Hello everyone

Do you guys think Armada is a vehicle that you can keep for 8 plus years? Trying to evaluate if this is the car we can use for our future family :) Thanks.

I hope so. I'm planning on keeping mine. The only question I have is how the interior will hold up. I have the SE with cloth but I'm thinking of getting the katskins leather installed.

Hello everyone

Do you guys think Armada is a vehicle that you can keep for 8 plus years? Trying to evaluate if this is the car we can use for our future family :) Thanks.
Don't know why not. It seems sturdy enough, reliable enough, well built, comfortable. The only real common complaint I've ever heard is gas mileage. Brakes have had issues but oure is now being applied in the form of new redesigned brake parts covered by warranty. I'm keeping mine until there is something better. From looking at what's coming down the road from the other makers that will be a while. ;)

My Armada replaced a 5.4L 4x4 Ford Expedition equipped pretty much the same way - tow package, lower gears, off-road skid plates, etc. The Expey was the first year of production too - 1997. Oh, and it was also black. Drove it 7 years, 107,000 miles. I was ready to buy another one until I drove an Armada. The Expey was always marginal for towing. The Armada excels. I intend to drive the Armada at least as long.

Have you never owned a Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Honda? 8 years is barely getting broken in. Not like a Chevy, Ford, Dodge where they start bleeding you to death after a while.

Thats great to hear guys. I am definitely set on buying an armada, that is all I think about all day and night. Im constantly refreshing this page while im at work .. oops...

Now its all a matter of finances. Have to wait for a buddy of my to buy off my fiancee's bmw then off we go to a nissan dealership.

Have you never owned a Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Honda? 8 years is barely getting broken in. Not like a Chevy, Ford, Dodge where they start bleeding you to death after a while.

With respect, my Ford Expedition was VERY RELIABLE. It did have a pinched wire on the driver's side electric rear view mirror on delivery, which was quickly fixed. It did have a recall on lug nuts. Other than that, it never needed anything done to it in 7 years beyond routine maintenance.

I don't think the Asian vs. American build quality issue is valid any more. I bought this Armada because the engine and tranny were clearly superior to Ford's for what I needed - especially towing, not because I thought the Nissan would be more reliable.

And so far, my Armada has been equally reliable. I'll give you a comparison report when the Armada gets to 7 years and crosses the 100,000 mile mark. Until then, I can't make a valid comparison.

BTW, my "other truck" is a 7.3 Ford F-250 diesel with, get ready for this - 450,000 miles. It did have to have a valve job and some rocker arms replaced at 300,000 miles. I suspect I might have to do that again when it hits 600,000! I intend to still own it then.

I agree with the American vs Japanese thing doesn't hold anymore.
My sister bought a 2004 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer the same day I got my Armada. She has zero rattles, no brake problems, no stuck fuel gauges, nothing at all wrong. I am honestly very impressed.
I still like the Armada better, but man, the Ford is a lot better than I thought.

I agree with the American vs Japanese thing doesn't hold anymore.
My sister bought a 2004 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer the same day I got my Armada. She has zero rattles, no brake problems, no stuck fuel gauges, nothing at all wrong. I am honestly very impressed.
I still like the Armada better, but man, the Ford is a lot better than I thought.


I think it depends what cars you are comparing against.

I agree with the American vs Japanese thing doesn't hold anymore.
My sister bought a 2004 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer the same day I got my Armada. She has zero rattles, no brake problems, no stuck fuel gauges, nothing at all wrong. I am honestly very impressed.
I still like the Armada better, but man, the Ford is a lot better than I thought.

ur WRONG...!!!! why?? pure and simple:
expy: how long on the market?
more than nuff time to fix bugs right?
of course no brake problems ( but i wudnt be so sure )

army: 2 years on market
much better trany than ford
few bugs that are getting fixed.

now if u give armada another 10 years of being on market u will be much more than impressed with its trany and rattles and brakes and all that ;)

ur WRONG...!!!! why?? pure and simple:
expy: how long on the market?
more than nuff time to fix bugs right?
of course no brake problems ( but i wudnt be so sure )

army: 2 years on market
much better trany than ford
few bugs that are getting fixed.

now if u give armada another 10 years of being on market u will be much more than impressed with its trany and rattles and brakes and all that ;)

COUNT ME IN!!! American vs. Import debate is still strong and going!! Every old school POS truck you see rolling around from the late 70's-80's is always a Nissan or Toyota. They just last longer, it's a fact of life.....just like death and taxes. Every mechanic I have spoken with tells me that American SUV's only run for about 60K miles before they start running into major issues.

And the brake judder and rattles comparison is completely stupid to me....I would rather have a few rattles and brake issues that can get resolved quickly then a transmission or engine dying on me. I have posted this before on this site but I want to bring it up again: My best friends 03 Escalade just took a sh!t on him at 56K miles!!! A seal broke in the radiator and caused all the tranny fluid to get sucked into the coolant....tranny went dry and seized, all piping/plumbing has to be replaced, and now they also have to replace the block if they can't completely flush it out when they take it apart. Hey guess what.....I'll stick to the brake judder which can be replaced up to 30K miles!

Another example is go to KBB/ Edmunds or research resale values and reliability......and see if you can find Honda, Toyota, Nissan being beat in any of those categories by Ford, Dodge, or GM. I was about to buy an Escalade EXT but decided to go with the Armada as I want to keep this car for a long time...and not be bleed to death before the car is paid off. :thumbup:

Resale is lower % wise of sale price for Ford, Chevy, and Dodge than the Japanese makers 3 years after purchase.

As for longevity, it depends on the model, owner, maintainence, etc. I think the foreign models seem to be engineered very well. But they also cost more. A Ford Expedition is more than a similarly equiped Armada or Sequoia.

I've had good experiences with domestic, and bad with foreign as well as the opposite. EX. I had 145K on my Jeep GC when I traded it in. Ran like a champ and never had a single repair except regular maintainence. Had a honda civic that blew CV joints every 6 months and another that blew an engine at 80K. My father had owned Fords for his whole live. Each one he owned for at least 8 years except a Pinto. Now he has an Accord and loves it.
Bottomline, I think there is quality and crap out there. I also think the crappiest thing made today is as good or better as just about any car foreign or domestic that was made 10 years ago. Certain makers and models may be superior, but with most modern cars, if you treat your car right, you should be fine.

With all that said, I picked the Armada not for its reliability, which it has, but for its features, performance, and size. It was the right combination of traits for me at the right price and I expect it will last a long time. ;)

ur WRONG...!!!! why?? pure and simple:
expy: how long on the market?
more than nuff time to fix bugs right?
of course no brake problems ( but i wudnt be so sure )

army: 2 years on market
much better trany than ford
few bugs that are getting fixed.

now if u give armada another 10 years of being on market u will be much more than impressed with its trany and rattles and brakes and all that ;)

My '97 Expedition was totally new. There were no Expeditions in the world before then. I ordered it sight unseen. The dealer did not even have one in the showroom. I bought on magazine reviews of preproduction models. It was the first one delivered to any dealer in Mississippi to my knowledge.

So I think that the argument about "time to get the bugs fixed" does not hold any weight with me.

But having said that, there are way more important reasons to buy an Armada. It is much more powerful. It has a vastly superior transmission and drive train. Ford does not have ABLS or anything like it - just a limited slip in the rear and does not have Electronic Stability Control (what we call VDC), nor does it have standard side curtain airbags and a host of other features as standard equipment.

Ford does not have an auxillary input for the stereo system to allow use of Ipods and such mp3 players. Ford does not have 33 inch tires. The Armada seats are way more comfortable than the Ford, where I always though I was sort of "rolling around" on top of a seat with no lateral support or upper back support. I could go on and on.

But reliability comparisons are not well-founded in my opinion. Both are reliable. Sorry.

I agree with the American vs Japanese thing doesn't hold anymore.

Just my personal experience, and alot of other folks who report vehicle repair history and reliability. Alot of black dots on those consumer reports repair histories. But hey, if you take care of your vehicle it should last a long time, even if it is Fixed Or Repaired Daily (I couldn't resist!) and as 3BLK notes almost anything built today is far more reliable in general than 5-10 years ago. Hey, if I had some extra $ I'd pick up a Mustang GT just for grins. :D

I always keep my cars 10 + years. I'll keep my Armada forever unless gas prices go to $5.00 a gallon! I bought a 1997 Nissan Altima last year at an auction, completely by mistake. I actually did bid on it when it was at $1000.00. Then it got up to $1650.00 and I quit. I remember leaning over and saying something to my mother and I scratched my nose or something, and poof, I had an Altima! I'm not sure I really know what happened but I ended up bringing it home for $1700.00! It's been a great little second car and gets nearly 30 miles to the gallon! It drives great and really comes in useful to drive back and forth to work and leave my Armada in the garage.

Another example is go to KBB/ Edmunds or research resale values and reliability......and see if you can find Honda, Toyota, Nissan being beat in any of those categories by Ford, Dodge, or GM. I was about to buy an Escalade EXT but decided to go with the Armada as I want to keep this car for a long time...and not be bleed to death before the car is paid off. :thumbup:
AMEN TO THAT!!! totally right there, competition is going stronger than ever!!

My '97 Expedition was totally new.
But reliability comparisons are not well-founded in my opinion. Both are reliable. Sorry.
well i guess we can agree on one thing, armada is a great beast :D
now to say that both trucks are well-founded with reliability.... my cousin has a 99' expy... omg i wont even waste internet on that!! :thumbdown