Have any of you guys owned/own a Ford F150?

I have a good friend that is the market for a pickup. He currently owns a Rubicon. Due to a growing family and the fact that Jeeps dont offer much storage he wants to get into the pickup game.

He's intersted in either an F150 XLT/Lariat ( ecoboost 3.5) or a 2019 DCLB TRD OR.

I'm not pushing him either way as I believe people should make their own decisions. That being said I will offer some opinions, ha.

Regarding the Ford, you get a larger truck will more bells and whistles. On the downside are poor reliability and subpar resale.

Regarding the Tacoma. Relability and resale are top notch. The tech isnt where the Ford is and the size of the Tacoma, well it's midsized.

Granted the F150 is close to 52K and the TRD OR I believe he can get for 38-42k all in.

Just looking for opinions from those who have owned an F150.

Thanks,
Mike

 

Why isn’t a Tundra on his list?

 

Good question! I tried to have him look into them, as I would if I was in the market for a full sized, but he thinks it's too dated for whatever reason.

That being said, Im looking forward to see what the 2020 full redesign has in store for the Tundra.

 

I get it. It’s such a tried and true platform with that 5.7 but it is dated to say the least. I too am anxiously awaiting the redesign, but I’m hearing 2020 isn’t likely and could be more like 2021/2022 :-(

 

I was a ford guy since day 1. I have a Tacoma now. I’d keep a ford if I was ignorantly rich. I was a powerstroke guy. Fucking a. Everything is so expensive. If he just wants a big reliable truck go with gmc or Chevy duramax. Dodges are getting crazy mpg and reliable as it gets.

 

I had a extra cab , not crew cab, 2014 F-150 for about a year. Caved to family pressure for a bigger truck. It was nice, comfortable, the ride was much smoother than rhe Tacoma. Plenty of power w the 5.0.

It was too much truck for my needs so that might fit into your buddies needs. Took a $6K hosing after a year and 12K miles when I traded it in on something that’s not a truck.

Good luck to your bud.

 

Father in law owns a 2014 midlevel trim with the 5.0 L V8. - I drove it like it was mine once for a 200 mile trip. I was very surprised at how planted and secure it felt to the highway. The 5.0 has lots of power and felt like it had great reserve - I understand why people are buying Fords (F150, Explorer, Edge, etc) these days even if they aren't the most reliable vehicle.

That said, his truck 5 years later has significant corrosion and rust on the frame and undercarriage. Between that, and the way Ford changes that front end every 3 years (forcing the owner dissatisfaction-factor earlier than other manufacturers), 5 levels of trim lines and Lincoln pricing, I'd still buy a Tundra over an F150.

 

I had a 2014 F-150 crew cab with the FX4 package. had the 5.0 V8, plenty of power, gas mileage wasn't bad at all, a huge fuel tank, and a great ride quality. One thing I miss is all the comfort items and features that truck had. That and the back seats are massive. I'd be willing to say that's the largest backseat area for a full size truck out there. But like some others have said it was more truck than I needed. I put almost 100,000 miles on it making multiple trips up and down the east coast. I never had to change anything but the fluids and the tires. I'd vouch for their reliability and quality.

 

I have owned F250s (gas) but not an F-150.

I would not buy new unless its all cash and hes just got money to blow. The depreciation is worse on the Fords but trucks maintain more value than SUVs and cars. Still it depreciates... even Tacomas depreciate. Let someone else drive that first little bit off.

Do not buy an Ecoboost before 2014. They have issues because Ford was adjusting the design of the Eco-boost.

2016 is also an iffy year because of the redesign.

In 5 years or so kids will be in my equation so I’m looking at moving to an F150. I am going to be checking out the 2017s.

I loved my Fords. I mean truly loved them. They were incredible trucks and built very well. I only had one major repair on 1 after 200k miles and it was a power steering pump for $400 with labor to install. I don’t even count a $400 repair as major.
I had the upmost confidence in those trucks. They could handle incredible loads and from an engine and trans perspective were flawless. My ‘02 didn’t burn a drop of oil at 215k when I sold it.
I loved those trucks.

I like my Tacoma but I’m sorry it is not built as well. This truck is always developing a damn clunk or shake, its got axle wrap, a sagging suspension, electrical issues, rough idle etc.
I cannot go more than a couple months without something new popping up.
Now the truck seems fine and no mechanic can tell me anything is wrong thats “just how it is”.
Its all disconcerting. I don’t have faith in the truck.
I think I have decided I’m not going to put a lift on the truck because I really think it will be nothing but a severe headache and other stuff will start going bad.

I had lifts and air bags on my Fords with zero issues.

I’m not part of the Toyota is more reliable than Ford trucks bandwagon.

 

I will add I just gave away an ‘04 Jeep Grand Cheroke to a friend that had less issues than my 2013 Tacoma.

It had the I6.

 

Work gave me a 2015 F150 AC with the 5.0 for a few years. I put 85,000 miles on it without a problem. I also have a family and the F150 was a much roomier, nicer riding vehicle for us. The gas milage was the dead same for both of my trucks- 17.5 avg. although the F150 would do better on the highway. My family enjoyed the F150 so much that my Tacoma became my fishing/hunting truck as I only drive it about 3-4k a year. If I had a growing family I would choose the F150 over the Tacoma in a heartbeat. The Tacoma's resale value doesn't give the kids any extra room in the back seats. The back seat in the Tacoma is sized about right for a day pack and a rifle.

 

Tell your friend to do a google image search for "f150 rust".

 

I dont know man, tacomas can get pretty rusty too!

 

Not like a ford.

 

I currently have a 2018 F150. Traded my Tacoma on it last April. I’ll never go back to a midsize. The room, the ride and the comfort is second to none. Every time I ride in my Dads 3rd gen, I feel so cramped in it. I have just under 14k miles on it and have had zero issues. It has the 3.5 Ecoboost and 10 speed automatic. Before the weather went to crap, I easily averaged 20-21 mpg driving to work and could never get close to that in my Tacoma. One thing about the Fords, and domestics in general, never pay sticker. My sticker was close to 54k and before my trade, the truck was down to a share over 40k. Now, resale, nothing beats the Tacoma. My 2011 had 101k and I still got $14.5 on trade.

 

I am / was in this same boat, and coming from a 2nd gen tacoma I just bought an F150 XLT 5.0L 4x4 supercrew short bed, sport package, 302A package.

I preface this by saying, I am a Toyota guy and I believe that they make great vehicles. I owned a 2006 4runner and a 2013 tacoma TRD OR 4x4 double cab after that.

I was about to pull the trigger on a new Tacoma double cab, but I ended up buying the F150 in Nov 2018 because the benefits of an F150 outweighed the cons for me. Maybe I will regret this after 3 years 36000 miles, but so far I am happy.

My assessment:

• A major factor was price. I bought my 2018 f150 in late Nov 2018 for about $2,000 more than what a new Tacoma would cost (the model I was looking at). The F150 has many more options than I want, and i would have purchased a model with less options but since it was year end, thats what I got a deal on. At that point in time, Toyota only had 2019 models available for me and my local Toyota dealers were very proud of their pricing. My F150 was $36,833.12 + 699 doc fee + $400 spray in bedliner + tax tag title.
• The F150 obviously has much more room and space was another huge consideration. If you have a family, the back seat of the Tacoma is much worse. The back seat of the F150 fits three grown men comfortably .. meaning very comfortably.
• The F150 ride quality is great. Much better than my 2nd gen Tacoma. I drove 2 cross country trips in my Tacoma and it beat the crap out of my back.
• The F150 has 4 wheel disc brakes and stats online show better braking distance.
• The power in the F150 is amazingly better. Its much more than I need. My old 2nd gen Tacoma seemed way underpowered when I did my cross country trip.
• Fuel economy was about the same for the F150 v8. F150 gets 22mpg highway, tacoma gets 23 (all 4x4 numbers I think ... off the top of my head).
• The Tacoma is definitely much easier to maneuver around the city. If you are in an urban environment, then the F150 is a PITA to park. Not an issue for me, but could be a deciding factor for others. I think the Tacoma is probably a better off road truck, but I didn't go into any huge assessment here since thats not a major concern for me.
• The Tacoma is obviously a toyota and has great reliability and resale. I don't buy cars just for resale, but reliability is a HUGE consideration. This is my biggest concern with my decision.
• I am not happy with all the aluminum on the F150. My insurance company charges $200 more per year to insure the F150 vs the Tacoma (had I bought a new Tacoma). I think that may be due to the repair costs of the aluminum body.

The Tundra was a non-starter for me because the fuel economy is awful and the design is way too dated.
If I were to get a Tacoma now, I would definitely wait to see what the 2020 has to offer. The apple play/ android play option in the info system is great.

I didn't even look at the Ram or Chevy trucks because I question their reliability too much.

This was just my assessment. There may be flaws in it, but I think overall I gave it enough thought to justify my decision for me.


Edit: and the auto engine stop feature on the f150 sucks. Fortunately there is a button to turn it off. But the default setting is on and goes to "on" every time the engine is turned on . There is an after market part to fix that but I have yet to install it.

Fwiw, I would buy a Tacoma if I were to buy a midsize truck.

 

I heard you should never drive too far away from a dealer.

 

Especially if you’re a Tacoma in Pa...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bitten-by-the-frame-rust-2009-double-cab.590335/

 

Fords, unlike Dodges, rust from lack of care. Just like most vehicles.

My ford didn't rust out on me and I live in the rust belt. You HAVE to physically get into the wells to clean, and liners are a man's best friend.

Dodges fenders rusted from an inherent design flaw they refused to fix for what ever reason.

With Fords I blame the owners for the rear fender rust. But newer F150s that isn't a concern because of the aluminum.

 

I’ve had 2 F150s and they were awesome. I had the 5.0 in both of them so I can’t say anything about the EcoBoost.
I did test drive one last year and it would absolutely fly.