In all this whole great big country of ours, there is only one state with a single-syllable name, way up there in the upper-right corner of the map: Maine. You know what else almost never has single-syllable names? Cars. Especially if you consider both the make and the model. You know what has a lot of syllables? The word “monosyllabic.” But whatever. We’re just here to look at a Dodge, and a Ford.
Yesterday‘s uncommon cars from Alabama turned out to be a pretty close race. A lot of you were afraid of the Biturbo’s finicky engine, but a lot of you were bored silly by the thought of an automatic kei car too. I let the vote tally run for a bit longer than usual, just to see if the result would change, but it looks like the Maserati is holding on to a slim but steady lead.
Many of you mentioned swapping a more reliable engine into the Maserati, but I personally don’t like that idea much. The twin-turbo V6 is too much a part of its character, and its identity. Swap in something else, and you’ve just got a boxy little coupe with tridents on it. Keep that fragile V6 running, however, and you’ve got a piece of automotive history.
These cars have something in common besides their monosyllabic names: they both come from a time after Detroit started moving away from tried-and-true pushrod engines and four-speed automatics and into the world of more complex drivelines. With the added complexity came some teething problems, and both of these vehicles have some potential issues. But it sounds like they both run and drive fine now, so let’s check them out.
2011 Ford Edge SEL – $2,500
Engine/drivetrain: 3.5 liter DOHC V6, six-speed automatic, AWD
Location: Rockport, ME
Odometer reading: 183,000 miles
Operational status: Ad isn’t clear; we’ll presume it runs and drives
If you’re an auto enthusiast, you take one look at a car like the Ford Edge and immediately recoil. This vehicle, and dozens like it, is the enemy of fun, the antithesis of something like a Miata or a Lotus Elise. It’s heavy, ungainly, and dull. But it’s also incredibly useful and safe, which is why it’s so popular. The Ford Edge isn’t for us enthusiasts. But that doesn’t make it a bad car. I bring this up to remind myself of this as much as anyone else.
The Edge is powered by a 3.5 liter Duratec V6, mounted transversely in the front. The only transmission available is a six-speed automatic. It’s all-wheel-drive, which probably helps quite a bit in the snowy Maine winters. The seller doesn’t explicitly say how well it runs; all they tell us is that it has been “well maintained.” The Edge is generally considered pretty reliabile, but its engine does feature one of Ford’s dumber designs – the water pump is mounted in the valley between the cylinder banks, and if it fails, it can dump coolant into the oil and destroy the whole engine. Replacing the pump before it fails is the best prevention, but that’s not cheap either. It’s not necessarily a reason to avoid this car, but it is something to keep in mind.
Not only did this era usher in new and complicated drivetrains, it also introduced us to a new portmanteau: “infotainment.” Suddenly every car had a touchscreen in the dashboard, and a way to connect your phone. Fortunately, Ford also saw fit to include a bunch of buttons and knobs if you’d rather control things that way. The seller doesn’t give us any clear photos of the seating surfaces, which is a little worrisome, but the dash and rear cargo area don’t look trashed, so hopefully the seats are still acceptable.
Outside, it looks good at first glance, and it wears a cool set of aftermarket wheels, but there’s a catch: the seller says it needs rust repair underneath. The extent of the rust damage isn’t known, and we don’t get any photos to judge it, so you’d have to check it out yourself to see how bad it is.
2011 Dodge Ram 1500 Crew Cab – $3,950
Engine/drivetrain: 4.7 liter OHC V8, five-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Waterboro, ME
Odometer reading: 195,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
OK, you got me: technically this isn’t a Dodge. Chrysler spun off Ram as its own brand for the 2011 model year, but nobody really noticed andwe all just kept calling them Dodge trucks for a few more years. The seller even has it listed as a Dodge. Besides, Ram is a dumb brand name. Whatever you want to call it, it’s a half-ton crew cab, which has become the default truck bodystyle in the past decade or two, now that trucks have become family vehicles.
It’s two-wheel-drive, which is fine for most situations, and makes maintenance and repair a lot simpler. Dodge had long since dropped the old Magnum overhead-valve V8s in favor of the PowerTech 4.7 liter and Hemi 5.7 liter V8s; I know you want me to tell you this one has a Hemi, but it doesn’t. The 4.7 has a hit-or-miss reputation; some people have had timing chain issues, but others have gone a quarter million miles or more without issue. This one is rapildy approaching 200,000 miles, but the seller says it’s in good condition. It has new brakes and wheel bearings in front, too.
Trucks used to be basic and utilitarian inside, but they also used to be relegated to work duties, not commuting and kid-hauling. By 2011, they had all the same basic comfort and convenience features as any other car, along with comfy seats and plenty of sound-deadening. This one looks a little grubby inside, and it has a rip in the driver’s seat, but at this mileage, I’ve seen a lot worse.
The drawback to the crew-cab body is that you have to take length away from the bed to make up for it. This truck has a short five-and-a-half-foot bed, six inches shorter than the old short-bed compact trucks. It’s still a lot of room for cargo, but longer stuff has to rest against the tailgate at an angle. Or, usually it would; this truck has no tailgate. It may be included and just not installed; you’d have to ask the seller. If it isn’t, you can probably find one in a junkyard. Maybe you could even find one from a truck a year or two older that says Dodge on it.
These cars are both fourteen years old now, but they still feel new to me. Cars I think of as being fourteen years old are actually more like twice that, and well on their way to becoming classics. Maybe we need a better classification system for old cars, dividing them into old-old cars and new-old cars, or something? But where should we draw the line? Or am I just overthinking this whole thing? Let me know what you think in the comments, and, of course, which one of these you prefer.
“You know what else almost never has single-syllable names? Cars. Especially if you consider both the make and the model. You know what has a lot of syllables? The word “monosyllabic.” But whatever.”
One wonders about how people would pronounce those monosyllabic names in the U.S. Southeast. Since I’m deaf I can only rely on hearsay (heh) but I’m told that a lot of people in the U.S. Southeast pronounce the word “oil” with two syllables and that some people in pockets of the aforementioned region manage to pronounce it with *three* syllables. Dunno how true that last part is, though…
I really have nothing to say about either of these things. I voted?
I had an Edge. It was a perfectly acceptable family vehicle that did exactly what we needed with minimal fuss. That being said, no way with rust.
When the Edge first came out in the mid aughts, I thought it was kind of cool, and added a bit of sophistication to the first wave of crossovers. Now, I have no idea why anyone would buy one, but I digress. “Needs rust repair underneath” is a statement that leads to a whole lotta nope for me, and thankfully I have a useful vehicle as an alternative – Dodge all the way today.
Ford Edge SEL.
Edge SEL.
EdgeSEL.
EDgeSEL.
EDSEL.
I’d say it tracks, but people buy Edges.
Come to think of it, maybe it would be more popular if the shifter was push buttons in the middle of the steering wheel.
No. Wait. Don’t let Ford see that.
Never with the rust.
Listen bub. If yah up in Maine kicking tires on landyachet for you and the misses. If the guy is telling you she needs rust repair. Those rockers gonna be smoked like a baked bean. Ain’t no man, don’t care if yah the governor herself. Should expect more than grand for uninspectable. Yes sir, do yourself a favor and just head on back down the road.
And Ram guy, don’t get me started on Ram guy. 4 large for a plow truck. Now, you could probably dicker him down much. Guys got to be reasonable. Ain’t much good a rusted-out frame will you do yah on four big ones truck. I think it’s best yah keep looking. I got a guy, down in Waldoboro get you a good deal on Explorer. Now, he ain’t much of people, but if you’re around the Hanna on 8 a.m. on Tuesday. Just ask for Greg. get yeah good and set, ayep.
My Daughter has an Edge (2012 or 2013) that we gave her before she went to college, she is graduated now with an MBA, and it still goes well, minor maintenance and repairs but has remained very reliable with over 150,000 miles now.
Both of these vehicles are in Maine, The Edge lives on the coast, the Ram is a bit inland in the southern part of the state. The Edge will continue to disolve in that salt air.
Voted Ram because beat up trucks are acceptable, rusted out SUV’s are not.
So one seller is honest about the rust underneath and another doesn’t mention it?
Nope.
The Edge looks great in the pictures but if a seller is actually stating that the rust is to the point that it needs repair, then it’s a no-go.If I were looking for a truck, it definitely wouldn’t be that one, but I guess since the toy gun is at my head, I’ll pick it.
Yuck on both counts. I think the Timing Chains on both are scary, the water pump mentioned is behind them and thus the water pump replacement should you catch it before the engine locks up or gets otherwise destroyed by the milkshake, is then a 3-4k “While You Are In There” replacement cost.
The Ram 4.7 is hard to love. It also is problematic with Sludge and overheating, but I give Chrysler a little credit, they tried to make a small Toyota competitive V8 and V6 with cams on top. these made more HP than the 5.9 Magnum and in theory VVT would have been easier and more effective. in reality they ended up being the bastard stepchild of the divorce of AMC with the Mercedes step mom.
Rust aside, one of my closest university buddies works on the Ford line that built that Edge so…Dodge Ram for me. 😀
I hate rust, so I’ll try the truck. I had a few WJ Jeeps with the 4.7 and didn’t have any problems with that engine. Maybe I was just lucky.
I voted Dodge or Ram,whatever it is.I can still use a 2wd beater truck and it’s only play money anyway.
Ram me, baby.
I don’t have a case for the Edge. There is nothing it does that my household’s other vehicles already do, and it would largely be much worse at it. It doesn’t help that any kind of structural rust at this mileage and value is probably not even worth repairing. A beat up but still functional truck however is something I could find some uses for.
All it took for me to decide is “needs rust repair.” Ram, by default.
You might want to get your eyes checked. The Ram is an extended cab version. It’s easy to tell by how narrow the back doors are.
Voted for the Dodge
If someone from Maine says the thing needs rust repair, believe that it is significant and structural.
Nope, nope, nope. I ain’t fallin’ for it. The Ford’s engine is a disaster, and if that rust problem is isolated to just one area but that area is bad enough to “need” repair, then it’s a critical point like a subframe connection or a control arm mount.
The “Dodge” has the weak engine and appears to have been rode hard and put away wet. Having such a short bed and RWD doesn’t do it any favors, and the lack of tailgate screams “beater”.
After all these years of Shitbox Showdown, I’m getting picky. I’d rather take my chances on that Biturbo.
14 year old cars from Maine? I’m sitting this one out. I already have enough rust problems of my own.
Looking at the crease in that Ram bumper I’m guessing the tailgate took a pretty good hit too.
I voted for the Edge. I would like more information about the rust, but I’m willing to roll the dice at this price. Based on the condition of this vehicle, I have a feeling the owner might be the obsessive type and thinks the rust is worse than it is. Even if there is substantial rust, though, I’m not overly concerned as long as the vehicle is structurally sound. For this price, if you can drive it a year or two you have gotten your money’s worth.
I am less enthused about the Ram. The owner claims the frame and powertrain are good, but this thing looks rough; I question whether the seller and I have the same definition of “good.” Also, given the removed tailgate, I think this truck was regularly used for heavy hauling or towing. I don’t think this was the typical minivan with a bed that primarily hauled kids to soccer practice. I don’t think it is a good deal even at $3950.
“Good” can easily mean the frame is only rusty enough to pass a finger through, not your whole hand. And even if it’s “fine”, every single bolt and nut that attaches anything to it will be a solid lump of unmoving oxidation. BTDT, have the scars. Just say no to BoF American vehicles from Northern New England.
Plus 2wd pickups in Maine are the definition of suckfest, even with snow tires. Also BTDT.
Edgesel is poly syllabic and lacking the ripe fig grille.
Old old cars are sort of me, It still surprises me that years start with 20.
To keep with the theme of the day: All old Maine cars have rust. No. Just no.
Yeah, I’m saving my imaginary Internet money and buying an imaginary Internet bus pass instead.
Having driven both of these, including model years and trims, as company cars and rentals, neither is particularly great nor at all terrible. The Edge is a perfectly fine vehicle, but rust repairs on them is a pain and probably more money and effort than the car will ever be worth. The Ram probably has some rust issues too, especially under those fender flares, but at least it offers utility with the ability to use it like a truck without concern of damage to it. Being able to not care has real value in my book. Ram.
The rust on the ram isn’t spreading past the fender flares so it is doing a lot better than many I see in my area.
Good point. I actually had a similar thought, which in my experience of having lived in the rust belt means the frame is probably in good enough shape for it to do truck things for at least a few more years.
Rust never sleeps…and neither will you if you take the Edge.