Sissy truck followed her home

denverpilot

denverpilot

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DenverPilot
Both because it's a Ford, and because its a Lincoln themed bling-truck...

Karen got a pick-em-up truck for her birthday.

We knew we had to get her into a 4WD for the new house on the dirt roads for winter and also I still absolutely hated her %*++#*>< Volkswagen Jetta TDI Wagon that has had more done in repairs $$$ than the car is worth (under warranty, but the fourth transmission would have been on our dime). HATED that car.

(She still was fine with it. It had new vibrations and grabby brakes since the last time I drove it when she made me drive it to the dealer to look at the truck we'd found about a week ago.)

She'd been talking about an SUV and I started joking that she should just get a truck and get it over with.

Then a co-worker of mine told her to look at the Lincoln LT version of the F150. Oops.

Well, the girl likes her cheesy bling, I guess. :) The chrome covered beast came home last night. And better yet, the Jetta went off to auction/wholesale land. Buh-bye!

The LT is a 2008 with 40K miles on it.

(Which seemingly negates any higher price for the Lincoln branding... They lose all that after a couple of years and price out as if they were just another F150.)

And tonight she got home and said, "Should'a bought a truck a long time ago."

Duh. :)

Some people are slow learners. Haha. (She's reading over my shoulder...)

While we were at the dealership, something quite literally exploded across the street.

Most of the paperwork wait, we stood outside and watched engine companies respond to what was at least a three-alarm blaze. Probably four. Whatever the place was, it burnt to the ground.

Free entertainment! (We hope no one got hurt. Haven't looked it up on the official news sites.) Everyone stood outside and watched.

Anyway, here she is filling it with gas... which she'll be doing quite a bit. And a photo of the fire around the time the third alarm was called.

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Interesting evening for sure. Happy birthday truck and happy husband now that the Jetta shall never grace the driveway ever again.

I think I'm still a Chevy/GMC guy myself, so we'll have Ford/Chevy arguments under one happy roof.
 
Nice truck!

Only big issue to watch out for is if any of the coil-on-plug packs misfire, you'll think there's Armageddon under the hod - but it's not.

You take it to the dealer, they'll charge you several hundred bucks to replace.

But (in most cases) all it'll need is a new insulating boot.

Keep clean oil in it, should be good for half a million miles. My clients do it with their Ford trucks all the time. Lincoln Town Cars go 700,000 miles in livery service routinely with essentially the same drive train, often with nothing but oil changes, tires, brakes and tranny service.
 
Thanks Spike. That's pretty much what our car repair friend said too.
 
denverpilot said:
...I still absolutely hated her %*++#*>< Volkswagen Jetta TDI Wagon that has had more done in repairs $$$ than the car is worth (under warranty, but the fourth transmission would have been on our dime). HATED that car.
Click to expand...

This seems to be a common theme with VW. I've heard so many horror stories, including those of some very close friends, that I'd never even look at a VW these days.

Congrats on the fancy ride!
 
She'll love it every household needs a truck! Ditto on the coil packs, they are good for 90-120K miles and usually go out one at a time. It can seem like a transmission issue or a skip, but after the first one goes out and you or your wife panics, you'll see it's not a big deal. And they are expensive enough that most people don't replace them all at once!:yikes: And you really don't need to replace them unless they are bad. ;) The other thing to be aware of is the spark plugs in the 5.4 engines, they are rated for 100K and a lot of folks leave them in for years and years, when they need changing they have a habit of breaking off in the head.:yikes: Best to have a shop that works on Fords do it for you, in our shop we figure on one breaking when we price the job, the others the customer pays for. My guys are pretty good at not breaking very many, but the real trick is getting the remainder of the plug out of the head. ;)
 
LDJones said:
This seems to be a common theme with VW. I've heard so many horror stories, including those of some very close friends, that I'd never even look at a VW these days.

Congrats on the fancy ride!
Click to expand...

We just got out of a Jetta (gasonline) lease. No issues whatsoever. My mom had a Fox that seemed to live forever. I think someone else has that car now...
 
N747JB said:
She'll love it every household needs a truck! Ditto on the coil packs, they are good for 90-120K miles and usually go out one at a time. It can seem like a transmission issue or a skip, but after the first one goes out and you or your wife panics, you'll see it's not a big deal. And they are expensive enough that most people don't replace them all at once!:yikes: And you really don't need to replace them unless they are bad. ;) The other thing to be aware of is the spark plugs in the 5.4 engines, they are rated for 100K and a lot of folks leave them in for years and years, when they need changing they have a habit of breaking off in the head.:yikes: Best to have a shop that works on Fords do it for you, in our shop we figure on one breaking when we price the job, the others the customer pays for. My guys are pretty good at not breaking very many, but the real trick is getting the remainder of the plug out of the head. ;)
Click to expand...

It's kind of funny. With the 5.4, The old ones would just blow themselves out and ruin the threads. So Ford tried to fix that and now the new ones get stuck that you ruin the threads trying to get them out.
 
LDJones said:
This seems to be a common theme with VW. I've heard so many horror stories, including those of some very close friends, that I'd never even look at a VW these days.

Congrats on the fancy ride!
Click to expand...

I drive a 2008 Passat 2.0T that we got about two and a half years ago. Just hit 40k and never had an issue except a blown PCV valve. I also managed to get over 37 mpg with it on one particular highway trip with its 200 hp turbocharged engine. Not bad, methinks. It has the giddyap when you need (want?) it and the efficiency for the rest of the time.
 
When the first coil pack goes out, just replace all 8. Easy to do yourself and about $450 from one of the online parts dealers.
 
jesse said:
It's kind of funny. With the 5.4, The old ones would just blow themselves out and ruin the threads. So Ford tried to fix that and now the new ones get stuck that you ruin the threads trying to get them out.
Click to expand...

They just wanted to be more like Chevy. LOL...

(Who's plugs have always seized on that size engine if you didn't replace them at the appointed time, and sometimes sooner... Heh...)
 
If it has the 3-valve 5.4L engine in it... Read the care and feeding manual and stick too it.. Especially on oil selection. Change it much more frequently than recommended.

That motor is an easy $2600 sale ($750 core) for me because too many others aren't ready the manual and trashing the engine.

Transmissions need to be on a routine. But other than these two, it will be a good purchase for a long time coming.
 
jesse said:
It's kind of funny. With the 5.4, The old ones would just blow themselves out and ruin the threads. So Ford tried to fix that and now the new ones get stuck that you ruin the threads trying to get them out.
Click to expand...

Which is why I've written a letter to the engineers thanking them for all the profits from the sale of these engines.
 
AggieMike88 said:
Transmissions need to be on a routine. But other than these two, it will be a good purchase for a long time coming.
Click to expand...

ROFL... if you read that a different way...

"Other than the engine and the transmission, it'll last forever!"

Heh... kidding Mike... just gave me a chuckle. I knew what you meant. :)
 
I think the manufacurer has gotten to the root of their problems.
They highlighted it blue and circled it!:wink2:
 
Ted DuPuis said:
When the first coil pack goes out, just replace all 8. Easy to do yourself and about $450 from one of the online parts dealers.
Click to expand...

Just make sure you get Ford parts, some of the parts house stuff is OK and some of it is terrible, especially electrical stuff.:D
 
Regarding the VW: we have a 2003 Jetta, 1.8 L turbo -- a real hoot to drive, tight as a drum. Two key issues, both of which have been costly; first, the engine ended up having to be cleaned out, because it was full of sludge as a result of having had synthetic blend, rather than full synthetic oil used in. The dealer disclaimed any responsibility, saying "we always recommend that you use synthetic oil."

They did most of the oil changes!

Sure enough, however, the receipts from each time I paid for service says something like "we recommend synthetic oil." Well, the service advisor never once asked me whether I'd like to use synthetic oil, or explain to me what the issue would be if I didn't. There was, in fact, a recall on the Passat of the same vintage, for the same reason, VW of America says that the Passat is covered while the Jetta is not, because the Passat had a smaller oil pan, which meant that the oil got too hot. They claim this issue did not apply to the Jetta. This repair cost me around $1000, and I suppose I could have sued them for it, but I was too busy (seriously) to bother. What a chump.

The other big issue is exactly what Nate has alluded to -- the transmission. My transmission, the Tiptronic, works just fine in full automatic mode, but sometimes refuses to go into reverse, or to sequence through the years in manual mode. My research confirms that this transmission (a Japanese transmission, in my German car, built in Mexico) has nine solenoids which are inexplicably contained inside the transmission case, exposed to the heat and hot transmission fluid and (most importantly) extremely difficult to get at for replacement. The solenoids themselves don't cost that much, but the cost of repair is still very high, and most dealers and simply say "you need a new transmission," followed by a $3500 bill.

Mine is in the shop right now, but it is an independent transmission shop which is reported to be honest and honorable, and appears willing to repair only what needs to be repaired. I still think they'll have a hard time getting away for under a grand, though.

I, too, found much to like in the Volkswagen (still do), but would be hard pressed to recommend purchasing one again, and I know I will not do so.
 
Nate...... Congrats on the truck for the wife....:yes: And I can vouch that a Ford engine is ok...;););)..


Ps.. Buy a pressure washer now.. that color truck on a dirt road = ALOT of washing...:rolleyes:
 
LDJones said:
This seems to be a common theme with VW. I've heard so many horror stories, including those of some very close friends, that I'd never even look at a VW these days.

Congrats on the fancy ride!
Click to expand...

I have a 2002 Passat wagon v6 5-speed, purchased new, now at 113,000 and still fun and zippy to drive. No real problems, just minor things like the key never worked great (the buttons to unlock/lock without using the physical key). I have always used synthetic oil since it was new. Never had a problem with the manual transmission either.


But congrats on the new truck!
 
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