Newbie with buying questions!

[timkline]

Hi there!

I'm doing a lot of research on my next vehicle purchase and an 08 explorer is one I'm seriously considering. I've also been looking into the new 4 door Jeep wranglers, and the Toyota FJ cruiser. I'm currently driving a 03 Honda Element and before that I had a 2000 Pathfinder.

The Jeep and FJ, I was interested in just for looks. Both are geared/marketed more toward off roading and I honestly don't see myself doing much of that, not hardcore anyway. So I'm looking for a great daily driver. I test-drove all 3, and out of all of them the Explorer is the one that "felt right" the most. I was actually surprised at how comfortable it was and everything was right where I needed it. I also thought it was kinda funny how the dealer was showing me how the Sync radio worked, and then we started talking really low so the radio wouldn't hear us talking about it.

So now I have a bunch of questions I'm hoping you fine folks can answer.

What is the real differences between the 3 versions (XLT, Eddie Bauer, Limited) and is it really worth the extra investment? The only real features I want are 4WD and the Sync radio, and the 3rd row seats are a strong maybe. Leather seats, sunroof, all those other things aren't really something that would make me buy one over the other. However, I really like the 2 tone look of the tan bottom that the EB and Limited seem to all have. The one I drove had leather seats and they were real nice. I do have a dog who will be riding with me a lot, so I kinda worry if I get leather he'll mess it up somehow.

I didn't get a chance to really do much more than look in the back to see the 3rd row seats. They seemed a little small. Is it something really only kids could fit in? How easy is it to climb into the "back back" to get to that 3rd row? I know you can flip up the 2nd row for access, but it seemed like it could still be a tight squeeze. If I do get the 3rd row, would i be better off trying to get it with just the 2 seats for the 2nd row, so folks can access the 3rd row through the middle? Or, if I really want a 3rd row, is that really just something that's only gonna work good on the bigger SUVs like the Expedition?

The XLT I drove was $34k. I was really hoping to keep things at or below 30. I could go higher but I just would rather not. The FJ Cruiser and the Jeep are both around 28k from an online no-haggle internet dealer (fitzmall.com) who I will either buy from or use as a haggling point and tell my local guy "I'm gonna buy it from here unless you can match their price" .. But they don't sell fords Does anyone know of any similar online dealers I might want to look into for extra haggle power? Are Explorer's mostly collecting dust on the lots and I could have a lot of room to talk the guy down?

And even though I said I don't do any off roading, how well does the Explorer handle 4WD situations, especially snow? Will tires be something I want to look into upgrading or are the stock ones generally good? I do go camping on occasion and once or twice a year I may need to drive on a beach for a fishing trip or 2, but I doubt I'll ever be rock climbing or driving through rivers like the Jeeps are supposedly meant for.

Last but not least, any serious reliability problems I should be concerened about / aware of? A lot of folks that I talk to seem to think that Ford's aren't built very well but I believe just about any car will take care of you if you take care of it... plus I think most folks just like to bash other cars so they can feel better about their own...

Anyway thanks for reading this far. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas or advice?

Thanks

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Did you look into purchasing one from a 2 year lease? You could save a lot, and get something with low mileage.

 

[Essex4x4]

Welcome to this forum! Did you look into purchasing one from a 2 year lease? You could save a lot, and get something with low mileage.

Agreed, i saved thousands when i bought my 06 used it only had 28000 on the od when i bought it. Try searching on KBB.com that is how i found my ex


Kelly Blue Book home page http://www.kbb.com/kbb/Default.aspx

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

welcome

 

[timkline]

Well I wasn't sure about a lease, I've known folks that have leased cars before and they always complain that when they turn it in the dealership nickel & dimes them over the teeniest little door ding or clump of carpet lint. Just sounded like more of a hassle than it's worth and after I sell my house I'll have the cash in hand to buy the car outright and not have to finance at all.. or I'll finance at first and then pay it off when I get the money.

A buddy of mine has a 2002 explorer that's real nice, but I think I want to go with a brand new 2008.. when it comes to cars I always like to buy the latest model.

 

[Joe Dirt]

timkline- I was you until last year- now I won't buy another new vehicle. I guess I've come to the realization that the first 2 years of a vehicle's life does nothing but depreciate it down. You can probably find an '07 with teens miles for low 20's- and an Eddie or Limited at that. It will still have factory warranty, and all options.

I think Donner was talking about buying a vehicle that was returned FROM a lease- not that you needed to lease one. And as far as leasing, it really does make sense. Cars depreciate- if I have a choice, I'll buy what appreciates, and lease what doesn't. In a perfect world- because you can't lease everything. When the first leases came out, they were awesome. Then the dealers did the nickel and dime thing for a little bit, but of all the people I know that have leased, (and I know a lot of them) maybe 2 have had issues. I think the nickel and dime deal was thrown out a little freely by people back in the day. I have leased 4 vehicles in the past and haven't had one problem. I'd do it again in a second if I bought a new car- I'd rather just pay for the use of the car...

If I were you, I would either get a new XLT, or a year to 2 year old Eddie/Limited Ex. It is by far the best daily driver of the 3 you have mentioned. If you have cash, pay outright unless you have 0% financing- it's free money, and keeps your assets liquid- it won't cost you any more unless you figure investment return. And not to worry- the 2007 and 2008 are virtually the same truck. The only thing is that I don't believe the SYNC system was available until 2008...

 

[timkline]

thanks for the advice

I think my problem is I'm kind of an "early adopter" .. I like having the newest, coolest thing on the block. Like when DVD players first came out, I had to have one even though the kids at blockbuster had no idea what I was talking about when I asked if they rented DVDs. So I think really, when I was driving the '08 it was really the sync radio that sealed the deal for me. It wasn't even the nav version, just the standard but just the fact that I can plug in my ipod, get satelite radio and do the whole hands free phone thing was really cool. Sure I could probably find an aftermarket radio, but I just thought the sync was really cool and the icing on the cake so to speak.

I can see your point with buying something after it's already depreciated a bit, makes sense. I never really looked at it that way. Part of the reason I want to buy new though is I feel if I buy used I'm buying someone else's problem. There's some reason that they sold their car, could be something was really wrong or it was a lemon, or the sun roof leaked too much or who knows what. Even though I outgrew my Element after 5 years, what I'm really hoping to find is a car that I can keep for a very long time.. 10 years or even more. The Element was cheaper than my Pathfinder and after getting laid off, I needed to save money. Now I'll be in a position where I can buy exactly the car I always wanted instead of just the best thing I could afford.. so I just feel something new will last me a lot longer.

Anyway that's my whole reasoning and stuff I'm thinking the XLT will most likely be what I settle on, with my only required option really just being the sync radio. The Eddie Bauer ones I was looking at just seem like they'll be too far out of my price range. What I might see though is if the dealer has any 07 leftovers and see if there might be a way to get a sync added to it.

 

[Kyle0614]

dude if you like the 4dr Jeep Wrangler and the toyota fj cruiser then i am almost certain if you've never owned a "REAL explorer" hence up to 2001 they just died...to me...meaning 02' plus is nothing more than a glorified 4wheel drive grand caravan IFS and IRS...do yourself a favor go for the FJ if you want real off road capabilities...no new explorer is ideal for what you are looking for i'm assuming hope this helps..

 

[Kyle0614]

oh and btw there is really no difference between and 04' and a 08' except for minor things like gauges , seat fabric, and grills, etc...

 

[Joe Dirt]

I was wondering if they could add the Sync to the 07, with a new head unit and wheel. Might be worth doing. I swear- I had it bad- I had an '01 Sport, '02 Sport, and an '03 4 Door. Guess who wanted the best and newest?!? Ha ha! I wish I hadn't done that- talk about negative equity. I finally worked out of that, and I can't do that again.

My 2003 when I bought it new, was like what $28,000? A year later, it was worth $17,000. Unreal. I could have bought one a year old with 12,000 miles for $17,000 and had the same thing and no negative equity- and a factory warranty. Man- cars suck!

As for problems- not likely. Cars nowadays are built better than ever- of course there are some exceptions and lemons, like anything- but you can get a brand new one like that too. But you'd have warranty too, so don't forget about that part.

To deal with the 4wd vehicle thing, they're great in the snow, and for what you describe what you're doing with it- normal suburban Explorer stuff... It doesn't sound like you need anything like an FJ. I have a neighbor that used to have one, and it was a daily, and he traded it in, it wasn't the most comfy interior for daily running he said.

And even though I said I don't do any off roading, how well does the Explorer handle 4WD situations, especially snow? Will tires be something I want to look into upgrading or are the stock ones generally good? I do go camping on occasion and once or twice a year I may need to drive on a beach for a fishing trip or 2, but I doubt I'll ever be rock climbing or driving through rivers like the Jeeps are supposedly meant for.

Stock tires are ok, but the BF's are the better choice of the options when I was looking at mine. I would go to the dealer and drive one with the "road tires" and one with the upgraded "multi terrain tires" and see how you like them. If you can live witht eh road noise/ride of the multi's- go with them, you'll not regret it.

Kyle is right- there were very few changes- but one change was the interior- and I like the interior/armrests/handles/gauges of my '03 MUCH better than the ones in the new '07 and '08's not to mention the taillights. I can't stand the new Ex tails- they look like Ford's bad attempt at tuner tails. I like the new front though.

Whatever choice you make, just make sure it is one you will be happy about 5 years from now- factor that into your decision. Good luck, and please- send pics of the new ride!!!

 

[Kyle0614]

the only 2003 i would buy would be something like a WRX or SRT-4 they both look decent, fast, good on gas, turbo'd, even if you put 200k on one of the two they can still hold 8k Unbelievable...oh yea joe i'll try the bank account transfer to my account on monday sorry i had a busy school week and oh yea snowwhite says thank you to snowball...

 

[timkline]

hehe .. won't be any pics for at least a month. About to put my house on the market so I have to get all that stuff organized first. I will have to ask the dealer about the sync in an 07 but now that I think about it I remember him saying they could only be installed at the factory right now. So you can't get an 08 with a normal radio and then upgrade to sync later, has to come built in when you buy it. Maybe that will change later on, who knows. Maybe when there's more aftermarket radios that are the same or better.

The XLT I was looking at was dark gray, real nice. Had tan leather inside, sunroof, sync, 3rd row seats for just under 34k. I was going to try to talk em down to 32. What I liked the best was the eddie bauer with the tan bottom and dark green top, but those were all starting at like 35k.

As far as off road goes, I was just curious really.. I don't expect to be doing any off roading other than the occasional dirt road.. if I did I would prolly get a quad or something instead of doing it in a $30,000 truck

 

[Kyle0614]

BTW a 4dr wrangler would be sweet this summer my birthday presents are open too everything lol june 14th

 

[Joe Dirt]

Always get a second opinion about installations. I'm not saying that he is lying, becasue I don't know either- But the guy at the dealership has a vested interest in you believeing that the only way to get SYNC is through a factory installation...

I do think the SYNC system is cool though, but I really have no idea how it hooks in, but maybe someone here does, or try this place:

http://www.autotechnicianonline.com/forums/

I'm putting in a post there to ask... A lot of Ford techs on the site, someone may have run into it...

Kyle- no prob. Did they fix your problem?

 

[Kyle0614]

haven't installed them yet hoping you could enlightnin' me on a write up...?

 

[Joe Dirt]

timkline- just to answer, the consensus at techs is that hte system is in fact completely integrated into the truck, and would require most of a new wiring harness. Looks like a 2008 if you want a SYNC- if you haven't already bought one...