Buying a 2009 Limited

[Douwe]

I am just about to pull the trigger on buying a 2009 Limited AWD w V8.
Options are 20" wheels and Nav.
CA Emissions, White Sand Tri coat w Camel interior.
29K mile with 24K asking price.

Vehicle is in outstanding condition w original tires that need replacing soon.
There seems to be some mild vibration between 45 and 60 MPH but no shimmy. I am guessing vibration is tire balance and I had a new Toyota 4x4 TRD truck once that required special lug centric balancing that no one ever got right so I eventually got rid of it because of the vibration issue. Any thoughts on the vibration I feel on the Explorer and any anticipated problems getting the 20" wheels and tires balanced?

Also the original owner has Ford Extended Warranty and ESP due to expire in 2015 and I found that the ESP is transferrable with a small fee but I can not find info. on transferring the Extended Warranty, thoughts?

 

[Explorer_PL]

From what I see around this is a very good price for that top model with that mileage.
I had vibration on mine, and it was usually tires that and to be balanced, or a wheel bearing, or warped rotors.

 

[Douwe]

From what I see around this is a very good price for that top model with that mileage.
I had vibration on mine, and it was usually tires that and to be balanced, or a wheel bearing, or warped rotors.

Yes, I agree the price is reasonable to very good for low mileage, condition, one owner, with ESP. As my brother-in-law put it: a potential creampuff.

I don't think the rotors are warped since there was no pulsing or sign of vibration when braking. The owner acknowledged that he had vibration and that he had the tires balanced, early on, and the vibration went away for a while but then came back. Alignment and steering was fine and no unusual wear pattern on original tires so hopefully not a bent or defective wheel but I guess I won't know unless I have the tires replaced and balanced.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Flag Gibby]

If it is still on the original tires they are about 5 years old and will have lost a significant amount of flexibility and will cause them to not balance well. Besides, I have never gotten much more than 30K miles out of a set of factory tires before I felt like they were just not riding very well anymore. As far as mounting and balancing 20" rims/tires, it is very common now so it is really not a big deal anymore and all tire shops are used to that rim/tire size.

 

[Explorer_PL]

I had new tires put on, had horrible vibration, went back, they rebalanced, just a little improvement, went to a small tire shop and rebalanced again, and it was perfect. I start to feel slight vibration after 18k miles, maybe time to re-balance again.

 

[Douwe]

Excellent answers, thanks. Time to start pricing tires. Any favorites for this vehicle?

 

[Explorer_PL]

I am on my 4th set, so I have a pretty good perspective.
Original Pirellis were gone by 40k. Then I had the least expensive Khumos that lasted 60k miles. Then I had Bridgestone Duelers, lasted 49k miles, and now again Bridgestone, different model.
After the Khumos I went from 235-65-18 to 265-60-18, and the truck looks much better, I could not stand the skinny 235s.
But bottom line is that Khumos gave me the most miles.

 

[Douwe]

Well I committed to buy and will pick it up Saturday morning.

I'll check out the Khumos (never heard of that brand). I have always had either Goodyear, Michelin, or Pirelli in the past (Pirellis, IMHO, were the best back when I had Alfa's). I am not terribly concerned about wear as I am more interested in sticking to the road, quiet, and comfort.

BTW, my new ride has 20" wheels and they do look great!

Thanks for the tip

 

[Flag Gibby]

I had new tires put on, had horrible vibration, went back, they rebalanced, just a little improvement, went to a small tire shop and rebalanced again, and it was perfect. I start to feel slight vibration after 18k miles, maybe time to re-balance again.

You should be balancing/rotating the tires every 8K miles maximum to get the most out of them and some shops/manufacturers say to do it every 5K miles.

 

[Flag Gibby]

Well I committed to buy and will pick it up Saturday morning.

I'll check out the Khumos (never heard of that brand). I have always had either Goodyear, Michelin, or Pirelli in the past (Pirellis, IMHO, were the best back when I had Alfa's). I am not terribly concerned about wear as I am more interested in sticking to the road, quiet, and comfort.

BTW, my new ride has 20" wheels and they do look great!

Thanks for the tip

My neighbor has 20's on his 2011 Explorer and just put a set of Kumho Ecsta STX and absolutely loves the way they handle, however that one does not come in the size you need. The Eco Solus KL21 is the only tire they offer in the size you need and they seem to be lacking in wet grip when tire rack compared them to a Pirelli or Michelin. It looks like your best bet for overall year round performance would be the Yokohama Parada Spec-X and run about $25 more per tire than the Kumho's.

 

[Douwe]

Sounds good, thanks. Unfortunately the tire store I have been buying from for 20 years no longer carries Yokohama so I will have to decide should I go with a different store or should I try a different brand. The price and reviews on the Yoko's do look attractive.
Thanks again

 

[thebrakeman]

I transferred the ESP when we purchased our Mounty. The price was listed to be $50 to transfer, but was only $35 when I actually got to the dealer. Be aware, the seller is entitled to a prorated refund on the ESP contract, unless they specifically write a letter stating that they are giving up that right. The dealer will not transfer without this letter. Make sure you have the contract, read up on it, and make sure the seller provides that letter as part of the deal. Otherwise, you could end up with the truck, then the seller cashes in on the contract.

 

[Douwe]

I transferred the ESP when we purchased our Mounty. The price was listed to be $50 to transfer, but was only $35 when I actually got to the dealer. Be aware, the seller is entitled to a prorated refund on the ESP contract, unless they specifically write a letter stating that they are giving up that right. The dealer will not transfer without this letter. Make sure you have the contract, read up on it, and make sure the seller provides that letter as part of the deal. Otherwise, you could end up with the truck, then the seller cashes in on the contract.

Good point and fortunately I did my homework and everything you say is correct so I have agreement with the seller to provide the letter(s) (he has both ESP and EMP). Thanks

 

[thebrakeman]

Yeah, the dealer started to tell me that I needed the letter, and he was shocked when I handed it to him.