Ford

Why r/BuyItForLife recommends Ford

41 mentions from real owners

• #1Dec 30, 2025

  Delivery Vehicle Suggestion

  This could be better served in r/whatcarshouldibuy but the problem is 99% of people are just going to say Corolla or Civic ignoring your height. I’m 6’1” (long torsoed) and I do not comfortably fit in a Corolla or Civic (even the Prius and Camrys are tight). Budget is the main question here. If you need something used, say <15k I’d look at the Ford Cmax. The early ones had transmission issues, but that was fixed with the build date of 8/2015, so anyone after that you should be golden. They have a ton of head room, good gas mileage, and are pretty bang on reliable. The only real common fault is engine mounts, which are pretty cheap to replace. If you have more budget and are looking for something newer, I’d check out the Subaru Forester hybrid.

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• #2Dec 28, 2025

  Any personal recs for a used hybrid SUV that will be long-lasting?

  But you can't flat tow the Corsair. Escape and Maverick are the only hybrids I'm aware of that can be flat towed. Or the Honda HR-V manual transmission hybrid, but those are rare.

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• #3Dec 27, 2025

  Looking for a hatchback car that’s not an SUV. We have a rav4 and looking to replace my ‘10 corolla. We have 2 large dogs.

  Mazda 3 (or CX-30) or the Subaru Crosstrek are solid options. Ford Focus, though not sure how BIFL it is.

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• #4Dec 26, 2025

  1991 Toyota Corolla with over 939,000 miles exchanged as a trade-in.

  I stopped driving my father's 1985 Ford F-150 at about 900,000 miles I was only getting 8mpg, and my broke ass couldn't afford that.. He sold it to someone else near the end of the 1990's I wonder how far it got.

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• #5Dec 26, 2025

  Any personal recs for a used hybrid SUV that will be long-lasting?

  RAV4 probably. The Escape was discontinued, last one was built last week. Bit of a shame since the hybrid Escape was far and away the best Escape. Mazda designed the engine and the eCVT was nearly identical to the Toyota design. Gas Escapes are garbage. I own a hybrid RAV4 and Escape. The Escape hybrid was nearly $10k less vs a RAV4 hybrid with similar mileage and specs. Fords are Fords, but a lot of shit needs to break before it becomes a bad decision.

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• #6Dec 7, 2025

  What brands/products do you AVOID because of their poor longevity?

  It's surreal to me that after being a lifelong Toyota guy, I canceled my Tundra order and chose to go with Ford instead. So far so good though/knock on wood.

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• #7Dec 5, 2025

  Is there anything you're convinced is "the cheaper the better"?

  God bless my 2010 Ford Ranger 6 cylinder, 5 speed stick with no air, crank windows, analog radio and heater controls that operate by feel.

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• #8Nov 8, 2025

  What’s a BIFL thing you bought and now swear by?

  My 1972 Ford pickup. I hope to make it to her 100th birthday and then to mine.

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• #9Sep 5, 2025

  What's a car that basically runs forever?

  My 2009 ford focus SEL mannual transmission has over 330,000 moms, no major repairs. Looks and sounds like crap but no issues.

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• #10Aug 13, 2025

  What's the oldest thing you still use daily that works like new?

  I guess my house because it was built in 1919. But besides that my daily driver is a 1999 Ford Ranger. I guess it doesn’t quite work “like new” but it works great.

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• #11Aug 12, 2025

  What's the oldest thing you still use daily that works like new?

  88 F150 runs great! Haven’t been daily driving for the summer (no ac). But that truck will outlast me.

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• #12Aug 7, 2025

  These were built to be rebuilt. On the Felco website you can order almost any part of any model individually or as a kit. What other products could be given the ship of theseus treatment like this?

  You can actually buy every part required to build a 1945 Jeep CJ2 from scratch. (I believe you can buy a Go Devil engine for it, as original, but they also get built with SBC crate engines a lot). About the only part you can’t buy new is the data plate required to register it. :-) It is my understanding that the Model T from Ford has similar parts availability.

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• #13Aug 2, 2025

  Anyone keep a “BIFL Roster”?

  Mostly being facetious. My neighbour tows boats and has used a sierra for eons. Truck brand affiliation is crazy but tbh it has sunk into me and don’t think I’d leave Ford barring some atrocious experience. Local dealer etc has created a lot of loyalty after being good to me for years doing things under warranty they strictly didn’t have to.

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• #14Jul 3, 2025

  Name your top 5 BIFL items

  1) 1961 Gillette adjustable safety razor 2) 1951 Singer 201 treadle sewing machine 3) 1987 Kenwood 901E kitchen stand mixer 4) 2016 Fujifilm XT2 camera 5) 1990 Miyata 1000LT touring bike These could also easily make the list: 2000 Ford Falcon, 1980s Tormek grindstone, assorted fountain pens, Starrett engineers square, other woodworking hand tools

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• #15Jun 12, 2025

  What are your “keep it for life” hacks?

  I'm in my 30s but my first vehicle was a pre-80s Ford pickup. I got into like 5 fender benders but since it was built totally modular, all it took was a front quarter panel and a new bumper to bring it back into shape. Probably saved my folks a ton of money compared to if I had any other vehicle

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• #16Jun 6, 2025

  What’s one item you bought that way outperformed its price?

  I bought a used Ford Festiva for $1,500 in 1999. Drove it for over 100,000 miles, then gave it to a friend who drove it for 3-4 more years.

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• #17Jun 5, 2025

  What’s one item you bought that way outperformed its price?

  2013 ford mustang with 5.0

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• #18May 11, 2025

  32 years and 200,000 miles later my great grandfather’s 1992 ford F-150 lives on

  I got a 92 with the original 302 and e40d 379,000 miles strong

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• #19May 10, 2025

  Brands you swear by that have Buy It For Life quality products

  Because you judge a cars reliability primarily by how much you have to do to keep it running… the biggest items - engine and transmission - are the ones MOST people think are the most important. Rams are showing great reliability from their old Hemi and the new i6 appears to be pretty solid too. Ford trucks are generally riddled with unique issues - however their V8s and more particularly their smaller V8s in the super duty - the non-diesel - are showing excellent reliability.. Chevy tends to suck overall. Their v8 diesel is no more reliable than Fords and the gas v8s have lifter issues that’s more of a when than an if problem. The 4 cylinder may be their most reliable - yet least desirable engine. The most reliable motor and transmission combos right now in truck world are from the Nissan Frontier v6, and the Ford v8 gas 6.8L specifically. Almost every other truck, including Toyota, has some well documented well known issue lurking that may or may not be a gigantic issue.

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• #20May 1, 2025

  Why do people universally recommend WeatherTech? The pebble texture they use traps dirt, how have they not fixed this glaring flaw?? Is there really no alternative that doesn’t have this problem?

  My ford came with factory versions. Originally I was going to get weathertec but the oem ones are great.

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• #21Apr 9, 2025

  Me with the Golden Taco the day I bought it vs 4 years later... Still ticking with 530,000 miles!

  If you are amazed by small TRUCKS, imagine the possibilities of small CARS like a Fiat Panda, Renault Clio, VW Polo, Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 108, Fiat 500, Ford Focus, Chevrolet Spark, Mitsubishi Space Star, Hyundai i10, r/fitinafit It is proven (sorry, no sauce, look it up yourself) that trucks have less usable space than smaller cars.

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• #22Apr 8, 2025

  Me with the Golden Taco the day I bought it vs 4 years later... Still ticking with 530,000 miles!

  Basically the ford maverick is your only option. Ford Ranger is about what the f150 used to be

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• #23Apr 8, 2025

  Me with the Golden Taco the day I bought it vs 4 years later... Still ticking with 530,000 miles!

  Love trucks that size. I plan on keeping my 1999 Ford Ranger until it literally falls apart.

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• #24Apr 8, 2025

  Me with the Golden Taco the day I bought it vs 4 years later... Still ticking with 530,000 miles!

  I think the smallest I've seen lately is the Ford Maverick. It's not exactly "Small" but wouldn't say it's "big" either. About the size of a modest crossover. And pretty fuel efficient for a pickup, especially if you have the hybrid.

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• #25Apr 8, 2025

  Me with the Golden Taco the day I bought it vs 4 years later... Still ticking with 530,000 miles!

  My favorite vehicle I ever owned was my first one, a hand-me-down from my grandpa. A 1988 Ford Ranger. "Fully loaded" for the time, it had an extended cab with the inward, sideways facing jump seats in the back, 2.9L V6 TBI, 5 speed manual, 4x4 with manual transfer case and locking front hubs (that you had to get out and lock the hubs in place on each wheel). One of these days when I have the space for another vehicle I'm gonna track down one just like it and restore (crazy to think that's a classic these days)

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• #26Apr 8, 2025

  Me with the Golden Taco the day I bought it vs 4 years later... Still ticking with 530,000 miles!

  I got a 2003 Ford Ranger Edge with 140,000 on it you can have for $3,000. Pretty good shape over all and runs well.

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• #27Apr 7, 2025

  Me with the Golden Taco the day I bought it vs 4 years later... Still ticking with 530,000 miles!

  Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz.

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• #28Apr 7, 2025

  Me with the Golden Taco the day I bought it vs 4 years later... Still ticking with 530,000 miles!

  >517,000. It's close to 530,000 now I had the exact same truck as yours, even the year and I bought mine with 15,000 miles on it. At 175,000 miles the rear axle bearings went out. They got repaired and 15,000 later they went bad again. I took it to a new shop and they said to buy a used axle because it's probably a problem with my axle. New axle got installed and the bearing went out again 8,000 miles later. Got the bearing fixed again and no more axle bearing problems. I kept dumping money into the truck because everyone said it will easily last 400,000+ miles. At 215,000 miles a head gasket blew and the truck was done for. It pisses me off just thinking about it. I changed to Ford trucks and have a f150 with 290,000 miles and all I've had to do was replace a water pump and a fuel pump.

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• #29Apr 7, 2025

  Me with the Golden Taco the day I bought it vs 4 years later... Still ticking with 530,000 miles!

  Chevy Volt is a rare gem from GM. MK4 VWs with the 1.9TDI will outlive the earth, especially with the stick Mazda 3s seem to go for a long long time. Skip this one if cars rust in your area though. Hybrid Ford Fusions

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• #30Apr 7, 2025

  Me with the Golden Taco the day I bought it vs 4 years later... Still ticking with 530,000 miles!

  Nissan frontier, Ford ranger? They are a little bigger than you are asking for, but are genuinely smaller than you think.

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• #31Apr 7, 2025

  Me with the Golden Taco the day I bought it vs 4 years later... Still ticking with 530,000 miles!

  Take a look at the Ford Maverick. They're 4-door, but have a shorter bed and are available as a hybrid.

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• #32Mar 11, 2025

  What is the longest lasting item you've bought?

  I have a dining table from the 1880s, and a buffet from about the same period. Both have had daily use since their manufacture. I have a 1936 Ford pickup. I still wear the pair of boots my grandmother got me as a high-school graduation present, though they’ve been re-soled more than a dozen times. My daughters wore a buckskin jacket my great grandmother made for my grandfather in 1920, and my father and I wore it as well, when we were small. It’s put away for potential eventual grandkids now.

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• #33Mar 11, 2025

  What's the most expensive item you've bought with the intention of keeping it for life?

  1995 Ford Bronco

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• #34Mar 11, 2025

  How much is too much for a used Toyota Tundra?

  Try the Ford options. Seriously, the 2.3 in the ranger is a turbo option. Sounds terrible, turbos are projet to failure. Incorrect - ALL diesels have a turbo and they're noted for reliability long term. The ranger with the 2.3 is a solid option. The f150 V6 options are all spectacular right now - the 3.3 which they just took away (NA no turbos), was pretty much the best engine made in the past decade. The 3.5TT is a lot of fun to drive, suits the truck, and after the first couple years of growing pains, is one of the most reliable engines. The 2.7 used those lessons learned and fits that sweet spot of the perfect engine for a do all truck that size. It won't tow the Taj Mahal, but It's perfect for what it needs to do. But if you want the big V8, the 5.0 coyote is a great engine too! I own a frontier, if that helps take the wind out of the "must be a Ford guy" sails. Beans loyalty is dumb - ford also made the 5.4 click master Triton V8, and the DCT. But just as brand loyalty is dumb to ford, it's dumb to Toyota. The Toyota tax is maybe justified on the Tacoma, but today on the tundra? Not a chance. I'd be in a modern ford over a tundra any day of the week.

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• #35Feb 7, 2025

  In an age of things designed to be replaced, what currently-produced 1) trucks, and 2) cars come closest to BIFL?

  You want something with a highly replaceable drivetrain. Any vehicle with a Ford 4.9 inline 6 will do. I will reasonably argue it to the death as well.

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• #36Feb 6, 2025

  In an age of things designed to be replaced, what currently-produced 1) trucks, and 2) cars come closest to BIFL?

  2nd gen ford ranger

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• #37Feb 6, 2025

  In an age of things designed to be replaced, what currently-produced 1) trucks, and 2) cars come closest to BIFL?

  Probably these 'New' classic Ford F-250 pickup revealed at an astonishing price | Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/auto/classic-ford-f-250-pickups

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• #38Feb 6, 2025

  In an age of things designed to be replaced, what currently-produced 1) trucks, and 2) cars come closest to BIFL?

  Ford rangers

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• #39Jan 6, 2025

  Has everything we buy reduced in quality over time? Has anything increased in quality or stayed high quality and durable?

  I have a 2002 Ford Diesel and zero worries about it breaking down.

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• #40Jan 5, 2025

  Large SUV BIFL Request

  Ford excursion with the 7.3 and I fucking hate fords.

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• #41Dec 3, 2015

  [Bifl request] A car, suv, or truck

  Honda cars, toyota trucks, ford trucks, no recent enough suv I can think of.

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