Poll: Reliability vs. Comfort

[HEMIMANN]

Let's say you're in the market for a new truck for whatever reason. You don't want an EV, and you're not brand loyal. Let's also say your research leads to trucks that either emphasize reliability or comfort, but not both.

Which would you opt for?

 

[Yardbird]

Reliability, with as much comfort as I can get for the amount of money I'm willing to spend.

It doesn't matter how comfy the truck is if it's in the shop.

 

[JHoward]

Since I've been retired, for three years now and the amount of miles I put on my truck annually, I'll probably be gone before it's worn out.

And then, it'd be an "amazing barn find" for someone who'd then convert it over to an ... EV ...

 

[turkeybird56]

Comfort nice too, and my current thoughts is run MY 19 till the wheels fall off, Gorilla Glue back on, and run it some more.

 

[Travelin Ram]

I’m curious to ask if you’re finding this divergence in goals in the course of shopping, or is it rhetorical?

Insofar as I’m aware, $ can buy more creature comforts and luxury. I wouldn’t personally know where to go if I was asked to spend more $ to get greater reliability.

Or are you referring to the fact that trucks with fewer features are inherently more reliable, because they don’t have as many complex new technologies to fail?

Through most of my life I have been biased towards simple trucks at low trim levels that were less costly and more reliable (IMO). But in later life I have moved upmarket. We can’t take money into the next life, and I appreciate the amenities.

 

[ramffml]

If I could be comfortable in both trucks, then I'll take the more reliable one even if the other is more comfortable. So there are multiple criteria that interest me, but once a baseline for a feature is met (ie "its good enough") it doesn't have to be the deciding factor anymore and other needs/wants come into focus.

That's what I have with my current truck, it's basically the perfect compromise.

Engine: not the most powerful (ford and gm are quicker), but strong enough, definitely the most powerful vehicle I've owned by a long shot.
Looks: not the best looking (like the 2019+ GM twins better), but good enough and I do like it too
Ride: not the best riding (ram air susp is), but good enough
Towing: not the best at carrying weight (ford and gm are better), but good enough
Reliability: not the best (tundra used to be in 2019), but good enough
Interior: best in the business back then (2019)
Value: exceptional; I paid far less for this "compromise" then the truck I probably would have liked a little better if the price was the same

And so on. The price was the overwhelming factor for me, basically I bought the best truck (according to my needs and wants) I could at a far lower price. No regrets yet, 4.5 years on.

 

[HEMIMANN]

I’m curious to ask if you’re finding this divergence in goals in the course of shopping, or is it rhetorical?

Insofar as I’m aware, $ can buy more creature comforts and luxury. I wouldn’t personally know where to go if I was asked to spend more $ to get greater reliability.

Or are you referring to the fact that trucks with fewer features are inherently more reliable, because they don’t have as many complex new technologies to fail?

Through most of my life I have been biased towards simple trucks at low trim levels that were less costly and more reliable (IMO). But in later life I have moved upmarket. We can’t take money into the next life, and I appreciate the amenities.

At the risk of biasing responses, I've found divergence in the course of researching and testing. More and more of it is being driven by EPA regulations and monetary inflation. It was not the case to this degree some decades back. It's also driven by corporate buyouts and directional changes. For instance - similarly configured trucks in Edmunds TVM resulted in $5,000 price HIGHER for Ram than GM. Ten years ago, the opposite was true. Recall what has happened to Ram the past 10 years. In addition to more EPA regulations and monetary inflation.

All manufacturers offer what they offer in terms of reliability. It is up to both buyer beware, and the unique design problems that determine whether a customer can aftermarket his way to sufficient reliability. Just look at all the threads on the Ram Hemi engines and RFE transmissions, for example. There is only so much that can be done without rebuilding everything for half the original price of the truck.

Comfort is difficult to buy upward sufficiently. Whether the seats cripple you for life or not depends a lot how often you're in that seat. I'd expect those that take long trips it is a must to have top seats. Then again, if your drivetrain is suspect, you'll be comfortable for hours dead on the shoulder of some highway somewhere. Depends if you can harden your durability enough.

No, we shouldn't "have to" choose. But in this real world today, they're forcing us to.

 

[HEMIMANN]

If I could be comfortable in both trucks, then I'll take the more reliable one even if the other is more comfortable. So there are multiple criteria that interest me, but once a baseline for a feature is met (ie "its good enough") it doesn't have to be the deciding factor anymore and other needs/wants come into focus.

That's what I have with my current truck, it's basically the perfect compromise.

Engine: not the most powerful (ford and gm are quicker), but strong enough, definitely the most powerful vehicle I've owned by a long shot.
Looks: not the best looking (like the 2019+ GM twins better), but good enough and I do like it too
Ride: not the best riding (ram air susp is), but good enough
Towing: not the best at carrying weight (ford and gm are better), but good enough
Reliability: not the best (tundra used to be in 2019), but good enough
Interior: best in the business back then (2019)
Value: exceptional; I paid far less for this "compromise" then the truck I probably would have liked a little better if the price was the same

And so on. The price was the overwhelming factor for me, basically I bought the best truck (according to my needs and wants) I could at a far lower price. No regrets yet, 4.5 years on.

There's always a troublemaker changing the presumptions!

 

[Travelin Ram]

Ok, I see you meant physical comfort, rather than luxury or options.

That’s a very subjective thing that will differ for each individual. I had to get rid of a perfectly fine truck some years back because the seat was crippling to my back.

So for someone like me, a proper seat fit is a “must have”. I wouldn’t buy an uncomfortable truck today no matter what other attributes it had.

But I’m probably not a typical case. For most of my life I bought based on other, usually performance based criteria, and comfort was an afterthought.

Getting old sucks.

 

[Zoe Saldana]

Let's say you're in the market for a new truck for whatever reason. You don't want an EV, and you're not brand loyal. Let's also say your research leads to trucks that either emphasize reliability or comfort, but not both.

Which would you opt for?

You thinking about a buying an un-reliable but comfortable truck????????

Isn't an un-reliable truck; un-comfortable???????????????///

 

[18CrewDually]

This is exactly what I was up against on my last purchase and is what brought me back to Dodge/Ram. I drove a Ford Platinum. I drove Ram Limited's. I just couldn't put the CP4.2 pump Russian Roulette gamble aside. So I bought my current dually after owning 2 Ford duallies.
If the kit was available to get rid of the CP4 in the Ford back then, it probably would of been a different story.
So I chose dependability with a heaping side of comfort.

 

[bcbouy]

comfort all the way.it's why i got a comfortable side by side and quad and why my power wagon is loaded to the t!ts. same as my boats. i can afford repairs and i always get an extended warranty.plus we have an ev and are waiting on a cybertruck so that's not part of my decision anyway.reliable is a folly anyway.my last utv was a Honda,supposed to be one of the most reliable but was a steaming pile.comfort is tangible,reliability is a cr@pshoot.

 

[turkeybird56]

You thinking about a buying an un-reliable but comfortable truck????????

Isn't an un-reliable truck; un-comfortable???????????????///

Play on words? LOL

 

[ramffml]

Also I think we tend to make the attributes like "comfort" and "reliability" (this one especially) black and white for our favourite brands, whereas in reality its a scale and there are no guarantees. The average for Brand X MIGHT be more reliable than Brand Y; but there is no guarantee that you personally are on the winning side of that average.

All things considered: I'd rather buy a truck I want, and have it at the dealer 5 more times in my ownership vs the next truck that is "more reliable" but doesn't get me excited, as long as it doesn't ever leave me stranded. So I can handle extra recalls, broken manifolds, and stuff like "tailgate doesn't power unlatch 100% of the time" yada yada.

But it absolutely needs to start and move whenever I require it to, the second I get issues like that the truck gets the boot.

 

[Yardbird]

Since I've been retired, for three years now and the amount of miles I put on my truck annually, I'll probably be gone before it's worn out.

And then, it'd be an "amazing barn find" for someone who'd then convert it over to an ... EV ...

Danged if yout truck doesn't look like mine, except for the hood protector. Let me look and make sure mine is still in the yard......

 

[HEMIMANN]

Danged if yout truck doesn't look like mine, except for the hood protector. Let me look and make sure mine is still in the yard......

View attachment 527181

Mine be 2500 Laramie + Chrome. Crew Cab also, not quad cab. But.......both are white!

 

[HEMIMANN]

Also I think we tend to make the attributes like "comfort" and "reliability" (this one especially) black and white for our favourite brands, whereas in reality its a scale and there are no guarantees. The average for Brand X MIGHT be more reliable than Brand Y; but there is no guarantee that you personally are on the winning side of that average.

All things considered: I'd rather buy a truck I want, and have it at the dealer 5 more times in my ownership vs the next truck that is "more reliable" but doesn't get me excited, as long as it doesn't ever leave me stranded. So I can handle extra recalls, broken manifolds, and stuff like "tailgate doesn't power unlatch 100% of the time" yada yada.

But it absolutely needs to start and move whenever I require it to, the second I get issues like that the truck gets the boot.

Let me put it this way - one brand was uncomfortable enough where I hurt almost immediately. A different brand was so comfy I can drive it for hours.

That's not subjective, and it matches the professional reviewers (C&D, Motortrend, Edmunds, etc. etc.)

 

[Travelin Ram]

 

[ramffml]

Let me put it this way - one brand was uncomfortable enough where I hurt almost immediately. A different brand was so comfy I can drive it for hours.

That's not subjective, and it matches the professional reviewers (C&D, Motortrend, Edmunds, etc. etc.)

Yep if you're talking about the seats specifically, I've read that they're uncomfortable too. If you hurt in them that quickly, then that would definitely qualify as "not good enough" and would be a deal breaker for me as well.

My earlier comments on this were more about comfort being a scale, and it being not the only thing going on; so if I could be comfortable in both, but one truck was more comfortable but less reliable, then I would take the more reliable but less comfortable truck as long as the comfort scale reached the point of "good enough".

Some guys put foam cushions on their seats, they shouldn't have too though. GM has been making cars for decades and there is no excuse for getting something so basic and critical, wrong. It's just foam, dunno how it's possible to mess up that badly.

 

[tjfdesmo]

The GM HD seats are better than the 1500s, which are about like a portable stadium seat.