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Woody.303 · 03-07-2009, 01:07 PM

All,

I'm in the market for a new truck, and have always been a HUGE Ford fan. I have rather specific needs, and it has turned into a nationwide search to find the right truck for me.

I've been talking to Ford dealers all over the U.S., and have been given the cold shoulder too many times by the salesmen/women. Sometimes they are belligerent, argumentative, and rude.

In the past couple of days I started to speak with some Dodge dealers, they are always very polite, enthusiastic and willing to do some work to find me a vehicle. They are also very apologetic if they are not able to help me.

With the employee pricing that Dodge is offering (about $10,000 less than the Ford), and the better warranty, I'm seriously tempted to buy the Dodge. However, I feel as though I would be a traitor by not buying a Ford.

Are there any Ford fans out there that bought the Dodge? And would you do it again?

Thanks,

Woody

**moosetags** · 03-07-2009, 01:24 PM

That's a real dilemma, Woody. I am a GM fan myself, but my son pulls his Airstream with an '05 Ford 250 PSD, and one of my closest friends pulls an SOB with an '07 Dodge 1500 gas engine Megacab. They both love their pick ups, and have gotten excellent trailer towing service from them.

$10,000 is a lot of money, especially in these times. This would make the Dodge look very attractive to me. I can not understand the Ford dealers' attitude toward you. Maybe they feel that they can be that way because they are the least in trouble of the Big Three.

$10,000 extra dollars in your pocket would finance a heck of a trip, or two, or three, or more, depending on the time you have available.

Brian

SteveH · 03-07-2009, 02:39 PM

I prefer GM pickups, but have owned a Dodge and it was a good truck. I just bought too big of a trailer for it to tow (4.6L and short W/B), and then traded for a GMC I found equipped the way I wanted. However, I would not hesitate to buy another Dodge, espeicially if it saved me $10,000. Hope this is of some help to you.

Shacksman · 03-07-2009, 03:16 PM

I was a Ford fan (8 new trucks in 20 years) untill I had problems with an 02 model. Absolutly no help from Ford or the dealer. they said I did not have a good enough history with them.
I went to a Dodge in 05 and have never had a better truck or dealer.
I hope Ford goes under with all their help!!

hampstead38 · 03-07-2009, 03:27 PM

Dealerships can be funny... though rarely in the humorous way. In my experience, it's less about the manufacturer and more about the individual dealership. While I can appreciate the interest in a nationwide search (to get the best deal), I've had better luck buying locally and building a relationship with the dealership. I think dealers are more responsive if they think of you as a potential return customer. Given the current economy, dealerships should be rolling out the red carpet for potential customers. What, exactly, are you asking for?

Denis4x4 · 03-07-2009, 04:59 PM

Small town dealerships look at things a little differently than the big city guys. Too, they're multi-line dealerships and we buy Jeeps and GMC's from one dealer and Fords and Chryslers from the other guy. I get loaners from both dealers when I bring them in for service and I appreciate the support the local dealers give to non-profits and youth organizations. I agree that $10K is a considerable difference, but something is missing from this picture.

seeleylaker · 03-07-2009, 05:11 PM

Bought a new '05 Dodge Dakota after having had F-150s and 250s for almost 30 years. The price was right so I gave it a try. Pulled a 19' SOB with it and that was asking a lot--but it did it. I was happy enough with it that I would have bought a larger Dodge when I went to a little bigger truck, but the '08 Tundra was a better deal at the time so I bought the Toyota instead of the Dodge. But no complaints ever about the Dakota.

RBolton · 03-07-2009, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woody.303

I have rather specific needs, and it has turned into a nationwide search to find the right truck for me.

What specific needs require a nationwide search?

Chief · 03-07-2009, 07:18 PM

I'm not sure that I meet your parameters for an answer, as I haven't been a Ford fan, but I have been a multiple Dodge owner.

Had a V-6 Dakota prior to Airstreaming, traded it for a 1500 Quad-cab hemi. The Dakota had around 40k when traded, the 1500 now has around 68k.....both were the best trucks I have every owned.

Chief

Motoman · 03-07-2009, 08:10 PM

I'll admit to being a Dodge fan and with my Dad being a retired Chrysler employee we were easily swayed since children and grand children also qualify for the retired employee discount. Don't know if is any better than the regular employee discount but we have had great luck with our 96 Jeep Cherokee, 96 Neon, 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 and our daughter's 2005 Jeep Liberty.

One more thing to consider if looking at the diesels is how well will Ford do on it's warranties after December 2009 when it is rumored that Ford's contract to purchase diesel engines from Navistar will expire after both being involved in lawsuits for the last year or so.

TIMEMACHINE · 03-07-2009, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woody.303

Are there any Ford fans out there that bought the Dodge? And would you do it again?
Thanks,
Woody

I was a Ford truck owner and fan who switched to Dodge. I went from a 2005 F250 Crew Cab Super Duty with the 6.0L Power Stroke Diesel (PSD) to a 2008 2500 Ram Power Wagon with a 5.7L Hemi gassser. I have linked the old thread that may help answer some of your questions. Bottom line for me is that it was the right decision. Depending on the weight of your AS, you may need to go with the diesel option, at 7000 lbs loaded for our Safari 25FB, I find the Hemi to be plenty. Motoman make a great point about the failing relationship of Ford's diesel supplier, things may become more strained and the consumer will be paying the price.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f463...ser-38681.html

gaylejoe · 03-07-2009, 09:48 PM

Before my retirement my company furnished me with 2 Dodge Stratus vehicles. They were excellent vehicles and I never experienced an issue with them. For my personal vehicles I have always been an GM person as was my father, his father, my wife and her father.

In 2006 I decided that I wanted a heavier vehicle to tow my 77 Argosy 25 footer. At the time we owned a 2000 Chevy Suburman and a 96 Chevy 1500 picked. Started looking at the diesel market and a nice used diesel truck. We spent 5 hours a a Chevy dealership trying to buy a used 06 Chevy pickup with 15,000 miles. They wanted a lot of money for that vehicle.

Drove down the street and stopped at the Dodge dealer and purchased a 06 Dodge Ram with the Cummings diesel. What a truck. Just driving around town I will average 19 mpg and 22 mpg on the highway while not towing. Towng I will average 16.5 mpg.

The Dodge is not as plush as a GM or Ford and I describe it s a working truck. If you every have the opportunity to compar what under the hood of the diesels, park'em side by side and see how congested the GM & Ford are under the hood when compared to the Cummngs diesel. To me that means less time for a mechanic to spend taking things off to get to the area he needs to work.

I perfer the smaller dealerships of the Dodge dealers. You get more of a personal service. I would purchase another Dodge diesel in a heart beat if I need to replace my current vehicle.

munimula · 03-07-2009, 10:20 PM

i've been towing with a dodge 2500 mega w/ cummins diesel for a couple of years now. i've been very happy. long wheel base is wonderful. only mechanical so far has been the thermostat this winter. it was covered under the b to b.

tonight the mpg said 20.2. not too bad for this beast. towing usually is around 14 mpg and i typically do 65 with the airstream in tow. only problem with the diesel has been the higher price of fuel.

Utahgoldrup · 03-07-2009, 10:32 PM

I have had/have both. I started out with a Dodge 1500 short bed single cab/hemi and it did great pulling our 16ft. CCD-Bambi. We did have to floor the gas pedal when we pulled up steep inclines/mountains but it was a very good truck. We purchased our 25ft. Airstream and needed a larger tow vehicle (we had since purchased a Lincoln Aviator to pull the Bambi and sold the Dodge as we wanted a vehicle with more interior space), this is when we bought our current 2007 Ford F-250 deisel. We really like the Ford and appreciate all of the power and control this truck gives us pulling the larger trailer, plus, we no longer have to floor the gas pedal, the pulling power of the deisel is amazing compared to a gas engine. That being said, I guess this really isn't a good comparison between a Dodge and Ford as we had a smaller Dodge truck with gas engine and now have the Ford Desiel. I had good experiences with both the Dodge and Ford dealerships, very nice and helpful.

I got a great deal on the Ford I was looking at and that is why I went with it as opposed to going with Dodge, they actually could not do better at the time.

Good luck on your choice, I don't think you will end up dissatisfied with either!!

Woody.303 · 03-07-2009, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RBolton

What specific needs require a nationwide search?

I am looking for a 1 ton, diesel, 4x4, longbed, standard shift, single rear wheels and either an extended cab or four door.

My toolboxes won't fit on a shortbed, and from what I've been told the shortbeds are now outselling the longbeds by 10 to 1. (I can't substantiate this claim, it is just what some dealer has told me.)

I refuse to drive an automatic transmission, and that means a long hard search to find a standard trans.

And, the majority of 1 ton pickups are dually. I could probably use a dually, but it is quite a bit of overkill and poor fuel mileage. They are also quite a bit more difficult to get in and out of parking lots. (Currently, I get quite a nasty look from somebody every time I use two or three parking spaces at Wallyworld.)

Because of all the problems that the new trucks have been having with the DPF, I was avoiding them. Finding a used, low mileage truck with the above options is not easy. I am starting to think that ordering a new truck may be the only way to find what I'm looking for, and that has led me to the Dodge dealer.

Woody

TIMEMACHINE · 03-08-2009, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woody.303

I am looking for a 1 ton, diesel, 4x4, longbed, standard shift, single rear wheels and either an extended cab or four door.

And, the majority of 1 ton pickups are dually.

Because of all the problems that the new trucks have been having with the DPF, I was avoiding them. Finding a used, low mileage truck with the above options is not easy. I am starting to think that ordering a new truck may be the only way to find what I'm looking for, and that has led me to the Dodge dealer.

Woody

If you go with a Dodge, I think you will find that many of the 1 ton (3500) are out there in the single real wheel versions, and you are right about the manual transmission, that will be the hard part of the equation. And if you are worried about the newer diesels with the DPF, look for a good used 2006 or early 2007 with the 5.9 CTD. My guess is that you can find more 5.9's combined with manual trans because years back Dodge had some auto tans issues that pushed folks to manuals. Because Dodge switched to the new 6 speed auto with the late 2007 6.7 CTD, autos are far more in ratio now. Just some observations that may help your decision.

hampstead38 · 03-08-2009, 05:01 AM

If you want a used one-ton truck, you are better off looking at dedicated truck dealers. I did a quick search at truckpaper.com for Ford F-350s (365 for sale nationally). There are plenty of diesels. There are plenty of single single rear wheel trucks. There are extended and crew cabs, but not as many. Scanning the first two pages quickly, it looks like almost everything is an automatic. As noted by Timemachine... that's your biggest challenge.

If you have your heart set on a standard transmission, I see two reasonable options. Order new from the factory (and I think Ford or Dodge would be delighted to build to your specifications) or find a low-mileage Ford 350 or Dodge 3500 with a bad automatic transmission and swap in a manual. When we have ordered fleet trucks, I have not noticed a $10,000 difference between Dodge and Ford for identically configured factory order trucks... but your mileage my vary.

Finding a used, low mileage, 4WD, single rear wheel, long bed, extended or crew cab Ford F-350 diesel with a stick... the odds are pretty long. I did a Yahoo Auto search for 300 miles of home, an area which includes DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia and NYC. There were 88 used 350s for sale. The keyword search on "manual" lowered the results to 11, only two of which were manual transmissions. You have specific and apparently inflexible requirements for a used truck. The dealer's focus is to sell what's on the lot, or to convince you that what's on the lot will meet your needs. If open the conversation your laundry list of requirements and comments like "I refuse to drive a stick," I would expect the dealer to be polite, but to simply say, "Sorry, we don't have anything like that." Some folks might call this a cold shoulder, but I wouldn't be so inclined.

Good luck with your search.

Lothlorian · 03-08-2009, 06:24 AM

I used to be a big Ford fan. I was very committed to always owning a Ford until the last time I went to buy a new truck. They blew me off and they did not want to even take the time to show me around the lot. I was told just go out there and look. They did not want to to deal with me at all. They made me feel like I was not going to be able to afford one of their trucks.

I went to Dodge and they were the nicest dealers I have ever met. Their customer service was the best I have experienced. They took a lot of money off the sticker price for me and to this day they still treat me like their best customer. I love my truck and my inlaws are happy because they are huge Chrysler fans. Ford calls me about every six months wanting to know if I am interested in a new truck. I blow them off and I told them about my experience.

I drive a 4.6L Ram 1500 Quad Cab and I pull my 73 Overlander with it. I am sure that is not big enough but I don't have to deal with mountains and I don't pull over 60 miles an hour. I have never had a problem with pulling the trailer.. I do pull it with no liquids or extra weight. I take care of the extra weight when I get where I am going.

I have a small mountian I have to climb in TN, which causes me about 30 minutes of extra work on the truck.

Lothlorian

Lothlorian

Jim Clark · 03-08-2009, 06:50 AM

My father in-law would not buy a Chevy because when he was in the Navy he went into buy a car and they told him he couldn't afford it, that was over 30 years ago in another state. He could never get past that it was not Chevy it was the dealer who treated him badly. I just proves that dealer impressions are very important to the buyer sometime more important than the quality of the product. I to like good service and respect.

hampstead38 · 03-08-2009, 07:10 AM

There are about 4,400 Ford dealerships in the U.S. I'm sure, as with many businesses, there are some good ones and some bad ones. I remember the pre-Internet days when looking for a truck meant buying the paper (or for the big folks, the AutoTrader). Growing up in Montana, shopping at another dealership meant driving and hour-and-a-half to Kalispell or three-and-a-half hours to Spokane. Overall, I think there is more competition and far better information for consumers. I bought my last personal truck at CarMax. I had a great experience, but it was just one outlet... which is my point about Ford dealerships.