles you drive each year. The different powertrain warranties are worth taking into consideration, for sure.

If you can hold off until mid-Summer, I think you'll find tremendous deals on new 2012s. Esp if gas prices keep making the news. They're already advertising $10,000 off new pickups. Check out your best deal on a new one before you pull the trigger on a used one. It may be your best bet depending on how long you plan to keep it. I'd also consider leasing a new one. Maybe a new Ford EcoBoost 3.5L V6 twin turbo. Yes, I'm serious.

Good luck, let me know if you need any data.

A question, add another five years to the 2007 toyota, GM, and Ford, do they still stay comparable?

kaisen · 02-28-2012, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott R

A question, add another five years to the 2007 toyota, GM, and Ford, do they still stay comparable?

A good question that no one can answer. 2007 was the change-year. The Toyota, Ford, and GM were brand-new as were some powertrain options (the Toyota's 5.7L V8 and 6 speed automatic were all-new, for example). So who knows?

Again, all of these trucks should/can last longer than most people would ever consider owning them. We've all seen examples of late-model Ford, GM, and Ram that have several hundred thousand miles on them. I'm sure there are Toyotas and Nissans out there too, but the high-mile commercial users weren't adopting them in the same numbers.

They're all good trucks and any one of them might go 400K miles with nothing more than proper maintenance.

I would personally stay away from the 4.7L Ram and 4.7L Toyota, but all of the other choices are equally good. It would be nice to move up to the newer, more powerful Ford choices (5.0L or EcoBoost) but their reliability isn't proven like the older choices.

2WD V8 full size pickups are pretty tried-and-true

VINMAN · 02-28-2012, 06:47 AM

whats the best truck?? might as well post this over in PARF...

kaisen · 02-28-2012, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott R

A question, add another five years to the 2007 toyota, GM, and Ford, do they still stay comparable?

Did you leave out Ram and Nissan on purpose?

Instrument 41 · 02-28-2012, 07:11 AM

Thanks for the input. I have driven the Ford Eco Boost (6 cyl with 2 turbo's) very impressive, but none on the used market. Regarding the Toyota, what they are selling for is not any more than the other 3 marks? Which, in my experience from the past is very odd. Looked at 2 2008 GMC's with about 40K miles, both priced about $24K. Priced new Chevrolet, with rebates, customer loyalty and it was about $29, but for me to buy any car that is new is so against what I have always done in car buying.
One more questions...what are the "issues" with each manufacture that I should be aware of? For example the spark plug issue with the Ford....

Scott R · Scott R's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaisen

Did you leave out Ram and Nissan on purpose?

Oh, no. Just didn't read it correctly.

foxpaws · foxpaws's Garage

A gas guzzler - wait until summer when gas prices are at their highest...

But, Ecoboost or something that gets decent gas mileage - buy sooner than later.

And, from what I have been seeing in the trade pubs - the lines could be straining near max this summer - and new trucks will probably feel the manufacturing pinch first. Which boils down to: if there aren't as many new trucks on the lot - that will impacting the used market as well.

kaisen · 02-28-2012, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Instrument 41

Looked at 2 2008 GMC's with about 40K miles, both priced about $24K. Priced new Chevrolet, with rebates, customer loyalty and it was about $29, but for me to buy any car that is new is so against what I have always done in car buying...

My local Chev dealer (non-negotiating) offers a new 2012 Chev Silverado 1500 Crew LS 4x4 (4.8L, HD trailering) $36,810 MSRP for $28,654. 2012 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 for sale in Fridley - 3GCPKREA9CG197328 – Friendly Chevrolet
Most of the others are about $6,000 off MSRP after incentives. That would put a comparably equipped 2WD to about $26K transaction price.

If an out-of-bumper-to-bumper-warranty 2008 is $24K, I can't see why anyone would buy a used one. Especially given the low cost of money.

Even at $29K new and $24K used, wouldn't it be worth $1250 a year to have a brand new truck? It would be a no-brainer for me.

Of course, I'd just buy a used 2008 with 120K miles for next to nothing

onewhippedpuppy · 02-28-2012, 08:58 AM

Eric, I've been doing a lot of shopping and I disagree in regards to the used Toyota. My price range is $25k, for that price I can easily find a domestic 2010-2011 crew cab 4x4 that is well optioned. For a few thousand more I can buy a new one, as you posted above. But for $25k you almost can't find a crew max Tundra 4x4, even a 2007 with higher miles. Granted the Toyota is a more expensive truck to buy new, but they also seem to hold their value very well. If the past holds true for the future it will hold its value better than the domestics, just compare an early 2000s Tacoma or Tundra value to a similar domestic truck.

911boost · 911boost's Garage

I think there is a difference in the full size vs small truck market. I'd never think of anything but a Toyota in the smaller size.

Full size, domestic all day long.

Is this truck going to be used as a truck, or is it going to be used as a car?

motion · 02-28-2012, 09:30 AM

I've seen new 2012 F150 XLT super cab Saturday newspaper specials for $21K here in SoCal.

Instrument 41 · 02-28-2012, 01:15 PM

4x4 in any truck raises the price, even more so used. I wish I could go with a higher mileage truck because, your right, they are much cheaper, but in my situation I need to start out with lower miles. The example above regarding the deal on the Chevy with the 4.8 is about right. They have to discount them more than the 5.3. The 4.8 SUCKS....to take off from start its as if your pulling out of a deep hole.