After 6 years of driving explorers....

[blackout881]

I bought a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta...BUT KEPT MY EX! No way would i trade her in on a car!!!! We have been through too much together, from muddy off the grid mountain access roads to almost impassable snow. There is nowhere my explorer ever stranded me. We have been through a transmission and too many wheel bearings to count but 116k strong and paid off I decided it was time to retire her as my daily driver and take a more economic approach to my 50 mile a day commute and save some miles on her and make sure she lasts a while. About the jetta though, I went with the 2.5 5 cylinder engine with a 5 speed (after 6 years of big heavy explorer driving i needed a little sportiness back!) limited edition, sunroof, ipod dock built in to armrest, bluetooth, heated seats, black leather, etc. Not only does it drive like a dream, have pretty damn good acceleration and torque but the volkswagen dealer said to me when i picked it up, "we know it is a certified used vehicle with a 2yr/24k mile warranty but my mechanic said that it is in such immaculate condition that we want to extend the warranty to 4yr/48k mile warranty for you for giving volkswagen a try". And threw in 4 new tires. and came down 2 thousand dollars on the price they were asking. Now i have to say, I am pretty impressed.

 

[obie]

Sounds like a nice new car, glad you decided not to trade the Ex in. Great deal on all the stuff they threw in too. Congrats!

 

[fusseli]

They need to "sweeten" the deal for you to get rid of a car no body wants to buy Can't wait until your timing belt breaks and your valves smash into your pistons (interference designed engine), or perhaps the plastic impellor on your water pump shears off. Sorry but I haven't heard anything but bad things about late model Volkswagons, though none were the 2.5L 5cyl. Let's hope it holds up better for you!

 

[blackout881]

Cant be worse than my explorer. 9 thousand dollars, 1 transmission, 4 wheel bearings, 4 axle seals, pinion seals, leaky valve cover gaskets, wires breaking in door jam, axle started slinging grease everywhere, etc, etc, etc. I was at the dealership every other month spending hundreds of dollars on repairs and the truck was meticulously taken care of and all maintenance followed and not abused, 80% highway driven. When i brought my truck to the dealer they would laugh and tell me how horrible my year explorers are...I would get sarcastic comments from ford mechanics such as, "look another great ford product!" Honestly, I work with the public and manage a 100k a week business and that single comment from a certified ford mechanic really upset me as a consumer. Sadly this explorer will be my last ford product. But all she has put me through i still love her!

 

[blackout881]

I did a lot of research and the 2.5 inline 5 has bulletproof reviews. Im not worried, the car will be paid off before the warranty runs out, so I am happy! Let it explode within the next 4 years lol.

 

[Joscibo]

My buddies girlfriend just launched the tranny in her Volkswagen. 3k to fix it! Ouch! To replace the heater core in these cars the entire front end has to come out dash and all! You can have the Volkswagen and your warranty probably will be used plenty.

 

[Exproblems]

Cant be worse than my explorer. 9 thousand dollars, 1 transmission, 4 wheel bearings, 4 axle seals, pinion seals, leaky valve cover gaskets, wires breaking in door jam, axle started slinging grease everywhere, etc, etc, etc. I was at the dealership every other month spending hundreds of dollars on repairs and the truck was meticulously taken care of and all maintenance followed and not abused, 80% highway driven. When i brought my truck to the dealer they would laugh and tell me how horrible my year explorers are...I would get sarcastic comments from ford mechanics such as, "look another great ford product!" Honestly, I work with the public and manage a 100k a week business and that single comment from a certified ford mechanic really upset me as a consumer. Sadly this explorer will be my last ford product. But all she has put me through i still love her!

Not saying these 3rd gen Ford Explorers don't have their share of problems, they do, ridiculous ones at that, but when complaining of spending 9K at the Ford dealership on repairs for your Explorer, you only have yourself to blame for that. When it comes to vehicle repairs, stay away from the Ford Dealerships/Stealerships! You pay thru the a$$ at a dealership in labor rates alone versus a privately owned general repair shop. As far as your new Volkswagen you just bought, good luck with it! The only thing I know about Volkswagens (especially the 70's Bug or Beetle) is their "light". Back in the 70's when I was a teenager, my friend and I picked one up and moved it from it's parking space on the street to the sidewalk as a practical joke! We also use to go "Bowling for Volkswagens" back in the day.

 

[blackout881]

lol nice. Ford charges around 100 an hr for labor and other shops charge around 90. Id rather pay the extra ten dollars an hour for someone thats going to do the job right. Actually most of the time it was cheaper and much quicker for me to get it done at the dealer..

 

[Exproblems]

lol nice. Ford charges around 100 an hr for labor and other shops charge around 90. Id rather pay the extra ten dollars an hour for someone thats going to do the job right. Actually most of the time it was cheaper and much quicker for me to get it done at the dealer..

Where I live in the Buffalo, NY area, Ford dealerships run around $120 per hour or more in labor charges and privately owned repair shops $70 per hour in labor. Bit of a difference. No guarantee the Ford mechanic will fix things right or any better than a general mechanic will.

 

[2TimingTom]

My buddy just nuked the motor in his 1987 Merc 560SL and is now driving his sister's mid-2000 Passat. He went from a German car with no working AC to a German car with no working heat. The heater core in the Passat started to leak, and as Joscibo mentioned, the entire dash has to come out to get to it. So he cut the hoses at the firewall and joined them together. Works in the warmer months, but the lack of ability to blow warm air onto the windshield can make for a major PITA in the colder/snowier months.

All cars have their share of horror stories.

You'll love having your Explorer as the backup car. I try to drive mine once a week just to keep the fluids sloshed around. The rest of the time I can pound out that pavement between my driveway and my parking spot at work with a vehicle that gets nearly twice as good of mileage and has a much less complicated driveline.

 

[00meangreenXLT]

I did the exact same thing as the op except I traded my other car in for a 2010 Jetta with 23k, and kept the Explorer of course haha. I went with 2.5 also except mine has the 6 speed conventional auto (blah but it does shift nice and has sport mode)...can't beat the gas mileage compared to the explorer, going 350+ miles on a tank vs. like 230 in my explorer...I've put roughly 5k on it so far and it's been great, i still drive my explorer a lot though, I will miss having it as my dd

 

[Geologist]

My first Ex was an 02 Eddie and was the best running vehicle I have ever driven. In the 5 years I owned this truck as a dd the brakes and wheel bearings were the only things that ever needed attention. When someone smashed into the rear end and totaled it at 163k miles I was sad to say the least.

I used the insurance money to buy an 03 Eddie with a little over 100k. Biggest hunk of junk I have ever driven. Bad mileage, gutless wonder, sounded like it had a hidden C-130 in the back and didn't even drive true in snowy conditions. When it blew up @118k miles trying to pull a very small trailer up a mountain I was almost happy (except it left me stranded 100 miles from the nearest rental company).

Ended up getting a Pontiac Aztek, 94k miles, AWD and gets like 26mpg highway. Neat crossover but nowhere near as comfortable as an Eddie.

So I bought an 04 Eddie and very glad I did. Runs like my 02 did, powerful (V6) and is a joy to drive unlike the 03 Eddie was. Also gets mileage like my 02 did, the 03 was a gas guzzler.

What I learned is that just like anything else some explorers are exceptional and some are, well, not so good. All of my Eddies were 4x4 with V6's, by rights identical vehicles but worlds apart in performance.

I hear good things about the VW 5 cylinder, probably a good pick on your part for a gas mileage getter. Just hope your heater core never goes bad... kind of like rear wheel bearings on an Ex.

 

[Robsbrd99]

Let me get this straight. You put $9k in a 2004 truck in just a few years of ownership?

 

[blackout881]

First road trip in the VW! Drove from albany ny, to Boston mass. Filled up before i left, Drove to boston and back, still have a quarter tank left with 405 miles on the odometer!!!!!!!!! I should get two more commutes to work out of it putting me around 460 miles for the entire tank of gas (all highway). All I have to say is it beats the 300 MAX I was getting out of my ex on the highway with the 23 gallon tank...The VW is 14.5. And yes, 9k into the explorer within a couple years. Everything has been replaced on her, and although i dont seem to have the dreaded rear end wine everything possible that could go wrong went wrong it seemed. Shes almost completely rebuilt. Now shes enjoying her golden years at 116k with only 16k on the new transmission. Engine runs like a champ, the only thing is it shakes on the highway and I cannot seem to get rid of the problem but the jetta pretty much takes care of that. Drove her to work today get get those fluids sloshed around and she has 140 on the odometer and half the tank of gas is gone :/. Very VERY VERY happy with the jetta so far. German engineering really impresses me so far. possibly the most solid vehicle i have ever driven and has some very impressive features. as far as the heater core, as long as it goes within the next 4 years it will be a free repair. The VW is completely covered under warranty until 4 years or 87k miles. In 4 years who knows where the hell i will be anyways~!

 

[Robsbrd99]

Hope you have much better luck with this one man. Do the routine maintence and you should be ok. Dont forget a coolant flush every now and then. Enjoy

 

[Robsbrd99]

Hope you have much better luck with this one man. Do the routine maintence and you should be ok. Dont forget a coolant flush every now and then. Enjoy

 

[blackout881]

Thanks man. Yeah going to follow all the recommended maintenance. Picked up the explorer at 69k so who knows what the previous owner did to it. Im the second owner of the VW at 35k and its a "double certified" used vehicle. Gave me 4 new tires, new brakes all around and replaced every fluid for me. Just filled up and calculated 32mpg and its only rated for 30 so I am loving it so far !

 

[blackout881]

and the 32mpg was 95% highway with aggressive driving. 70-95mph the whole way. mostly in the mid 80s for mph. Its hard not to have fun with this thing after driving a SUV for 6 years, and i have to say in 5th gear cruising you hit the gas and it goesssss! Not the traditional explorer, "hesitate, downshift, vroooooom, upshift". Wow i missed a manual transmission!