Good forum, bad forum

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So I've owned a few cars in the Internet Age. And I've received a lot of help from model-specific internet forums. But these forums are not all equal. I think it's best when you have one undisputed best forum for a model, rather than having several sites that spread out the expertise. And what is key is having a forum with regulars that are willing to get involved and try to answer questions. I think a car that appeals to more "mature" buyers will have a better forum, for my needs at least, than a car with younger owners. The worst forums have little good advice and most postings are just drive-bys that ask a question and you never find out if it's been resolved. Forums for more obscure models are often better than forums for popular cars. So here I will rate forums that I have known, from best to worst (some opinions are probably outdated):

Honda Odyssey (odyclub.com) very good forum, plenty of traffic, good S/N ratio
Volvo S40 (swedespeed.com) good forum, needs more traffic
old Jetta Diesel (vwdiesel.net) good forum
Mazda MPV (mpvclub.com) good forum, needs more traffic
Nissan Maxima (maxima.org) OK, lots of chaff
Honda Accord (driveaccord.net) OK, lots of chaff
Ford Ranger (several?) not good
Ford Fusion... still looking, but it looks like there is not a good forum

What has been your experience?
 
Swedespeed is fairly good. Lot of noise and useless posts from those in love with posting. Some really good technical information here and there.

Benzworld is good, much better traffic and information than MBWorld, at least in the W220 and R230 subs.

Tundras.com - complete waste of time. Internet braggadocio, machismo, and ugly poster behavior (rude, insulting, etc.) with little technical merit. I lost my log in and haven’t been back in years. Utterly worthless
 
Hyundai forums. Ok people, little to no tech knowledge except for a couple people. But if you want to know what size wheel fits your car, or what kind of lights or spoiler, your in luck.
 
I forgot VolvoXc.com.

At one time, an active, focused, supportive site with really excellent technical information.

In recent years, as these cars have passed into the hands of bozos who bought them cheap, the good posters have left, and there is little worthwhile traffic remaining.

These days, it is mostly new owners, with old cars and little mechanical inclination, expecting tailored answers instead of searching, as if the other site members exist only to help them. The entitlement is choking out the site, like silt filling in a pond.
 
So I've owned a few cars in the Internet Age. And I've received a lot of help from model-specific internet forums. But these forums are not all equal. I think it's best when you have one undisputed best forum for a model, rather than having several sites that spread out the expertise. And what is key is having a forum with regulars that are willing to get involved and try to answer questions. I think a car that appeals to more "mature" buyers will have a better forum, for my needs at least, than a car with younger owners. The worst forums have little good advice and most postings are just drive-bys that ask a question and you never find out if it's been resolved. Forums for more obscure models are often better than forums for popular cars. So here I will rate forums that I have known, from best to worst (some opinions are probably outdated):

Honda Odyssey (odyclub.com) very good forum, plenty of traffic, good S/N ratio
Volvo S40 (swedespeed.com) good forum, needs more traffic
old Jetta Diesel (vwdiesel.net) good forum
Mazda MPV (mpvclub.com) good forum, needs more traffic
Nissan Maxima (maxima.org) OK, lots of chaff
Honda Accord (driveaccord.net) OK, lots of chaff
Ford Ranger (several?) not good
Ford Fusion... still looking, but it looks like there is not a good forum

What has been your experience?
I lurk around them some , VW , Ford , Mercedes. Seems like all they talk about is the tech they can add or delete . Wheels , big tires , exhaust .
Guess I'm old , I like greasy moving parts
 
PassatWorld was amazing for the 14 years I owned my 2004 VW Passat wagon, I saved $$$$ from the experts. Maxima.org was okay for general stuff but not nearly as much technical info as PW. I guess that's because the Maxima was far more reliable than the VW.

InfinitiQX60.org is pretty useless, worst I've experienced to date, but once again this is a function of who buys this car and the basic reliability of the model.
 
ClubLexus.com There is some really good help, and then there are people who hate you for suggesting servicing a Toyota transmission. I do not rely on them for help. That is what BITOG is for.

CorvetteForum.com Lars Grimsrud. The Man.
 
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F150 Forum and F150Gen14 are both pretty good for tech and warranty questions.
Reddit r/f150, not so good, mostly trash mods.
 
Buick Forums is good. That's how I found out about THE UFI/Hengst confusion with the oil filter on my Encore. 355 Nation is helpful for 1st generation Colorados.
 
So here I will rate forums that I have known, from best to worst (some opinions are probably outdated):

Ford Ranger (several?) not good

What has been your experience?
Around the time I bought my 2011 last year, I found one Ranger forum that was really good, fairly active, and had members who were good at answering questions. In turn, I shared experiences in repairing my Ranger that were likely to benefit others.

www.therangerstation.com/forums (uses the same software as BITOG.com/forums)

The home page has links to technical information, sales brochures, and repair procedures. All of it's highly useful.

Other Ranger forums were so-so.
 
BITOG is my most used forum.
Mercedesshop which turned into Peachparts (now owned by Pelican) has a good diesel section.
I just bought a W140 S-class, so Im on Benzworld a lot more - I dont know if the diesel section is as active, but its nice to have a vehicle specific subforum.
When we owned a VW, we used rabbitownersclub forums and they were good. Saabcentral was also good for my Saab; I suspect that has slowed down a lot over the last few years.
Years ago I used roadfly.org when their "forum" was one of those nested message sites. Good activity with knowledgable folks.
Dont go to forums I dont need to be on, and thats based upon what cars we own or need info on... so I suspect thats fairly normal...
 
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