ESGWheel
Active Member
- Joined
- December 25, 2015
- Messages
- 53
- Reaction score
- 6
- City, State
- Rutland, MA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2010 Explorer
While new to the forum not new to Explorers. I had a Gen 4, V8 2006 EB that was loaded out with the Nav and DVD, etc. Used it for toy hauling and daily commute until youngest son totaled it. Everyone ok and surprised insurance company did scrap it, but they gave me an above average price because of the great shape it was in.
I was totally going to replace it with another Explorer, but no kids allowed this time!
In my hunt I focused on the Gen 4’s with V8 due to need to tow along with all my familiarity with this version and stockpile of some new parts that I was about to put into my 06. Lots of sales guys trying to convince me that the Gen 5’s with V6 could do the job but sorry, I am old school and V8 and frames are the way to go to tow (a number of these kids did not even know what a unibody is! No offense to the Gen 5 owners
).
Found one that seemed too good to be true but price was too much mula: a 2010 Limited, loaded, only 51k miles(!!) but no Nav. Heck still had 6 month and 9K on the OEM drivetrain warranty! Got an alert on my gmail 2 weeks later and lo and behold they had dropped the price to 15.6k! Called them up, made arrangements to see next day (was 4 hrs away) and they came back and said was a mistake on the Web, but they would honor it. Spidy sense going crazy at that point but stuck to my plan. While it was at a dealer in NJ, this car had spent most of its life in FLA > zero rust! 3 Hrs of inspection later, including creepy crawler under the car (they told me no one had ever done that before), I determined it was as it appeared - mint! - and I bought it. Note: I had previously done all the homework on the VIN.
The Good: I now have back my Explorer and it does not have those power folding running boards which I suspect would be a headache during our New England winters. And it should last me a good long time!
The Bad: no Nav. When wife and I get away, we tow with two rigs: I pull the camper with the Expedition and she the toys with the Explorer. She takes the lead in order to scout out gas stations and eats where the 33 foot camper and Expy can fit. And since we are always exploring the NE and NY areas the Nav is a must. And frankly doing it with an iPhone really sucks.
The Dilemma: to OEM or Aftermarket the Nav.
So that is my intro along with married over 30 years, served in US Navy (submarines) for a good portion of it, and now a working guy that will retire in another 8 or 10 years. I enjoy doing most of my own work as I was a mechanic in the late 70’s early 80's before school and Navy. I’ll start another post re: Nav dilemma to see what experience and recommendations folks have.
I was totally going to replace it with another Explorer, but no kids allowed this time!
In my hunt I focused on the Gen 4’s with V8 due to need to tow along with all my familiarity with this version and stockpile of some new parts that I was about to put into my 06. Lots of sales guys trying to convince me that the Gen 5’s with V6 could do the job but sorry, I am old school and V8 and frames are the way to go to tow (a number of these kids did not even know what a unibody is! No offense to the Gen 5 owners
).Found one that seemed too good to be true but price was too much mula: a 2010 Limited, loaded, only 51k miles(!!) but no Nav. Heck still had 6 month and 9K on the OEM drivetrain warranty! Got an alert on my gmail 2 weeks later and lo and behold they had dropped the price to 15.6k! Called them up, made arrangements to see next day (was 4 hrs away) and they came back and said was a mistake on the Web, but they would honor it. Spidy sense going crazy at that point but stuck to my plan. While it was at a dealer in NJ, this car had spent most of its life in FLA > zero rust! 3 Hrs of inspection later, including creepy crawler under the car (they told me no one had ever done that before
), I determined it was as it appeared - mint! - and I bought it. Note: I had previously done all the homework on the VIN.The Good: I now have back my Explorer and it does not have those power folding running boards which I suspect would be a headache during our New England winters. And it should last me a good long time!
The Bad: no Nav. When wife and I get away, we tow with two rigs: I pull the camper with the Expedition and she the toys with the Explorer. She takes the lead in order to scout out gas stations and eats where the 33 foot camper and Expy can fit. And since we are always exploring the NE and NY areas the Nav is a must. And frankly doing it with an iPhone really sucks.
The Dilemma: to OEM or Aftermarket the Nav.
So that is my intro along with married over 30 years, served in US Navy (submarines) for a good portion of it, and now a working guy that will retire in another 8 or 10 years. I enjoy doing most of my own work as I was a mechanic in the late 70’s early 80's before school and Navy. I’ll start another post re: Nav dilemma to see what experience and recommendations folks have.
