What new truck to buy for 20+ years

[testerdahl]

I totally agree with all of that. Especially the forums. For me, I look for trends. It's like Amazon reviews, I go straight to the negatives to look for bad trends. Many negative reviews about the Tacoma was the seating position. If you know this, and it doesn't bother you or you like it, then it's a non-factor. And I also agree Toyota was very conservative on "gadgets" to keep their quality up. Which does work. They are known for quality now. I think Ram was always the one to throw new things in the trucks before anyone else. Like big screens, airbags or heated steering wheels. And many consider them the lowest of the full-size truck reliability.

You guys are nailing it. The newer a vehicle with more gadgets, the less reliable. Older, less gadgets is more reliable.

The challenge with this statement is we aren’t talking about major items like engine and transmission. We are talking about infotainment screen issues.

 

[Dusdaddy]

Without a doubt gadgets/systems/software cause most reliability problems but drivetrain reliability appears to be great across brands. New designs will produce occasional issues for all makers but are usually corrected quickly. Thankfully, the long power train warranties and recalls tend to cover those. As for real long term, so few keep anything that long anymore for it to matter. If they do, major repairs are still more economical than buying new. The only reason I am in the market is to upgrade to the newer systems available today. Better convenience and economy are my goals.

 

[Fightnfire]

You guys are nailing it. The newer a vehicle with more gadgets, the less reliable. Older, less gadgets is more reliable.

The challenge with this statement is we aren’t talking about major items like engine and transmission. We are talking about infotainment screen issues.

That's where it gets tricky. The big 3 have all had their issues with their engines in recent memory. GM lifters, Hemi Tick and other issues, ford coolant leaks, manifold warping and several other issues. At the same time, Toyota produced one of the worst powertrains I've ever experienced in a truck with the 3.5 in the 3rd gen Tacoma. They tried transmission flashing and still couldn't improve what felt like a mismatched engine and transmission. Just terrible. The 4.0 in the 2nd gen was rock solid and the issues with the 3.5 is why I believe it was never brought to the 4Runner. Is that a reliability issue or just sorry it's garbage, deal with it. I don't know but they, Toyota, seem to get a pass for it.

 

[Hilux]

I have had my 2004 Silverado W/T 1500 4x4 for twenty years, it still runs and drives great, it has the 4.3 liter v6 with a 5 speed I bought it new with 4 miles, I factory ordered it that way, in hindsight the only thing I would have done differently is ordered the 5.3 liter auto.