# What's the quality of Ford automobiles these days? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 16, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321 "2010-10-16T06:13:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/41 "2010-10-17T20:35:51Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > Also note, there isn’t any ford complaints less than about 8 years old. (9 if you ignore the Ford Exploder. 😃 ) Those are just the top 25. On that website you can drill into the specific complaints by make/model/year to see recent model year complaints. They are broken down by category. ---
**Author:** ![ptr2void](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ptr2void/32/3406_2.png) [@ptr2void](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ptr2void)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/42 "2010-10-18T00:21:50Z")
Another unbiased website for unbiased reliability data is [TrueDelta](http://www.truedelta.com/). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/43 "2010-10-18T03:59:30Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > I > > I like the idea of the size of the car and having a 6-speed manual (drool). I may test drive one. I have a Volvo C30 with a 6spd manual, and it is very _very_ nice, indeed.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/44 "2010-10-18T17:00:49Z")
I think Fords are good vehicles, good but not great. But I’ve owned many of them over the years and will continue to buy them. 320,000 miles is a lot even for just about any model of car, you must have taken very good care of it or been very lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/45 "2010-10-18T17:11:15Z")
> [@Quintas](#): > > Are my odds of getting 300,000+ miles from a new Ford as good as they are from Honda? No. No, no no. Ford has made huge strides in _initial_ quality. That is, you won’t be taking your new Fusion back to the dealer after 8,000 miles with a cracked head, or pieces of interior trim falling off. Ford has a long, long way to go in long-term build quality. The real problem is that if Ford _is_ producing 300,000-milers, you won’t know about it for 15 years, when you realize that there are millions of 2010 Fusions (or Foci, or whatever) on the road. Just like anyone living in a reasonably populous area will see at least one 1992-1995 Accord on their evening commute today. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/46 "2010-10-18T19:33:21Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I think Fords are good vehicles, good but not great. But I’ve owned many of them over the years and will continue to buy them. > > 320,000 miles is a lot even for just about any model of car, you must have taken very good care of it or been very lucky. My Honda’s been AWESOME! No problems in 300,000 miles! Just Oil and filter and tires…and A/C…and that wheel bearing…and the clutch…and the head-gasket that one time…well, and we DID overhaul the head that one time…but it was at my friends house…and the sunroof doesn’t work…but man, I’ve NEVER had any problems with that Honda! Oh, and I did the struts, too…but they’re a consumable item, right? You see Hondas around because old ones are cheap and parts are plentiful, NOT because they’ve all had 300,000 trouble-free miles. I’m curious to see what the oil consumption and compression is for a ‘never been wrenched on’ 300,000 mile Honda. ---
**Author:** ![Celidin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Celidin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celidin)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/47 "2010-10-18T19:49:51Z")
My wife and I bought a 2008 Ford Edge for her a couple years ago after checking out Edmunds, KBB, Consumer Reports and test driving the Honda CR-V and Toyota Rav 4. It is a very nice car. We’re about 60k in and so far haven’t had a single problem other than routine maintenance. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/48 "2010-10-18T20:26:31Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > You see Hondas around because old ones are cheap and parts are plentiful, NOT because they’ve all had 300,000 trouble-free miles. Yeah, it’s totally unfair, because old Fords are expensive and you can’t find parts for them _anywhere_. Oh, wait. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/49 "2010-10-18T20:35:19Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Yeah, it’s totally unfair, because old Fords are expensive and you can’t find parts for them _anywhere_. > > Oh, wait. :dubious: And if you were predisposed, you’d see them _cough_ mustang _cough_ EVERYWHERE. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/50 "2010-10-18T20:41:43Z")
Right, but people keep Mustangs going because they think they’re desirable. I highly doubt anyone keeps picking up fan belts for an '88 Legend because they think it will be a classic one day. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/51 "2010-10-18T20:48:19Z")
_cough_ F-150 _cough_ ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/52 "2010-10-18T21:15:17Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Ford has a long, long way to go in long-term build quality. The real problem is that if Ford _is_ producing 300,000-milers, you won’t know about it for 15 years, when you realize that there are millions of 2010 Fusions (or Foci, or whatever) on the road. Just like anyone living in a reasonably populous area will see at least one 1992-1995 Accord on their evening commute today. This. Except if you’re doing it right, you’ll seen a handful of mid 90’s accords and civics ;). ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/53 "2010-10-18T21:45:37Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Ford has made huge strides in _initial_ quality. That is, you won’t be taking your new Fusion back to the dealer after 8,000 miles with a cracked head, or pieces of interior trim falling off. > > Ford has a long, long way to go in long-term build quality. The real problem is that if Ford _is_ producing 300,000-milers, you won’t know about it for 15 years, when you realize that there are millions of 2010 Fusions (or Foci, or whatever) on the road. Just like anyone living in a reasonably populous area will see at least one 1992-1995 Accord on their evening commute today. From what I’ve seen, in recent years Ford has done well on design of reliable new cars. (Some of their cars are older, dated designs still being manufactured; those are often of poorer quality.) But building them is much harder – you need to worry about every day-to-day activity on the assembly line. And even more – the assembly lines of your suppliers, which you have even less control over. So far, they’ve faced problems with certain components that turned out to troublesome, and with manufacturing defects. But those can be worked on, and only affect a few models. But like RTNATB said, it will take several years to see what their long-term reliability is. And it may be a problem – for many years, the mentality of American car makers has been to cut costs at the expense of vehicle longevity. Any extra funds went into modeling & styling, not reliability. It’s a big change to look long-term. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/54 "2010-10-18T22:14:34Z")
To which I repeat: Automotive ownership is an emotional, hard to quantify, thing…and it has NOTHING to do with statistics. Take, for example, J. D. Powers and their initial quality assessment. For current models, projected reliability, Honda shows between 2.5 stars (Honda Fit hatchback) and 3.5 stars for the Accord Coupe. Ford shows a range spanning 2 stars (Ranger Pickup) to _4_ stars (F-150, Mustang) with a 4.5 for the Flex SUV But none of that _matters_. The VAST majority of NEW car owners will tire of their vehicle in 2 to 6 years and swap out. The VAST majority of USED car owners will do the same, and by the time a car is 7-8 years old, if it survives that long, I’ll be shipped south of the border, where it’ll entertain ANOTHER 100,000 miles by a set of owners that have VASTLY fewer resources who realize an occasional Engine refresh or tranny swap is MUCH more important than a sagging headliner. The typical American consumer doesn’t even RATE where it comes to keeping a vehicle on the road. You’re concerned when a weakly designed transmission fails prematurely, twice, because it costs an American $2500 to replace. South of the Border, it’s a $200 deal and a case of beer to the ‘car guy’ everybody knows. He’s making a reasonable profit, too, as the raw materials in a transmission service are in the ballpark of $50. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/55 "2010-10-18T22:22:29Z")
Just wanted to say that the Truedelta website is completely awesome, thanks so much **ptr2void**. I haven’t been able to find such fantastic side-by-side comparisons. It’s kind of surprising, actually, between a Subary Legacy and an Audi A4…the Subaru has some features the Audi does not, like trip computer and a ski bag through the middle and dual zone climate control. Yet the Audi (in a total shocker to me) has notably better gas mileage and 50% more cargo space. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/56 "2010-10-18T23:20:19Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > The VAST majority of USED car owners will do the same, and by the time a car is 7-8 years old, if it survives that long, I’ll be shipped south of the border, where it’ll entertain ANOTHER 100,000 miles by a set of owners that have VASTLY fewer resources who realize an occasional Engine refresh or tranny swap is MUCH more important than a sagging headliner. > > … > South of the Border, it’s a $200 deal and a case of beer to the ‘car guy’ everybody knows. He’s making a reasonable profit, too, as the raw materials in a transmission service are in the ballpark of $50. I’d like to see statistics relating to where cars go. “South of the border” generally means Mexico, and it’s illegal to import cars here. Well, you _can_, but the Mexican dealers’ associations (a strong lobbying group) don’t let it happen, because it would result in a glut of cheap, used cars. Used cars here are _expensive_ as hell compared to back home. My car is “temporarily imported” and I can’t just leave it here without massive fines (and it’s tracked). The only things you can import permanently are cars that are exactly ten model years old (no fewer, no more), and only individuals may do so. Really, it’s easier to get drugs out of Mexico into the USA than it is to get used American cars here. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/57 "2010-10-18T23:28:16Z")
It may be changing, but there’s been a steady stream of used cars, towing used cars, southbound along I-25 here in Denver. The Drivers did not appear, at first glance, to be Hasidic Jews. Heck, maybe they’re headed for Texas? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/58 "2010-10-18T23:29:11Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > This. Except if you’re doing it right, you’ll seen a handful of mid 90’s accords and civics ;). not around me. It’s rare that I see e.g. an Accord older than the early 2000s, since ones older than that all tend to rust out starting behind the rear wheelwells. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/59 "2010-10-19T04:12:29Z")
Most of the old vehicles I see are Ford trucks and Jeeps. I’ll only own Fords… and Jeeps. I’ve had affairs with Yamaha stuff too… Bikes and ATV’s only though. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321/60 "2010-10-19T14:17:57Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > Most of the old vehicles I see are Ford trucks and Jeeps. I’ll only own Fords… and Jeeps. I’ve had affairs with Yamaha stuff too… Bikes and ATV’s only though. I think a lot of the real Ford longevity comes from their 302 family of engines, that’s what you will find in many of the old trucks. Those will go 300,000 miles pretty easily with proper care. I don’t think Ford is particularly known for long-lasting 4-cylinder engines. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-quality-of-ford-automobiles-these-days/557321.md?page=4)