Why does Dodge have such a bad rep?

[hearingyourlies]

"I have to say that my dealer has gone out of their way to make me happy however the problems persist. "



"Up to this point the people at Dodge have not earned a favorable ownership satisfaction rating from me. "



Those two statements seem to be in direct contradiction to one another, correct me if i'm wrong ...

 

[klenger]

I think it's Cummins envy. The F and C lovers know that the Cummins is a very good engine, and can't stand it that the Dodge may in fact be a very good truck, so they invent this lie to average out the truck's standings. Sort of goes along with the Ford owns Cummins idea.

 

[rbattelle]

I prefer to drive the least popular truck. But generally I prefer to own machines that are obscure, uncommon, unpopular. They often perform better than the most popular machines, and for less money.

The manufacturer at the top gets a huge bonus from the volume he sells, so he can afford to have lower quality than the guys behind him. "Everyone owns a [insert name here], so they must be the best!"

The manufacturer at the bottom needs to win more customers, so he has to build his machines better, faster, cheaper than the guy at the top.

Ryan

 

[Bobcatpat]

I bought a new 2001 chevy 1500 gas new in 2001. At the time, it was supposed to be a great new design of some sort. It was the biggest pos truck I have ever owned period!



2002 ram 3500 cummins was my next truck. I still drive this truck, and it has been all the way around far superior to the 2001 chevy. I recently ordered a 2008 3500 ram cummins, I will be picking it up any day now. I am very happy with the Dodge Cummins combo.



I could have bought any one of the three diesel pickups. I chose another Dodge because I have a lot of confidence in it after driving one for the last 6 years. I don't like the look of chevy, or the lack of room under the hood. The Ford looks pretty good, but again I believe harder to work on than a Dodge. The Cummins is the onlyy one of the three that has an expected service life of 350,000 miles. And it comes with a six spd auto and an exhaust brake.

 

[DZLROKET]

I LOVE my 06 but I must agree that the earlier dodges interiors were junk! My friend has a 98 that is falling apart! The cummins still runs like a top but the cab is in shambles! ( I bought the Dodge to get the cummins)

 

[16919]

I snapped a few headbolts on my 99 ps with just a 100 hp chip on it... last ford I buy.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

I LOVE my 06 but I must agree that the earlier dodges interiors were junk! My friend has a 98 that is falling apart! The cummins still runs like a top but the cab is in shambles! ( I bought the Dodge to get the cummins)

see, I guess I've just been lucky... what's falling apart? the dash?



I've owned four 2nd gen trucks... none with fewer miles than 172k, up to 245k... never had a cracked dash or any other "interior falling apart" issues

 

[KWilkinson]

Ive owned/driven trucks from all the big 3, and I have my likes and dislikes about them all. My first truck was a 94 Dodge CTD, then I bought a 99 Ford PSD, then to a 01 CTD, now a 07 CTD. I drive a 06 D-Max everyday for work. The early dodge interior was "ok". Nothing special, nothing bad. The seats do tear, the dash does crack, but the dash in the 06 Chevy has already cracked. The chevy interior feels like a new Kenworth, cramped. The way the dash curves toward the driver feels like a cage more than a cockpit. The ford interior just seems like something a 10 year old designed... plain and cheap. In my opinion, the new dodge interior, especially the 06 and 07, is the nicest laid out interior. Plenty of room in the front, but everything is still easily accessible. It just gives a quality "feel". I loved the looks and body of the 99 Ford, but could not stand the 7. 3. My current truck is probably my favorite of them all. Yeah the ride is rougher than a chevy, but with the new hydro-formed frames it seems to give a good "road feel". I love how it handles, how it drives, I just wish we could have gotten the 6-spd auto with a 5. 9L I like how the allison shifts, but from what I hear the Aisin is just as nice. But you cant beat the sound of a good-ol 6 cylinder I plan on purchasing another Super-Duty truck in the near future, and yanking whatever Ford-engineered scrap iron that is in it out and replacing it with a 12-valve :-laf

 

[Loren]

I prefer to drive the least popular truck. But generally I prefer to own machines that are obscure, uncommon, unpopular. They often perform better than the most popular machines, and for less money.



The manufacturer at the top gets a huge bonus from the volume he sells, so he can afford to have lower quality than the guys behind him. "Everyone owns a [insert name here], so they must be the best!"



The manufacturer at the bottom needs to win more customers, so he has to build his machines better, faster, cheaper than the guy at the top.



Ryan

Ryan,



The counterpoint to that logic is: There is a reason that the #1 guy is #1.



I have found that often the #1 selling item in a given market is, in fact, the best. That's why it's #1.



In spite of that, I do agree that often the lower-rated product makers will work harder to earn your business. The ads for Avis from a few years back were trying to use this to their advantage. The slogan was, "We're number two. We try harder. "



The problem for us consumers is that we don't know which rule applies in a given situation. In the case of Dodge vs. The Others, I like your logic.



Loren

 

[BHolm]

Part of the reason Ford sells the most is fleet sales. You can also get the Ford chassis in many more configurations than anybody else, including really, really stripped down which keeps cost low for fleet buyers. Unless the quality is truely deplorable, they buy the cheapest.

 

[EGroeneveld]

Comparing my 2005 Dodge 5. 9 Dually to my 2005 Ford Excursion 6. 0 Diesel. The Dodge seats suck for longer distances. If I am not towing the Ford seats win. I can drive all day, 12 hours, in the Ford seats without issue. The Dodge seats have me begging for no more after about 6 hours.



Both truck are fully loaded, heated, powered, leather seats. the Dodge seats are just to thin and pourly padded for my butt.

 

[DDevers]

Cummins great, Dodge terrible

Why does Dodge have a bad rep? Well, let's see: front seats needed to have more padding added and a piece of carpet to keep the springs from crippling me, headlights worse than my 51 Ford had (Chrysler should be sued for allowing such poor quality headlights; this IS a SAFETY issue!), steering box replaced at 39000 miles, front ball joints replaced at 45000 miles, two carrier bearing replacements, passenger side electric window switch had to be replaced at 12000 miles. Several trips to the dealer to get the seats repaired with no success. Second replacement of the carrier bearing was on my own because the dealership denied anything wrong with it. #@$%!



The engine is great. IT is the reason why I bought my Dodge. A neighbor has 525,000 miles on his. The Chrysler part of the truck is pure junk. If Toyota made a heavy duty truck, there is NO way I would keep this piece of ill conceived garbage!

 

[AKaiser]

I like how the allison shifts, but from what I hear the Aisin is just as nice.

That's because the Aisin essentially IS an Allison. #@$%! Dirty bast@rds stole the designs and got away with it. You ask how I know this? I go to Church with one of the leads on the design team. Aisin was working with Allison on the LCT-1000 project, building the Torque Converter for them, IIRC.

 

[BHolm]

2006 and up trucks feature much better seats and headlights. Then, none of them are perfect, I an give you a laundry list from my two chevy's. Just to get them to work I had to replace, tires, shocks and mirrors. Then the allison, which you couldn't give me, puked at 35k miles on one truck and at 87k on the other.



I personally have had great luck with my third gen Dodges, though I didn't like the seats and hated the headlights on my '03 and '05 trucks.

 

[AClayton]

I have said this before. I love my truck,but I have spent more money on this vehicle than the last 4 I've had on the road. I'm not even including Bombs. The dash,the entire front-end,the weak transmission... which,in all fareness is related to Bombs,the fuel system and now I've found that 2nd gen. have a rust issue to deal with under the doors. Cummins724 did some bodywork on his and I happened to look closely at my lower doors and found the same problem. I bought this truck last year for the Diesel because my old gasser would not pull my trailer efficiently. I convinced the bookkeeper-better read 'wife' - that I needed the truck and I didn't own it one week and lift-pump failed. That started the whole list of issues I've had. I honestly believe all the bugs are worked out now but I'm certainly awaiting the next DC woe... ...coming very soon!!!

 

[BHolm]

Now 1st and 2nd gens did have more issues I think. I had a 92 and the ONLY good part on that truck was the engine, five manual transmission rebuilds, never could get the brakes right, and just generally trashy build quality. I considered 2nd gens for years but never bought. The front end issues are well known, as are the 47re transmission issues. I guess a bad rep might be justified to some extent. Most of the big stuff is cured in the third gens, but I suppose the old days still haunt us.



So how is Ford going to fair with the disasterous 6. 0 and 6. 4 engines?

 

[AClayton]

Now 1st and 2nd gens did have more issues I think. I had a 92 and the ONLY good part on that truck was the engine, five manual transmission rebuilds, never could get the brakes right, and just generally trashy build quality. I considered 2nd gens for years but never bought. The front end issues are well known, as are the 47re transmission issues. I guess a bad rep might be justified to some extent. Most of the big stuff is cured in the third gens, but I suppose the old days still haunt us.



So how is Ford going to fair with the disasterous 6. 0 and 6. 4 engines?

It has already showed on the 6. 0's. I bet the 6. 4 won't be far behind.

 

[Loren]

If Toyota made a heavy duty truck, there is NO way I would keep this piece of ill conceived garbage!

DDevers,



While I think my truck is not quite "ill conceived garbage," I'm with you. If Toyota put a Cummins in a heavy duty pickup, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.



Quality with American vehicles has improved dramatically since the 1950's and 1960's, but only because they lost so many sales to the Japanese when Datsun (Nissan), Toyota, and Honda finally entered the American market. If it weren't for the Japanese competition, our trucks would still be true junk.



Loren

 

[AHarris]

Just me

I've had several Chevy's, Fords, and Dodges. The Fords were good and so were the Chevy's overall but had more minor issues with the S-10 I had a long time ago in the form on wipers stopping working because the geniuses in GM Engineering designed the control modules in such a way as to allow rain water into the module so they would short out and not work. The transmission in my Ford Ranger was a POS and even the dealer couldn't figure out the problem after rebuilding it. The '99 Dodge 1500 was a great truck for 100K miles but it threw a heater core (dumping antifreeze all over the floor one morning on the way to work--$1500 to fix that at the dealer) and the rear end sucked to the point I burned two of them out towing a 5,000lb camper from Colorado Springs Colorado to Northern Michigan in 2004 before we shipped out for Stuttgart Germany, not to mention the fact the best gas mileage I ever got with the 318 V-8 wasn't far North of 14 on the highway unloaded (hand calculated). Out of that three, though, the '99 Dodge seats felt like a La-Z-Boy going down the road and reminded me of being in my grandfather's old Cadillacs in terms of comfort and ride--it was unbeatable. The Chevy S-10 and Ford Ranger rode (and felt like) like Chevettes in comparison!

Of the three brands I've owned, I give the nod to Dodge overall because I found the designs to be simpler and more reliable. And its just a gut feeling for me, but I feel more comfortable in a Dodge truck. Fords and Chevy's just feel weird to me and they seem more technically complex--more things to go wrong. My preference for Dodge is a subjective one. It's not about money, because I can get whatever one I want. Looking at cost effectiveness, designs that work, and the personality of the truck, the Dodge just suits me the best. That's why I bought the truck that's in my signature. Driving it as I've done far, I believe I will like it as much over the long haul as I did my '99 1500 and my '87 Dodge Ram 50... the #1 and #2 of the 18 motor vehicles I've owned in my lifetime so far.

Bottom line: owning all these vehicles has shown me one thing. It's a matter of personal preference... Ford, Chevy, Dodge will all serve you well if you take care of them, unless you're one of those poor saps who happens to get a lemon. And even the highly praised Toyota has their share of those.

Drive what you want to drive. I like the Dodge and am trying out a Cummins for the first time (so far I love this thing!). At the end of the day, though, most people will all brag about their Dodges, Fords, Chievys, and--yes--Toyotas so they can feel all gooey inside as they tell themselves they were the smartest guys out there who spent their money on the "best truck. "

In reality, the "best truck" belongs to the guy who maintains it, drives it the way it's supposed to be driven, and isn't unlucky enough to be stuck with the Monday morning or Friday afternoon assembled lemon... regardless of whether it wears a bowtie, ram's head, blue oval, or a circle with a round "T" in it.

 

[Grizzly]

I have said this before. I love my truck,but I have spent more money on this vehicle than the last 4 I've had on the road. I'm not even including Bombs. The dash,the entire front-end,the weak transmission... which,in all fareness is related to Bombs,the fuel system and now I've found that 2nd gen. have a rust issue to deal with under the doors. Cummins724 did some bodywork on his and I happened to look closely at my lower doors and found the same problem. I bought this truck last year for the Diesel because my old gasser would not pull my trailer efficiently. I convinced the bookkeeper-better read 'wife' - that I needed the truck and I didn't own it one week and lift-pump failed. That started the whole list of issues I've had. I honestly believe all the bugs are worked out now but I'm certainly awaiting the next DC woe... ...coming very soon!!!

Sounds to me like your truck was assembled in St. Louis. Dodge trucks assembled in Saltillo, Mexico are much better. My 95 and my 05 came out of Mexico and both have been excellent.