So, my boss's truck died over the weekend. A 2008 F-150 with the 5.4L V8, I think it's close to 200 000kms. He's been having nothing but problems with it, and he thinks it has finally given up the ghost. For the last few months, the truck has been having some major issues. It's very hard to start, which is placing wear on the starter and the electrical system. It runs very rough at idle (pretty sure it's the cam phaser issue), and threatens to stall. He was on his way to hockey on Saturday, and it finally actually stalled when he came to a stop, and wouldn't restart. he got it towed to his mechanic. The mechanic had a cursory look at it on Sunday, and told him it wasn't looking good, but would have a closer look today. I'm not sure what the actual problem is.
There is a bunch more that is wrong with the truck, that it may not be worth fixing. Like I said, the starter is on its way out, and he's pretty sure the Alternator is weak, too. The spark plugs are due to be changed, and his mechanic tells him if they all come out easily, it will be $700 for all eight. However, if they start breaking while being removed (a common issue on these trucks), then the bill could run into the thousands. On the inside, 3 of the 4 window switches don't work, the climate controls don't work, and the radio display doesn't work (the radio works, just not the display).
HIS truck is one of the primary reasons I think a lot of Fords are junk (it's not the only reason, but chief among them). I think he's finally coming around to switching vehicles. I'm pointing him towards Tundras. He's not sure if he wants to go new, or used. I told him the advantage to going new (and he can afford it, he's just cheap) is that he'll have vehicle payments for a few years, but at least he'll know exactly how the truck was maintained from the get-go, rather than rolling the dice on a used truck that may or may not have a shoddy maintenance history.
He could get a new Tundra DoubleCab 4x4 with SX package for $49k and change. It's pretty much a base model truck, but that would suit him just fine. He's never been big on luxury/technology.