Black GT

Maybe years ago reliability was further apart, but more recently reliability is much more equal. I sold my '94 F-150 three years ago and it had 186,000 miles on it with no major engine or tranny work. The guy I sold it too is still driving it and has over 200,000 on it now. Yes, its a Ford.

22kart22

how often do you guys change oil. my dad works for exxonmobil, and the standard is 3K but its proven the extended and all synthetics dont chemically break down.

soooo , what do you guys do?

elburrito99

+1!!!!!
Over the past 17 years, I’ve owned four Fords that have all run well over 100k miles without problems, including my ’89 LX 5.0, which I owned for 17 years and put 100k+ miles on before selling to a fellow member of mustangforums.com a few months ago. My wife’s 2000 Durango 4x4, which we bought new, also just hit 90k miles with just one repair to date.

Here are my 7 recommendations for keeping your car for 15+ years:

1) Garage your car.
Less sun, bird crap, rain, and dings, means your paint lasts longer.

2) Wash and wax your car.
Wash it after it is in rain, snow, or mud and keep a healthy coat of wax on it (that could mean every 3 months or once a year, depending on how much weather it is exposed to and how often you wash it). Again, the less crap on your paint, the longer it will last.

3) Change your oil.
Change oil very 3-4k miles or every 6 months, whichever comes first, preferably with full synthetic oil.

4) Follow Ford’s maintenance schedule.
This includes changing fluids.

5) Don’t ignore/put off repairs.
Neglected repairs or deferred maintenance causes other problems down the road. For instance, if your radiator goes and your engine overheats, then your seals can go and then you’re forever dealing with stopping leaks. Bad brakes, shocks, and tires also put more stress on other parts of your car.

6) Drive the car regularly.
Even 10 miles a week will keep it going longer than letting your car sit for weeks unused. If it regularly sits for weeks without being driven, hoses dry out, fluids break down, etc.

7) Avoid hard driving.
The less short trips and stop-and-go traffic, the longer your mechanicals will last. That’s why it’s good to have a beater car for those short trips around town to the market/gym/school/etc.

You don't have to drive a boring car to have a realiable car. I know from experience.

HaneyMotorsport.Com

All you need to is not beat the **** out of it, keep it in tune, always zaino'd and you will be fine . My white fox (89' 5.0) hit 18this year....still going strong.Had allot of street racing back in the late 80'- early 90's.Car ran M&H steet slicks on it for about 2 years straightBoy were those the days.....

Casey

22kart22

lol. just thinkin.... my dad has a 97' expedition which we use to pull a freakin heavy racing trailer.. has 184,000 miles on it.

no service except for a dashboard light.

kept outdoors

no rust

runs great

daily driver

go figure?

elburrito99

Well, that's 10 years. Twenty is about twice as long. Which means stuff like weatherstripping, plastic parts, and anything made of rubber will have twice as much time crumble, paint has more time to oxidize, steel has more time to rust, and seals have more time to die.

184k miles without a repair is great. Another example of how Fords can really hold up, and why driving a car/truck is better than not driving one.

Silencer06

Don't want to risk jackingthis thread, but I'll add thatI definitely agree. I believe Toyota's quality is superior to Ford's, but Ford definitely puts out a good product and that's why I said I won't own any other American vehicle. I've only owned two Fords in my 25 years of driving (one lasted me 11 years), but I have plenty of experience with them throughout life as my entire family (mom, grandfather, uncle, in-laws, etc.) have owned Fords (or Mercuries) since as long as I can remember. It's either coincidental that none of them had any majorproblems to complain about, or they have always been "lucky", or quite simply, Ford just puts out better quality thanGM orChrysler. I've had my experience owning one GM product (a '76 Firebird),and my mom and dad eachowned a couple of Buicks and Chevies, butthese days, noneof us will ever own GM again because our experiences with them were mostlynegative--constantbreakdowns andnit-noid repairs! MyFirebird only had 76,000 miles on it after 8 years of driving it (and taking care of it!), butit seemed my head was under the hood more than it was behind the wheel before I finally gave up on trying (oh, and they're also a pain in the *** to do routine maintenance on; for example, I had to remove the A/C compressor just to change the damn spark plugs on my Firebird!). Now that's not to say ALL GMs are pieces of crap--I know others swear by 'em so GM must do something right--but myown personal experience is enough to convince me not to take the chance anymore. Nope, as long as the quality and workmanship of Toyota and Ford continue to serve me well, I will continue togivemy loyalty only to both of them.

And by the way, regarding the REAL subject of this thread, I agree with others that the most sound advice is the simplest-- just change the oil on schedule, treatthe body and interior with respect, do all the required maintenance, etc. Just take care of the car and it will take care of you! And do yourself a favor -- DRIVE IT TOO!

Jays Mustang

I agree with most, just enjoy the car. Keep up with 3000 mile oil changes and don't beat the crap out of it. I'm looking for 10 year plan. I figure I'll have a little over 100,000 miles on it at that point and there should be a nice looking new Mustang on a dealers lot smiling at me then. I'm a driver like many said, I had a couple hundred miles on the first day and little over 5000 now, 6 months later. I never liked the trailer queen idea a lot of show people have. Although I do enter into shows I enjoy driving there more than standing at the show. Every show car I had I put a lot of miles on. I not going to sit back in old age saying "boy I had alot of nice cars but hardly drove them". But to each their own.

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MalibuJerry350

CRAP! Drive it!! I've owned my 70 Chevelle since new and drove it everyday for 36 years and over 670,000 miles! These cars were meant to have fun with. You could get sick tomorrow, or worse, and not be able to ever drive it again. It is, after all (in the words of an old friend) "a friggin' car!" Enjoy it! If you want a model, buy a Revell.