1st Gen Ford Escape reliability

[Kidd7]

I'm in the market for a new to me SUV. I'm curious if anyone has any feedback on the 1st Gen Ford Escape. I've seen a number of them for sale in the $5k range.
Are these things reliable? Any major problems/ concerns? Does the engine/ tranny blow up at 100k, or something like that? Thanks for any feedback.

 

[94Eddie]

I think they are very reliable. My son has had two of them. The first one he totaled after driving it for quite a while. The second one he is still driving. He never had any major repairs with either vehicle. I would recommend getting one with the 3.0L Duratech V6. That engine is extremely reliable (the 2.3L four cylinder isn't bad either). We had the V6 in a 2003 Sable that that only needed regular maintenance for the 190k miles we owned it. We gifted it to a person that was in a tough spot and as far as I know she is still driving it. Since the 1st gen Escapes are pretty old by now you should check it out thoroughly. If you buy one replace all the fluids to keep it reliable going forward. Also, I suggest getting one with no more than 100k-120k miles on it or less to ensure you have enough life left in it. I think they can typically go 200k miles or more with good maintenance. Lastly, don't buy one with a lot of rust issues if you can help it.