The rebates and discounts were just too much to take any more.
My '93 Explorer Sport has given me excellent service and still drives like new, but I just WANTED a new vehicle and now's the time to buy. Since I'm going to keep my Explorer (I love it and it's worth way more to me than I could get for it as a used truck), I decided to get a pickup.
An $1800 discount and $3000 rebate bringing the purchase price from $21,340 to $16540 (plus ttl) on a brand new, solid mirror-black Ranger was just too much to resist. I bought it.
After driving the new Ranger for three weeks, I like the Ranger a lot.
BUT, dadgummit, this new Ranger rattles and squeaks something awful. One of the rattles sounds like hanging a sheet of aluminum foil into the airstream. Xounds like it's under the dash. Other squeaks sound like chassis bushings or shock bushings. These happen when the truck leans into a corner or when going over a parking lot entrance curb. I crawled under the truck and did a poke and pull test on everything I could think of. Nothing's loose. It looks like they put white grease on all bushing mounts. I don't know if the grease is causing the squeaks or if the squeaks are in spite of the grease.
And, the funny thing is that I didn't notice any squeaks or rattles on the test drive and I drove slow and fast, on sideroads and on interstate.
I'm going to call the service advisor tomorrow and see if they'll look at the rattles and squeaks under warranty, but even if they do, I sure am disappointed.
Maybe Ford quality has gone downhill since my '93 Explorer. You know, sometimes, little things factor into customer satisfaction, just like the big things like reliable motors and transmission. Sure, the engine pulls good, the truck gets half-way decent gas mileage, and the truck looks good, but I'm fixated on the squeaks and rattles. So if anybody asks me about the truck, instead of being a prideful owner, all I can think about is how much it squeaks and rattles compared to my 10 year old Explorer, and not the good things about the truck. So, I'm not a very good word-of-mouth customer.
My '93 Explorer doesn't squeak or rattle after 189,000 miles and still drives like new, but now I'm wondering whether my Ranger will last that long.
p.s. This is NOT a provocation for Herbie. I've got Herbie kill-filed, so I won't feed the bitter little troll or even hear the troll. I just wanted to talk about my new truck since it's my first new vehicle in 11 years. I love Fords, but...I have to wonder about their commitment to quality.