fordktpjoe
Member
- Joined
- August 3, 2006
- Messages
- 41
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Bloomfield, Kentucky
OK, so I decide it's time to dump the Crown Vic in favor of an Explorer. I have a 90 mile round trip to work, and last winter taught me that the CV just wasn't made for country back roads and ice/snow.
So I find one (Explorer) on autotrader.com at a small lot about 45 minutes away from my home. Dude is asking $1995, says it runs/drives GREAT! Says it's got 85k on the clock. (Yeah....Riiiiiiight) I figure I'll start out offering $1500, since Ima pay cash, right?
So we (Wife, kids and I) make the drive out there this past Saturday to have a look, and drive the thing. Wife is already creamy for it just beacause of the color. It's red....no, not red....RED! I call it "***** Red" Her, being the more Liberal, Polite one in the family calls it "lipstick red" Yeah...the kind of lipstick ****** wear!
Anyway.
We show up and dude is INSTANTLY at her door, opening it up like the doorman at the Hyatt Regency in New York City, figuring he's got an easy sale seeing her eyes light up after seeing it "in person" so to speak.
Well, We walk over to the truck, and he heads for the garage, and comes back with a portable battery charger/jump starter....RED FLAG!!!!!
He opens the door, turns the key, and it turns over REAL slow about 3, maybe 4 turns, then spins normally, and fires right on up.....OK...
The engine is running now....doesn't seem to be missing.....but something is wrong.... it's got a HELLA vibration in it! Best I can explain is this engine is "rocking" side to side in the engine bay...kinda like it's got a bad miss in it, but it's not coughing or sputtering or anything.....weirdest thing I've ever seen!
My offer just dropped to $1000, and is dropping as I stand there....
Dude proceeds to tell me, in a language that's not english, but I can't quite make out what country he's from, that "Oh, yes it has a vibration, but it'll smooth out once it warms up. I take him at his word. I am (in my head) tallying up repair costs.
I hop in, put my foot on the brake, it's good and solid, drop it into drive, it hits good and solid...back up to reverse, solid. punch the 4x4 button, hear the slight "clunk"...good. drop to neutral, punch the 4lo button, hear the slightly louder "clunk"...good. try the power windows... The drivers window wont do anything...at all no noise, no nothing.... New motor. Pass front works fine. Pass rear goes down, wont go up without help...New nylon buttons. Driers rear works fine.
P/L work, but drivers button doesn't go up or down.
At this point my offer is down to $900, and I figure he ain't gonna go for it anyway, but what the hell, we drove 45 minutes to get here.
He asks if we wanna drive, "Sure, why not?"
Guys, I ain't sure I can describe how this thing drove, but I will try.
I didn't drive it...it drove ME! It was all over the road, didn't want to stay in it's own lane, any little crack, bump, wrinkle, or thick piece of paint on the centerline would throw this thing damn near out of control.
It was (as best as I can describe) somewhere between driving a 1948 F-3, and trying to hold on to a greased pig at the county fair! I am quite sure there are still finger sized holes in the dash pad from the wifes death grip!
That thing had SERIOUS front end issues.
At this point, my offer is down to "You pay ME $1995, and I'll take it off yer hands!"
We get back, get out of the truck on noticeably wobbly legs (didn't drive it long enough to warm it up, so I don't know if the vibration ever smoothed out!) and dude is right there..."How did ya like it?"
I just looked at him for a second, thought about making him my final offer, decided against it, told him I wasn't interested, we all piled back in the Vic, and drove off, leaving him stand there staring after us, with what can only be describe as a look of utter disgust on his face!
Anyway, the search continues....
I apologize for this being so long, and being kinda new here, lurker for quite a while, very new poster, I wasn't sure where this would go, so if it's in the wrong place, would a mod please move it?
Thanks, Joe
So I find one (Explorer) on autotrader.com at a small lot about 45 minutes away from my home. Dude is asking $1995, says it runs/drives GREAT! Says it's got 85k on the clock. (Yeah....Riiiiiiight) I figure I'll start out offering $1500, since Ima pay cash, right?
So we (Wife, kids and I) make the drive out there this past Saturday to have a look, and drive the thing. Wife is already creamy for it just beacause of the color. It's red....no, not red....RED! I call it "***** Red" Her, being the more Liberal, Polite one in the family calls it "lipstick red" Yeah...the kind of lipstick ****** wear!
Anyway.
We show up and dude is INSTANTLY at her door, opening it up like the doorman at the Hyatt Regency in New York City, figuring he's got an easy sale seeing her eyes light up after seeing it "in person" so to speak.
Well, We walk over to the truck, and he heads for the garage, and comes back with a portable battery charger/jump starter....RED FLAG!!!!!
He opens the door, turns the key, and it turns over REAL slow about 3, maybe 4 turns, then spins normally, and fires right on up.....OK...
The engine is running now....doesn't seem to be missing.....but something is wrong.... it's got a HELLA vibration in it! Best I can explain is this engine is "rocking" side to side in the engine bay...kinda like it's got a bad miss in it, but it's not coughing or sputtering or anything.....weirdest thing I've ever seen!
My offer just dropped to $1000, and is dropping as I stand there....
Dude proceeds to tell me, in a language that's not english, but I can't quite make out what country he's from, that "Oh, yes it has a vibration, but it'll smooth out once it warms up. I take him at his word. I am (in my head) tallying up repair costs.
I hop in, put my foot on the brake, it's good and solid, drop it into drive, it hits good and solid...back up to reverse, solid. punch the 4x4 button, hear the slight "clunk"...good. drop to neutral, punch the 4lo button, hear the slightly louder "clunk"...good. try the power windows... The drivers window wont do anything...at all no noise, no nothing.... New motor. Pass front works fine. Pass rear goes down, wont go up without help...New nylon buttons. Driers rear works fine.
P/L work, but drivers button doesn't go up or down.
At this point my offer is down to $900, and I figure he ain't gonna go for it anyway, but what the hell, we drove 45 minutes to get here.
He asks if we wanna drive, "Sure, why not?"
Guys, I ain't sure I can describe how this thing drove, but I will try.
I didn't drive it...it drove ME! It was all over the road, didn't want to stay in it's own lane, any little crack, bump, wrinkle, or thick piece of paint on the centerline would throw this thing damn near out of control.
It was (as best as I can describe) somewhere between driving a 1948 F-3, and trying to hold on to a greased pig at the county fair! I am quite sure there are still finger sized holes in the dash pad from the wifes death grip!
That thing had SERIOUS front end issues.
At this point, my offer is down to "You pay ME $1995, and I'll take it off yer hands!"
We get back, get out of the truck on noticeably wobbly legs (didn't drive it long enough to warm it up, so I don't know if the vibration ever smoothed out!) and dude is right there..."How did ya like it?"
I just looked at him for a second, thought about making him my final offer, decided against it, told him I wasn't interested, we all piled back in the Vic, and drove off, leaving him stand there staring after us, with what can only be describe as a look of utter disgust on his face!
Anyway, the search continues....
I apologize for this being so long, and being kinda new here, lurker for quite a while, very new poster, I wasn't sure where this would go, so if it's in the wrong place, would a mod please move it?
Thanks, Joe
