Choosing The Right New Vehicle

When shopping for a new vehicle, it is important to identify which features are most important to you.  It might be ride and handling, engine performance (or sound), storage space or vehicle brand.  For me, I like a vehicle with unique styling, good driving dynamics and expressive color.  More importantly, it must be structurally tight with no unusual body noises. 

In late October, I got the urge to buy a new vehicle.  At the time, I owned a 2022 Subaru Outback that was approaching its third birthday.  The Outback was a very capable vehicle and served me well during that time.  It was plagued, however, with a rattle in the instrument panel.  It was not a severe rattle, but one that appeared mostly when driving the streets of my subdivision. I am forgiving of a lot of things, but squeaks and rattles drive me nuts.

I became obsessed with chasing the rattles and had the instrument panel apart many times (see picture above).  Over the three years of ownership, I eliminated 94% of the dash rattles.  At one time I jokingly told my wife we may need to move to a new neighborhood with different roads (she wasn’t interested).  It was time for a new vehicle.

Know What Is Important

It is easy to get lost in the sea of vehicle choices, unless you stay focused on your needs and wants. For my next vehicle, I wanted something with more utility than the Subaru.  I do a lot of household projects that require frequent trips to the home improvement stores.  I didn’t need the capabilities of a full sized pickup, just something with an open bed.  I was intrigued with the Ford Maverick when it launched in 2021, so I started shopping for one.

Yes, this GM Retiree was considering a Ford product.  My family and friends were in shock.

The Maverick possessed the qualities I wanted in my next vehicle: open bed utility, small footprint (easily garaged), unique styling and color.  It was also available with a hybrid powertrain, offering great fuel economy.  This was going to be easy!

Test Drive Is Critical

In late October, I visited my local Ford dealer.  He had several 2024 Mavericks equipped as I wanted.  I took one for a test drive.  I was impressed with the ride and handling, as well as the performance from the hybrid.  Unfortunately, I noticed a bumping noise at the base of the instrument panel.  Damn.  Not this again.

I’m pretty good at fixing rattles, but I wasn’t going to buy a new vehicle with an existing one, so I grabbed another Maverick to drive.  Same thing.  That was a bad sign, so I left the dealer in disappointment.

I did some research and found a service bulletin from Ford that identified a fix for the dash rattle.  That was promising, but left me unconvinced.  I talked with a friend who worked at Ford and he told me the 2025 model had a revised instrument panel. That revision addressed all of the noise and vibration issues.  He directed me to the dealer he frequents, where I ordered a 2025.  All I had to do now was wait for the truck to get built and shipped from Mexico.

Change of Plans

I ordered the 2025 Maverick in late October.  It was quickly assigned a VIN and production week of December 16, 2024.  That was encouraging, so I decided to sell my Subaru to Carvana.  The price was right and I still had another car to drive in the meantime.

About three weeks later, I began questioning the Maverick order.  The spectre of past dash rattles hung over me. Add in the potential of a long delivery time (Mavericks are built in Mexico) and I was considering other trucks. I canceled the Maverick order.

More Test Drives

My original set of needs were still valid, so I started to look at other midsize pickups.  I was impressed with the Nissan Frontier Pro-4X, and discovered that Nissan offered special 18 month leases in 2023.  Those trucks are now coming off lease and for sale at dealers. All seem to have less than 20,000 miles and are reasonably priced.

While the Frontier (shown above) is a pretty solid truck, it’s hard to find one in good condition at the price I wanted. That was a disappointment as the features and driving dynamics were good.

On a whim, I stopped at a Ford dealership to drive the Ford Ranger, which came highly recommended by two YouTube car reviewers.

FINAL Decision Made

Since I had no experience with any of these trucks, I checked vehicle reviews from YouTube creators I’ve learned to trust.  This taught me the unique features of these vehicles and the subjective opinion of how they drove. etc.  Two of the channels quickly responded to questions I posted in their comments.  My appreciation goes to Texas Truck Channel and GT: Garage Talk.

Related article:  Favorite Car REVIEW Channels

The Ranger turned out to be the truck I really wanted.  It shares a similar style to the Maverick, but is a tad bigger and has body on frame construction.  This contributes to a very solid structure with NO RATTLES.  Sold!

I located a Ranger with the equipment and color I wanted at a local Ford dealership.  This was my fourth Ford dealership I visited, and is one I’ll use in the future.  Everything went well during the sales process, and I have been enjoying my Ranger for the past week.  It is too early to report on its reliability, but my initial impression is excellent.

Final Thoughts & Questions

Car shopping is painful for a lot of people, but I enjoy the journey.  You can too if you remain true to what you really need.  Also, you must test drive every vehicle being considered.  DO NOT BUY ONLINE WITHOUT A TEST DRIVE! You may be surprised by what you learn. I didn’t begin my journey looking for the Ranger, but it proved to be the best choice for me.

If you are wondering why I did not buy one of the midsize twins from GM (Chevrolet Colorado or GMC Canyon), you are not alone.  Those trucks are several inches taller and longer than the Ranger, making it hard to park in my garage.  Also, I have questions about current GM quality.  It pays to have some inside knowledge of product issues.

I have some fun modifications in mind for the Ranger, which I will share in the months ahead (Michigan weather permitting).  I will be putting my new Cricut to good use soon!

Want to learn more about me?  Go to this article:   Meet The Vehicle Nanny