Hello, new member, pre-purchase research

[n2audio]

Hi,

We're looking to replace the family SUV which is a '99 Montero Sport LTD.
This is our 2nd Mitsu SUV, I've taken both to over 200k. No significant mechanical issues. I've done almost all maintenance myself. In short, I've been very satisfied.

The replacement process wasn't supposed to begin until next summer (4 y/o gets out of daycare!) -- HOWEVER --
I have come across an '05 Aviator locally and made the mistake of sending the link to my wife.
She seems to think we can't survive without strongly considering buying it.

It has about 92k on it, and all the usual Lincoln bells and whistles.

My personal car has been a Ford for the past ~12 yrs (3 different cars) and roughly 240k mi total.

I've read a lot of generic reviews on Avi's, but I'm most curious about longevity. I would definitely expect trying to get another ~100k out of a truck like this if we were to buy it.
So -- time for 10 questions.
Is 200k realistic w/o a small fortune (or hundreds of hrs) spent on maintenance/repair? I didn't find any surprises as far as usual replacement part prices.
Do the trans' hold up? It seems Explorers had bad rep a few years back for being on the weak side, but IDK. Frequent fluid/filter changes?
It would be used to tow a boat occasionally. 4k lb or so loaded. Hot weather, but not super long trips - 30-90 miles.
A lot of reviews mentioning small electronic issues. Window motors, door sensors etc. Are those just the few bad apples taking time to write a review or something that happens more often than it should?
Awd/4wd systems durable?

Any info you have would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[roush9799]

I wouldn't be afraid of it. I almost bought one with about that mileage on it, but it sold the day before I could go look at it. I ended up buying an '02 Mountaineer with 70K on it. I don't drive my vehicle much since i have 3 farm trucks, and my wife has her Escape. I plan on getting another 50K out of it before looking to upgrade, but 50K will take me 6 or 7 years.

 

[Styx]

Keep reading some of the info on here, they are a great vehicle. tranny's are a week link still but if it has been done or upgraded they are good. electronics can be problematic but no different than most others... I have 420k on my 02 eddy and it is fantastic... When it is finally time to get a new one I will get another... This is my 5th explorer...

Cheers... R...

 

[D Hook]

Aren't Aviators the equivalent of Expeditions?

If it is, my wife has an '05 Expedition that's going on 140,000 miles and hasn't had a lick of trouble outside of usual maintanence stuff. We wouldn't hesitate to buy another. Matter of fact, she's looking for a newer Expedition we can trade my Explorer in on and I would take her Expedition. About the same on gas.

Here's a website that deals more with Aviators. http://www.fordforums.com/f57/

 

[roush9799]

Aren't Aviators the equivalent of Expeditions?

If it is, my wife has an '05 Expedition that's going on 140,000 miles and hasn't had a lick of trouble outside of usual maintanence stuff. We wouldn't hesitate to buy another. Matter of fact, she's looking for a newer Expedition we can trade my Explorer in on and I would take her Expedition. About the same on gas.

Here's a website that deals more with Aviators. http://www.fordforums.com/f57/

Navigators are the equivalent to the Expedition, the Aviator was the equivalent of the Explorer/Mountaineer. They still make the Navigator, but stopped production of the Aviator when the Explorers/Mountaineers changed to the '06 body style. The Aviator had a different interior, and a higher horse motor than the EX/Mounty's.

 

[D Hook]

Navigators are the equivalent to the Expedition, the Aviator was the equivalent of the Explorer/Mountaineer. They still make the Navigator, but stopped production of the Aviator when the Explorers/Mountaineers changed to the '06 body style. The Aviator had a different interior, and a higher horse motor than the EX/Mounty's.

Yep, you're right. My mistake. Forgot about the Mountaineer in there. Thanks...

 

[n2audio]

Just thought I'd follow up on this...

The '05 I op'd about got snagged out from under me.

Since we had gone through the process of making financial arrangements we figured we'd go ahead and keep on searching. I liked everything about that Aviator, so we put those at the top of the list, but also had some Mounts and Expl's on the radar as well.

We ended up test driving three Aviators during a sunday afternoon, and one really stood out to me. A lot of miles at about 138k, but everything about it felt more like 38k. I eventually learned that the transmission was new, installed by the local Lincoln dealership just a few months earlier.
The body is nearly perfect (cracked lift gate applique -- yay), the interior is nearly perfect, and the price was right.

We've had it for a week and a half now, and so far very happy.

I do have a small maintenance/repair task I'll be taking care of soon -- the oil filter housing gasket is leaking. Making quite a mess in the garage, but I figure if we have 5 yrs of occasional little repairs like that I'll be perfectly satisfied.

 

[roush9799]

Congrats, with the new trans you should be good to go for a long time.