Never have I been on a board where the 'brand argument' doesn't exist. Always the same argument about the same things. Everybody whose ever owned brand A finds brand B to be sub par in comparison and vice versa.
I drove a '65 Ranchero for thirteen trouble free years. I was the fourth owner. Other than normal maintenance, no problems. When I bought my first new ride, a '90 Toyota SR5 4x4 Extracab, I sold the Ranchero to my brother who was the second owner. I drove the Toyota for 9 years and right at 100k miles, it popped the head gaskets. I proceeded to do an engine tear down to replace them and on one of my visits to Toyota for a part, I mentioned I was doing the head gaskets on my Toy. The counter guy said, " I think I can help you with that, wait one". He proceeded to get the service manager who came over to me, asked me a few questions about my truck and said, "We can take care of that for you, your truck is covered under so and so TSB bulletin". I said "OK". They came to my house with a car hauler, picked up my already torn down truck and parts and hauled it back to their shop and finished the job at no cost to me.
The point is, all manufacturers of cars have their issues. It's how well the dealerships and manufacture and...the
customer, handle these issues that really makes the difference. If you're looking for perfection, you won't find it with any manufacture. I thought the boys at Toyota handled my issue very professionally and with concern to my satisfaction. That is what I would expect all car dealers and manufacturers would do. It's all one could ask for.
For the record, my Toyota was the only vehicle I had with a known problem at which I had
them take care of and they did it well. I bought the Toyota because I didn't care for the boxy look of the Ford Rangers of the time (1990). Otherwise I would have bought a Ranger. Since that time, I've bought nothing but Ford, 4 Mustangs and a '07 Ranger 4x4 extended cab which I bought new and which I have to this day and now, the Explorer. Not one of my previous Fords has seen the inside of a dealership repair bay as I've had zero issues with any of them with normal maintenance and I expect the Explorer will follow suit. But, if I do have a warranty issue of any kind, as a customer, my hope is all will go well with the repair to my satisfaction. I think
that is where most customers may have the majority of
their issues. That and their preconceived notions about manufacturers which for the most part these days, are unfounded, IMO.
If you go into a purchase with a new-to-you manufacturer after buying from a different manufacturer, you already have a 'preconceived notion' of the new one. From all the reports and stories you've ever heard, you have an opinion embedded in your mind already. So, the first time you have an issue with the new manufacturer, the stories start coming out about how poor the quality is on your new ride. You can find these stories on every board with every manufacturer. They all will never buy brand x again, etc., for any number of reasons, good or bad. It's all a big crap shoot and we all hope to roll a 7 every time. If Fords were so bad in quality, they would be gone. Fortunately, there are way more satisfied customers than unsatisfied...with all, current, manufactures. So, manufacturers like Ford are still in business and sell enough to stay that way to satisfied customers, in spite of all the rules and regulations heaped on them from the various government agencies and the beat goes on.
Find a good dealership that's concerned with your issues and whom will cooperate to the best of their ability to please you. Good customer relations is the key to a successful outcome but, it's a two way street. You go into a dealership with an attitude, you may get it right back. It's human nature. If you go in seeking the answers to you issues with a good attitude, you'll probably be rewarded in kind
and have your issues taken care of to the satisfaction of both parties.
