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Three year recap

Ellocovg

Active Member
Joined
November 15, 2015
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City, State
NJ
Year, Model & Trim Level
08 Danger Ranger XLT
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So I turned her in today and I have to say I’m going to miss her. She was a 2016 XLT with navigation, my first Ford ever. I never thought that I’d be driving a Ford but I got a good deal on a well equipped XLT which had everything that I wanted. It did have a few hiccups along the way.

First impression I was looking for a Highlander but went into the Ford dealer to check out the employee pricing promotion. The Explorer was a very good looking truck even in XLT fashion and I loved the smart key, auto start, LED headlights, and spacious third row for my young girls. Very spacious and drove smoothly, I was hooked got a few other discounts and I couldn’t believe I actually leased a Ford.

Initially at the factory they screwed up the latch for the tailgate which required the tailgate to be slammed hard for it to latch. Ofcource I didn’t discover that until a few weeks later and I somehow trusted the salesman that told me it was perfectly normal until the bushings wore in to just keep slamming it. So I worked far from home and didn’t have time to take it in to the dealer until after the tailgate dented bellow the Ford emblem from slamming it one to many times. Turns out they put one of the Torx screws in crooked at the factory but just powered it in completely stripping away all of the teeth on the bolts making the latch misaligned, eventually the latch warped so it started closing ok. The little dents were small enough to pass the lease end inspection but enough to annoy me for the three years. At one point the AC was stuck on and it wouldn’t shutoff I had to take it to the dealer to get reset. The scariest issue was with extremely low mileage the throttle body went which was a little scary. At one point the Securipad touch activated thing wouldn’t turn off so it killed my battery they had to swap out the panel and my battery because of it.

A few issues that I didn’t bother trying to get looked at since I knew I wasn’t keeping it were. I had a few bubbles underneath the paint at the edge of the hood. The truck would sometimes shift roughly from 1st to 2nd under normal acceleration “I never gun cars unless it’s absolutely needed”. I never did the exhaust fix but I definitely had a leak where the Y pipes joined as I would get a little puddle there in the middle while warming it up.

In three years we had allot of family trips in her the longest being from NJ up to Toronto and it was an extremely comfortable car only issue I had was no foot room at all for my left foot. In long drives that got very annoying quick.

Being my first Ford there were a few things that suprised me coming from a mostly Toyota background. The interior was good quality but there was allot of stuff like bolts and wire looms that I’m used to seeing hidden Ford didn’t bother doing anything with them. When you open the doors the inside of the door is painted but not finish grade like Toyota’s and when I popped the hatch the biggest surprise wasn’t the lack of a finish quality coat of paint on the jams but the two huge paint runs on the weld beads.

Reliability was better than I expected honestly but still allot more issues than I’ve had in the past. On that note I’ve gotten accustomed to any Toyota dealer giving you a loaner if the work required an overnight stay. I was shocked when I asked for a loaner from a dealer being told I could only get a loaner from the original selling dealer. Called up my original dealer and they told me they only had 4 Focus and they were all out. Turns out Ford doesn’t cover loaner cars but if you buy an extended warranty that will cover a enterprise car rental. Explains why the salesman was pushing an extended warranty to me on a lease. I y

In summary I enjoyed the truck but not enough to buy it out even though the buyout was extremely low I thought. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to a friend as I think the XLT package has everything you need for a good price. Definitely get the extended warranty if you end up buying one. My Ford fix will now come from my 08 Danger Ranger work truck still chugging along with 215k on the dash. I’ll keep my eyes open for the new Ranger or maybe even the F150 if it has a Chevy like effect where the new Colorado set off a ton of incentives on the Silverados.
 



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What'd you replace it with?
 






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I ended up unexpectedly getting a company car the ranger so I really don’t need a personal car. The explorer was a garage queen pretty much the last two years which would of been good if I was financing but bad for a lease. Nothing really popped at me as something I want to own right now. I flirted with a few ideas but ended up getting a 07 ES350. I doubt I’ll put much mileage on it at all for family trips will take my wife’s RDX. I love pickup trucks and there’s allot of excitement in the works a few years away. My plan is to avoid a car payment drive the ES for 2/3 years hopefully avoid any major issues with it and when the truck I want comes out I’ll trade it in for a few grand.
 






View attachment 164769 So I turned her in today and I have to say I’m going to miss her. She was a 2016 XLT with navigation, my first Ford ever. I never thought that I’d be driving a Ford but I got a good deal on a well equipped XLT which had everything that I wanted. It did have a few hiccups along the way.

Is that Wayne Ford?
 






Is that Wayne Ford?

Yeah it is, crazy how that place changed. When I first got the truck the place was in bad shape real dated. Over the years saw the transformation it’s beautiful there now. It reminded me of Glen Toyota which has been updated a bit not like Ford but going there it was like a time machine. I don’t think it matters as much for sales but it probably boosts up service a ton. First time I went there it sucked there were only a few chairs all occupied, last time I went there for an oil chair they have all sorts of seating huge open area even had a Keurig sort of coffee machine.
 






Man, I like your way of avoiding a car payment. Enjoy the payment free lifestyle. I'm quite fond of it myself! :D
 






Sounds good on paper problem is I’m **** and i can’t let things so I’m remembering quickly why I started driving newer cars lol. So far new brakes, tires, coolant, rear bushings, new interior leds, new battery, newer steering wheel, new shift knob, updated gps dvd, new air filter, new cabin filter, new weathertech liners, ohh yeah and new wipers. I can’t help myself the dash is a little weathered I’m looking online. The wheels can use a refinishing, some fresh paint would be nice. Yeah I have to stop myself I’m regretting not just buying a newer one now.
 






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