When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
My wife hauls our family around in a 2010 Ford E350 12 seater. It has over 170000 miles and we would like to get something fresher. We are considering 15 seat 2014 Ford E350s and 2014 Savana 3500s. The Ford has a shorter wheelbase which is said to make it less stable in the 15 seat configuration.
1. For those of you who have driven both, what are your thoughts between the two?
2. Do the GMs have any known issues other than paint?
3. Anything we should look for or avoid when choosing a recent GM van?
Well I have owned 4 155 inch GM cargos and I've rented the 15-passenger Fords a few times. Both are nice but I just prefer the drive and ride of the GM's over the Fords. I got a good friend who keeps getting the 15-passenger Fords and although they're nice and he has fairly good luck with them I think my Chevys have been less maintenance than his Ford's. Lots of injector problems when he had the V10, and now on his last one he just ate a transmission. My last Chevy had 350K without a hiccup all original drivetrain. In my opinion it's really hard to beat the Chevy V8. They're pretty rock solid. The one I'm currently driving just flipped 110K and I haven't put a dime into it other than general maintenance. My current van is charcoal gray and I have no paint issues. It's a 2009.
What he said.
Don't get a white van, way less chance of paint issues. Granted that will thin your search, but they are out there.
Gm over Ford all day.....lol
You're welcome. I wouldn't call the Ford junk but I would definitely own the Chevy before the Ford based on my experiences and driving both long distances.
Last edited by expressvanman; December 28th, 2016 at 4:45 PM.
I have to admit, I'm a GM man. I just purchased my first personal van, the long wheel base 1 ton with factory 12 passenger seating. It has the Duramax with the 6 speed transmission. The shop I work at has several vans. Gas, diesels, Fords. Chevy's/GMC's. Mostly cargos. Both wheel bases. We have one or two passengers in the fleet at any given time. We had one Dodge. It was many years ago. Our GM's are much better overall. The 6.0L gas GM are much better than the gas Ford's. The Duramax's hands down much better than the 6.0 Ford diesels. Our warehouse guy keeps track of the repair bills and the fuel bills. He's a RAM truck man so he has no dog in the fight. His motivation is simply the cost of ownership. My boss is still a die hard Ford guy despite the edge Chevy has and hates to admit it. His truck is always a F250 Gaser but he has been adding more GM's to the fleet. I've been driving a 2007 3500 Diesel dually cut away van with a walk in service body. 208,000 miles on it. Changed the left bank injectors under warranty at 97,000 miles. Had an idler puller leave the engine bay and bounce down the road at around 134,000 miles. Two sensors on the transmission went bad shortly after that. That is it. Tires. Oil and filters. Occasionally batteries. At 200,000 I had the alignment done, wheel bearings packed, and new shocks. Wow, rides like a boss.
My personal van is awesome. It is a 2012 with 37,000 miles on it. I did have one issue already with a NOx sensor. Out of warranty so I shelled out $750.00. I hope that is that. I get 19 MPG around town and 21 on the highway. It is black, the way God intended cars to be. It does take every bit of the front and rear A/C to cool that baby down in the summer. I don't care for the DEF. GM decided not to redesign the filler to accommodate the fill cap for the DEF. So the angled the filler for the fuel and I can only fill about half way before the 1st click of the nozzle. Yep. Stand in the rain and cold and hold the nozzle. Otherwise it will spray back at you. All of you.
Another reason I wanted a van was at the time my 2012 was built, it was 80% American made. The F150 is the next at 75%. I believe the new Fords and the RAM's are now unibodies. The GM's are body on frame. I like that too.
The longer wheelbase of the GM vans make them superior in ride and handling. have owned Dodge and Ford 15 pass vans (12 in total). Chevy/GMC long wheel base vans are clearly superior in ride and handling vs Dodge or Ford. I am a Mopar man but can say the GM 15 pass vans are worlds ahead of Ford and Dodge and the fact the others are no longer produced you should more sooner than later if you found a nice GM.
Last edited by solwav; January 26th, 2017 at 9:38 AM.
Sure thing man! You're right too. Took me four years to find a low millaged diesel passenger. I have only owned black vehicles for the last 25 years or so. I actually wanted red. I found three. First a dark blue one. I passed. It had a sliding door. I wanted the barn doors. Then the same dealer had this black one and a 2015 red one with a sliding door and only 7,000 miles.
December 26th, 2016, 8:51 PM
15 seat vans: Ford E350 versus GM 3500
