Jon M
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- January 12, 2017
- Messages
- 736
- Reaction score
- 156
- City, State
- Mount Pleasant, SC
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2015 Explorer XLT
Back in June, I got rear ended. It didn't seem that bad at first, but the car that hit me nose dived (I was the front of a four car) and went under the rear bumper, hitting my left rear wheel. $8k later, they had replaced the left quarter, bumper, the entire left rear suspension (they called it the knee, which I'd never heard before), the cross member, and the BLS radar. The quarter panel and radar were almost half of the cost.
After I got it back, it just didn't feel right. There was a low level vibration. They rechecked it and couldn't find anything. I think it was probably just the fact that the left rear was all new, and the right rear had 68k on it. I wasn't going to start throwing money at it to figure it out, so I traded it.
I wasn't about to dive into the issues of the 2020 Explorer, so I bought a 2021 Honda Pilot SE. It's basically identical in size, but feels roomier, fits in the garage better, and it must be slightly lower, because it's easier to get in and out of. Even the tires are the same size. Better gas mileage too, despite also having a 3.5 V6. About 4 mpg better. Probably because it's a 9 speed instead of 6. I could probably do better than that, but that's what I get with my driving style.
I got them to pay off the Explorer, which was about $6k upside down and sell me the 8/120 $0 deductible Honda Care extended warranty for a Joel like price of $1300. $42k on the sticker, and I paid $39200. All in all, I think I came out ahead.
It's missing a couple of things I had on the Explorer, like the panoramic moonroof (only has the regular one) Nav (but has Android Auto and Ford Nav was missing addresses probably 20% of the time, even with A9 maps) and oddly, it has a backup camera, but no sensors (I will probably end up spending the $ to have them added at the dealer. It's a $400 kit, plus labor unless I want to do it myself). It doesn't have the tow package, which I rarely used anyway, but I may add it when I do the backup sensors, because it's nice to have. But it also has adaptive cruise control, lane keeping, road departure alert, handsfree liftgate, push button start and Homelink, which I didn't have on the Explorer.
So, assuming my 10 year stretch between people hitting me holds up, I'll be driving a Honda for a while. Maybe I'll be able to get through without a recall too, unlike my last 3.
Life rarely seems to go as planned, and it is still 2020, so time will tell. I've already had to have the windshield replaced on the Honda, then had to go back because Safelite missed a part (a gap filling foam strip between the glass and the dash, which required them to take the windshield out and recalibrate everything again), and the accident worsened a previous neck injury, which now requires surgery that I was hoping to avoid.
If I find myself back in an Explorer, I'll be back. The Pilot forum is not nearly as fun.
After I got it back, it just didn't feel right. There was a low level vibration. They rechecked it and couldn't find anything. I think it was probably just the fact that the left rear was all new, and the right rear had 68k on it. I wasn't going to start throwing money at it to figure it out, so I traded it.
I wasn't about to dive into the issues of the 2020 Explorer, so I bought a 2021 Honda Pilot SE. It's basically identical in size, but feels roomier, fits in the garage better, and it must be slightly lower, because it's easier to get in and out of. Even the tires are the same size. Better gas mileage too, despite also having a 3.5 V6. About 4 mpg better. Probably because it's a 9 speed instead of 6. I could probably do better than that, but that's what I get with my driving style.
I got them to pay off the Explorer, which was about $6k upside down and sell me the 8/120 $0 deductible Honda Care extended warranty for a Joel like price of $1300. $42k on the sticker, and I paid $39200. All in all, I think I came out ahead.
It's missing a couple of things I had on the Explorer, like the panoramic moonroof (only has the regular one) Nav (but has Android Auto and Ford Nav was missing addresses probably 20% of the time, even with A9 maps) and oddly, it has a backup camera, but no sensors (I will probably end up spending the $ to have them added at the dealer. It's a $400 kit, plus labor unless I want to do it myself). It doesn't have the tow package, which I rarely used anyway, but I may add it when I do the backup sensors, because it's nice to have. But it also has adaptive cruise control, lane keeping, road departure alert, handsfree liftgate, push button start and Homelink, which I didn't have on the Explorer.
So, assuming my 10 year stretch between people hitting me holds up, I'll be driving a Honda for a while. Maybe I'll be able to get through without a recall too, unlike my last 3.
Life rarely seems to go as planned, and it is still 2020, so time will tell. I've already had to have the windshield replaced on the Honda, then had to go back because Safelite missed a part (a gap filling foam strip between the glass and the dash, which required them to take the windshield out and recalibrate everything again), and the accident worsened a previous neck injury, which now requires surgery that I was hoping to avoid.
If I find myself back in an Explorer, I'll be back. The Pilot forum is not nearly as fun.
