Looking at buying a PI

[DonDDR1]

Any disadvantages or things to look for? Why a PI over a regular model? See several 2013 for around 10k with around 100k miles.

 

[peterk9]

Any disadvantages or things to look for? Why a PI over a regular model? See several 2013 for around 10k with around 100k miles.

I guess it really comes down to what you want. I believe the PIU has fewer features than the 'regular' model which comes in several trims with different option packages. From reading another post, a used PIU seems to be quite a bit less in price than a comparable 'regular' used vehicle.

Peter

 

[Hugh Jorgen]

I just bought my 2013 PIU about two weeks ago. The guy I bought it from had only owned it about 4 weeks when he put it up for sale. I was leery about buying it because he was offing it so quick but his story was his wife hated it after he bought it for her. Absolutely hated it. My wife loved it. It is what she wanted and was local enough we went and looked at it. I was given the VIN prior to looking at it and the Carfax I pulled showed regular maintenance and no wrecks / air bag deployments. So far so good. The seller also had paperwork from a Ford dealer supposedly giving it a clean bill of health which he shared with me. He did casually mention it needed a exhaust gasket replacement. I could hear the putter of a leak but it had no other issues so after a test drive we bought it. It made the hour long drive home no problem and runs great. Nice and tight with NO rattles showing 127,000 miles.

I have noticed a bit of a exhaust smell when turning on the heater / defroster. Coupled with the noise of a leak I sent it to a shop for a look see. One manifold gasket was leaking where we could see and the other was missing a stud and there was soot on the side of the block so both were leaking. After pulling the front manifold and replacing the gasket and bolts / studs the rear one was pulled and the gasket was fine. The manifold was cracked on the bottom side from heat. The reinstalled front one was pulled back off for a closer look and it too was cracked! The manifold / catalytic converter is all one piece and I imagine they get extremely hot, especially if a unit has a lot of idling time. New manifolds were ordered from Ford. There are 4 (!) oxygen sensors on these manifolds and the top ones are almost as expensive as the manifolds! The bottom ones are about 1/2 the price of the tops. This has turned out to be a very expensive repair on a vehicle we just bought! If you are looking at a PIU and you hear a exhaust leak be advised it could be very costly.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

I would say in buying a used PI that you know what you are getting into ... while many used LEO vehicles may have (number used for example) 75,000 miles in reality that "usage" on the engine and the associated idling could be twice that. So keep in mind on auctions or "great deals" that you could have repair bills (like cited above) in your future.

 

[Jmac788]

I was looking at "regular" Explorers but after some research I found out that quite a few of them have power steering issues because the EPAS fails. But I was wondering if the PIUs are having the same issues cause I found one that I am interested in purchasing? Thanks.