F-150 vs Silverado 1500: The $518 Reason to Pick the Chevy

The 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 costs $37,525 to own over five years. The 2019 Ford F-150 costs $38,043. That $518 gap is not huge, but it is real, and it comes from one place: the F-150 racks up more repair costs every single year, and those costs accelerate sharply toward the end of the ownership window. If you are buying one of these trucks used, with 60,000 to 90,000 miles already on the odometer, that repair trend is the only thing you should care about.

The Silverado wins this comparison. Not by a landslide, but it wins. At $625 per month versus the F-150's $634, the savings are modest. But the direction of travel matters. By year five, the F-150 is costing $163 more per year in repairs alone than the Silverado. That gap was only $57 in year one. You are not buying a five-year problem on day one. You are buying a problem that compounds.

The One Category That Separates These Trucks

Fuel costs are identical on these two trucks across all five years. Maintenance costs are identical. Depreciation is identical. Insurance is identical. Registration is identical.

Repairs are not.

Every other cost category in this comparison is a wash. The only reason the Silverado is cheaper to own is that it breaks less expensively. Over five years, the F-150 accumulates $5,529 in repair costs. The Silverado accumulates $5,011. That $518 difference is the entire margin between these trucks.

If you were expecting the F-150 to lose on fuel, or depreciation, or some insurance penalty, that is not what happened here. This is purely a repair story.

Five-Year Cost Comparison

Category	2019 Ford F-150	2019 Chevy Silverado 1500
Total Five-Year Cost	$38,043	$37,525
Monthly Average	$634	$625
Fuel (5 yr)	$9,144	$9,144
Maintenance (5 yr)	$3,636	$3,636
Repairs (5 yr)	$5,529	$5,011
Depreciation (5 yr)	$12,279	$12,279
Insurance (5 yr)	$7,200	$7,200
Registration (5 yr)	$255	$255

Look at that table long enough and the picture becomes clear. Four of the seven cost categories are line-for-line identical. Depreciation alone eats $12,279 over five years on both trucks, which is the largest single cost by far. The fact that these two trucks lose value at exactly the same rate should tell you something: the market treats them as equals. Buyers are not paying a premium to own either one on the resale side.

How the Repair Gap Grows Over Time

Year one looks reasonable for both trucks. The F-150 runs $614 in repairs. The Silverado runs $557. The difference is $57, which is about the cost of a tank of gas.

By year three, the F-150 is at $1,024 in repairs and the Silverado is at $928. The gap has grown to $96.

Year five is where it gets uncomfortable. The F-150 hits $1,741 in repairs. The Silverado hits $1,578. The gap is now $163 for a single year.

This is not a random fluctuation. This is a trend. The F-150's repair costs grow from $614 in year one to $1,741 in year five, an increase of 183 percent. The Silverado grows from $557 to $1,578, an increase of 183 percent also. The growth rate is the same. But because the F-150 starts higher and stays higher, it compounds to a larger total.

For a truck bought with 60,000 to 90,000 miles on it, you are already skipping the early cheap years. You are buying into year three territory on day one. The repair curves on both trucks are pointing up, and the F-150's curve is running above the Silverado's the entire time.

What RepairPal Says About These Trucks

RepairPal scores both trucks on reliability, average annual repair cost, and frequency of unscheduled repairs.

The F-150 earns a 3.0 out of 5.0 reliability rating from RepairPal, which the site categorizes as average. The average annual repair cost is around $788. RepairPal notes that F-150 owners have a higher-than-average probability of a repair being severe or costly.

The Silverado 1500 earns a 3.5 out of 5.0 from RepairPal, which puts it above average for its class. Annual repair costs run around $714 by their estimate.

Neither of these trucks is bulletproof. Both are full-size pickups with a long list of known issues, from transmission concerns to electrical gremlins. But the Silverado's reliability advantage at RepairPal aligns with what our repair cost figures show. It is not a dramatic difference, but it is consistent.

If you are risk-averse about unexpected repair bills, the Silverado is the lower-risk choice. That is not a soft conclusion. The numbers point there.

Fuel Economy: Equal on Paper, Equal in Your Wallet

This is one area where the comparison truly does not help you choose. The EPA rates both trucks at comparable fuel economy for their comparable configurations.

For the 2019 Ford F-150, a 5.0L V8 4WD gets 15 city / 20 highway / 17 combined MPG. A 2.7L EcoBoost 4WD gets 18 city / 24 highway / 20 combined.

For the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, a 5.3L V8 4WD gets 15 city / 20 highway / 17 combined. A 2.7L turbocharged 4WD also gets competitive numbers.

Our fuel cost figures reflect this. Both trucks cost $1,757 in fuel in year one, and both reach $1,902 by year five. The fuel cost figures in this comparison are identical because the trucks, in typical used configurations, land at similar efficiency. If one specific configuration matters to you, check the EPA links above for your exact trim and engine.

Fuel is not a tiebreaker here. Look elsewhere.

Who Should Buy Each Truck

Buy the Silverado if you are buying used and plan to keep it long-term.

If you are looking at a truck with 70,000 miles on it and you want to drive it to 130,000 or 150,000, the Silverado's repair cost trajectory is friendlier. The savings are not dramatic in year one or two, but by years four and five, you are spending less to keep it running. The RepairPal reliability gap is real. For a buyer who cannot absorb a surprise $2,000 repair bill without stress, the Silverado's lower probability of a severe, unscheduled repair matters. This is a truck for someone who treats it as a tool, not a statement, and wants predictable costs.

Buy the F-150 if you are planning to sell it within two to three years.

The F-150's repair cost problem compounds over time. In years one and two, the disadvantage compared to the Silverado is small, $57 and $77 respectively. If you are the kind of buyer who cycles through vehicles every few years, the total repair penalty you pay on the F-150 will be limited. The F-150 also carries stronger brand recognition and tends to be easier to sell quickly in most markets. Its resale ecosystem is enormous. If you are a short-term owner who values a fast, confident resale, the F-150's $518 total cost penalty over five years shrinks considerably when you only own it for two.

The honest summary: neither truck is a bad choice, but they are not interchangeable choices. The Silverado costs less over five years because it is less expensive to repair. That advantage grows the longer you own it. The F-150 is not overpriced on the lot, and it is not a reliability disaster, but it is the more expensive truck to own if you keep it. Pick accordingly.