Hi guys!

Finally i found a msg board that could answer all my questions:)

Its like this. Me and my girlfriend are about to buy our first car and we have two rather big dogs so we thougt this car would be great for us. But i i know NOTHING about the car, at all. So i hope someone in here could take his/her time and help me out. Or pm me or something.

First of all. It cant cost me more then 6500$ How old or new car do you think i can get? around 90-92??

What should i look out for when i buy a used ford explorer, something special like transmission??

Is it easy to find spare parts? Maybe hard for you to tell when i live at the other side of the ocean
:)

I hope i wrote this at the right place. Otherwise maybe some moderator can move it where it belong. And that you can see what i mean behind all those misspellings

/nothing

transmition is a definate....parts are easy to find in the u.s....... and i know for a fact two dogs will fit in it....i guess you can watch out for tires too make sure there not the ones that where recalled a year ago....just take it to an independent mechanic and have them take a look at it...and just look for normal wear and tear on the engine...thats what i did

Well nothing, you came to the right place! Here is my experience with Explorers. I just bough my '93 in May for $3700. She had 112,000 miles on her and been used lightly off-road and cared well for by her previous owner. Oil was changed every 3,000 miles and all mehcanical problems were handled well. Still has original engine and tranny, which are good for an Explorer of this age. If you are really looking for something under about 7K you might be able to find upwards of a 97 2WD or a 95-96 4WD. Make sure you take it to a respected mechanic and have them check it for any mechanical problems FIRST. You don't want to buy a truck with hidden problems! Spare parts are no problem. With the explorer being the most popular SUV on the road, there is no shortage of parts! Good luck in your search, and welcome to the board!

EDIT: Explorers are also KICKASS trucks both on and off the road!

wow thanks guys for those quick answers. Its just too bad that you seem to get a explorer from 1992 for 6500$ over here. I wonder how much it would cost to ship one over from usa ;)

About that tyre problems. What kind of tires was that??
And is there much difference between a 2wd and a 4wd? Im not gonna use it for any offroad driving.

For $6500 I would buy a 97 4x4 with the SOHC engine.

Unless you want to build it to go four wheeling, then get a 94 Limited with a 5 speed, or if you do get an auto plan to rebuild it.

i looked it up and a explorer from -97 would cost me anything from 13-15 000$ so thats kind of out of the question :mad:

i guess the prices are a lot higher over there! i wonder if you could come to the US for a few weeks and buy a truck and end up saving a bunch of money (like we can do with German cars)

thats probably not in the cards though so then, your looking at one of the 1st generation explorers like a 92 as you pointed out. on those you don't have to worry about the tire problems, but you should be on the lookout for a bad transmission particularly if its an auto. our old one went 156.000 before we sold it, but many people have horror stories of trannies failing much sooner. also, look out for rust forming on the rear tailgate, or under the rear doors or anywhere else that it may have started to form on the vehicle you go to look at. finally, in buying a 1st gen i would make sure it wasn't wheeled too heavily by a previous owner.

btw- how many explorers are there over there in sweden? what other choices do you have for suv's?

Oh okay, well I could find one around here for that much......my best friend picked up a 97 Limited with the SOHC for $7000....

Here's the deal:

91-94 Explorers have the 4.0L OHV engine
They also use a dana 35 twin torshion beam front suspension, great for lifting and going off road.
They are extremely reliable, very high mileage vehicles and you definatley can get your $$$$'s worth.
they are also very easy to work on if you like doing stuff yourself.

In 95 they switched over to a IFs front suspension. Very nice to drive, semi off road capable, can be built to go off road but it cost more and they are not as capable.
1997 was the first year the 4.0L SOHC engine was offered. I believe 95 was the first year the5.0L was offered in a 4 door Explorer as well.

For $6500 you can get yourself one heck of a 94 Explorer, if you like leather get the Limited or Eddie Bauer (limited is top of the line) Also check out the Mercury Mountaineer of the same years, same truck.
If it is an Automatic check to see ifit has ever been serviced or rebuilt.

Look for rust on the rocker panels (in front of rear wheels) and expect to do a little bit of work to the truck when you first get it, as these trucks are hard on brakes, shocks, and suspension bushings.

[i]Originally posted by expo5.0
btw- how many explorers are there over there in sweden? what other choices do you have for suv's? [/B]

I have no idea how meny they are over here but its lots of them. I have to agree that i first thought of a jeep cherokee but after i went to a cherokee forum i kind of went another direction. Most of them said that its almost always something wong with those jeep cherokee`s and that scared me. Im not planning on laying under my car every evening after i come home from work :D

I have thought about going down to Germay and look for a explorer. They are usually alot cheaper then they are here. Its just that i dont know anyone that could go along and check the car out for me.

When i hear that i can ge a 97 for the kind of money i got....i really consider comming over to usa and get me a fine example.......do they flote, så i can take it home with me ;)

Maybe some here in the forum could help me find a good example?

there are many nice ones here in the states that are 2nd generation explorers with fairly low miles for those $$$. you could even get a v8, but i bet gas prices are a little high over there too huh? i have no idea what you'd have to do to get around taxes. if we go to germany we have to spend like two weeks and 3,000 miles there in order to avoid being heavily taxed, but that is with a new car. with a used car you may be able to just pick it up and ship it.