Possible 2007 Explorer EB Purchase

[leftoverture]

I am seriously thinking about buying a 2007 Eddie Bauer edition. It has 61k miles and appears to be in pretty good shape cosmetically but I have not driven it yet. It has the 4.0 V6. I currently have a 1st Gen Ex that I really like but it has definitely seen better days.

I will use the 07 as a daily driver with occasional off road excursions. No rock crawling or anything like that. My 1st gen does great with the kinds of off road stuff I've thrown at it (mostly snow covered trails). Will the 07 be as good?

I'm really looking for input from your experiences with this generation. Any problem areas, things I should know, stuff like that.

Thanks.

 

[leftoverture]

Just got back from a short test drive in the 07. I really like it. Much smoother than my 1st gen, but then my old 1st gen is pretty well worn. Everything seemed to work just fine. It's in very nice shape except for some scratches on the rear bumper from loading and unloading, I suppose. I also noticed it has a plastic thermostat housing, have these been problematic? Just looking for any input before I make a decision.

 

[Flag Gibby]

With a set of mountain snow rated all terrain tires it should do everything you want it to. It will drive different than you are used to, but once you get used to the RSC system and how to operate it correctly you will enjoy everything it has to offer.
I regularly drive mine on snow and ice covered dirt roads and the only problem I have is that I have damaged every ABS tone ring that originally came on the vehicle (cold metal and deep snow makes it easy to damage them since you can't see what you are rolling over).
The thermostat housing is typically not an issue until you need to replace the thermostat and when you change it you just need to not over torque the bolts so that you don't crack the housing.