All dealers want the apendages of your grand children for their parts. The H2 seems to be the bigest target for the enviro croud at this point.

 

huh?

 

Ford's Excursion weighs around 7000lbs. The Suburban is considerably lighter than this. In all honesty the Excursion is much heavier than any soccer moms daily commuter needs to be. I'm glad to see section 178 of the IRS tax code
modified to address cheaters who try to list these vehicles as full time company "trucks". It was all too easy to get a DBA and EIN number for a "company".
Then you simply buy the vehicle under the company name using your own credit.Tax time comes and you can get the full purchase price deducted from your taxes because the "company vehicle" has a gvwr over 5000lbs. Not anymore. No more Excursions, Expeditions, Durangos, Suburbans, or Lincoln Navigators being listed as "trucks". This in itself was a huge motivator for many people to buy these huge guzzlers, since the section 178 write off does not apply to vehicles under this GVWR.

Anyone ever hear about Ford using known faulty gaskets in 4.2L V6 engines?
They absolutely WILL NOT stand behind these engines or accept any responsibility for wrong doing should a disgruntled consumer with a
hydrolock damaged block make a complaint about it. Hard to tell someone going through this that they are treating Ford too harshly with unkind words.

Ford like anyone does have some problems which warrant legitimate criticism.

 

Are you sure they were known to be bad? I mean at the corporate level. Just because some tech says "Yeah we know, they're all bad." doesn't mean he's gone that extra step to tell his boss, and the line just goes on. It only takes one link in chain to be weak for the chain to break.

 

it cant be that easy

 

Dealers want not only your arm & Leg but those of your kids, and grand kids.

 

Yes it can be. It's well known "tax shelter" (quotes intended) that people can set up sham businesses (selling amway if anything) and write off their houses, utilities, calling giving their kids' allowances a "salary" for sweeping the floor and the like. NEver mind trying to make a profit just use it to write off everyday expenses. IRS caught up to that game and made it much more difficult to claim home office expenses as deductions. I've done the creative household expenses deduction before... but wouldn't try it now that's a big red flag for an audit these days.

 

thats crazy, so I could have written off my truck. even though I havent sold squat yet?

 

I don't get the comments about Ford not standing behind their products compared to other automakers. I haven't seen any evidence at all of GM or Chrystler or any of the others acting any different at all. They will do what they think is in their best interest. They aren't looking to screw people over but they aren't looking to give anything away either. The GMs I've had have had MUCH worse workmanship than the Fords I've had.

Sure you CAN cheat on your taxes all you want but you will pay the piper when he comes. Buying an excursion and claiming it is for business use when it isn't would be big trouble if you got caught. Just like you CAN buy non-tax diesel and run it in your pickup to save all kinds of money. Doesn't mean it's legal.

Even something that seems to be legal today (and that never was) might not be tommorow. They can and do decide retroactively what is allowable and you are in big trouble if you are on the wrong side. Companies get busted all the time for using shelters sold and approved by independant auditors that get declared abusive 5 years after the fact.

 

I use standard milage deduction for business use but it requires daily log of miles driven with need to be able to show it was a business purpose. My reasons are to meet with clients at their location and do property inspections or take pictures for underwriters. I run about 2,500 to 3,000 miles a month.

I also have seperate auto for personal use- if you don't then, it's an other red flag.
I donot claim anything but actual office expences for the home office ie: office supplies, phone, postage, office equipment and business insurance.

 

I don't know statistics, but I have had two very postitive experiences with DC. Both cases were out of warranty, one of them was my dad's '94 caravan that blew a head gasket a thousand miles out of warranty. Chrysler covered it in full. Also, less than 4 months ago, my sister's '99 Plymouth Breeze had a bad PCM, about a $500 part. DC paid for the part, she just paid labor.....this was several thousand miles outside of warranty. Not all manufacturers are like this.

I've never heard one case of Ford fixing a defect out of warranty, but if anyone knows of one, please speak up!

I still like ford, and I like my truck, but their customer service isn't very good.

 

i have a little tid bit to add here.. since we are talking about this kind of thing.
in 1993 i purchased a 1986 GMC s-15jimmy. had the small (2.8l v-6 i think). truck was owned by an old dude since it was new, he used it to travel for work.. so it was mostly highway miles.. i drove it from 1993-1999. when it was running right, it ran great. that was more or less about 2 years.. then the problems started.. water pump, 6 weeks later, alternator. could not get anyone to give me a decent front end job.. would be fine for about a month, then it was pulling again... the transmission had to be replaced twice..the last year i had it, i started having electrical issues... then the enigine had to be rebuilt. rod knocking..... when i sold it to my brother (no, i dont like him) the rod was knocking again...after i sold it, i just drove the company truck. a 1997 E-250 with a v-6.. because of the way my days went, i really didnt take care of the van they way i should have.. no time... so the oil would get changed somewhere between 5000 and 10000...during this time, i started looking for a Ford.. couldnt not find one i could afford and/or liked enough to afford... so dad let me drive his '79 F-350. drove like a champ once i got the Holley carb adjusted right...the 351m lacked the power i wanted.. but it was good enough.. then i went to a FORD dealer looking at a used Ford.. they talked me into driving a 1996 GMC 2500 with a 305 v-8.. i liked it.. it was fast enough for in town driving.. got good milage.. then i started using it to work on the farm.. that is when the problems started...water pump, 2 alternators, engine light constantly on for some reason or another.. O2 sensors mostly.. then the 4l60e trans died..had it rebuilt.. lasted about 6 months.. took it back.. rebuilt again.. lasted almost a year.. in that year, i did a lot of mudriding.. but only pulled heavy loads 6-10 times.. trans died again.. took it to another place for a rebuild.. he told me not to be hauling my 28' flatbed with 12,000lbs of hay on it.. i still didnt care for they way it shifted.. and when you put it in the 2nd gear, it acts like it doesnt want to take off in said gear... so at this point i was completely fed up with the bowtie...to me, they are over-rated.. and EVERYone has one..so having one is like having a damn head.. we all got one... only, they look different...i decided to get back to my roots..
i found a real gem.. a 1979 F-250 SuperCab with a 460/c-6... only paid $800 for it.. brought it home.. made a few very minor adjustments.. took it to work.. jaws hit the ground.. and the bowties starting talking crap..we went to a little road after work.. i left a few little cut bowties sitting there... then the 70something Nova tromped the the little 350 and left me sitting there..i couldnt hook up.. rear too light.. i went home, put a 900lb hay bale inthe back and went back...the Nova took me by half a car in the quarter.. only because he was hitting the button.. you know they one that makes nitrous go into the intake? that one... which i figured was fair.. his little 350 and my 460.. seemed fair to me and him... i did manage to end up with just over $400 in cash after our little adventure... so really, i didnt pay but 400 for the truck...


the moral of the story is that both chevys i have owned were crap.. every Ford i have owned or driven has been as close to perfect as i could want.. that includes the 91 cougar i picked up for $200..

so let the hot heads blow hot air and know that owning a Ford is a honor and a privledge.. and no matter what they say, you were smarter for spending your money on the Ford...

 

I hear a lot of Ford bashing.We were building a shop the other day out at a guy's farm & one of our crew had a dead battery on his '97 150.The farmer came over & said "did you know 98% of all vehicles on the road today are Fords?'' Oh? we said. "Yeah, the other 2% drive home every night." Funny thing is, I happened to see a chev truck in his garage,up on blocks with the tranny lying on the floor! GM should offer spare transmissions as an option.

 

WOW!!! An honor and a privilege???
Hadn't heard it put quite like that before...

Hmmmm....

 

Yeah really,...an honor and PRIVELIDGE??...LMAO.

Try telling that to someone who got a sour 6.0. Come down from that cloud buddy,
in the real world nobody cares about your honors or priveledges - least of all a giant corporation.