My reliability gamble - returning to Ford

[MattIngram]

So, guys, I've been partial to Fords in earlier years. I inherited a '76 Maverick from my parents when I was 16, then bought an '86 Tempo new, inherited/"bought for a dollar" an '86 Taurus from my parents and had a '96 Windstar before ending up with a new 2006 Ridgeline whose untimely end in Jan 2020 has led me to the Maverick.

While my past experiences with Ford reliability has been acceptable, based on my recent and current stable of cars - '97 Camry still in server, 2012 Highlander and my deceased 2006 Ridgeline, I wonder how much I'm gambling with a first-year domestic Ford.

My '97 Camry is all but bulletproof and even with bad paint and 236k miles, I've still barely spend more than $1000 in 13 years on non-wear-and-tear items (couple thousand on worn suspension components). My Highlander has cost me $0 in failed items so far at 117k miles, but the automatic rear hatch motor isn't worked, so that's probably $1500-2000 should I get it fixed. My '06 Ridgeline encountered about $2500 in repairs (primarily leaking rack-and-pinion) over the course of 216k miles.

I'm probably trading some reliability with a newer model Ridgeline for a hybrid Maverick, but with an outfitted cost of $7k to $8k less than what I would pay for a (new) Ridgeline and 42MPG, I'll offset some of that. Now that I'm permanently working from home, my Mav will probably only get 7 to 8k miles per year which means it will be ten years or more before I crack the 100k mile mark.

All that's my long winded way to query what the latest reliability experience other folks have had with Ford. Mine is almost 20 years old.

Our family has driven mostly Fords, over the last 15-20 years. I have vehicle commitment issues, so in that time we’ve owned a Focus, Fusion, Mustang convertibles, Escapes, an Edge, Bronco Sport and pretty soon a Maverick truck. The one thing I absolutely love about Ford is it’s simple, easy, and cost effective to repair. Some parts may wear out earlier than others but overall they hold up pretty darned well and total cost of ownership is very reasonable. I do the Works oil changes at Ford in 6-7k mile intervals, which includes synthetic blends and tire rotations..

The worst thing that I’ve ever had was a cable in the wiring harness had a short in the Ford Edge, and it just cut power in the middle of an intersection. Threw out every code in the book but 15 minutes later started right up. I had to yell at the dealership’s owner but they kept it for a week, got on the phone with the Ford Engineers and it finally got solved, Luckily all under warranty. Lesson I learned is to question everything early, don’t drop it if they cannot duplicate and keep pushing b/c if something’s really wrong I’d expect it to happen early on, or that’s how it worked for us.

I haven’t had them past 50k miles but we’ve had accidents in two escapes, and one of the mustangs. Good news is they do a good job of protecting you during an accident but Ford’s paint sucks, they’re either skimping on the clear coat or cheaping out on it, just my opinion. I’d sort of think you may experience more repairs due to having to replace cheaper parts but unless your take it to a bad dealership for repairs, you will pay less on the repairs. Fords do not seem to have much if any frame issues, like rust, so again super easy to repair and keep going. And you have to keep a close eye on the dealership sale to prevent negative equity issues from overpaying or loading up unnecessary add ons.

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[Egz]

2011-2016 Ford Focus/Fiesta was a pretty big transmission issue with the CVT. Lots of recalls and class action lawsuits. Cost them billions. My 2012 Focus also had recalls for faulty door latches and deformed fuel tank. Not small issues, but seems to be par for the course for most auto manufacturers these days. They are all much more complicated and safe then they used to be.

Dual-clutch. The Focus and Fiesta never had a CVT. The PowerSh*t transmission was a dry dual clutch design

 

[MakinDoForNow]

does driving my 1953 F100 at least once a week count ??

Only if 3-5 blocks to grocery store!

 

[MakinDoForNow]

The biggest risk we face with current vehicles is their complexity. My first vehicle was a 1957 Chevy. I could open the hood and describe anything you pointed to - and could repair most any of it myself (including an engine re-build). Modern vehicles are probably remarkably reliable considering their complexity, but when something DOES go wrong, even someone like me is no longer able to fix it, and the bill you get from the repair shop is likely to be LARGE. About 4 years in, my 2016 Transit Connect's SYNC audio module went South. The cost to replace it at the dealership was over $3000. A friendly service guy told me this was a common failure. I went toa commercial audio installer and put in a touch screen head unit with upgraded speakers for 1/3 what the dealer wanted. While I wait for my fully-loaded 2.0 Lariat I sometimes think I've gone off the deep end to order a vehicle with so many potential failure points, but even the XL has countless electronic components that could fail. I justify it because I'm old enough that this could be my last new vehicle, and I want just a little taste of luxury and appointments before the take my license away.

Maybe we need a thread = "Will I get mine before they take my license?".

 

[RonFLA]

I can understand your concerns. It’s kinda hard to say that domestic manufacturing is less reliable then say, Japanese manufacturers. In a global manufacturing economy, everything is produced all over the world and less is made here in the US, due to labor costs. Case in point, the Maverick being assembled largely in Mexico.

In some ways I echo your concerns about domestic auto. manufacturers and their history of more accessories/feature laden vehicles with, maybe, less focus on more reliable powertrains and lower cost of ownership.

Purchasing the more simplified Maverick likely will increase its realizability. I’m concerned a little about the Hybrid with the Bolt, LG battery recalls but the Maverick’s power pack is easily accessible and the power plant is proven, having 10 years of refinements.

At the end of the day, speaking strictly about the Maverick and not Ford Motor Company, as a whole, the truck is a true value and worth investing in.

 

[FE Hyb. 710]

So, guys, I've been partial to Fords in earlier years. I inherited a '76 Maverick from my parents when I was 16, then bought an '86 Tempo new, inherited/"bought for a dollar" an '86 Taurus from my parents and had a '96 Windstar before ending up with a new 2006 Ridgeline whose untimely end in Jan 2020 has led me to the Maverick.

While my past experiences with Ford reliability has been acceptable, based on my recent and current stable of cars - '97 Camry still in service, 2012 Highlander and my deceased 2006 Ridgeline, I wonder how much I'm gambling with a first-year Ford.

My '97 Camry is all but bulletproof and even with bad paint and 236k miles, I've still barely spend more than $1000 in 13 years on non-wear-and-tear items (couple thousand on worn suspension components in the last few years were the two major expenses). My Highlander has cost me $0 in failed items so far at 117k miles, but the automatic rear hatch motor isn't worked, so that's probably $1500-2000 should I get it fixed. My '06 Ridgeline encountered about $2500 in repairs (primarily leaking rack-and-pinion) over the course of 216k miles and 13 1/2 years of driving.

I'm probably trading some reliability by going with a Maverick over a newer model Ridgeline, but with an outfitted cost $7k-$8k less than what I would pay for a (new) Ridgeline and 42MPG, I'll offset some of that. Now that I'm permanently working from home, my Mav will probably only get 7 to 8k miles per year which means it will be ten years or more before I crack the 100k mile mark.

All that's my long winded way to query what the latest reliability experience other folks have had with Ford. Mine is almost 20 years old.

Where I work, our fleet includes 2010 Escape hybrids. I guess they have an earlier version of the powertrain that we are getting with the Maverick hybrid. All have between 100 & 120k miles and are doing fine, so you should expect good reliability for at least 100k miles.

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