driver4523
Member
- Joined
- November 22, 2013
- Messages
- 35
- Reaction score
- 0
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2011 - Ford Explorer Limi
I've been doing a TON of research online in the last 24 hours and hoping you guys can jump in and give me some feedback.
I have a 2011 Explorer Limited White fully loaded 4x4, black leather, split bucket seats with middle console, with 51,000 miles on it sitting in my drive way. The dealership is letting me drive it for the weekend. We REALLY like the car. A lot, A lot! What we don't like is all of the stuff we've been reading online about them. I'm friends with the finance manger there and he is selling me the car at his cost which is 29,888. This seems to be a great price. I don't need the 4x4 so I wish I could find this exact car without the 4x4 to save a little more money, but I haven't been able to. None the less, this seems like a great price for this car. The sticker price when it was new was 49K. (It was the 302 option and the drivers package....all really nice stuff!)
We think it looks great, it's in mint condition, and has a ton of features on it that we really like. Way more features than you could get on any other car around this price range...especially with the 3rd row seating, which we need.
It looks like lots of folks have issues with leaks, power steering, control arms, and transmission...or at least lots of folks that come here to post. I know that people that are happy with their car for the most part aren't going to come online and post...it's mostly going to be people looking for an answer to their problem.
The car has only had one owner, and the car has had all scheduled service at the dealership. They haven't had to do any major repairs on the car , and it looks brand new inside.
I want to buy this car. My wife and I both like it. It runs perfectly. There's nothing else in this price range we like nearly as much..including the Tahoe's / Yukons. It's amazing how many features are packed into this Limited. (And I even like the MFT with the current update. I don't really plan on using the voice activated stuff...but I think the lcd screen looks fantastic.)
I'm worried about some of the concerns folks have had on here. It sounds like the transmission is a big one. I'm curious how if anyone has any feedback as to how wide spread the transmission problem is, and how soon it would pop up if it was going to. (You read on these forums and it makes it seems like everyone is having the issue.) If the car I'm buying was going to have the transmission issue would it have popped up by 50K miles? Also same with the leaks. We've been getting a ton of rain where we live lately and I haven't noticed any issues at all with leaks. I look all around the 3rd row seat and the spare tire compartment (I had read on the forums to check that area as water would collect there if it was leaking) and I couldn't see any water. I'm assuming the first owner would have noticed it if was going to leak. Just wondering if just because it hasn't started leaking at 50K does is that a pretty good sign that it won't? This makes me nervous. Not sure if its something I should get nervous about, or if it should be a deal breaker.
I didn't even notice how the passenger side speaker grill is a littler lower than the dash therefore it doesn't line up perfectly, and there is a gap on one side of the lift gate until I read this forum. (To be honest I doubt I would have noticed until I started reading.) That isn't a huge deal to me considering how feature rich this car is.
I can't duplicate the bad smell issue that some folks are having on here.
I did notice that the keyless entry panel is starting to come undone at the top, and I can stick my finger in-between it and the door panel.
I have also noticed a very very very faint sound that sounds like a tea kettle whistling if you listen very closely from outside the car when you start it.
As I mentioned I'm friends with the finance manger and he isn't trying to sell me the car at all. The dealership isn't making any money on the car or the financing. He just let me drive it for the weekend so I could see if I liked it. (We were going to buy a Tahoe, and just randomly stumbled upon the Explorer and really liked it....and once we got in it were blown away by all of the features..it has everything and more that we wanted. It blows the Tahoe away in appearance and features!)
I was told to make a list of any issues or things I noticed with the Explorer over the weekend and they would take care of it all if I wanted to purchase it. Also since the car is certified I have a 12 month / 12K warranty from the date of purchase for other things that could happen.
I also plan on buying a Ford premium care warranty which I can also buy at cost if I decide to purchase the car. It seems like it offers a good piece of mind, especially with all the electronics in the car. it seems like for the most part people who have had mechanical issues have had them taken care of by the dealer. So if issues did pop up with the car after I buy it, it looks like I'd be taken care of. I just want to be sure any issues there are going on with the car now as taken care of before I buy it.
As I mentioned the previous owner took great care of it, preformed all scheduled maintenance and never really had any problems. Which makes me feel a little better.
Curious if you guys would feel ok with this purchase.
Also on a side note, I've talked to some folks that said that Ford in general has a reputation of having lots of issues with the cars going in and out of the shop..just just the Explorers, but Ford in general. He said that may have been back in the 80's and things may be different now. Curious what you guys think about Ford's reliability over the years..have they gotten better since the 80s?
This would be our first Ford, so I appreciate you taking the time to chime in.
As I said, I really want to feel ok buying this car as we really like it, and it would fit our family perfectly.
I have a 2011 Explorer Limited White fully loaded 4x4, black leather, split bucket seats with middle console, with 51,000 miles on it sitting in my drive way. The dealership is letting me drive it for the weekend. We REALLY like the car. A lot, A lot! What we don't like is all of the stuff we've been reading online about them. I'm friends with the finance manger there and he is selling me the car at his cost which is 29,888. This seems to be a great price. I don't need the 4x4 so I wish I could find this exact car without the 4x4 to save a little more money, but I haven't been able to. None the less, this seems like a great price for this car. The sticker price when it was new was 49K. (It was the 302 option and the drivers package....all really nice stuff!)
We think it looks great, it's in mint condition, and has a ton of features on it that we really like. Way more features than you could get on any other car around this price range...especially with the 3rd row seating, which we need.
It looks like lots of folks have issues with leaks, power steering, control arms, and transmission...or at least lots of folks that come here to post. I know that people that are happy with their car for the most part aren't going to come online and post...it's mostly going to be people looking for an answer to their problem.
The car has only had one owner, and the car has had all scheduled service at the dealership. They haven't had to do any major repairs on the car , and it looks brand new inside.
I want to buy this car. My wife and I both like it. It runs perfectly. There's nothing else in this price range we like nearly as much..including the Tahoe's / Yukons. It's amazing how many features are packed into this Limited. (And I even like the MFT with the current update. I don't really plan on using the voice activated stuff...but I think the lcd screen looks fantastic.)
I'm worried about some of the concerns folks have had on here. It sounds like the transmission is a big one. I'm curious how if anyone has any feedback as to how wide spread the transmission problem is, and how soon it would pop up if it was going to. (You read on these forums and it makes it seems like everyone is having the issue.) If the car I'm buying was going to have the transmission issue would it have popped up by 50K miles? Also same with the leaks. We've been getting a ton of rain where we live lately and I haven't noticed any issues at all with leaks. I look all around the 3rd row seat and the spare tire compartment (I had read on the forums to check that area as water would collect there if it was leaking) and I couldn't see any water. I'm assuming the first owner would have noticed it if was going to leak. Just wondering if just because it hasn't started leaking at 50K does is that a pretty good sign that it won't? This makes me nervous. Not sure if its something I should get nervous about, or if it should be a deal breaker.
I didn't even notice how the passenger side speaker grill is a littler lower than the dash therefore it doesn't line up perfectly, and there is a gap on one side of the lift gate until I read this forum. (To be honest I doubt I would have noticed until I started reading.) That isn't a huge deal to me considering how feature rich this car is.
I can't duplicate the bad smell issue that some folks are having on here.
I did notice that the keyless entry panel is starting to come undone at the top, and I can stick my finger in-between it and the door panel.
I have also noticed a very very very faint sound that sounds like a tea kettle whistling if you listen very closely from outside the car when you start it.
As I mentioned I'm friends with the finance manger and he isn't trying to sell me the car at all. The dealership isn't making any money on the car or the financing. He just let me drive it for the weekend so I could see if I liked it. (We were going to buy a Tahoe, and just randomly stumbled upon the Explorer and really liked it....and once we got in it were blown away by all of the features..it has everything and more that we wanted. It blows the Tahoe away in appearance and features!)
I was told to make a list of any issues or things I noticed with the Explorer over the weekend and they would take care of it all if I wanted to purchase it. Also since the car is certified I have a 12 month / 12K warranty from the date of purchase for other things that could happen.
I also plan on buying a Ford premium care warranty which I can also buy at cost if I decide to purchase the car. It seems like it offers a good piece of mind, especially with all the electronics in the car. it seems like for the most part people who have had mechanical issues have had them taken care of by the dealer. So if issues did pop up with the car after I buy it, it looks like I'd be taken care of. I just want to be sure any issues there are going on with the car now as taken care of before I buy it.
As I mentioned the previous owner took great care of it, preformed all scheduled maintenance and never really had any problems. Which makes me feel a little better.
Curious if you guys would feel ok with this purchase.
Also on a side note, I've talked to some folks that said that Ford in general has a reputation of having lots of issues with the cars going in and out of the shop..just just the Explorers, but Ford in general. He said that may have been back in the 80's and things may be different now. Curious what you guys think about Ford's reliability over the years..have they gotten better since the 80s?
This would be our first Ford, so I appreciate you taking the time to chime in.
As I said, I really want to feel ok buying this car as we really like it, and it would fit our family perfectly.