What do y'all think?

[jsbaker]

Well I had a long reply written but hit the wrong button so this one is going to be short.

ON my 02 that had the whine it was from about 45 and up. I think my 05 as it unless it is the low grade michilen or goodyears it has on it. If the one you drove had the whine you should have definately heard it on the freeway. My dad is hard of hearing and heard the whine the first time he rode in my 02. I never got a chance to do anything to the 02 but had decided I was going to let it go until I could nto stand the noise or the rearend failed.

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

I personally wouldn't let miles scare me. I tend to buy the latest model year I can find for the amount of money I want to spend, and the odometer is down quite low on the list of my priorities.

My '04 (built 8/04) is approaching 90,000 miles already. Been trouble-free, and compared to ones with lower miles in the same year, I saved a ton of money on this one. I bought it in April of this year with low 70s on the ticker, and it hasn't stood still since! I'm constantly going somewhere on the weekends I'm off, so most the miles are just relaxed highway cruises.

Common sense tells you that if you find a relatively new vehicle with high miles, it's been out on the highway most the time and had a pretty easy life. I've proven this time and again too...I've seen vehicles of the same model year with over 100,000 miles that drove like new, and some with less than 40,000 that were beat to death.

The odometer is an indicator of simply how many miles the vehicle was driven, not an indicator of how long it's going to last, which is what people tend to see it as. They overlook the rather obvious things like what the vehicle was used for during the time the previous owner had it.

You'll find a better vehicle and a better value if you buy one from Joe Salesman that put 120,000 on a 2 or 3 year old car than you will from Susie Homemaker that put 20,000 on the same vehicle putting it around town.

 

[GregV8]

no,when you're having the infamous rear whine YOU'LL KNOW. if you're unsure then it wasn't it

btw, I have this rule to never buy first model year vehicles. and '02 is first year. Yes, recalls may help but they always need another year to iron out all the problems.
I learned this the hard way in the past several times.

I think there are also some technical differences between 02 and 03.
E.g. if you go to Monroe website and search for struts (sensa-trac) you will get different model #'s for these years - which indicates they aren't the same vehicles.

shop around for somthing 03 up

-2c-

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

i would buy the wife a sedan and keep the 93

 

[mrphiltx]

Thanks Greg! It was too beat up for the price to be worth it to me anyway.

SkanlaxJMO: She has a minivan already. The '93 is my car. Looks like junk - cracked windshield, clearcoat coming off the hood and roof, but runs well so far.

 

[GregV8]

You wouldn't consider an Escape would you?
everybody says they're best ride for least money

 

[mrphiltx]

no third row in the escape (AFAIK), I looked at crossovers and the like, but the ones with 3rd row don't fit in the budget (under $10k)

 

[EasyRhino]

[Disclaimer} your results may vary:

Mine: bought 2002 Limited 4.6L AWD loaded, including 3rd seat and rear AC. Was getting higher miles than desired on '97 XLT (wish I had kept the '97, but wife likes the '02 better).

Only repairs: Battery, tires, brake pads (rotors turned for good measure), and front wheel bearings/hub assys. Now at 87K miles. All in all a trouble-free ride. Very safe with comfy ride for wifey. Handy for large/heavy loads while still carting around all the visitors we get here, plus roof top sports gear (surfboards/kayaks/etc.). Would do again. Probably going to target it for 150K mile range, if remains reliable. Has had the rear end whine from the first trip (within 1K miles of new), but to date has not been problematic. Gas mileage is not great but not that important.

I agree w/ Burner, the miles are not the key, the rate of wear is. You can (and did, i think) tell whether a car has been abused or not. Mine are like brand new and very well maintained at point of sale, regardless of mileage. On the other hand a work (government) car used in a large industrial facility I used to work in was totally shot at <5K miles.

I say wait until you find the right one (if that is what you want) given that your current one is okay for now. They made a bazzillion of them, so another one will come around, plus with the '08s coming available and gas prices going up, up, up, the prices will continue to drop.

Good Luck

 

[mrphiltx]

I found an 02 with 160k miles (!). He's selling cheap - already dropped the asking price ~$600, I think. Aside from the high mileage, he mentions that the "transmission has intermittent hesitation"

Hmm... obviously, I'd want a mechanic to check it out, but how much of a red flag should that be? How much does it cost to put a new tranny in? (I figure that's the worst case scenario)

 

[Tbars4]

...about 1000-1500 with warranty and just a number to work with...

 

[2Fish]

By my thought process (some would argue) your budget is more than generous for your want. Given the high number of units available, the repo auction should be a serious consideration.

If a buyer looks them over carefully, and understands that you may have to put $1,000 into it immediately, bargains are out there. A little over a month ago, I purchased an 03 XLS with 62,000 miles for 6,500, with fees a little more than $7,000 out the door. So far, I've changed the front and rear dif oils, air filter, spark plugs, front brakes and rotors. 4500 miles later, I am pretty happy with it and still don't have 7500 in it. I see them on dealer lots for 11,000 to 13,000 so I assume I'm still in good shape on it.

 

[mrphiltx]

The guy finally wrote me back, and said it was a "sticking #2 solenoid in the transmission". That doesn't sound hard to replace, or am I blissfully ignorant?

Been following some other threads on such things, but don't know much.

 

[jsbaker]

That sticking #2 solenoid is the very famous solenoid pack problem which plagues the 2002 and 2003 (I think) models. Do a search for solenoid pack you should find alot about it. I think the parts are around $350.00 from the last time I looked at it when I had my 02. You have to drop the pan to change it but that's as much as I know about as I was not about to change it myself on mine and then it got totalled so it not an issue.