ford or chevrolet?
ford or chevrolet?
Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 8,140
Likes: 4
From: Oak Harbor, OH
My dad several years ago was looking for a van, he went out and test drove all three. He said the Ford is without a doubt the better product. They (my mother and he) both said that the sidewalls are so poorly supported in the Chevy that they were flexing at highway speed. He said the Dodge had a lot of road noise inside.
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 558
Likes: 0
From: Eastern, NC
I've got a 78 E-350 14ft. cube van. I got it in 96 and the engine had been replaced with a 351W. It runs like a sewing machine but the box is so ugly that I think I'm going to sell it and get an updated model with a 16ft. box on it.
If you look around you'll notice that most of your cube vans and ambulances are E-350's. It's because of the quality that you don't find in the other brands at least not in the competitions earlier models. Go with what you know go with the FORD
If you look around you'll notice that most of your cube vans and ambulances are E-350's. It's because of the quality that you don't find in the other brands at least not in the competitions earlier models. Go with what you know go with the FORD
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,746
Likes: 7
From: Tampa Bay, FL USA
Let's see...when was the last time you saw a Ryder moving van made from a Chevy or Dodge chassis? Or how about an ambulance that WASN'T a Ford? Do you think these folks buy Fords because they were the low bidder? If that were the case, every van or van-based vehicle on the road would be a Dodge. They buy Fords because of their reputation and previous experience with ALL trucks. Next question...................
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Posting Guru
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 2,498
Likes: 1
From: Raleigh, NC
Ford has the best options for any van and they're the toughest one you'll find. Ford is the only one that has a decent diesel engine in it (Power Stroke), Chevy still uses the 6.5L in theirs and Dodge has never had a diesel van. The Ford has a proven track record. I see a bunch more old Ford vans than I do Chevys or Dodges still on the road. The church I go to has had vans from all 3. I can tell you that we GAVE away the Dodge van we had to another church and told them it was a fix-er-up, because of all the problems it had, especially with the transmission. We still have the '90 Chevy van G-30 15 passenger van, it is on its last legs, it has 78,000 miles and has had 2 new alternators, a new exhaust system, and its starting to use oil. Not to mention all the rattles it has when idling. The church then bought a '99 E-350 Club Wagon XLT (15 pass.) with the V-10 about 4 years ago, it hasn't had a lick of trouble, and they use it so much that it already has 71,000 miles on it. We are actually considering getting another Club Wagon to have for the day care center.
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Senior User
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 222
Likes: 0
From: Cumming, GA
My dad's got a later 90's Astro at his work, and it drives just like my friends '96 Z71 (except the van has a V6). It had pretty good power and the brakes were almost TOO good. About half of the distance you would push down the brake was just slop, and then suddenly you would jerk and the brakes would skid. Same with the gas, it didn't have that half inch of push so you can feather it, it was just GO and STOP. I had a fun time trying to figure the darn thing out since I'm used to my gentler f-150.