Dodge Pickup!

I was at a Farm Equipment Dealer today. Saw a hood up on a Dodge 2500? Cummings Dsl.
4500 miles, & 2 months old; The owner said it wouldnt go forward, only backward! These
Manufactures just dont care anymore about customers. I work for a company that feels
like if its got there name on it people should buy it even though it sold for gold
prices when its actually made with rejected steel from other factories... GAS FURNACES!!!
Not joking either.

My SIL had the transmission on his Ford F 150 start acting up, back in June of this year, still under warranty. He was advised that they couldn't get it in because they didn't have a tech that could check it, at that time. They finally called him in Sept. and said they had a cancellation, and could fit it in. Took his truck over, saw that it went into the shop a week later, then saw it outside in the holding area.
He heard nothing, so he called, and they said; Oh! we didn't know you wanted us to fix it, ok we will get on it. Called him a week later and said, It will be possibly March before we can get the part. I told my daughter that they need to contact Ford's customer service division.

I have a neice that had motorhome with a Ford chassis .The transmission quit working. The wrecker was going to tow it home but dropped it at a Ford dealer. The dealer said get that dam thing off my lot.

Things break so I really don't have a problem with that.

What gets me is when your vehicle breaks down that note keeps coming every month.
A few weeks without your vehicle is one thing but when you say you can not fix what I bought from you for 6 months we got a problem.
Then couple on top of that most buy the most show off vehicle they can afford so there is no money to rent a car so you can get to work to pay that note that keeps coming every month.

I still love my (second) F350 DRW. The only real issue I had with it (not expected from hard use) was the torque converter failed at around 30k. The dealer got it taken care of in a few days and now over 130k it's still doing fine.

The only other real repairs were brake pads and a couple front hubs from the nasty clay/sand mud until I got my 1/2 mile driveway built up. Those were all easy enough ~1hr jobs to replace myself, neither unexpected given the conditions, nor a big deal.

its like we've gone back to the 1970's when alot of stuff was just Junk.

I remember my grandfather asking me about the car we were driving and how many miles were on it. i think i told him about 85,000ish. his reaction was that with that many miles you'd better head straight to the dealer and hope it gets you there. That was because he was used to changing cars every 2-4 years regardless of mileage as they didn't last in the 1960-70's

but on the other hand new cars, ESPECIALLY the transmissions, have gotten so complicated it not funny. one little thing, even one connector pin being slight off can goof up the whole world.

even the cooling fan motors on modern cars have their own mini-computer in them

(quoted from post at 09:54:46 12/08/22) That was because he was used to changing cars every 2-4 years regardless of mileage as they didn't last in the 1960-70's

Click to expand...

That's funny: my '69 Chevy pickup is still on the road. has it needed work? Sure. Every mechanical apparatus does, regardless of year or manufacturer. The question is, is the owner so obsessed with New that he/she fails to invest in maintenance and repairs. If you expect a car to continue forever without those investments, you will be sorely disappointed no matter when t was made.

We ARE conversing on an antique tractor list, after all. My tractors are from the '40s/early '50s and still going strong with necessary repairs.

(quoted from post at 07:14:26 12/08/22)

(quoted from post at 09:54:46 12/08/22) That was because he was used to changing cars every 2-4 years regardless of mileage as they didn't last in the 1960-70's

Click to expand...

That's funny: my '69 Chevy pickup is still on the road. has it needed work? Sure. Every mechanical apparatus does, regardless of year or manufacturer. The question is, is the owner so obsessed with New that he/she fails to invest in maintenance and repairs. If you expect a car to continue forever without those investments, you will be sorely disappointed no matter when t was made.

We ARE conversing on an antique tractor list, after all. My tractors are from the '40s/early '50s and still going strong with necessary repairs.

Click to expand...

Around here cars from the 60's and 70's were completely rotten from rust in 3-4 years. Sure you could replace body panels, but those were rusting through in 2 years so you were replacing them again. Then there was the exhaust falling off every 18 months, the frame rusting away, every bolt and nut rusted and immoveable... There was no end to it, and they only used a FRACTION of the salt on the roads that they do today.

(quoted from post at 10:43:57 12/08/22)

(quoted from post at 07:14:26 12/08/22)

(quoted from post at 09:54:46 12/08/22) That was because he was used to changing cars every 2-4 years regardless of mileage as they didn't last in the 1960-70's

Click to expand...

That's funny: my '69 Chevy pickup is still on the road. has it needed work? Sure. Every mechanical apparatus does, regardless of year or manufacturer. The question is, is the owner so obsessed with New that he/she fails to invest in maintenance and repairs. If you expect a car to continue forever without those investments, you will be sorely disappointed no matter when t was made.

We ARE conversing on an antique tractor list, after all. My tractors are from the '40s/early '50s and still going strong with necessary repairs.

Click to expand...

Around here cars from the 60's and 70's were completely rotten from rust in 3-4 years. Sure you could replace body panels, but those were rusting through in 2 years so you were replacing them again. Then there was the exhaust falling off every 18 months, the frame rusting away, every bolt and nut rusted and immoveable... There was no end to it, and they only used a FRACTION of the salt on the roads that they do today.

Click to expand...

eldom any salt here & my 1962 PU is so simple/basic, that it still runs just fine. 3 on the tree, no PS, radio, A/C or anything in the way of extras. Not much to go wrong.

(quoted from post at 20:46:07 12/07/22) Things break so I really don't have a problem with that.

What gets me is when your vehicle breaks down that note keeps coming every month.
A few weeks without your vehicle is one thing but when you say you can not fix what I bought from you for 6 months we got a problem.
Then couple on top of that most buy the most show off vehicle they can afford so there is no money to rent a car so you can get to work to pay that note that keeps coming every month.

Click to expand...

Help me to understand what the note has to do with a breakdown? The lender has to pay his vig to the lender above him every month. Not the lender's fault the vehicle is down and no reason whatsoever the lender should not collect his vig from the borrower.

Kind of like folks expecting the rest of us to pay of their student loans. I got two Bachelor degrees with a Visa card and paid all of it off without any help - others can do the same.

If the truck owner cannot afford repairs he/she has no business owning the vehicle.

> Kind of like folks expecting the rest of us to pay of their student > loans. I got two Bachelor degrees with a Visa card and paid all > of it off without any help - others can do the same.

My view on this is a bit different:

- The .gov and their student loan programs have terms that are illegal for normal lenders. This needs to be fixed.

- The many schools that are essentially scamming children into borrowing absurd amounts to buy what are essentially hobby degrees need to be prosecuted.

- The schools that are giving actual useable degrees are still overstating their value and overcharging by a huge margin, again something that needs to be fixed.

So yes, I do agree that all student loan debt should be canceled for those who have been scammed or misled to this point.

Going forward pretty much everything about "higher education" needs to be fixed, costs reigned in and loans not available for "hobby" degrees.

We also need real career guidance in schools and a lot more investment in non-loan grants to enable those less fortunate to get higher education and build this country back up from the last few generations of ignorance.

We ARE conversing on an antique tractor list, after all.

I don't have issues taking about things other than tractors on
Tractor Talk.

But some who think they own controlling shares of YT talk
sometimes witches a fit.

Good point, with the right parts anything with an engine can
still be on the road.
Unless they pass a law saying your old truck must meet today's
smog standards and mpg.

(quoted from post at 17:07:06 12/08/22) We ARE conversing on an antique tractor list, after all.

I don't have issues taking about things other than tractors on
Tractor Talk.

But some who think they own controlling shares of YT talk
sometimes witches a fit.

Good point, with the right parts anything with an engine can
still be on the road.
Unless they pass a law saying your old truck must meet today's
smog standards and mpg.

Click to expand...

George, I was not complaining about the truck discussion but rather the idea that older machines are by necessity inferior.

wp6529,

I couldn't agree more. I have worked in higher ed all my life. I teach, and I am admin.

The problems are manifold, starting with a focus on political indoctrination, which results in a great deal of excess staffing as well as degrees that don't rise to the dignity of hobbies.

Don't get me wrong: my degrees are in English--writing, history of the language, and Medieval Lit. I still discourage most of my students from getting English degrees. Most will never make use of them academically, but there is a massive need for folks who can think and communicate. Unfortunately, English studies don't much emphasize those skills anymore, and mastering the Personal Pronoun system has taken on ugly additional baggage.

Tuition will rise to whatever the gov't will pay for. There is no doubt that everything costs more, but our main costs are personnel, just as with most professions. The money is not going to staff who deal with and support students. It is going to Directors of This Office and VPs of that Area. We struggle to take care of student needs in our office but are constantly bombarded by trainings in the newest software toy the traveling salesman convinced some Director or VP to buy or training in the latest social engineering fads. And much of it is gov't mandated, so don't shy away from blaming the political oversight, too. It's not just college sucking at the public teat. It's Momma gov't forcing the feeding down our throats.

There is a myth widely believed that a college degree is necessary for a successful and/or fulfilling life. Piffle. Some of the jobs--nobody has a career anymore--that college education are just as or even more stifling than assembly line work. And the HVAC guys I know make a lot more than I do and even more than some of the top dogs do.

I could say that our culture's priorities are out of whack when we contrast educators' resources vs. athletes', but we honor what we value. Not all college educators make what the full Professors in Endowed Chairs at the Ivy League places do. In fact, few do. And much of the actual teaching is the job of graduate assistants and adjuncts who make a pittance while the celebrated profs do research, write books, and give public lectures. And don't get me started on student athletics and the corrosive effect they have on integrity and actual learning!

The system is assuredly broken, but the problems are larger than just the schools: the problem is that we get the education system we support. Gov't, the accrediting agencies, and alumni all share the blame.

My peeve is media/movies. Seems most folks flunked 3rd grade English. Spelling and sentence structure....ending sentences with
prepositions among other things......obsessed with I've got rather than I have.....and it's not new. You can watch old movies and
they talk the same talk.

(quoted from post at 09:54:46 12/08/22) its like we've gone back to the 1970's when alot of stuff was just Junk.

I remember my grandfather asking me about the car we were driving and how many miles were on it. i think i told him about 85,000ish. his reaction was that with that many miles you'd better head straight to the dealer and hope it gets you there. That was because he was used to changing cars every 2-4 years regardless of mileage as they didn't last in the 1960-70's

Click to expand...

y 1962 Chevy C10 runs today and has only had, oil/filters, brake components, light bulbs, tires, fuel pump, batteries, hoses, one re-paint. It still takes me anywhere I want to go.