my uncle is a mechanic and says that in his shop he fixes more fords than chevy's. He is not a Ford hater, he says that the best years for Ford's were 1985 and older. I told him he was wrong because ford makes the most trucks, therefore noticing allot of Fords in his shop. Is he right or wrong? Is there any reliability chart that shows which one is more reliable?
Carlos

 

IMO, it's more than likely 6 of 12, half a dozen of another.

You can get a lemon with any car or truck.

I personally like Fords and since I live with them day in and day out, I notice the small stuff. On the Chevrolet's that I ride in they seem to be pretty solid with some quirks.

We've never had any problems with our Fords so I will continue to drive 'em.

I also agree with you about the more Fords on the road than Chevrolets.

Besides, 9/10 Chevrolet's are still on the road today....





the others made it home.

-rockstate

 

I have had good and bad with both. I like my Expy and will probly stay with it for a while. I still run a couple of GM products, but the last two chevy trucks I owned were not very good.

 

There can be several reasons for this to happens. More Fords than Chevys on the road in his area is one of them. Another is maybe he has a good reputation within the Ford owner circles of being a good mechanic. So word of mouth is bringing more Ford owners to him. Another could be that Ford owners having been subject to the "Ford Built Tough" slogan push and beat harder on their vehicles than the owners of wimpy Chevys do.

The bottom line is (and no offense towards your Uncle), that his opinion is not based on any scientific polling methods.

 

You have a chance of having trouble with any brand of truck on the road. Personally, I have always owned Ford trucks and have no intentions of changing. I bought my 1985 Bronco used. It had 90,000 on the clock when I bought it. Had the reliable 300 I-6 and C-6 transmission. Being used, I had to repair some things, but overall, it was a great truck. Next was my 1994 Bronco XLT which I ordered new. I had it until about 128k and it was an awesome truck. It got nicknamed the "O. J. Mobile", because it was all white. Reliable 5.0L, auto trans. Now, I'm on my 2002 Expedition which I plan on driving until it dies or starts costing me money. Other than routine maintenance and some wear and tear items needing replaced, it has probably been the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned, hands down. Fords rule!!

Now, I have driven friends' Chevy Tahoes & GMC Yukons. Even drove a new GMC Sierra Hybrid 4-door last week - that is a cool system. GM makes nice trucks, as well. I know about some electrical issues with the GM SUV's lately, but I think they have it narrowed down and fixed.

Given a choice between a new Expedition or Tahoe/Yukon, which would I pick? I'd take the Ford in a heartbeat. Perhaps I am a bit biased, but I've had such excellent vehicles from Ford I'm going to continue showing my Blue Oval pride.

 

I can't say much about one or the other but you did come to a FORD forum and ask . My opinion is ford for the simple fact my 97 truck has about half a million miles on it and still runs ok, but it has never had any work on the motor or trans

 

After a half million miles on that 97 FORD Truck I think you could say that the FORD is pretty dam reliable.

 

yep she's been through alot

 

Another area to look at for reliability is the frequently mentioned on this website's forums: The million+ mile Ford van: Home

 

that is awesome have you guys seen the million mile Honda civic and Chevy pickup? the civic had original trans and engine, but the Chevy had chewed up like five trans.

 

In this era of vehicles, they are all about the same as far as reliability. It basically boils down to personal preference.

 

No. Ford wins that test.

 

I bet if you ask over on the 6.0 diesel page you won't find to many happy campers, that motor has had more than it's share of problems and that damages Ford's truck reputation in general in a lot of peoples eyes. But besides that there isn't much to complain about over the last 30 years, Ford trucks just rack up the miles with nothing more than regular maintenance. In comparison GM has had a laundry list of recalls on their trucks including several for fire hazards, ABS failures, safety system failures, the piston knock issue, and the 4.3 intake issue. Everybody I know that has had a GM vehicle has had problems and the bad thing here is that these problems are all over the map indicating a general poor level of quality control. Back when I worked as a cable installer we had a fleet of new GM vans one year, and they all developed problems within the first 20k. None of the problems were common, blower motor on one, ball joints on another, tranny on another. Seems to me nothing has changed.

 

My dad was a GM enthusiast just as I'm a Ford enthusiast. The diff is, his GM's all had major problems but not chronic different problems. For instance, his '69 developed bad oil pressure and was never fixed. The '73 wouldn't start in wet weather. The '79 had a bad T-case. The '84 had a bad clutch at 30k and bad heads. The '87 had nbad heads and bad tranny. The '89 F-150, no issues. That was his last truck before passing.

I've only had one bad Ford and that was a '95 T-bird 4.6L. All other Fords have been outstanding.

All vehicles will have little things break during it's normal life. A sensor, an alternator, a ball joint, etc. If it's not a chronic problem does it render any vehicle a failure or does it deserve to be labled as unreliable? No, I don't believe so.

Tim