I "was" a FORD guy. The screwed the pooch and should have put a light duty diesel in their trucks. I had a Ram for a few days and actually liked it and with the EcoDiesel they get solid mileage. If I were to buy a truck today I would get a RAM 1500 Ecodiesel, as much as it pains me to walk away from Ford.
If you think about it, the better mileage on desiel is not worth it most of the time. Plus you have to keep it plugged in in the winter. I don't think most people want a diesel in a 150 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Anyone planning on saving money by driving a diesel has never owned one. More expensive fuel, more expensive regular maintenance, and God forbid something happens to it because they are way more expensive to have repaired. Diesels only make sense if you have a need to haul heavy loads. If you simply want one and are okay with a more expensive vehicle then that's fine too but don't go into it with plans of saving money and it lasting substantially longer than a gas engine. Even if it were true that it lasts slightly longer, that's not without repairs along the way and for the price of an upgrade to a diesel you can replace an entire gas engine when it's finally on the fritz...
Matt lives down the road from me and I haven't had to plug anything in. I was in Michigan during the coldest part of this winter with my truck in a hotel parking lot and the remote start had me good to go by the time I got out to my Jeep. With oil changes and k owing a Jeep mechanic I will come out ahead within 4 years of driving and I only have to fill up every 600-650 miles instead of two to three times a week since I drive 100-150 miles a day. The newer light duty diesels are pretty slick and towing on the Ram is still 9k pounds.
That would be my question. I don't keep up with the technology or trucks in general anymore (I've been driving an 05 Tacoma for 7 years...it just keeps working:D), but the 5.0 (in the F150) has only been out since 2011, correct? If this is a common problem, there isn't a TSB issued yet? It's a shame. I remember when they released the new lineup, I was more impressed with the 5.0 than anything (numbers wise). I only know one person personally that had the Ecoboost (a member of our hunting club) and has since passed. He did speak highly about it, though.
Thanks for the thoughts guys. Pretty sure I won't be getting a Dodge. I like the concept of their 1/2 tons with diesel, but I just wasn't seeing anything equipped the way I wanted in the price range I can spend. I'd have to buy brand new which I'm just not gonna do. Pretty sure I'm gonna end up with an Ecoboost. Working on narrowing things down on a truck today that I really like hopefully it will be mine this weekend.
Matt,a friend of mine owns the local Ford dealership and was talking with him last night. He is currently driving an ecoboost with the 3.0, hasn't even seen a 2.7 so he couldn't comment on that. He did say he preferred it over the 5.0, but the great fuel mileage as advertised wasn't there. Now we do live in the mountains, but still not great.
I don't think anyone really could have sold you on the idea based on what I read here Hopefully you received better advice elsewhere. Good luck with the new purchase.
Asked my buddy Chad about his ecoboost. He gets like 17 mpg and 12 towing the skeeter. Says gas milage is not as advertised. It is super flat here, the only hills are overpasses. He likes the truck enough to put a couple thousand more ino customizing it though. My buddy Frank has the Lariat with the 5.0L. It's a strong runner, pretty fast for a truck. Not sure what gears it has though. He has been in for a ton of warranty work though. The Back up camera went out. Also the nav screen has been replaced twice. Something with the suspension though i dont recall what it was. It's now in the shop because it won't blow any heat. It's a 2012 I think.
I'm a diehard Ford guy. I just bought a new F150 a year ago. I have 12K miles on it now. When I was shopping around, I looked at all options for motors, etc. In my opinion, the Ecoboost is a waste of money. They're offered in a couple of sizes and if you get the smaller motor option, you'll pay for it when towing or doing anything other than driving down an interstate. The bigger option sucks almost as much gas as the V8, with less horsepower. More torque thanks to the turbo, but less overall horsepower. I opted for the 5.0 liter and can't be happier. The comparable Ecoboost, the 3.6 I believe only offered 2mpg better fuel mileage, but came at a 4K price increase. Now, I"m not a mathematician, but it would take an awful long time at 2mpg to recoupe the $4k price difference. My 5.0 is a 4 door crew cab 4x4. I'm getting around 16 around town and 20 highway. This, with custom wheels and tires and front end leveling. Thing is, Ford has been building the 5.0 for a long time and is one of their most reliable motors. The oil usage you speak of, I can honestly say I haven't heard of. I'll ask my friend who is a mechanic at the dealership I buy mine from.
There have been a couple of sedans with aluminum panels in years past. Those cars experienced repair costs 200% higher than similar vehicles using steel panels. At this time, only about 5% of auto repair shops are equipped to work on aluminum panels. No tool that touches a steel panel should be used on aluminum. The two metals together are extremely corrosive. That means that shops will have to maintain two completely separate areas and tools for working on aluminum paneled vehicles. I look for auto insurance carriers to end up charging more for comprehensive and collision premiums on the new Fords. Aluminum does not have memory like steel and it is far more likely to need to replace panels that will not repair well. On a positive note, aluminum tends to resist damage better and rust is not an issue. Time will tell.
fletch, you bring up a good point. I believe the idea here is that someone like Ford using aluminum on a vehicle like the f150, which we all know is the #1 best selling vehicle was needed to get aluminum to more acceptable levels. I think once Ford floods the market with aluminum trucks, the other manufacturers will follow suit, which in turn should drive all prices down eventually. I'm glad I bought my truck in 14, as I still don't care for the looks of the new one. Just something about it screams Dodge to me. I usually like to keep a truck for 10 years if possible and by then, I figure this whole aluminum thing will be the norm. This of course is unless they finally build a truck that gets 30mpg for real....
Update - My 5.0 is burning oil again. Got the oil changed this weekend and it's a quart low over 5k miles. Thinking about getting back in the market again..........
Buy a Chevy then :D Picked up a 2014 1500 crew cab about two months ago with 11 on it, just rolled over 20 yesterday and everything has been running perfectly good so far. Averaging 20 highway, 16-17 city that's with a level and 33's on it.
