Advice needed

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Farmingdales Finest

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I have a paid off 2104 Ram 1500 Big Horn with 102k that I love. My son just went into the Navy and with the pay cut he is experiencing it looks like I am going to have to start paying his loan on a used 2013 Ford F 150 Crew Cab with the 3.5 twin turbo. I think he has 3 years left on the loan but I need to confirm. This was his first purchase and I co signed the loan when he first bought it. After making enough payments he refinanced it in his name but didn't get Gap Insurance like I told him. I am thinking of selling my Ram to pay to pay off his truck since I am afraid with it having 130k on it and the amount of time before it's paid off I could potentially be on the hook for a worthless truck.

Before he went into the Navy I was thinking about selling my truck and putting additional money down to step up to a Ram 2500. I would still like to do this but and wondering after reading a friend comment about he reliability of the big 3. I am looking for an unbiased as possible source on the reliability of Ram, Ford and Gm trucks. My friend had said that he bought his Ford F 250 because they were the most reliable overall with some issue mechanically but the best reliability with the electronics, he said the GM trucks were in the middle of the pack with both mechanical and electronic issue and Ram was the best mechanically but the worst with electronics. This got me thinking about my own experience and I was a die hard GM guy before I got my Ram. I had a 75 and 86 K5 Blazer, a couple Oldsmobile's, a Venture van, a Trailblazer and a Yukon XL. The Venture cam snapped at 65k just outside of warranty and they wouldn't do anything. My 2007 Yukon XL with the 5.3 l engine had the issue of burning a quart of oil every 1000 miles once it hit about 35k. At 100K I thought I blew the engine but it slugged from the oil burning with the MDS shutting down and not burning off the carbon. I have never owned a Ford but my daughter owned a Focus and that was the least safe vehicle with the transmission issues I have ever seen. They had a known issue and wouldn't cover it under warranty. When I bought my truck in 2016 the rep suggested getting the extended warranty because of all of the electronics in the newer vehicles. I turned it down and the sensor for the windshield washer fluid went within 6 weeks. When I went in for my first free oil change I asked them to fix it and when they told me it was going to cost $300 I said don't fix it for something so stupid. I then had issues with my transmission slamming into a lower gear while at highway speeds and they wouldn't replace it because it didn't throw a code. I had it in and out of the dealership 4x for that and each time they wouldn't do anything about it except flash the computer. On my last time there someone overheard my conversation and told me to call Ram and they made a case and assured me that if the transmission went on me within 100k they would replace it free of charge. I have had the transmission drop in gear only 2 more times in the last 3 years but now I am over that 100k.

So what would you do in my position and is there an unbiased source on the reliability of the big three trucks?

Thanks in advance!
 

Doug Ram

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Sell the Ford to pay off the loan. Good on you both for not getting gap insurance, which will only pay off a loan if you total the vehicle. It's usually a rip off. The used truck market is hot. Call Carmax and see what they will give you for it.

If you "love the Ram still" and its still reliable, keep driving it. Put your car payment in the bank to save up for the next one. Shame on your dealer for not repairing the windshield washer sensor 6 weeks after a used car sale, but you did not get the warranty. Has anyone ever diagnosed what was going on with the tranny in the Ram? Has it done it recently? If you really love it, and still want to keep it, I'd take it to a real transmission specialist to see if they can tell you what, if anything, is really wrong.

About which brand of truck is most reliable.... These days, I am not sure there is that great a difference between brands. But if that is your primary concern take a look at Consumer Reports (you will have to pay for the on-line car report) and decide for yourself. I believe that the last time I looked, the Ram 1500 Classic 2019-21 with the smaller 6 cylinder gas engine was one of the most reliable full size trucks in the recent used market, if you can find one... The Toyota Tundra and Honda Ridgeline are also rated as quite reliable. Ford and GM are not. But the truck rated highest in new vehicle reliability and owner satisfaction by JD Power was the 2021 1500 Ram. Consumer Reports rated the new body Ram in the middle of the pack.

For years Nissan's Frontier was very reliable, but its small and an old design, which was recently updated, and that typically is not good for reliability in the first year of a redesign. The full size Nissan Titan is neither a great truck or very reliable. Despite some recent updates Toyota and Nissan trucks have gotten a reputation for not keeping up. Read the reviews, they are older designs, less fuel efficient, and harder riding. You won't like either after riding in your Ram for the last 8 years.

If you find that the Ram needs to go, it's a great time to sell a used truck and get a new one. The market is upside down. You will never get more for a used truck than today. Get prices from Carmax and several local dealers. You will be surprised. Order a new one from a dealer who does lots of orders. Get a full warranty. Buying used right now is a bad deal. Its likely the used car market is going to crash and you will be left with a used car that you paid a premium for today, but devalues sharply when the market gets back to normal. For now its a sellers, not a buyers market for used cars.
 

Burla

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Sell the kids truck, and never co sign for *******. You would be doing him a favor and yourself a favor. When he is ready, he can buy his own truck on his own steam. You know when a vehicle is wrecked for whatever reason, the co signer can be sued as well? So if you own a home, that home is at risk when you co sign a loan. I'd rather pay for the kids truck in full then ever co sign.

Good news if there was no default, he now has his own credit.
 

Moose2

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Sell the kids truck. He’s got to learn to stand on his own. He’s not going to need it anyway. I’m with others on this, I’d rather buy the thing outright than have my name on a vehicle. I have paid cash for a vehicle for my kid, to help him out, he was supposed to make payments to me, made a couple and quit, proceeded to wreck the vehicle. (Only carried liability due to rates)Lesson learned. I have since sold him a truck, but withhold title til paid in full, no plates, no n.i.b. tuner, etc. Out $18k on the first one. He knows I am serious on the one I sold him.
 

alex6666

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my understanding is that jd power has rated all three, ford,gm and dodge trucks as 'less than reliable'. fwiw
 

Doug Ram

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my understanding is that jd power has rated all three, ford,gm and dodge trucks as 'less than reliable'. fwiw
Where did you see this? I just checked the JD Power site. They rate the reliability of the 2020 Ram 1500 as "Great", at 85 (out of 100). See https://www.jdpower.com/cars/2020/ram/1500. The latest ratings for the big 1500 class trucks are Nissan Titan (89 in 2019), Toyota Tundra (88 in 2020), Ford (86 in 2020) and Chevy (85 in 2020). So Ram and Chevy are rated the lowest, but not by much.

I love this site, particularly the ratings for dealership experience. Ram gets only 65. Surprised anyone?
 
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rule18

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I'm with the previous posters, sell the Ford and satisfy that loan.
 

Tim7139

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Where did you see this? I just checked the JD Power site. They rate the reliability of the 2020 Ram 1500 as "Great", at 85 (out of 100). See https://www.jdpower.com/cars/2020/ram/1500. The latest ratings for the big 1500 class trucks are Nissan Titan (89 in 2019), Toyota Tundra (88 in 2020), Ford (86 in 2020) and Chevy (85 in 2020). So Ram and Chevy are rated the lowest, but not by much.

I love this site, particularly the ratings for dealership experience. Ram gets only 65. Surprised anyone?
They have 2021 info, and even though most saw no redesign the ratings shifted with Ford now being the lowest. 4th Gen RAM's up o 81 reliability.


 

GTyankee

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JD Powers, isn't that the company that Chevy has a lot of stock in
For years Chevy could do no wrong
 

alex6666

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I was wrong. Sorry, sort of. It was Consumer Reports that listed the three big trucks as less than or neutral in reliability. For my 2017 reliability was 3 of five (neutral), with a lot of caveats on various engine issues. Ford and Gm were similar. Interesingly 2015 was less than negative in reliability? I believe, though, that Consumer Reports quoted JD Power in their assesment.
 
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