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Posted: 8/11/2014 1:11:08 AM EDT
So, here it is past 0400 in my AO.
Have a general question for general discussion. I currently have a 2007 FJ Cruiser. While I love this vehicle, I have found that I am always needing to use a trailer or borrow someone's truck more often than not. So I have been seriously considering trading this vehicle for a truck. I owe some on this FJ still as a I bought it used. I do have some equity in it, so that will go a little towards financing another vehicle. I am looking at used trucks under 70k miles. What's GD's opinion of the main line of trucks. Not considering a GM, so they are out of the running. Looks like Tundras and Tacoma's are out as well because even used they are over my budget of 20k $$ or less. So as it stands it's Nissan Frontiers in V6 (mpg is decent) F150 in V6 (again decent mpg) or the Dodge Ram. Having a hard time finding decent used F150 though that isn't very high mileage. Guess no one trades these in? Can find the Nissan and the Dodge fairly easily though. Bear in mind also, just using this for general truck use. Not pulling anything very heavy, and no rock crawling. Prefer extended cab, but not the 4 door. |
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Had a first year frontier and my brother just got rid of his 4 door super charged 2004. Great, long lasting trucks but I will be buying an F150 before I go back to small truck like that again. i love the extra size you get inside and out with the F150 for damn near the same fuel economy.
Dodge can suck it in my book. |
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Too bad GM is out of the running, they make the best truck period. I own a commercial roofing company and only have GM vehicles in my fleet. They are the most reliable, get the best gas milage and have the lowest cost of ownership of any other brand.
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Fronty is a decent truck. We have had a few. Largest failing, which may now be fixed, is an enormous turn radius. The 4 liter engine is stout.
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Have you considered a small trailer you could pull with the FJ?
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Have you considered a small trailer you could pull with the FJ? View Quote I have, and I do own a small trailer (5x8) but I live about 25 miles from work. And I often stop by Lowes or Home Depot for random shit, and hate taking the trailer to work. Either that or I forget to bring it when I need to run by the store. Or since I am in town I find stuff that always needs picked up one way or another. It's just an inconvenience most of the time. Good news to here about the Frontier so far. The smaller size is no concern to me, I am married. But it's just me and the wife, no kids. And we never take my vehicles as she has a newer Camry that gets 30ish plus mpg whenever we go anywhere. |
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Quoted: Too bad GM is out of the running, they make the best truck period. I own a commercial roofing company and only have GM vehicles in my fleet. They are the most reliable, get the best gas milage and have the lowest cost of ownership of any other brand. View Quote |
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Quoted:
Too bad GM is out of the running, they make the best truck period. I own a commercial roofing company and only have GM vehicles in my fleet. They are the most reliable, get the best gas milage and have the lowest cost of ownership of any other brand. View Quote Well, I am open to hear about the newer GM's I guess. That's good news to hear about yours. Just I have had bad experiences in the past and I wasn't sure about the quality of the newer ones. All I ever hear anything about is the Japanese brands, the F150 and the Dodge. So again, just going by what I regularly hear about. |
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If you're gonna drive the wheels off of it, I say the F150.
Mine have all been good to me, while putting a lot of miles on them. |
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if you want modern, go dodge, if you are ok with looking for a while, and getting something a bit older, a 90's ford really cant be beat.
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My thoughts on trucks and yes I have owned them all.
1: Ford. If you're going to buy an F150 it has to have a V8 - all half tons should have a V8. Down side to that is they will suck gas. the 5.4 is downright horrid on gas and the 5.0 is not much better, go the V6 route and you have an underpowered motor trying to power a heavy ass truck, end result more engine strain which results in bad fuel economy. Still out of them all, I don't think you can beat an F150. Really no complaints. 2: Chevy/GMC. Pretty much the same applies here as well. IMO the 5.3 V8 is probably the best gas truck motor on the market. It gets fairly good fuel economy for a truck and has lots of "get up." Really no complaints at all with Chevys, they make a good truck. 3: Dodge. Where do I start? Shitty transmissions, cheaply made front ends, just overall shitty trucks in general. Other than their physical appearance I really don't have anything good to say about the Ram truck. Stay the hell away from Dodge trucks at all cost. I could go on all night why Dodge makes a shit truck. |
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I and most of my buddies are all long time mechanics..for what its worth, check out the new GM's..they are excellent trucks, you can get into a new one up here(not nicest they make but decent) for 22-26 grand with the5.3, 4x4, crew cab nd power windows,locks, but cloth interiors..the 5.3 gets excellent fuel economy, makes good power, and the trucks are nice..at least go road test one....
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if you only have one brand, how do you know that to be true? If you had 10 of each it would be a better comparison View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Too bad GM is out of the running, they make the best truck period. I own a commercial roofing company and only have GM vehicles in my fleet. They are the most reliable, get the best gas milage and have the lowest cost of ownership of any other brand. Its all I have now. The last non GM In my fleet was a 2002 F250SD, and it was complete garbage, will be a long time before I get another Ford truck. Before I started my own business I worked for a large contractor ,we had a fleet of over 100 trucks. Ran mostly Ford and Chevy, a few Honda CRV's for management. I have a 04 Explorer that the step daughter was driving until a few weeks ago when she wrecked it. Up until then it was a reliable vehicle. |
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Quoted: Have you considered a small trailer you could pull with the FJ? View Quote edit - saw update about trailer. Of your choices, if you can live with a full size get an F150. If you want something smaller a Frontier is ok, and you may be able to find a simple extended cab model pretty cheap (nobody likes them, too little space). Turning radius on them really is shit though. Your budget should allow something that still has factory warranty. If you like the Dodge you may as well save up a little more and buy a new one. Trucks are cheap if you can take it easy with the options. Especially if you can live with 2wd. |
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I've had one of each, and my current Dodge Dakota (08) is my favorite. Drives better than the GMC, and have had fewer problems than I had with the Ford. Had all of them to about 100k miles.
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Well so far the consensus is Fords are very good to go, the Frontier is also good to go. I should very much keep a GM as a consideration and the Dodge is a meh. A few people have said the Dodge is good to go, but then a few have said they are crap. So it seems the Dodge is a wash.
But this is all good info as it seems I may have knocked one off the list but then have added one. So more to consider. |
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Well so far the consensus is Fords are very good to go, the Frontier is also good to go. I should very much keep a GM as a consideration and the Dodge is a meh. A few people have said the Dodge is good to go, but then a few have said they are crap. So it seems the Dodge is a wash. But this is all good info as it seems I may have knocked one off the list but then have added one. So more to consider. View Quote I think asking the year matters for the Dodge, the past 6 or 7 years have been good for them. Early 00's Dodge was really making some shitty vehicles. |
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my last F150 with a V8 ran for 250K miles with out major repairs..brakes, rotors etc yes,,drive train issues, Nope..total repairs in15 years was under $5k
my current F150 with a V6 is at 175k currently with a total about $3.5k in total repairs to date. one was a tranny issue for about $800 (previous owner was an idiot) current truck was T-boned 4 years ago, damage barely visible, mostly to the frame. Bit of weather stripping to keep water out and I've been driving the wheels off of it since. probably going for another 75k before I start the search for a new FORD F150 |
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Good point, because that's what I am looking for usually around a 2008 and up.
Edit. This is in response to governmentman and his statement about early Dodge vs newer Dodge. |
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Too bad GM is out of the running, they make the best truck period. I own a commercial roofing company and only have GM vehicles in my fleet. They are the most reliable, get the best gas milage and have the lowest cost of ownership of any other brand. View Quote You are wrong. That is all. |
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I gave up US made cars twenty years before it was cool to do so.
That being said, my last truck was going to be a Frontier or Tundra. I found myself at a Ford dealer and took a gamble on a F-150 I've been waiting for it to fall apart to call myself a dumbass and say I should have known better. I have to say, it's got 53k on the clock and still feels good and tight. I have had one issue of that transmission seal leak because it sits a lot. Other than that, it's been a great truck since 2009. |
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Good point, because that's what I am looking for usually around a 2008 and up. Edit. This is in response to governmentman and his statement about early Dodge vs newer Dodge. View Quote With no stats to prove it, I'm gonna call bullshit on the Dodge improvement comment. Every couple of years they come out and say something to the effect of "don't judge us by our old shitty cars and trucks...we're new and improved and have a new commitment to quality." Well WTF? Why didn't you have a commitment to quality before? And why after you say this every couple of years, do your vehicles turn into rolling piles of shit after two or three years of use? My parents (in their early 80's) have purchased new Dodge/Chrysler mini-vans every couple of years for the past 30 years. Not one of those vans failed to disappoint in some aspect of reliability or durability. And even if they had been perfect mechanically (which they weren't), they were still almost a decade behind other car makers with regards to design, quality and features. This last go round of vehicle shopping for my parents I convinced them to at least take a look at Toyota vehicles and what do you know, they came home with a new Sierra. It was made in America BTW for those that care. That was very important to them. ETA: Dodge/Chrysler is the equivalent of Taurus/Rossi in the shooting world. |
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I think asking the year matters for the Dodge, the past 6 or 7 years have been good for them. Early 00's Dodge was really making some shitty vehicles. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Well so far the consensus is Fords are very good to go, the Frontier is also good to go. I should very much keep a GM as a consideration and the Dodge is a meh. A few people have said the Dodge is good to go, but then a few have said they are crap. So it seems the Dodge is a wash. But this is all good info as it seems I may have knocked one off the list but then have added one. So more to consider. I think asking the year matters for the Dodge, the past 6 or 7 years have been good for them. Early 00's Dodge was really making some shitty vehicles. I just sold my Durango [00''], had no major issues at all in 14 years. Actual part failures, one [Bosch] plug and one o2 sensor that Dodge comped me on [all they wanted was the old one back]. Did have the front end recall done on it in 2002 or 2003. Never added R134 the entire time I owned it. Was still in excellent condition even after 14 years. The newer body style of truck [2004?] and SUV seemed to rust out far easier and had poorly designed drainage causing rust out and thinner poorly treated steel. The last redesign, time will tell but all the people who own them seem to like them quite well and have not had any major issues. Biggest complaint is fuel economy and that is, well, DUH, they all have the Hemi engine and what exactly did they expect when they bought it? |
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If you want a v6 get a mid size truck. As a former Frontier owner an a current Titan owner I have had great luck with Nissan.
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I've owned all three and bought all three used
2000 Chevy 1500 with the Vortec engine. I loved this truck. It had Front end issues when I bought the truck though. Had to replace the intake gasket, not a hard fix. Ran great with little repairs besides the front end rebuild and gaskets. Just oil changes and ran great. Would buy another in a second. 2008 Ford F150. Terrible. Couldn't pay me to get another Ford. Front end issues, the 4x4 never seemed to work right. The spark plugs were a nightmare to change. Interior seemed fragile and seats tore. Terrible gas mileage. Current truck: 2004 dodge ram 1500. Sold the F150 to buy this and some toys for around the house. I love this truck. It's got just over 100k on it, of which I put about 30-35k on. All I have had to do was change the oil. I changed the coolant too just based on mileage. It was a one owner truck I got from a Navy vet in Virginia and he gave me a folder of papers with it. As far as I can tell there have been no major repairs to it. It runs great and the Hemi is a pretty reliable engine and gets better mpg than my ford did. My only complaint is sometimes the pass window controls don't work but I hear that's a common thing. I heat my house with wood so all my trucks get used and abused. I cut and haul approximately 5-8 cords a year on the bed and on my trailer. If I had to sell my truck now and pick another I'd get a Dodge or Chevy. |
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I think asking the year matters for the Dodge, the past 6 or 7 years have been good for them. Early 00's Dodge was really making some shitty vehicles. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Well so far the consensus is Fords are very good to go, the Frontier is also good to go. I should very much keep a GM as a consideration and the Dodge is a meh. A few people have said the Dodge is good to go, but then a few have said they are crap. So it seems the Dodge is a wash. But this is all good info as it seems I may have knocked one off the list but then have added one. So more to consider. I think asking the year matters for the Dodge, the past 6 or 7 years have been good for them. Early 00's Dodge was really making some shitty vehicles. My 04 Dakota has been outstanding. |
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I have a 2014 Frontier crew cab.I love it .I was looking to buy a Tacoma but couldn't touch it for what I paid for the Frontier.It gets good gas milage and the v6 engine has tons of power.Test drive one before you buy anything else.
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Only two of those are real trucks. Either the F150 or the Ram.
Can't go wrong with either. Although I'd prefer the larger engine. |
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With no stats to prove it, I'm gonna call bullshit on the Dodge improvement comment. Every couple of years they come out and say something to the effect of "don't judge us by our old shitty cars and trucks...we're new and improved and have a new commitment to quality." Well WTF? Why didn't you have a commitment to quality before? And why after you say this every couple of years, do your vehicles turn into rolling piles of shit after two or three years of use? My parents (in their early 80's) have purchased new Dodge/Chrysler mini-vans every couple of years for the past 30 years. Not one of those vans failed to disappoint in some aspect of reliability or durability. And even if they had been perfect mechanically (which they weren't), they were still almost a decade behind other car makers with regards to design, quality and features. This last go round of vehicle shopping for my parents I convinced them to at least take a look at Toyota vehicles and what do you know, they came home with a new Sierra. It was made in America BTW for those that care. That was very important to them. ETA: Dodge/Chrysler is the equivalent of Taurus/Rossi in the shooting world. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Good point, because that's what I am looking for usually around a 2008 and up. Edit. This is in response to governmentman and his statement about early Dodge vs newer Dodge. With no stats to prove it, I'm gonna call bullshit on the Dodge improvement comment. Every couple of years they come out and say something to the effect of "don't judge us by our old shitty cars and trucks...we're new and improved and have a new commitment to quality." Well WTF? Why didn't you have a commitment to quality before? And why after you say this every couple of years, do your vehicles turn into rolling piles of shit after two or three years of use? My parents (in their early 80's) have purchased new Dodge/Chrysler mini-vans every couple of years for the past 30 years. Not one of those vans failed to disappoint in some aspect of reliability or durability. And even if they had been perfect mechanically (which they weren't), they were still almost a decade behind other car makers with regards to design, quality and features. This last go round of vehicle shopping for my parents I convinced them to at least take a look at Toyota vehicles and what do you know, they came home with a new Sierra. It was made in America BTW for those that care. That was very important to them. ETA: Dodge/Chrysler is the equivalent of Taurus/Rossi in the shooting world. They went Toyota shopping, and came home in a GMC truck? |
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Unless your getting a cummins, stay away from dodge. Piss poor quality with Chrysler products and this is coming from a '07 jeep and '96 ram owner.
Never heard of a ford that didn't have problems, but 2 of them happened to be the infamous 6 liter power strokes that you couldn't pay and beg to keep operational My family has owned countless gm trucks, yukons, suburbans mainly but also a few 1500's, they're all built off the same platform...never heard of any real issues with em. Now arfcom hates gm and Chrysler because of the bailout but if I had to pick a gas truck I'd go Chevy 11 times out of 10. No experience with Toyota trucks but as much as I hate to admit it, I hear good things |
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I just traded my frontier in for a ford f150. The f150 gets better mpg. Had zero issues with my frontier but wanted a bigger truck.
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I am a die hard Dodge boy. First vehicle was a 74 D-150. Have owned many of their products over the years and they have always given me good service.
Having said that I decided on a 2014 Frontier crew cab to replace my 05 Dakota. Here is my reasoning behind the decision. I know the service manager, parts manager and other parts guy at the local Dodge dealership. I have coffee with them every morning in the shop. I get to see all these new Dodge products in the shop and most have problems with the electronics. It has gotten worse under Fiat. I have never had good luck out of Fords. Maybe every one I ever bought was just a bad one and I just wasn't meant to have a Ford. Other people have great service out of them but I never have. I wanted a small pickup. I like a smaller pickup and won't be pulling more than a couple thousand pounds anyway. The final reason was 2014 Nissan Frontier S crew cab 4x4 V-6 for 26,000 out the door. |
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I work for a large industrial electrical contractor and we use V6 F150 Fords for superintendent and project engineer trucks. For the trucks that actually get worked and dogged out we use V8 Chevy 1500s and 2500s. I think you'll be alright with either one.
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I just sold my Durango [00''], had no major issues at all in 14 years. Actual part failures, one [Bosch] plug and one o2 sensor that Dodge comped me on [all they wanted was the old one back]. Did have the front end recall done on it in 2002 or 2003. Never added R134 the entire time I owned it. Was still in excellent condition even after 14 years. The newer body style of truck [2004?] and SUV seemed to rust out far easier and had poorly designed drainage causing rust out and thinner poorly treated steel. The last redesign, time will tell but all the people who own them seem to like them quite well and have not had any major issues. Biggest complaint is fuel economy and that is, well, DUH, they all have the Hemi engine and what exactly did they expect when they bought it? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Well so far the consensus is Fords are very good to go, the Frontier is also good to go. I should very much keep a GM as a consideration and the Dodge is a meh. A few people have said the Dodge is good to go, but then a few have said they are crap. So it seems the Dodge is a wash. But this is all good info as it seems I may have knocked one off the list but then have added one. So more to consider. I think asking the year matters for the Dodge, the past 6 or 7 years have been good for them. Early 00's Dodge was really making some shitty vehicles. I just sold my Durango [00''], had no major issues at all in 14 years. Actual part failures, one [Bosch] plug and one o2 sensor that Dodge comped me on [all they wanted was the old one back]. Did have the front end recall done on it in 2002 or 2003. Never added R134 the entire time I owned it. Was still in excellent condition even after 14 years. The newer body style of truck [2004?] and SUV seemed to rust out far easier and had poorly designed drainage causing rust out and thinner poorly treated steel. The last redesign, time will tell but all the people who own them seem to like them quite well and have not had any major issues. Biggest complaint is fuel economy and that is, well, DUH, they all have the Hemi engine and what exactly did they expect when they bought it? 2000 Durango owner here, no major problems to speak of. Have had it 8 years, has around 180k on the clock. |
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Since the best all around truck on the market is out of your consideration, I recommend you buy a Prius.
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Well, I am open to hear about the newer GM's I guess. That's good news to hear about yours. Just I have had bad experiences in the past and I wasn't sure about the quality of the newer ones. All I ever hear anything about is the Japanese brands, the F150 and the Dodge. So again, just going by what I regularly hear about. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Too bad GM is out of the running, they make the best truck period. I own a commercial roofing company and only have GM vehicles in my fleet. They are the most reliable, get the best gas milage and have the lowest cost of ownership of any other brand. Well, I am open to hear about the newer GM's I guess. That's good news to hear about yours. Just I have had bad experiences in the past and I wasn't sure about the quality of the newer ones. All I ever hear anything about is the Japanese brands, the F150 and the Dodge. So again, just going by what I regularly hear about. Well, if that's the case, you should look into the new Silverado. The Silverado's 5.3L V8 gets better gas mileage than Ford's V6 w/ Ecoboost. Also, there is available 0% financing on all new 2014 Silverados. |
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Looks like everyone shitting on Dodge has experience with the older models. I've had a 2007, 2012 and now a 14. I won't buy anything else. I've never had a problem out of them.
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I've got a 2007 Frontier Crew Cab SE 4x4. 102k on the odometer.
The rear axle vent is a piece of shit, look into the mods on that and replace it asap. I didn't and it cost me a new rear axle because it blew the seals. Auto trans in some years had a transmission intercooler that leaked into the radiator/vice versa and killed the trans, be aware. My radiator cracked around 70k, tiny pinhole leak. I replaced it in a Saturday with a lot of cursing and skinned knuckles. I have NEVER gotten that truck stuck, and I've gone through some nasty snow and ice and across a lot of cornfields (likely culprit for the leaky radiator). 4.0V6 has plenty of ass for the truck, but sucks gas. I average about 18-19mpg now that I'm in flat country. Back in NY hills it was 17. Pulled a 5,000lb (more, but don't tell UHaul) from NY to MO without skipping a beat. Slow drive, but it made it. I'd buy another. |
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Really hamstrung yourself there not considering the Silverado/Sierra.
That 5.3L V8 is solid. |
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I'm on my 5th Chevy pickup, cheap to fix and IMO the best gas trucks around. Not too big, not too small. Not gaudy and doesn't come in fruitty colors like the imports seem to embrace. I mean really a manilla fj is just bad looking.
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