Should I sell? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Should I sell?

coreyDC

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February 13, 2006
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DC
Year, Model & Trim Level
2002 EB
I've got an 02 Ex EB that i'm just about fed up with. It's in great shape now, but i've poured nearly $8k into it in the last 2 years. Wheel bearing went last year and the tranny just got rebuilt this year, as well as 2 snapped rear coil springs. I believe it was built in early 02.

I've lost faith in the reliabilty of this truck. This is certainly demoralizing: http://www.carcomplaints.com/worst_vehicles.shtml. I see many complaints on the boards of people getting the tranny redone several times. only lost one bearing so far, so are the other 3 getting ready? I have a fear of impending financial doom, is this unreasonable?

my plan is to sell the truck for ~$8k and purchase something a bit more historically reliable for around the same price. Subaru forester or outback probably. I really don't need all the EB features and niceties, i'd rather have a base model subie that's reliable.

the gas mileage is painful as well, but i don't drive it that much so it's not as big a concern as reliability.

what do you guys think? should i cross my fingers and keep it, or do a lateral trade?
 



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I just watched a piece on tv about a guy with an 02 EB that was fed up with the gas he was having to buy. He was offered $3,800.00 on trade and still owed $8,500.00 on his EB. In your case If I had spent that much on the EB I would drive it a while longer and not take such a loss. The price will level off or go up when winter comes around, and people need 4wd again. On the plus side now is the time to buy a used suv every lot has more than enough for a good selection. I just bought my 03 last June for $12,000 and I sure would not give it away for $8,000 this year. Any repair is cheaper than the big car payments for a new car. And if I buy another used vehicle I have to start all over again in unexpected repairs. Anyone that trades in a vehicle, does so for a reason. You might get one that the person was just tired of it, or it may need everything under the sun replaced. You now know your EB better than anyone, and I would drive it for a while longer.
 






great points, thanks for the feedback. just 2 items to clarify my situation. i would not take a loss, i would purchase a used car for whatever i sell my Ex for. And I will not be taking on any car payments, for the same reason.

thanks, and keep 'em coming!
 






The only problem I see is that you have paid for all these repairs for nothing basically. If you are not going to keep the car then you are not going to get much benefit from the repair dollars other than it allows you to sell.

My '02 has 122k miles on it and has been fairly solid. I did have to replace both rear wheel bearings but $700 in repairs are not bad at this point.

I am kind of having the same thoughts that you are, maybe I should get rid of it before I have to replace a tranny or something expensive. I have about decided to just ride it out. Mine is not quite paid for yet, bought it used, so that helps me want to keep it.
 






I'm not sure the Subies will be that much more reliable. Even with no sensitivity to price and gas, I'd take the known over the unknown. Plus I think replacement parts and maintenance will be cheaper and easier. Especially with the help of a certain forum.
 






I have always wondered if I should sell mine as well for the known tranny and bearing issues. My 02 has 44k and no repairs has ever been made on it thus far. I think I am just going to keep mine until the engine dies. I bought a manual on how to rebuild the 5r55w, so when it dies I'm going to try and rebuild it myself. And I think I will tackle the wheel bearings myself to save the money when they come around.

My neighbor is the original owner of a 1996 nissan pathfinder with over 200k city miles on the ticker, the water pump or transmission has never been touched on it. He just recently made his first repair on it- new starter, kind of makes you sick doesn't it?

How do other people feel about the reliability of their 3 gen explorers?
 






basically, this all comes down to... what else is left to break on my ex? do people really have multiple tranny rebuilds on the 02s? is it likely that the other 3 wheel bearings will go? is my 02 really more reliable than an equivalent subaru?
 






Remember that the 99-02 2.5 Subaru engines were notorious for blown head gaskets.

I think that spending $8,000 on your Ex means losing $, I doubt you will get that much for it in this market. That's about blue book, and people are not buying SUVs.

Still, if you have totally lost confidence in it's reliability, you will not be happy driving it, always waiting for something else to go out. For peace of mind it may be worth the lost $.
 






I am sure even with the head gasket issues a comparable year and mileage Subaru would have less repair costs than an Explorer. Plus an extra 10 mpg adds up fast. If my drive to work gets any longer I am going to pick up a beater, and a Subaru would be one of my top choices.
 






How much time left on the transmission warranty? Wheel bearings are comparatively inexpensive. If you are intent on selling, I would keep it at least through the transmission warranty and try to sell in the late fall when demand would be higher.

I thought about selling my 03 because of rising gas prices. Unfortunately the market is saturated with SUV's and I didn't think I could get $5,000 for it in today's market. So my wife and I traded cars for now. She's a soccer mom now...
 






well,
whether they want to admit it or not, I think a lot of people with the latest style bodies are thinking the same thing.

The truth now is two fold.

First, unless you are willing to accept a HUGE loss, presumably to stave off losing even more money in the future, right now is the worst time in history to sell a SUV. I used to dream of the day stupid city dwellers would leave the SUV's to people that saw dirt occasionally. Well, I got it. Just not the way I wanted it.... lol

Second, the grass may seem greener, but if you spend any time listening to any of the other forums, you'll find out that most vehicles made now are a crapshoot. I have a friend that would like to set her Trailblazer on fire. I know a guy that just sold a Cherokee because he was tired of dumping money into it.

On the other hand, I have a 91 dodge dakota that has around 198,000 miles on it that *just* dropped its' transmission, the first real repair its' needed since I bought it in 1991. How can I be mad at that?

So, my answer is that you prolly need to hold on a little longer, unless you find somebody that offers you stupid money for it....

-Shawn
 






People are being irrational right now about gas prices. If you drive 12,000 miles per year and get 15 mpg then it will cost you $3200 with gas at $4 per gallon. If you get 30mpg then cut that in half and save $1600. Why do people go out and lose five or ten thousand dollars trading a vehicle to save $1600 per year on gas?

If you are ready to buy a new car anyway then sure it makes sense to get something a fuel efficient as possible and still meet your needs but many people want to trade or sell just to save gas when it is not financially smart to do so.
 






I'm sure I could find something pretty awesome for 1,600 a year. I drive about 20k. I could buy a brand new bike with the savings.
 






People are being irrational right now about gas prices. If you drive 12,000 miles per year and get 15 mpg then it will cost you $3200 with gas at $4 per gallon. If you get 30mpg then cut that in half and save $1600. Why do people go out and lose five or ten thousand dollars trading a vehicle to save $1600 per year on gas?

If you are ready to buy a new car anyway then sure it makes sense to get something a fuel efficient as possible and still meet your needs but many people want to trade or sell just to save gas when it is not financially smart to do so.

it's a matter of wanting the money now rather then over a period of time. People would rather save money on cheaper car payments, cheaper insurance and less gas money but pay a car payment longer, instead of sucking it up and just waiting to pay off your vehicle.
 






My 2 cents is that I also wondered what if i sell my trucks, but then I take a look out the window and realize that i know them in and out and down the line they are dependable gas guzzlers. I rather lose on gas than lose on repairs or worse, bad accident that i cant walk away from. I know for sure that i will walk away from an accident in either one of my trucks. Big Bulky Bricks ----Gotta Love em!
 






it's a matter of wanting the money now rather then over a period of time. People would rather save money on cheaper car payments, cheaper insurance and less gas money but pay a car payment longer, instead of sucking it up and just waiting to pay off your vehicle.

I've thought about getting a econobox, but it just doesn't make sense. Anything that will be reliable for any amount of time will require car payments and insurance.

I'm getting almost 20 mpg and realistically, I'm not going to do much better than 40 with an economy car. I use about 18 gal/wk now, so I'd save 9 gal/wk with an economy car. 9 gal/wk x 4 weeks = 36 gal/mo. Even at $5/gal, I'm only saving $180. Even if my insurance hit was only another $150 every 6 months, that means $25 of that savings each month goes to insurance. With the premium that efficient cars are getting, there's no way I'll get much of a car for $155/mo.

Yeah, I'm not happy with what I'm paying in gas, but it would make more sense for me to move closer to work and pay higher rent than it would for me to get a second car.
 






My 2 cents is that I also wondered what if i sell my trucks, but then I take a look out the window and realize that i know them in and out and down the line they are dependable gas guzzlers. I rather lose on gas than lose on repairs or worse, bad accident that i cant walk away from. I know for sure that i will walk away from an accident in either one of my trucks. Big Bulky Bricks ----Gotta Love em!
Explorers are tough, and fare well in accidents, but don't be foolish, people die in them everyday. There are no free rides.
 






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