Buyer's remorse? No more...

I bought a Tundra because it has less features. I don't need a truck with a bunch of bells and whistles that will eventually fail. Fleet vehicles at work are F-150's and they are constant in the shop for issues with cam phasers, transmission problems , overheating, etc. You won't regret having a 4WD. I won't buy a truck without one.

 

I really like Ford body design, but I want Tundra reliability more and the security of knowing my $4x,xxx investment is not going to be completely lost with rotting cab corners and rear wheel wells in 8-10 years. I hear the Tundra has a galvanized body -- I am hoping that is true.

 

Glad you switched to 4x4. That definitely guarantees your resale value will be good. And I would stick to blaaccckkk for the color. Some people are so FAST to pick on the fastest color. I may be partial to black to be fair. As far as comparing to a Ford F-150, I say it’s no competition. I prefer a F250 if I would go with Ford.

 

You should be fine. I keep trucking along in my daily driver 1997 T100 4X4 with 265,000 miles. She's doing great!

 

Unless you service and maintain ford's or own one then you will know if your a true fanatic or say wtf drive this thing off a cliff

 

I'm on my second Tundra now, two Tacomas before that. Parents used to always have F150s and my brother does currently. All of their Fords in the last 25 years have had some significant issues at some point. Not saying your Tundra can never have a problem, but I think the trend is strong that it'll be much more reliable.

As far as tech... I never really understood what they had that was such a big deal. My Tundra frankly has more tech in it now than I'd even care to have. Seats? They're very comfortable to me, but maybe I'm easy to please. Fuel efficiency? Yeah, it's not great. But one out of warranty repair on the more complicated and maintenance-intensive trucks can quickly wipe out years of fuel savings.

Glad to see you're switching to 4x4 though. As soon as I saw that in the OP, I was thinking I hope he lives in the south. But Iowa? No way I'd want a 2WD truck. That said, a 2WD truck can be more capable than replies in this thread made it out to be. I think many tend to go to 4WD a little too often. But as long as I live somewhere with snow, I'll never own a 2WD truck.

 

Of course 2wd can be capable in the hands of a capable driver but it will not be as capable as 4wd in the hands of the same driver.

I used to get around in the 70s in my 2 door Cutlass no matter how bad the weather but that does not mean I would not have dom=ne even better if I had 4wd.

I cant remember all of the times when camping I have tried moving from a site with a trailer and I had to engage 4wd to get off of the wet grass.

Better to have it and not need it for sure.

 

Well done sir!

 

Yeah, I don't deny any of that. If you notice at the bottom of my post I said I would never own a 2WD truck as long as I live where there's snow. Really even if I ever moved down south I don't think I'd want a 4x2. But to say a 2WD truck won't move at all if there's snow, I just don't want the OP to be under the impression he's going to need to be in 4WD all the time to get anywhere if there's a little white stuff.

 

Will my new Tundra come with a catalytic converter lock/shield from the factory?

 

No. If you’re worried about that you will have to add one.

 

So does the Tundra have a galvanized body?

 

I had three new f150s and three new tundras.

Hands down tundra is better in every way. All my ford's had issues. Cam phasers, spark plug breaking, leaky roof, never ending door latch malfunctions etc.

Even my mileage in tundra is decent in city. 17.5 mpg in city. All my f150 were 5.0 engine. They were averaging around 15 mpg. But I have to drive slow and steady.

The only thing I hate about my tundra is garbage pay load and cheap plastic from Inside that marks easy. I can live with that.

Lack of 2wd would drive me up wall because we have lots of snow where I am.

 

Salesman told me they come with "cat locks" now. I'll double-check with him.

 

What can be done to increase payload? Add a leaf to the springs?

 

Nothing to be honest. You can load the shit out of it and it will work. But it's a lot of stress on the truck.

Only airbags can work. But that's only for ride quality and should not be a fix in my humble opinion.

 

Remove tail gate spare tire back seats doors etc....

 

If the bells and whistles of the F150 draw you in, then maybe you made the wrong choice. Toyota is very slow moving in that way, however the trade-off is they don't change what works reliably.

We all hear about Fords breaking down and they have a bad rep, but to be totally fair we don't hear a lot about things when they work. You aren't going to tell your neighbor that your news paper arrives every day, but the day it is missing you might tell them that. Ford might not be as bad as we say. However, I know a few people with newer Fords who have had bad experiences.

Tundras, and trying not to be biased, don't deliver the bells and whistles. They always seem to be "outdated" in many ways. They don't break down often though. I have had a 2003 Tundra since 2008 and it has never left me stranded, never had any parts fail, has been abused, always parked outside and is at 240k miles. Runs like new.

Toyota in general makes solid vehicles. They aren't the best at anything, but they're damn good at being reliable vehicles.

 

Ford vehicles in my family’s experience my parents had 5 over the years, my in laws have had 2, extended family many more, and those of my friends are that they’re either great, or they’re horrible. There is no middle ground, nor rime or reason.

One will be trouble free, the other the same exact model a total turd.

 

I had a dealer in Texas tell me that all tundras they sell will have to have a cat lock/shield installed and that it would add $2000 to the price. He also said I had to buy tint from them for $1500 as well. Needless to say, I found a different dealer to buy from

 

I have owned 3 Ford trucks before my Tundra. My 07 F150 with the 4.6 Triton was a great truck. Ran it to 150K and only had to do a wheel bearing and the AC failed. Second was an Expedition with the 5.4, that motor was terrible! Blew COPS constantly and engine died from the cam phaser issue at 155K. 3rd was a 2012 F150 Platinum I bought used with 50K in it. I loved that truck but had MANY things break on that truck, one thing after another, always in the shop. Last straw was the tranny started clunking bad and I got rid of it with around 120K on it. Surprisingly enough I never had an issue with the 3.5 eco boost other than it idled like crap. I’m in a 2019 Tundra Crewmax now with 47K on it. Nothing has broke, no shop repairs, I tow a camper often, been cross country a few times now and have full confidence this truck won’t leave me stranded. These Tundras are very well built.

 

Just bought my first Tundra. Limited 4x4 crewmax. I traded a 2019 f150 lariat 3.5 eco boost. There is no comparison. The Tundra is the better truck.

 

Good call, my black Tundra shows every little spec of dirt and scratches. Great call on going for 4x4!!

 

Glad you're getting the 4x4. These are truly trouble free trucks. Mine has 225k on it. Only things I had to replace was a slightly weeping water pump at 175k, and I went ahead and replaced the belt, tensioner, and thermostat while I was already there for preventive maintenance. Only took a couple hours, taking my time and drinking beer. Replaced with oem parts for a couple hundred bucks. I beat the shit out of my truck and have yet to break it.

 

I had a 2016 f150 a 2018 taco and a 2003 taco as my last three trucks before my current Tundra and in that order. If the 2003 was bigger it would be my favorite. This tundra is an easy second, but I too wasn't sure I could buy such an "old" new truck. I am glad I did! I love this truck and it just feels right. It has a little tech, but not enough to bother me or try to take over for me.

I remember when I was a kid and my dad got a truck with manual hubs for 4wd and roll down windows. He had to search all of new england for a new truck like that and ended up in nowhere maine to get it. I asked him why, and he said he was buying a truck, and he wanted a truck. That always stuck with me. This truck is about as close to that as you can get these days new with a warranty. It also drives incredibly smooth without taking it too far into car land.

 

Amen.

 

Is the Tundra a “better” vehicle than a F150 (at similar price point) - overall - I say yes. I mean anyone can compare a XL trim to a Platinum and say the Tundra is nicer…and vice versa. But Ford overall while having some nice features to me is more SUV than truck.

Reliability - overall the Tundra is better. Again - you can get a good Ford or a bad Tundra…but chances of either are slim.

Should you have waited for a 2022 and the redesign - magic 8 ball says ask again in March 2022. No one knows - it could be a game changer or could be a bust. Again, neither is likely - probably somewhere in between - an updated reliable truck.

The good news - a 2021 will still be in demand and can be traded towards either a 2022 or a Ford easily and at little to no loss likely. Only downside is 2wd - I understand not wanting to pay a premium for something you may never use…but come resale time it REALLY matters. Buyers just prefer 4wd - just like long beds are kinda an oddity - 2wd buyers are as well. You may get lucky and have a buyer the same day - or you might wait a week or a month.

Overall my advice - ride the horse you selected and don’t watch the other riders. Short term there will be ups and downs…if you realize your on the wrong horse - change trucks…but realize frequent swapping is going to make you miss the positives of the 2021 - reliability, a solid V8 and plenty of customization choices.

What customization does a F150 offer other than the ability to make it look like a Raptor ? Seriously - I never see anyone dress them any other way it feels - it is either a Raptor or a wanna be Raptor around here. Personally I’d take a 1794 over the King Ranch for example.

 

Whoever talked him into that

 

I was thinking about the resale value and I have to throw the red BS flag.

Yes a 4WD is more expensive than a 2WD.

However, let us assume one pays $2500 more for a 4WD. Instead of buying that 4WD, take the $2500 and put it in a S&P500 mutual fund. Over 10 years at the historic 9% return, that $2500 will grow to about $5900. And then there is higher insurance, higher fuel cost, and likely more maintenance expense over the years that add up. I highly doubt the extra resale of a 4WD will cover all that. So if the only reason for buying a 4WD is resale, think again.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzBdPr9Cbh8

Says it all.