New Toyota truck

[harleyherb]

BullittBen, I hate to disagree with you, but my latest Chevy truck was a 2002 HD2500 with the electronic transmission and 6.0 liter engine. I had 97,000 miles on it and never got more than 14mpg. In April I went to Gatlinburg hauling my 16' trailer with 3 motorcycles on it and twice I felt the transmission slip. The Chevy truck i had before this one was a 2000 1500 with the standard transmission and the 5.4 V8, at 60,000 miles the transmission started slipping at several occassions. Also on the fact of supporting foreign trucks and worrying about where the profit goes, I worry more about where the labor wages go. Right now the most American vehicle is the Toyota Camry. I feel that NAFTA will be the down-falling of American labor, not unions. Who will be able to afford new boats and new vehicles, if we are all making $5.00 to $7.00 an hour? If the big cooporations are saving so much by sending the labor overseas, why aren't the prices lower to comsumers?

 

[Trevor Wolf]

I work at a dealership at night where we sell all brands. The new toyota truck is very nice, but is by far not superior to the big 3. First off, they are the fastest truck 0-60 and in the quarter mile. Also, they are the fastest 0-60 and in the quarter mile towing a 5,000 pound load, Not by much, we are talking tenths of a second. One interesting fact is that the Hemi ram 1500 and the new Silverado 1500 6.0 both outpull the tundra and titan up hull by at at least 10 mph. That is the most important fact for me. I tow a 4 place snowmobile trailer, a 21' pulsare, a 28' 8700lb powerquest, and a skidloader trailer with my 2500 ram hemi and have never had a complaint. Towing all of those trailers the only time I will ever loose speed up hill is if I am in a 25mph head wind -5mph at most before a downshift. (Thats only towing the powerquest and snowmobile trailer). Also the titan was surposed to be a far superior truck to the big 3. Look at consumer reports worst bets list. There is the Titan. I had a guy trade in a 2004 Ford F-150 5.4 for the new tundra, he came back 2 days later and paid us $1,000 to get his ford back. Also there marketing is wacked. There commercial with the see saw says how would you like to pull 10,000lb up a hill and then stop it going down. Read the fine print. It says 5,000lb truck plus 5,000lb trailer equals 10,000lb. It also says trailer equiped with electric brakes. A ford pinto could stop a trailer on an incline with good electric brakes. Just for the record, since 2004 toyota now supports our service department with the most issues per every 3 vehicles sold. I am and always will be a dodge fan I have owned 4 all exceeding the 200,000 mile mark with normal maintenance. 2 of those rams are still in the family today with over 250,000. Thats more than I can say for my mothers 1999 Lexus GS300 with 85,000 miles which is in need of a new engine, starter, and brakes every 15,000 miles. Stay with the big 3 They are still american trucks, wether they are built here, canada, mexico they are american. And the profits do go overseas to toyota wether you believe it or not. Just my 2 cents. Every brand has strengths and weaknesses. No brand is far SUPERIOR, or everyone would be out of buisiness. Did you know the HEMI is rated one of the top 10 most durable engines. Toyotas V8 isnt on that list.

P.S. Toyota has issued more recalls than any other company to date.
-Look up the old tundra online and check out the tranny recalls and tsb's and also the major ball joint falure.

 

[sawcat]

I'm feeling pretty guilty today. One of my best buds was really hot after a new Dodge 4 door 4X4 with the new diesel in the 2500 chassis. He's been a 'Dodge boy' for decades. He went to his dodge dealer twice to drive the truck. Everyone knows the Cummings diesel is a superior engine, with a 6-speed auto, surrounded by an average truck. He was hours from buying it.

They were still working on pricing when he called me about something unrelated and I mentioned, JUST FOR COMPARISON, that he should go drive the new Tundra Double Cab TRD 4X4 with the 5.7 V8 and 6 speed auto option. I was interested to see what a dedicated diesel Dodge boy would think of the comparison between a 2500 Dodge Cummings 4X4 with the new big engine compared to the new Toyota Tundra with the new big engine. He called me about 3 hours later, just finishing paperwork on the new Tundra...............

Sure hope your Buddy doesn't think that Toyota will out tow that Cummins.

I pulled my Toyota loving Father in law backwards and I put 6x6 in front of all four wheels of my Dodge & that's with the stock 5.9 2003

 

[JW]

I talked to him about it at work today. He only needs the 10,000 lb towing capacity (5,000 lb boat) and he's sick and tired of turning wrenches on the Dodge and Ford he previously owned. Another big reason was the 2500 Dodge sat too high for his wife, the Toyota was easier to get in and out of. He doesn't like running boards. I think mostly it was the wife

 

[sawcat]

I talked to him about it at work today. He only needs the 10,000 lb towing capacity (5,000 lb boat) and he's sick and tired of turning wrenches on the Dodge and Ford he previously owned. Another big reason was the 2500 Dodge sat too high for his wife, the Toyota was easier to get in and out of. He doesn't like running boards. I think mostly it was the wife

You must be a pretty good guy JW I thought I was gonna catch it.

 

[JW]

Truth is I really do feel guilty for turning him on to the truck. And he feels a little guilty buying one, EXCEPT it was made right here in the midwest a couple hundred miles from where we work in Princeton Indiana. So he supported several hundred or more hourly midwest workers paying taxes and buying groceries near us. AND it really is a nice truck

My '06 Tundra double cab TRD 4X4 is in my driveway because it had a fantastic lease deal. Can't beat $239 a month with $1500 down for a $32,000 vehicle. I leased it 18 months ago to 'get me by' until '09. 18 months to go. I was hoping by the end of the lease there would finally be a truck that can get 25 mpg highway and still tow at least 5,000 lbs reliably and safely. Be it Honda, Toyota, Chevy, Dodge, Ford doesn't matter. What will matter will be resale value, quality, gas mileage, and fit (I'm 6' 4").

I think that if Chevy can put the 6 speed auto behind the 5.3 in '09 in the 1500 Z71 chassis, and give it multi-displacement and some other small improvements, it might just be possible. Chevy is pretty much the gas mileage king so far. I want 25 mpg!!!! Even the V6 Honda can't get that. The other thing that might happen is Toyota likes to do a 'lease pull-ahead' and might temp me with a new TRD 5.7 double cab 4X4 with a low lease deal..................

 

[BullittBen]

Couple of things to clear up with my position.

The GM 6.0 is strong in a 1/2 ton, but a gas hog in anything. Not the greatest in a 2500, but it would probably run forever also.

I would really be curious to see how a GM Duramax 2500 performed in those speed towing tests that Toyota brags about. I'm 99% sure it would blow it in the weeds for the same sticker price.

The thing about Toyota and American Labor. My point was that the unemployment rate is better than it's ever been in recent history. We could live without them - I can guarantee they're not in it to do us a favor.

Finally, I don't have personal experience with a 2500 before the Allison Transmission. I think some early Allisons had trouble. The transmissions in the GM trucks I've had do slip and clunk occasionally. Mine does something odd once every week or two regardless of if I'm towing or not. If I was towing, and was not used to the truck, it would probably scare me to death. But since I've seen one do it for 200,000 miles and never got worse than a very very occasional thing, never broke and was never serviced at all, I'm not overly concerned. I had a company truck that did it for 100k before I changed jobs. My brothers trucks have done the same stuff. Sometimes they seem to start off in second gear, then shuffle back to first. Sometimes they feel like they slip for a second if you just barely back off the throttle as they are shifting. The only transmission I've heard of breaking was a 2500 with an Allison Transmission. A friend of mine had a Duramax turned up to like 500 - 600hp and 800+ lb/ft torque and it smoked the clutches after he was drag racing it and towing for a living.

 

[sawcat]

My Cummins gets 17.5 & 22 Highway,but they have priced the Trucks out of reach.

I looked at the new Silverado LTZ 4x4 Z71 & that is one nice Truck.

The Toyota is what everybody seems to like as far as resale.

The Tacoma is a hot resale item.

 

[BullittBen]

Oh, and when I say once every week or two, that's 2000 miles or so.

 

[81 enchanter]

i just bought a 08 1500 with the Vortec MAX 6.0 package, pretty fast, quiet, pulls like nothings back there. i will always drive chevys.

buy your foreign trucks just don't drive them on AMERICAN ROADS!!!!

 

[teamhart2]

Interesting discussion, I really dont know all that much about this stuff. As a diehard Junior fan, nothing would make me happier than to buy a sweet chevy when my old GMC safari dies. Unfortunately Im stuck in grad school for quite a few years yet and I wont be able to afford payments or gas on a full size truck, so Ill be getting a used tacoma. Hopefully by the time I get rid of that to buy a new fullsize the American companies will have caught up in mileage and reliability or at least some american investors will have bought up toyota hahahaha.

Nobodies really getting behind Dodge huh? I always liked the look of the rams, my old man has an older 2500 that pulled pretty good and has lasted a long time, although hes a maniac about maintenance and care.

 

[175checkmate]

I will stick with my 02 2500 Dodge. Yes it has the gas motor, yes its a V10 and yep it get 14.2 MPG all the time. But dam, it will pull a house.
I looked at the diesel when i was looking at getting the truck. Could not swallow the extra cost. Besides as most of you know I can't leave stuff alone, and i would have build the diesel up and blown the trans.

 

[175checkmate]

Oh and I am not brand specific by any means. I will own any of the big 3.

Chrysler
Plymouth
Dodge.

 

[Chris]

I'll stick with my Chevs.

I've heard some of the tailgates on the Toyotas have collapsed with a load on them.

I've heard other "stories" too.

I've had too many Chevs to count and they've been excellent.

 

[Hemi4Me]

Amen to that my 05' hemi ram is the best vehicle I have ever owned, and I owned all Chevy until I bought it. But when they changed the body style, I had to drive one. Traded my Chevy and never looked back. Great truck, I had no problems problems or recalls. Pulls like a dream but only gets 17mpg on the highway. Oh well, that's the price you pay for power, but, sure feels good to whomp that gas pedal when driving the GA 400 on the way to work.

 

[Rob B]

I owned GM products til 2001 when I bought the Nissan truck, like Chris I've never had a problem with GM. Til this day I don't know why i traded my Silverado extended cab for the Nissan.

 

[Redboat]

I just got a used 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser . After years of throwing cash into a 1998 GMC Serria , I got tired of never being able to trust it . One thing after another . The service engine light would come on at the slightest hickup . Never could get the ABS brakes to work even after getting the sensors replaced 4 times at a cost of $300 at a time . The motor leaked antifreeze and oil from day one . Dealer couldn't get it to stop for more than a thousand miles or so .Had the tranny replaced twice , first time was warr. , the second time was cash . Just got tired of the poor quality .
As an ex GM employee , it was a difficult decision to buy a Toyota , but quality counts !
Redboat

 

[Chris]

Personally I don't buy this better quality arguement.

And how can you compare a ten year old truck with a '07?

Of course a '07 will be like switching to a Cadillac!

If I'm not mistaken the Tundra was recently yanked from the Consumer Reports recommended list. Didn't they just have a call back for tranny issues?

Toyota have been leading the way in call backs.

Personally, I think they're having problems because they're growing too quickly.

The other consideration up here in Cannok-land, is the damn things cost way more than a GM, Ford or Dodge. The financing up here on anything import is a frigging joke.

I can lease a fully loaded Chev 1500 with leather a roof etc. for a touch over 500 a month with zip down. The Tundra is probably 7 or 8 hundred a month. 2-3 hundred bucks a month sure buys a lot of repairs. Repairs I've personally never had to make on my '94, '96, '98, 02, 04, or ,05. And my '87 C10 still runs like a champ!

So why would I be tempted to pay extra bucks up front and a high lease or interest rate to get a Toyota?

 

[Redboat]

Bought the GMC pickup new . The troubles started as soon as the warr. was up . Maybe it was just a lemon .
In the almost 40 years of ownership , I've owned Fords , Buicks , Dodges , GMC's and Toyotas .
Redboat

 

[Chris]

I've had tons and rarely had a warranty claim.

I've never blown an engine, tranny, diff or anything big.

I think the worst claim I had was for a bad intrument cluster on my 98 Silverado. Basically the speedo wouldn't read over 100 KMH.

Other than that, never much of a problem.

Would you guys pay more for a Toyota though?

As I mentioned, up here they're signficantly more no matter what way you buy 'em.