How many miles is too many when buying?

[PLH]

I’m interested in buying a 2014 limited. It has roughly 60k miles on it and I plan on owning it for the foreseeable future aka the next like 10 years. Is this too many miles? Is it unrealistic to think that it will still go past 150k miles? I put roughly 10k on my cars a year....

 

[mcpcartier]

do you do your own wrenching?

 

[PLH]

do you do your own wrenching?

My husband does minor maintenance (oil, new brakes, filters, calipers, etc) but as far as anything that requires a lift, no that will be done at a shop. I do plan on purchasing a warranty but still concerned as I’ve only owned Honda’s and they last a lifetime...

 

[1995E]

It's a great and dependable car drivetrain wise except for the PTU and waterpump. However, anything that breaks, the dealer will charge an arm and a leg for. Also, this car has more maintenance to do than your Honda...

7 & 1/2 years of ownership so far with my 2011 Explorer and I have 99K miles on it. Below are some of the things I had dealt with.

Is the car 4WD? If so you will have to worry about the PTU.

Had PTU replaced due to leak at 50K miles, it was very common for this issue.

Changing the PTU fluid, probably every 50K miles you have to change. Can be done yourself but the 2014 Explorer does not have a drain plug. That means you have to go in and siphon out whatever you can, preferably with a vacuum pump. I just did mine with a manual pump and could not really get anything out.

My engine mount started leaking at 80K miles. Did this myself with a jack to hold the engine up. Very easy to do on this car so not a big concern here.

Waterpump is the scariest maintenance item. If it fails early, you could have a dead engine so you would want to replace this every 100K miles. Problem is, it is an expensive repair since it is inside the engine so cost of this repair is $1700. However, I personally still have my stock pump at 100K miles with a lot of abuse on my engine and lots of wide open throttle runs. Personally going to see how long it takes before the waterpump fails.

My A/C compressor just went out this summer. It's a variable wobble plate compressor too so the part is like 500 bucks...

Also, there's a known carbon monoxide issue with this car but Ford is offering a free fix for this issue which honestly only mitigates but does not solve the issue completely. So keep this one in mind.

Other than that, it's a really great and dependable car. I personally abused my Explorer overloading it at times. Towed a 2003 Taurus on a dolly while having 7 people in the car... As long as you properly maintain the Explorer, it will last.

 

[PLH]

We are getting AWD so that is something to keep in mind. I’m really only nervous about the life of it after 5 years or 150,000k miles. Before then, I will have my warranty to fall back on

 

[Halwg]

60,000 is not a lot of miles if it was maintained and driven properly. If it didn't have proper care, then I'd avoid it. Look for something with around 35,000 - 40,000 miles.

 

[Rainlord]

Bought mine with 60k miles on it, and it's running great. Sure, there's more maintenance than a new car, but so far I've had nothing major break *knock on wood*.

 

[Obi1BonJovi]

Hi PLH. Congratulations on deciding to buy an Explorer, whether it be the 2014 or a more recent model. As others have already mentioned, Carbon Monoxide entering the cabin is likely the largest health-based concern you may encounter. A quick way of determining whether your prospective 2014 has this issue is to test-drive the vehicle with all Windows up, the AC turned on halfway and make certain that the Air Re-circulation button is turned off. From a stoplight or stop sign, get on the gas a few times and see if you start to experience an unpleasant smell in the cabin. Whether you do or not, you’ll want to take advantage of Ford’s Recall and have them correct the issue (Which involves re-guiding some drainage lines, re-programming the air controller module, possibly tightening the seals on the tailgate and sealing a couple other areas of potential air entry into the cabin). The good news is that it’s correctable at no cost to you.

For a vehicle at 60,000 miles, see how the transmission performs. Do you experience any hard shift points? If you do, not many folks know that Explorers have adaptive learning when it comes to driving behavior. There are YouTube videos on how you can reset and allow the Explorer to re-calibrate it’s shift points based on how you drive. Here is a LINK to that Video.
Look at the Vehicle from Behind when it’s on level ground. Does it appear to sit level? If the Rear end seems to sag toward the right, you might have a bad Rear Toe Link. These are known to go fail prematurely on our Explorers.

When you first start driving the car (cold start), listen for a Clicking or ticking noise during the first 100-200 yards. These vehicles are known to have issues with the front halfshaft (TSB 17-2095) within the first 60K miles.

There’s a number of other lesser-important TSBs (Technical Service Bulletins) out there. My advice would be to visit NHTSA and enter the Vehicle’s VIN number into the search bar (Mid-page, right-hand side), or click the “Recalls” link and learn a bit more about your specific vehicle. If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out to me. I’ve owned my 2015 Ford Explorer SPORT for nearly a year now and I’ve had 11 aspects of it corrected or repaired, based on the TSBs or Exhaust Recall.

Best of Luck and Welcome to the Forum!

 

[dsantil]

When I am looking to purchase a vehicle I divide the total amount of miles driven by yr of vehicle and stay in the range of 12K to 15K per yr. Anything more is too much. Of course it should go past 150K miles as long as it is properly maintained. We still have our 04 XLT with 155K miles & still going strong! Handed it down to our youngest son.

 

[dsantil]

I forgot to add I also look at the carfax & check for accidents!

 

[peterk9]

When I am looking to purchase a vehicle I divide the total amount of miles driven by yr of vehicle and stay in the range of 12K to 15K per yr. Anything more is too much. Of course it should go past 150K miles as long as it is properly maintained. We still have our 04 XLT with 155K miles & still going strong! Handed it down to our youngest son.

My 2017 Platinum will likely be for sale in another year or so and should have around 9,500 miles on it by then.

Peter

 

[fireball 440]

I've owned an Explorer for the past 6 years and just bought a newer (2015) one. I would recommend these SUV's to someone who is a little mechanically inclined with an attention to detail.

 

[RhinoQuartz]

My 2017 Platinum will likely be for sale in another year or so and should have around 9,500 miles on it by then.

Peter

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If you want it to stay in good hands, I'll be looking to get another one for wife in that time frame. And I'll add a couple of kilos of premium coffee beans to the price too