Vermin said:
Hrmm.. buying by reputation (oh.. did you say reputation or opinion.. they are often the same) sounds pretty lame to me. I'm the one that has to walk out my front door every day and see that big piece of steel sitting there.. I better like what I see, or I'm gonna be pissed off. There are good and bad stories about every brand vehicle out there.. some people live and die by a specific brand/model while others hate the damn thing. As I originally posted.. I'd take a Ford with the Cummins and an Allison.. but since I can't have that.. I'll take the Ford because I think they look the best and the motor is decent. Seems to be the best compromise to me...
A couple things I considered. If I was going to fork over money for a 4x4, it had better be a solid front axel. I also agree with Vermin, if you gotta look at it for a long time and your going to be dropping a ton of cash on it you better like the way it looks. This goes for women too, but that's another forum
I also have an inside look at some of the parts suppliers for the automotive industry. I have been involved with the design and build of airbag folding machines, riveters, electrical test and various other assembly stations for the last 8 years. From what some of our customers have told us, Honda is by far the most proactive when it comes to improving their parts. If someone comes up with a better part that will be 100% better than the original at a cost of 1/10 of a cent more ea, Honda will do it. On the other end of he Spectrum you have Dodge and to a lesser extent GM. Make it as cheap as possible (Chrysler) and squeeze the supplier for an additional 20% off the machinery (favorite GM tactic thru the 90's). Where do you think that 20% is going to come from? From what I have seen it comes off of the quality. Hell, I remember the day we had some guys from a magor GM parts supplier in for a buy off on a machine. The guy I worked with had bought a new Grand Prix and the interior was literally falling apart after a year. He was complaining to the head of that division and all he got was an acknowledgment that "yes, our interiors suck." I have always avoided the big three like the plauge but if you want a big truck your kinda stuck.
