After reading about the problematic transmission(s), I ought to point out that my F150 is manual. While I think it's silly to have the clutch slave cylinder inside the bell housing, making a $70 bolt-on part a >$300 labor cost extravaganza, I still prefer manual to auto. The old adage applies: less complicated systems break down less often.
There is plenty of info out there 0n vehicle maintenance and reliability.
Yep. And Ford certainly has had its share of poor design features, bad parts/systems and outright lemons. Caveat emptor, in this as in all other purchases.
That said, I ain't no spring chicken, I've never bought a showroom-new car or truck, and the youngest used vehicle I've ever purchased* is this one, which was 3 when I bought it. I've been through lots of vehicles from my 1966 Pontiac Catalina, my '68 Fury, my '72 Gran Torino, my 80-something S-10, my '73 RD-350 (whee!), through my '76 Datsun PU, my Buick wagon, my Nova, my E150, my VW Fastback, etc., etc., to today's beat-up work truck. I've also helped many a friend & relation push, tweak, and repair his or her chariot of varied mfg.
The #1 criterion for me (YMMV), over performance, style, or comfort, is
reliability. I
need my wheels to get me to work. That's why I keep coming back to Fords. In my experience (again: YMMV), they have been the most reliable vehicles, even in the face of (ahem) "stretched" maintainance schedules, ham-fisted DIY repairs, Rueben Goldbergian accessorization, and hard- and long use. Warning lights! CrackleView(tm) windows! Disintigrating plastic parts! Leaks! Rust! Shorts! Dents! Fades! Yep. My Fords age like Keith Richards.
But- stick the key in, turn it, they start, and I'm on my way to work. Sometimes with a bag over my head, but on the way to work nonetheless.
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*This is not saying I stole younger ones!