déjà vu all over again :Subaru
 

On 12 Dec 2005 07:09:33 -0800, wrote:

My little V40 contiues to scoot along without a hitch or hiccup. I'm
not sure what we'll replace her Subaru with, but it would be a Volvo
XC70 if we found the right deal on the right car and it's unlikely to
be another Subaru unless they have done something about
front seat comfort in the last few years.

======================================

I've never owned a Volvo but have rented a few and always found the
front seats to be among the most comfortable I've ever seen.
Unfortunately their self perpetuated reputation for reliability
doesn't seem to stand up under scrutiny however.

déjà vu all over again
 

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 08:48:43 -0500, "Lord Reginald Smithers" The
fastest and most accurate Gun in the World wrote:

It seemed that they would always pick the product with the worst
quality.

==================================

Examples please. I've found their car recommendations to be right on
the mark, audio equipment less so.

déjà vu all over again
 

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 14:01:57 GMT, "Doug Kanter" wrote:

"Lord Reginald Smithers" The fastest and most accurate Gun in the World
wrote in message ...
Doug,
CR is a well intentioned group of individuals who don't seem to have a
clue.
The don't review boats, but they seem to miss the mark on all other
products. It seemed that they would always pick the product with the
worst quality.

For some products, they really are off base. Stereo equipment's a good
example. When I was in that biz back in the late 70s & 1980s, they'd always
recommend Japanese speakers, which sounded horrible. And, Sanyo car stereos,
which were an absolute joke at the time.

With cars, though, I think they're between a rock and a hard place. Some
people like to slam their reliability surveys because they primarily cover
very young cars. But, how long does the average buyer keep a car? Is it that
easy to find a large sample of people whose cars have reached 100,000 miles?

For things like appliances, I don't think it's possible to do any better.
But, the magazine *does* educate some readers about features they might not
have otherwise considered. This is important because considering the low
quality of most retail staff, you might never hear about these features in
the stores.


Exactly.

It ain't perfect, but I have yet to hear anyone come up with constructive
suggestions.


I've never been disappointed following a CR 'best buy' recommendation. The information it provides
just on what to look for is worth the price. The latest issue has a nice article on VOIP telephones.
My neighbor has been trying to talk me into one, and the article gave me some good food for thought.
--
John Herring

Hope your Christmas is Spectacular,
and your New Year even Better!

déjà vu all over again
 

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 05:56:08 GMT, "FREDO" wrote:

I had a 94 F-150 XLT Lariat best pulling truck I ever had in 4X4 (locking
front and rear differentials).
But man it was not reliable!

In 36,000 miles and 1 year it had the following repairs:

brake pads and rotors replaced 4 times (rotors kept warping)

fan clutch replaced 2 times

HVAC repaired 3 times they finally found the orifice was missing from the
system, the darn thing would only blow cold air while traveling on the
interstate, any time you went to in town traffic mode it blew hot air.

Radio quit 2 times.

So I traded it on my 96 Subaru Outback and so far it has never been in for
any repairs.

My 00 GMC has had the transfer case replaced, the steering gearbox replaced
and the P/S pump replaced (all under warranty) since then it has been a
truly reliable vehicle.

I wish you well with your Ford quality issues.


"Dan J.S." wrote in message
...

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...
To those that read my "trip to hell" back in November where I spend 5
days in a hotel room in Georgia while they fixed my super duty Ford 350
.....

I just got back from my final trip to Florida - picked up the Scout
(another story) and started the trip back to MA. Got to Norfork and
visited Eisboch Jr. and his very pregnant wife, then headed north towing
the Scout. Got as far as Fredricksburg, VA and the new, heavy duty
diesel Ford 350 died again.

After all kinds of debates and decisions, I ended up hiring the tow
company to transport the dead Ford, with a 20' Scout in tow, all the way
from VA to MA.

We dropped off the boat in my driveway, then continued to Plymouth, MA
and dropped off the dead Ford in the dealer's lot. Gonna be a bit of
excitement down there on Monday when they open.

Eisboch (back from the last trip to hell)




FORD - Found On Road Dead



I can't wait for Toyota to start making something comparable to the 350 -
and then it's bye bye American brands.



On my '95 Sierra, I've had to replace the muffler (with dual exhaust and decent sound from Midas),
the hose to the heater, one door handle, and the dash mounted drink holder.

It's got 113,000 miles on it. BUT, today I had to take it in for a new clutch.

I figure it's good for another 100,000.
--
John Herring

Hope your Christmas is Spectacular,
and your New Year even Better!

déjà vu all over again
 

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 11:26:26 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 05:56:08 GMT, "FREDO" wrote:

I had a 94 F-150 XLT Lariat best pulling truck I ever had in 4X4 (locking
front and rear differentials).
But man it was not reliable!

In 36,000 miles and 1 year it had the following repairs:

brake pads and rotors replaced 4 times (rotors kept warping)

fan clutch replaced 2 times

HVAC repaired 3 times they finally found the orifice was missing from the
system, the darn thing would only blow cold air while traveling on the
interstate, any time you went to in town traffic mode it blew hot air.

Radio quit 2 times.

Horse feathers. I don't believe it.

So I traded it on my 96 Subaru Outback and so far it has never been in for
any repairs.

My 00 GMC has had the transfer case replaced, the steering gearbox replaced
and the P/S pump replaced (all under warranty) since then it has been a
truly reliable vehicle.

I wish you well with your Ford quality issues.

I have a 2000 F-250 Super Duty 4X4, 7.3 liter diesel and the only
thing I've had go wrong with it was a stuck caliber when I first
bought it. 100,000 miles and it's just getting broken in.

17 mpg around town and 22/23 on the highway.

Best big pickup I've ever owned.

Which have all been Fords.

All of which were traded with no problems at all during the time I
owned them.

What's one of those guys sell for? I paid $19,700 for mine, but I get only 17mpg on the highway.
--
John Herring

Hope your Christmas is Spectacular,
and your New Year even Better!

déjà vu all over again
 

"John H." wrote in message
...

I've never been disappointed following a CR 'best buy' recommendation. The
information it provides
just on what to look for is worth the price. The latest issue has a nice
article on VOIP telephones.
My neighbor has been trying to talk me into one, and the article gave me
some good food for thought.
--
John Herring

I'd like to see them evaluate voice quality for cell phones. By this, I mean
the quality of the microphone, earpiece, and the execution of the background
noise cancelling scheme. These are all purely hardware issues. Some cell
phones absolutely suck.

déjà vu all over again
 

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...


It's impossible to know why they haven't made such a truck. But, if I had
to take a guess, I'd say they think they cannot overcome the cultural
inertia that's still present in buyers for that type of vehicle.

It may be a concern that doing so would affect their good gas mileage
reputation.
A full sized truck of 10,000 lb GVW or more with 4 wheel drive just ain't
gonna get good gas mileage, no matter how advanced the design of the engine.
Gasoline has about 130,000 btu's of energy, diesel about 10,000 btu's more.
Converting that energy to do work isn't magic.


Eisboch

déjà vu all over again
 

"RG" wrote in message
news:zGhnf.10841$fz5.5088@dukeread04...


You sort of have to take what you read on the internet automotive forums
with a grain of salt. The number of people who take the time to praise
their vehicles on these forums is quite small when compared to the people
who are more than happy to take the time to bitch about whatever problems
they've had. In other words, it's hardly an unbiased sampling. I'm very
sorry to hear about the problems with your truck, Richard. I owned a 2000
7.3 F250 SuperDuty which was not a daily driver, but more of a tow vehicle
for the boat and weekend driver. In 5 years, I only put 50,000 miles on
it, but they were all trouble-free. In December 2004, I traded it for a
2005 model of the same truck with the 6.0 liter PowerStroke. Again, only
about 10,000 miles since the trade, but they have all been trouble free.
In fact, the only work that's been done to it are oil and filter changes.
As much as I liked the 7.3, the 6.0 liter is so much more refined, as is
the 2005 truck over the 2000 model (both Lariats). The 6.0 liter behaves
completely different than the 7.3. It doesn't have near the low rpm grunt
as the 7.3, but get it above 1500 rpm and it's all there and then it winds
almost like a gasser. As a highway cruiser, the 6.0 is far superior.
Much quieter and a better powerband than the 7.3. As a stump puller, hard
to beat the 7.3. Much improved suspension on the 2005 model, as well as a
much tighter turning radius for the 4X4's. Point being, in spite of your
troubles, it might be premature to second-guess your purchase decision.

It was a smart move having the truck towed to the selling dealer. It
sounds like they will do whatever it takes to make things right and put
your bad luck behind you.

If you haven't found this place already, here's what I consider the best
of the Ford Truck forums:

http://forums.thedieselstop.com/ubbthreads/

And to a lesser extent:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/index.php




Good advice. I am going to see how this repair works out because otherwise
I like the truck very much. I agree with all you said - mine's a 350 -
little stiffer springs but still yields a nice ride. It was interesting
that the salesman wanted to find the build date because I've heard "rumors"
that there was a major flaw in the engine design that was corrected after a
certain date.

Thanks,

Eisboch

déjà vu all over again :Subaru
 

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"FREDO" wrote in message
.. .
Subaru's are designed to crumple in order to absorb impact. Also, they
are designed to push the engine and transmission downward under the
passenger compartment in a frontal crash via a "Pitching Stopper" to
lessen the possibility of the engine coming into the passenger
compartment. They consistently receive 5 star ratings from the U.S.
government in crash testing.

Saw that happen back in the 1970s with an Eldorado. The engine vacated its
compartment completely, and crushed & burned the driver. Not pretty.


Reminds me of a recall on GM cars back in the late 60's or early 70's.
Seems a whole bunch of Chevys, Buicks, Olds, etc. were shipped with faulty
engine mounts that, when they failed, would allow the engine to drop between
the frame and hit the ground.

The fix was, believe it or not, a steel cable around one of the exhaust
manifolds with the other end bolted somewhere in the engine compartment.
The mounts still failed, but the engine oil pan would not hit the pavement.

Eisboch

déjà vu all over again
 

Good advice. I am going to see how this repair works out because
otherwise I like the truck very much. I agree with all you said - mine's
a 350 - little stiffer springs but still yields a nice ride. It was
interesting that the salesman wanted to find the build date because I've
heard "rumors" that there was a major flaw in the engine design that was
corrected after a certain date.


I believe the 6.0 came out in the 2003 model year, and for a while you could
purchase an '03 with either the 7.3 or the 6.0. The early 6.0's were indeed
fraught with problems, but as I understand it, most of those issues were
worked out by the 2004 model year, and by the 2005 model year, things were
essentially as good as the 7.3 ever was, at least in terms of reliability.
The approximate build date of your truck is printed on a sticker on the
trailing edge of the driver's door, in the format mm/yy. The exact build
date of your engine can be read on the sticker on the Fuel Injection Control
Module in the format dd/mm/yy. The label on the FICM is difficult to read,
but doable. You'll find the FICM on the driver's side of the engine near
the firewall under the coolant recovery tank. My engine has a build date of
October 22, 2004 and a the sticker on the door reads 10/04.

Here's what the FICM looks like:

http://dan.prxy.org/Truck/6L_bible_h.../Page_010.html

I'd be interested to hear what the current diagnosis is, as well as the
dealer's remedy.