Ford owner looking at Rams...

[SnoKing]

Nothing wrong in getting an extended warranty on anyone of the three. We bought a 8 years 120K warranty on our 2015.

Only three times have I ever bought an extended warranty.

First was VCR deck in the early 80's!
Second was the RAM.
Third was on our appliances in our park model in Az last winter. Price was to good to refuse.

One computer or other complex problem with the trucks will pay for the warranty.

Snoking

 

[Lynx0849]

Well I had 44,000 trouble free miles out of my 13 Ford 6.7, my Ram 3500 is my first non Ford truck I have owned and my 3rd diesel so I am hoping to have a good run with this one too. I was Loyal to Ford until the price went through the roof and I shopped it this time and I love my Ram Mega Cab so far, didn’t like the crew cab version at all, that back seat was pathetic even when I never sit back there. There is a few things I miss with my previous Ford, but overall I am pleased with the Ram and hope it is as good as everyone says.

I do wish you the best of luck with the Ford, I personally think they are great trucks too.

Sheesh, 44k is just about broke in. I have 166k on my '05 Hemi and still going strong.

 

[Jared Herzog]

I am being honest when i say i would like to try a super duty at some point. I like how some of them look and want to see why a customer can remain loyal with all the hoops Ford makes them jump through. For me the hang up is the actual durability of the motor when worked. And secondly are the issues with Ford being set on claiming every issue is due to the customer or some outside force that is not covered under warranty. For me the big one is the ruined fuel system when small bits of water get in. Customers never get a water in fuel light and the system is ruined. I hope Ford ditches the cp4 and will have to before i consider one.
I fought with Ford for six months while a friend was in the hospital. I was trying to get his vehicle on the road before he got out. I had a sort of power of attorney in regards to his vehicle to take care of it. The transmission had gone out. At first they said it was not covered even though it only was two months old and had 5000 miles. It was like they deny everything then you have to prove why it is or should be covered. This takes time and makes you want to give up just to be out of call bank hell. They take the approach that only assembly flaws are covered. You have to prove why it failed and get them to accept it as a manufacturing defect. Otherwise they see it as a good part the owner broke and not a Ford problem.
Around where i live companies that work their trucks and work them hard only buy Ram or GM. A friend of mine runs a fleet with such a mix. They tried a few Fords and they never penciled out for their more expensive cost and the fact they were always needing work in the shop to get on the road. The Rams and Duramaxes only ever need regular scheduled maintenance under his use. The GM trucks get an easy 400,000 miles before the motor needs work or the transmission needs to be rebuilt. The Ram 4500 he just traded in had 800,000 miles plus and enough idle hours to get that many more miles again. It was on a service body so was started in the am and shut off in the pm with the mechanic jumping from job to job. His Ram and GM haul trucks are always at max plus weight. I have seen a gooseneck with a headache rack over the gooseneck hitch with 30,000 plus pounds on it. The tires on the truck looked flat at max psi. That is how those trucks live. They never leave without a full trailer and return with an empty one.
On the Fords they have turbo issues, cracked heads, head gaskets often, cracked egr coolers, broken radiators, wheel bearing and axle issues, fuel system issues that did not include water damage. For some reason the parts fail but the trouble has never been with water. Then there are more electrical and sensor issues than i can even recall.
I do work for several different ranchers. These guys were die hard Ford. The type that could not get their 6.0 trucks to run but still traded them in on the newer trucks even with all the headaches. They lived through the 6.4 years and the early 6.7 years. As of now none of them has bought another Ford. With those guys your word is your bond and Ford lied to them and is now considered to be too dishonest to deal with. I was riding around with one of these guys and he knew i had always had a Dodge or Ram diesel. He told me he had no idea the Cummins could handle the weight of his full cattle trailer so easily. On the Fords he was always losing speed uphill as the truck was starting to over heat and cut power. At times he was in first or second gear in limp uphill. With the Rams he does not even slow down. The truck also stays cooler. Temps rise some but are still in a safe zone then drop rapidly when the top of the hill is reached. To me this is the difference between the two motors. The Cummins is a true medium duty motor. The Ford is a light duty motor. I think the powerstroke is geared more towards those who like a diesel but do not rely on it to work and be ready to work every day.
One good test is to look at high mileage used diesels. Trucks for sale with 300,000-400,000 miles. The Fords sold in greater numbers. But, you will find many more high mileage Cummins trucks still selling and for the most part they will command thousands of dollars more than a Ford even though the Ford cost more to buy when new.

 

[jgillott]

I'm going to add one thing. I hope that the new 5th gen Ram uses an aluminum body similar to what Ford is doing. I'm so tired of dealing with rust issues here in the salt belt that I would actually consider risking the Ford just for the aluminum body. I simply can't wear a vehicle out before it rusts away.

 

[Jared Herzog]

I'm going to add one thing. I hope that the new 5th gen Ram uses an aluminum body similar to what Ford is doing. I'm so tired of dealing with rust issues here in the salt belt that I would actually consider risking the Ford just for the aluminum body. I simply can't wear a vehicle out before it rusts away.

That is a good point. Whenever i hear someone upset about a Ram or GM they always use the term risk when thinking about going Ford. Why is the term risk always used? Why should the cost and possible benefit of a Ford be forever tied to a risk? It is the same thing being on the road starving and risking a gas station hot dog. The end results are usually predicted correctly before we act. We know what will happen and we play the odds thinking not me again. Not this time.

 

[jgillott]

That is a good point. Whenever i hear someone upset about a Ram or GM they always use the term risk when thinking about going Ford. Why is the term risk always used? Why should the cost and possible benefit of a Ford be forever tied to a risk? It is the same thing being on the road starving and risking a gas station hot dog. The end results are usually predicted correctly before we act. We know what will happen and we play the odds thinking not me again. Not this time.

LOL. I guess that we all do use the term risk. I guess that after being around diesels as long as I have been, you just know what the potential is with a Ford purchase.

 

[SnoKing]

I'm going to add one thing. I hope that the new 5th gen Ram uses an aluminum body similar to what Ford is doing. I'm so tired of dealing with rust issues here in the salt belt that I would actually consider risking the Ford just for the aluminum body. I simply can't wear a vehicle out before it rusts away.

Careful what you wish for. https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2015/02/pros-and-cons-of-aluminum-cars-and-trucks/index.htm

SnoKing

 

[Newsa]

Yeah, you'll be forced to use the dealer for any body work. Military grade aluminum? No thanks!

 

[jgillott]

Yeah, you'll be forced to use the dealer for any body work. Military grade aluminum? No thanks!

You all that live outside the rust belt don't have any idea how fast these vehicles rust. I'm not just speaking for myself in my frustration with the road chemicals here. If the aluminum is even remotely better, I'd gladly try it.

 

[Wayne M.]

I dunno. Aluminum don't rust, but it oxidizes badly. Time will tell how these bodies and cabs do.

 

[JR]

Yep. Everytime I consider aluminum vs steel, I just take a look at the tail gate of most any Expedition. They had so many coating failure rates inside of the 3 year warranty they released a tsb instructing dealers to replace if no visible damage. But once you were outside of the warranty you were on your own. Jaguar also had alot of problems, (coincidence? They were tied to Ford for a period) and they aren't even driven in the elements for the most part.
Only time will tell if they have corrected these issues.