Rainlord
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- June 16, 2017
- Messages
- 178
- Reaction score
- 101
- City, State
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- Explorer 2012 XLT
I've already posted a little on the forums so I figure it's time I introduce myself .
I'm a computer programmer by trade - thanks to which I've lived all over the globe - and I currently live in Zurich, Switzerland where I bought the second car I've ever owned, a used Ford Explorer 2012 XLT (without navigation) with about 95k KM on it (59k miles) (my first car was a Nissan Xterra that I owned for about 6 months in the states). I fell in love with the Explorer the second I test drove it and "had to buy it"
, so I did. It fits our family of 3 without any problem. 7-seat cars (for a price tag below $100k) are a rare treat over in Europe.
When searching for how to "fix" the missing navigation I came across this forum, among others, and quickly learned that doing just one modification to a car is simply not enough!
However, owning a Ford Explorer over here is nothing short of a massive pain in the butt, as whenever you go to a website to buy some part, or something else, "Ford Explorer" is never an option unless you own a pre-2011 one (Eddie Bauer for example), then they might have one. Even my car insurance has the wrong car on it (but they don't seem to care) and the other documents simply show an "X" for the car ID number which means they don't have an ID for it
. Another issue over here is parking. The Explorer may not seem like a huge car in the states, but over here it's gigantic. Even similar SUV-sizes (Land rover, etc) are a bit slimmer and fit parking spaces better. I've had to crawl out the back plenty of times already...
So due to that, learning how to fix/upgrade things myself has become a must. Also, prices for thing such as oil changes etc over here are outrageous. 600 dollars is not unheard of.
A general overview of what's been done to my car since I bought it so far is:
- New serpentine belt as the old one literally flew off in pieces 2 weeks after I got it, took me 6 trips to the shop and many bruised knuckles until I learned that the EU-name for the same belt is 6PK1165, meaning it has 6 ridges and is 1165mm long. I figured a few millimeters don't matter, but man, do they ever (although I have a 1168 on the car right now).
- LED upgrade of all internal and external lights. Some are still pending due to being hard to access or need for resistors (blinker mostly and the mini ones below the headlights)
- New DRLs (also new dome light from same store)
- Bought new floor mats (Weathertec 3D) for all seats + cargo
- "Fixed" a few things with Forscan (EU radio frequencies etc)
- Bought new keys and programmed them
- New battery
- Thule roof cross bars, ordered from REI as oddly enough, a EU company such as Thule doesn't sell US-size cross bars in Europe!
- New tow hook. Previous owner had installed some massive monstrosity that had literally rusted itself stuck, I got myself a nice new shiny towhook on Amazon that I can remove with a pin. Getting the old one off took 3 metal discs on the Dremel..
- Some fun things such as tow hook break light, and various rubber gaskets and inserts for inside the car.
- Plastidipped grille and changed emblem.
- Scuff bar in cargo area, pending rubber scuff bar for outside rear once I fix pain chips.
- Sync 3 upgrade, 3.0, F7 maps, latest gracenote etc.
- "Feneix" offroad light bar installation
- Switch Pros "SP-8100" panel to control above offroad lights and some others
- Hood bug deflector
- Interior foot well LED lighting (wired to dome lights)
- Replaced center console with 2016 version (where shifter is etc)
- More DRLs
- Black aluminium rims
- Dashcam + wiring
- Backup lights in rear lower bumper
As of this writing, pending is:
- Rear dashcam
If anyone else is over here and is trying to find where to buy stuff, let me know and I can give sources for places I've found that ship to Switzerland and don't try to rip you off too bad on the shipping in the process. Ebay + Global Shipping Programme is a godsend however.
I'm a computer programmer by trade - thanks to which I've lived all over the globe - and I currently live in Zurich, Switzerland where I bought the second car I've ever owned, a used Ford Explorer 2012 XLT (without navigation) with about 95k KM on it (59k miles) (my first car was a Nissan Xterra that I owned for about 6 months in the states). I fell in love with the Explorer the second I test drove it and "had to buy it"
, so I did. It fits our family of 3 without any problem. 7-seat cars (for a price tag below $100k) are a rare treat over in Europe.When searching for how to "fix" the missing navigation I came across this forum, among others, and quickly learned that doing just one modification to a car is simply not enough!
However, owning a Ford Explorer over here is nothing short of a massive pain in the butt, as whenever you go to a website to buy some part, or something else, "Ford Explorer" is never an option unless you own a pre-2011 one (Eddie Bauer for example), then they might have one. Even my car insurance has the wrong car on it (but they don't seem to care) and the other documents simply show an "X" for the car ID number which means they don't have an ID for it
. Another issue over here is parking. The Explorer may not seem like a huge car in the states, but over here it's gigantic. Even similar SUV-sizes (Land rover, etc) are a bit slimmer and fit parking spaces better. I've had to crawl out the back plenty of times already...So due to that, learning how to fix/upgrade things myself has become a must. Also, prices for thing such as oil changes etc over here are outrageous. 600 dollars is not unheard of.
A general overview of what's been done to my car since I bought it so far is:
- New serpentine belt as the old one literally flew off in pieces 2 weeks after I got it, took me 6 trips to the shop and many bruised knuckles until I learned that the EU-name for the same belt is 6PK1165, meaning it has 6 ridges and is 1165mm long. I figured a few millimeters don't matter, but man, do they ever (although I have a 1168 on the car right now).
- LED upgrade of all internal and external lights. Some are still pending due to being hard to access or need for resistors (blinker mostly and the mini ones below the headlights)
- New DRLs (also new dome light from same store)
- Bought new floor mats (Weathertec 3D) for all seats + cargo
- "Fixed" a few things with Forscan (EU radio frequencies etc)
- Bought new keys and programmed them
- New battery
- Thule roof cross bars, ordered from REI as oddly enough, a EU company such as Thule doesn't sell US-size cross bars in Europe!
- New tow hook. Previous owner had installed some massive monstrosity that had literally rusted itself stuck, I got myself a nice new shiny towhook on Amazon that I can remove with a pin. Getting the old one off took 3 metal discs on the Dremel..
- Some fun things such as tow hook break light, and various rubber gaskets and inserts for inside the car.
- Plastidipped grille and changed emblem.
- Scuff bar in cargo area, pending rubber scuff bar for outside rear once I fix pain chips.
- Sync 3 upgrade, 3.0, F7 maps, latest gracenote etc.
- "Feneix" offroad light bar installation
- Switch Pros "SP-8100" panel to control above offroad lights and some others
- Hood bug deflector
- Interior foot well LED lighting (wired to dome lights)
- Replaced center console with 2016 version (where shifter is etc)
- More DRLs
- Black aluminium rims
- Dashcam + wiring
- Backup lights in rear lower bumper
As of this writing, pending is:
- Rear dashcam
If anyone else is over here and is trying to find where to buy stuff, let me know and I can give sources for places I've found that ship to Switzerland and don't try to rip you off too bad on the shipping in the process. Ebay + Global Shipping Programme is a godsend however.
