Anyone with experience in owning a 97 Expedition. What are the chances of one with 91,000 miles having problems? Are they pretty sturdy? Will the engine go another 100,000 miles? How expensive will it be to work on? Help. The price is $15,000. Is that good?

-- Beth (stacythegreat@webtv.net), June 14, 2001

Answers

Hello Beth:

I do not own an Expedition, but I have owned several Fords. 91,000 miles is high on an American made vehicle. If you are looking for a used car with high mileage, look for one made in Japan.

Not convinced? Try this unscientific test: Watch for cars emitting smoke as they go down the road. Write the make of each car or truck you see smoking. I guarantee a pattern will develop. Your list will be dominated by Fords and Chevrolets.

A Toyota Land Cruiser with high mileage would be a much wiser choice than a Ford.

-- Jim (catchthesun@yahoo.com), June 14, 2001.

I have a 97 ford f150 with 145,000 miles and not a problem .It runs just like day 1 .It has a trinton {sp}v8

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), June 14, 2001.

I owned a 1980 Ford econoline 150, and it had a history like Patty's. I am looking at 2001 Nissan Frontiers at around 18,000. Their 3.3 Litre V-6 pulls 245 foot-pounds of torque out of 210 HP! I also heard a news report that the Insurance industry sponsored at 40 Mph crash test and Toyota beat everybody. The report did not mention Nissan but GM, and Ford did poorly. The F-150 allowed the wheel to crash into the leg area of the cab. Dodge was fair.

-- Rick K (rick_122@hotmail.com), June 14, 2001.

oooooooooooooops.

(Neglectd to say I am looking at 4 wheel drive transmissions.

-- Rick K (rick_122@hotmail.com), June 14, 2001.

We purchased a used 97 Expodition last fall, ours is 4wd also. Ours had 100 000km on it... what is that in miles? We are fairly happy with ours, we abuse it regularly, and even brought a bull calf home in the back of it. Ours seats nine, and pulls a heavy trailer ... that met our criteria there. It does tend to feel loose on the road, and from what I hear from others, that is a pretty typical response. We haven't had any problems mechanically so far, and it does work pretty hard. It eats ALOT of gas, much more than our GMC 1/2 ton pick up. I am not mechanically minded, so I can't offer much more info. I would rather a suburban for shere horsepower, but my wallet told me to settle for this.

-- MarciB (daleb@kent.net), June 14, 2001.

Beth, Please don't listen to the comments made about American made vehicles. They are simply not true. Ford and General Motors build some of the best vehicles in the world. Reliability and quality are trademarks of both companies. I own a 86 Buick with 130k, no problems; dad has an 89 Olds, 155k, no problems, my neighbor has a 94 Chevy Astro, no problems at 284k. I could go on and on about the oustanding experiences I know of with American cars. The V6 and V8 engines and the transmissions that these companies produce today are engineered and proven to outlast the life of the body. Please don't get me wrong, the quality of the big three was very low during the 70's and early 80's, but they have CHANGED. Back to your question, yes the Ford will go the miles. Alot of it, US or foreign, depends upon how it has been treated by the previous owner. I think that 15k for any used vehicle with 91k sounds like too much money. I would look at a new car with a warranty. Thats just my opinion however. If you are thinking of buying a new car, I would stay strictly American. The quality and value you get is outstanding. Parts, if needed, and ALL cars need parts eventually, are MUCH cheaper to buy and EASIER to find. It is also easier to find someone to work on them. While I am at it, and for what it is worth, each American car that is built and sold generates about 6,000 dollars in tax revenue. Can you imagine how low our taxes would be or how low the national debt would be if everyone bought an American car? clovis

-- clovis (clovis97@Yahoo.com), June 14, 2001.

Miles as a measure of a vehicle may be a bit skewed. City cars (lots of stop, go, turn, potholes...) which have been treated poorly may be in fairly bad shape with low miles. A highway driven vehicle well maintained may have more miles but still may be in good condition. In my experience, working on some of the newer cars yourself is a nightmare and parts/service are extremely expensive. Insurance may also be very expensive for newer vehicles. An older well maintained vehicle is easier/cheaper to fix, cheaper to insure and would get my vote. That 1997 vehicle will be worth about half what you pay for it in just a few years. As for foreign cars... they're fine until they break... and seemingly ordinary parts cost a small fortune.

cheers,

-- Max (Maxel@inwindsor.com), June 15, 2001.

We only buy American made cars or trucks. My brother on the other hand only buy toyota trucks and he replaces them all the time telling us because he needs it for business and it has a 100,000 on it. Maybe!!! Now we have five vehicles (a bit much I know) from 1972 - 2000, the 72 is a Buick and does not smoke, the Cheve 90 conversion van is great as is the little 91 Ford Escort (no smoking with 150,000 miles on), I love my 99 Olds Cutlass and the 2000 Ford Ranger is wonderful. By the way someone hit the Cutlass with my daughter driving, and they were able to fix it where as my niece was rearended also in her Foreign SUV which they will not be able to fix for months (less damage then ours) because the parts had to be ship from whereever in the world.

-- Debbie (bwolcott@cwis.net), June 15, 2001.

The milage is about right. 15-18K/year. www.traderonline shows that at least around here $15K would be a good price(They have prices from 15-$20K). Condition of the vehicle is the key point. How has it been treaded. Putting 200K miles on the vehicle is doable but you will have repairs during that time. Figure about $325-$350/month for a loan payment with no trade in. At 200K miles and over 10 years old that vehicle will have little value when you try to sell it.

I personally wouldnt pay that much for an explorer, but its seems to be the going rate. Milage wouldnt bother me. I have 160K on my blazer and putting 2k miles/month on it.

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), June 15, 2001.

I have a 1993 Ford Explorer with [no kidding] 238,000 miles on it. The thing about the engines that Ford uses is that the overdrive transmission allows [in my case] the engine to maintain a speed of 55 -60 mph while only doing 1500 rpms. We have a triton V8 F150 pickup truck that cooks along at 1650 rpms at that speed. This is why the current technology engines run so long with proper maintenance. And maintenance is the key in your situation. Do you have a maintenance log? Do you know what dealership maintained it? There are online services where you can look up [for a charge] the history of a vehicle. Do you trust the person [company] selling the vehicle? Do you have a AAA Diagnostic center close by? A good deal for putting the car on the computer and see how it looks. Do you have a mechanic you can trust who can look at the car? Other that a good doctor and undertaker, a person needs a good mechanic. I think the price is about right. One thing, if you buy it, buy a new battery before winter, no matter what anyones tells you about the battery in the car.

-- Rickstir (rpowell@email.ccis.edu), June 15, 2001.

Regarding our '92 F-150, it more than sucks and is the worse truck that we've ever owned. About everything under the hood and under the body has been replaced. The '85 was terrific and should have been kept. Saw this neat bumper sticker we were tempted to buy: "Friends don't let friends buy Fords". My personal opinion.

A lot like: Fix Or Repair Daily or Found On Road Dead. Definitely not: First On Race Day. :)

But the ancient Oldsmobile keeps on humming. And GM is dropping the line. Go figure.

Our past dealings with foreign made models will never be repeated. Buy American. Keep my spouse--and Americans-- employed.

-- Sandy Davis (smd2@netzero.net), June 15, 2001.

To paraphrase another poster please do not be swayed by individual stories, with varying levels of care and circumstance.

The fact is that crash tests driving at 40 MPH resulted in injury events ocurring in the cab. My 91 Honda wagon has 135k, is 10 years old was crashed on the passenger side, and totalled in the rear (separate incidents). It was pulled out, rear replaced, and drives like new . It still has original hoses, radiator, wiring. I must say the A/C compressor went up after 6 years, and was disappointed in that. But engine , clutch, tranny, parts and structural integrity are superior.

I would rather buy an American made truck, but I choose to survive a front end wreck as safely as I did (no injuries to me) my rear end wreck.

-- Rick K (rick_122@hotmail.com), June 15, 2001.

Hi, Beth, Funny you should ask that. I ended up at the Kelly Blue Book site the other day, for absolutely NO reason, and book marked it. You can check the price for used vehicles there. :)

http://www.kbb.com/

Jennifer L.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@imcnet.net), June 15, 2001.

Beth, We bought a 97 Explorer in Jan or early March. It is an XLT with automatic transmission, 4x4, air in the back seat, and power everything. We love it. It is in great mechanical condition and looks new after and wash and vaccum. We only paid 10,500 at the Ford dealership in our area. It has the big 6 cylinder engine and towing package. We bought it with 87,000 miles on it. We are very happy with it and have have had no trouble with it. Husband thinks 15,000 is a bit high. He said the look at the Kelley Blue Book on the internet. Around here you take that price and deduct about 1-2,000 off the Blue book price. I hope you get as good a deal as we did. Susan

-- Susan (mdefran@cei.net), June 15, 2001.

I have a 97 F-250 HD, XLT, 4X4-Off Road, automatic locking hubs, extended Cab, long bed with Posi-traction front & rear, 460 engine & 4:10-1 rear end and 4-speed automatic transmission, heavy duty suspension, camper package, transmission cooler and after market Air Bag Suspension system. It gets 11 MPG empty or with a 3000# camper on it. It was built in Mexico. How do you buy American.

My 1999 Ford/New Holland Tractor, built with a 57 HP Fiat,(Italian) designed diesel engine,(made by Iveco)with Chinese components was assembled in Mexico?

My 1975 F-100 4X4 Ranger W/360 engine, 3:73-1 rear end, was built in Canada.

-- Hendo (redgate@echoweb.net), June 16, 2001.

Remember the '97 Expedition was the first year they came out. I've read of some transmission trouble in the '97 and '98. Not that you'll have that trouble with this one. $15k is not a bad price, buy an extended warranty. I'm buying a '99 and will be getting the extended warranty. They range in cost depending on the type of coverage you want. For bumper-to-bumper coverage it could cost up to $2k. The thing for you is they only cover vehicles up to 100,000 miles so you only have 9k to get coverage on. But by then you'll know if you got a lemon or not. Good luck! -doug

-- Doug (dugp1@yahoo.com), September 01, 2001.

I have always been a believer that like the first response, Japaneese cars always last longer. However, i have recently re-evaluated that standpoint. I have a 93 Ford Explorer with 250,000 miles on it that has been put through HELL and is still truckin. I also have a 97 Toyota 4Runner that has had many more problems and it only has 90,000 miles. Im beginning to think Americans are catching on...

-- (lexeddie@yahoo.com), December 29, 2001.