How is Ford going to make money with such high quality durable cars?
Granted other American car companies have improved as well, but used to be only the foreign cars could do that in the 80’s...
14 replies (most recent on top)
@1mww+1a1q2EBt, I had 2001 F150 with 264k miles on it when I sold it a couple three years ago to a guy up the road that doesn't mind turning a wrench when needed nor uglier than a mean mother-in-law vehicles. Still see it rolling around the area every so often when I'm out and about. Bed rusted clean through in many places, but it'll still haul hay bales, and still marking it's territory with leaking assorted fluids, but still going under it's own power.
Like the guy I bought it from, I think it may have just been the best vehicle I've owned so far.
My 2005 hatchback Fusion had north of 150k on it when I sold it to a colleagues son a several years ago. As far as I know, it was still going strong as of last year.
I've been lucky on my car purchases over the last 45 years and only made one terrible purchase, a 1998 Cadillac Catera. Should have done my homework on that one.
Funny the 2021 F-150 comes with undercarriage rust from the factory. Times have changed.
I had a 2000 Mercury Sable that kept on running and running. In 2017 I traded it in with 194,000 miles on the odometer because I was starting to get concerned about undercarriage rust. The 3.0-liter Duratec V6 engine and AX4N transmission were still working perfectly when I handed the keys over.
I had a 1977 Mustang II with the 2.8L V6 (Cologne, Germany engine) and 4-speed manual transmission. It only had 93 hp but it had smooth power delivery and was an overall decent car.
Had a 1993 Ford Tempo, 2.3L (4-cylinder) and 5-speed manual transmission. It got 33 mpg on the highway. About 28 mpg average. Started every time. No issues.
1995 F150 4x4. 100,000+ miles on original 5.0L engine and 4R70W 4-speed automatic. Doesn't use or burn oil.
I'll chime in with @kek+1a1q2EBt to say that the Fords before the cost controls causing quality to go way down were decent bargains. I went through several of the last update of the Escort ('98 - '03 model years) that I bought used at very reasonable prices and drove 'em a good long time (100k-180k miles) until north of 200k miles on the clock. Being a shade tree mechanic at some point I'd decided to to buy another rather than deal with some issue (typically rust or deer induced wrinkles) and keep the previous one for parts. When compared to the Focus model that came next you can definitely say they don't build them like they used to.
You are fortunate. Fords and Mercuries for 30 years ...mostly headaches . Multiple engine and transmission failures, in and mostly out of warranty. Out of 20+ FMC vehicles only my Milan and Fusion any good.
Try again. 2015 Explorer is great too. Looks like brand new.. but only 140k miles.
Yes, Honda’s are good too.. Just only owned a Toyota and rickety Subaru.
2007 Fusion. The model year says it all. Shortly after 2007 a lot of cost savings initiatives were put in place, lowering the quality. Hang on to your vehicles as long as you can, and you will save a lot of money in the long run.
Little brother got over 400k miles out of his Honda Civic while in engineering school. He swore if the car wouldn't die he would buy Honda's forever. Thirty years later he's brought nothing but Honda's, even has Honda lawnmower and generator
Thx. Got 240k w/no issues from 88 Sable too.
Had a Toyota too that was good. Subaru was junk.
That's funny, when I was a new hire decades ago I made comments on a few vehicles that had reliability issues. A quality manager made the comment that's how we get them to buy new cars.
Anyhow, congratulations!
Here is an article on vehicles that avoid the junkyard:. Crown Vic, older Focus models, Accord, Camry, Corolla, VW Bus, Volvos, diesel Mercedes, etc. A lot has to do with perceived quality, history/legacy of model, ease of maintenance
https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/cars/t009-s001-cars-that-refuse-to-die/index.html