JMortensen Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 My wife and I are considering the F150 or the 1500 Chevy or GMC trucks. Test driven both, like the Chevy better despite Motor Trend's opinion. My wife can barely see over the bed of the Ford, it has to be about 5' tall, and the cloth interior seemed cheap. Also no tach on the Ford. Looking at the 5.3L Chevy, 2wd, extra cab standard bed, or the F150 in similar trim with the 3 valve head, name escapes me right now, but the 4.8 or 4.9L motor. Anyone have any personal experience bad or good for us before we buy? I've never been a domestic truck fan, but they seem to have gotten A LOT better in the past few years... Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 ever thought about the new nissan titan truck? i like the chevy better then the new ford, but love the Titan and Tundra trucks.. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted April 19, 2004 Author Share Posted April 19, 2004 Cost is the main issue. The Chevy runs about $25K after rebates and chiseling down the price. 0% financing too. I should probably take a look at the Japanese trucks, but if memory serves they would be $8k more or so. I will check into them though. Thanks Mike. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aaron Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Watching the experience of my friends and family, the Ford seems to be the more reliable of the american trucks. For me, I would buy the Titan. I don't think it is the best looking truck (would probably have to give that honor to Dodge), but I have always had good luck with Nissans, so I am kind of stuck on them. If I were buying a full size truck, my preference would be Nissan, Toyota, Ford, Chevy, Dodge. Here is a price comparison. That was just my copper contribution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPMS Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 We've got a Chevy truck, and it's been more dependable that I'd feared it would be. The new Chevys seem to ride MUCH better than they used to, and I understand the Fords are pretty much the same way. Driving a new Chevy there were two things I didn't like: The steering weight felt funny, like it was too stiff. Not heavy, but stiff. The accelerator linkage, however, was feather light and difficult to modulate. The one I drove only had a few thousand miles on it, things might not have been broken in. Pushing my foot down an inch would bring 1/4 acceleration one time, and 1/2 speed the second. That was probably my unfamiliarity. The Fords, although they can be ordered with a really nice intereior, have that really, really high bed that I'm having a tough time getting used to seeing. The Chevys have those 'cateye' headlamps that don't do anything to improve their appearance, so between the two brands I think it's a draw on this one - they're both homely. Have you considered a Dodge Ram? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted April 19, 2004 Author Share Posted April 19, 2004 I'll take another look at the Toy and Nissan for price considerations. Another fear with the Nissan is that it is generally a bad idea to buy a first model year of any vehicle. I remember my dad's 85 S10 Blazer. OMG what a POS! And when it broke (repeatedly) parts were impossible to find. We got stranded in Sandy UT for a week in the middle of summer because of that truck. I hated it. I am biased against Dodge because I saw way too many problems with brand new cars to feel comfortable when I worked for a Jeep/Eagle dealership. They may have gotten better like the Chevy and Ford trucks did, but I just don't think I'd be comfortable. As far as the twitchy throttle goes, I noticed that on my test drive but it was controllable. Jeep got in trouble for that a few years back IIRC. They want you to go drive the thing and touch the gas and have it leap forward so you think "WOW, this thing's got some power" but it can be a little dangerous. Thanks guys, keep it coming! Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aaron Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Another fear with the Nissan is that it is generally a bad idea to buy a first model year of any vehicle. I have two first year Nissans (96 pathfinder and 98 frontier) and have not had major problems with them after putting 100,000 miles on them both. That being said, neither of them had all new drivetrains like the Titan does. The Path has been dead reliable other than a recall on the exhaust system (cracked manifold) and the factory CD player. The Frontier had a problem with water getting in the passenger's side of the body (behind the jump seats) after a hard rain. I never found where the water was getting in, and the problem went away after about a year. It has had an intermittent skipping problem as long as I have had it that noone has been able to find (it will skip for the first 10 minutes or so on rainy mornings). The exhaust manifold cracked, and I have had a couple minor issues with exterior trim. Overall, I abuse my vehicles. I do not maintain them as well I should, and I drive them hard. Take my experiences for what their worth. From the sounds of the way I am talking, Nissan should be paying me for the advertising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Also, the chevy drivetrain, headed up by the Vortec engine has gotten many awards and raves by the automotive press...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted April 19, 2004 Author Share Posted April 19, 2004 Yeah, the one I drove hauls balls...VERY IMPRESSIVE vs the old 350. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 My 93 GMC was retired at 262K miles. It was the BEST vehicle I've owned to date and felt guilty as hell when I sold it. I replaced it with a 98 Chevy Silverado 3 door 4X4 a few weeks ago, and I love it... The thing hauls ass, seems to be faster than the 2X4 version I retired, and is knocking down an average of 16-17 per gallon... My father is a Ford man, but I just don't like working on Fords, and it boils down to preference... The Chevy/ GMC line has worked VERY well for me, and I hope this 98 model lasts as long as the 93 did... Friend of mine just picked up a 2002 GMC Denali Quadra steer 4X4 4 door truck! Talk about the Pickup truck with everything... Holycow! Mike 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chris240turbo Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 I just bought a new '04 Titan, XE 4x4, crew cab, and I like it a lot! that VK56 is a stout engine, for sure! mine is more or less the base model crew cab with the offroad package, it certainly seems like a lot of truck for the money, locking diffs, front and rear, dana axles, and a 5 speed auto. My dad also just bought a new truck, F-150, 4x4, crew cab with the 5.3 triton and the Titan will absolutely run and hide from it, loads of pull in any gear, and the tranny actually shifts fairly close to redline (6000, on a 6200 redline) when left in drive, I got mine with the split bench in front, so it'll haul 6. I also get a fairly big discount on new nissans, VPP plan, through my work, sticker was 30.8, got 3k off that, and $2900 trade for a 98 cherokee sport, 24.9k was the bottom line minus tax, I would have likely taken a long look at domestics if I had not gotten a discount. If you are in the market for a new truck, do yourself a favor and drive the Titan, I'm impressed with mine, but then I'm not really a truck guy, or at least I wasn't! 8) now I just have to find a crashed one and another 240, that all alloy 32v 5.6 would be a pretty sweet swap methinks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280z-racer Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 chevy 1500 all the way, i work for GM and i have driven quite a few chevys and GMC's as well as used fords and dodges on our lot and the silverado is by far the best for the buck. get at least the 5.3, you dont have to spring for the 6.0 but dont get the 4.8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted April 20, 2004 Author Share Posted April 20, 2004 280z-racer, is there ANY difference between a Chevy 1500 and a GMC 1500 given the same options? Seems like I could spend an extra $2K so that the thing says GMC on the front instead of having a bow tie. Feedback has been great guys. Thanks again. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillZ260 Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 an aquantence of mine is a generator repair guy that travels all over the US doing maint on them. The fleet is all F-350's with the 5.4L Triton V-8's, they are loaded with tools and and oil change pump for the gen's. He sais they have trucks in the fleet with 350-450K miles on them and they are running strong. This guy is a chevy guy so to hear him say this was a testament to me. I have always liked ford better but it really is a matter of pref. Oh yeah the new F150s have QUEIT STEEL, whatever the hell that is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted April 21, 2004 Author Share Posted April 21, 2004 Just drove the Titan. WHOA!!! That truck has buttloads of power. Many many buttloads. The throttle was SUPER TWITCHY. When my wife and I switched seats I thought she was going to give me whiplash. She couldn't press the gas softly enough to keep from jerking me around. That was not good. Also, the controls are more ergonomic on the Chevy for sure. The Titans have a "limited slip" which is actually more of a traction control. Applies the brake on the wheel that is spinning. GM has the Gov-Lok, or as I call it, the Gov-Bomb. Still, I tend to think that the Gov Lok on the 8.6 might be preferrable to applying the brakes on the DANA (who knew?) rear end in the Titan. The salesman could not tell me which Dana axle it was. Thought it was a 44, but I think he just agreed with me when I suggested it might be a 44. Anyone know for sure? So back to the bottom line. Titan $26K or so for 2wd with our preferred options. Probably in the 4.8% APR range. 1500 $25K with the same basic setup, 0% financing. Stupid question: could I theoretically do the TunerCat thing on the Chev if I felt like I was missing out on some power? Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2many280s Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 I borrowed my brother's 2003 F250 Powerstroke with a Banks Six-Gun on it a few weeks ago to move some stuff from my apartment to my new house. Thats a damn nice truck, gets good fuel mileage too. And also even with the six gun set on the 6 setting (400hp/700ft lbs) it didn't smoke and stink like most diesels do. Would damn sure smoke the tires though =) Very surprising for a big ole truck. If I could afford one, I would have a hard time choosing between that and the Titan. And no I wasn't out just thrashin my bro's new truck =) He told me to =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 Jon, You can tweak the PCM on the CHevy, and you can do quite a bit more in the area of common bolt ons. Some of the guys are seeing 15-20% power gain with cat backs, cold air intakes, and retuning of the PCM. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chris240turbo Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 The axles in the Titan are in fact a dana 44 rear, and a nissan built dana designed 44 in front, as I understand it, also the base model axles are a mechanical clutch type LSD on the XE and SE models, as I understand, and a funky brake activated LSD/Traction control on the top-o-the-line LE, with a defeatable switch, perhaps my dealer is more strapped for a sale than the one you visited, but I got the 0.9% financing, for 3 years, I did put a pretty good chunk down though. Did you really jump on the Titan? lotsa snap off idle, but really starts to pull strong after about 4000 rpm. Only thing I don't like about the truck, other than the kinda funky styling (both the f-150 and GM 1500 are better looking, IMO) is the gas mileage, sure seems to suck the 28 gallon tank dry in a hurry, although dealer and owners manual say 87 octane cat whiz gas is fine, which is what I've been using, good luck in your decision, lots of good choices out there, makes it kind of tough to pick one, when, at least IMO, there really isn't a clear winner, price did it for me, although as I said, I get a discount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chris240turbo Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 double post, sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gramercyjam Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 I saw the C&D review of the Nissan, Dodge, Ford and Chevy on TV last week. They really liked driving the Nissan as it was the best performer. They rated Nissan #1, Chevy last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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