Buying a Used Explorer

The '02's and up are all new from the ground up. There much better than the '01's and older for ride handling. wth

thanks for the input. my wife has been saying get an 02 just b/c they look "newer". I didn't know what mechanical differences there were. Apparently 02 was the switch over from the 5.0 to the 4.6 V8s, but I'll probably end up with a 6cyl anyway.

I found an 02 heavy optioned 2WD XLT the owner wants 12k for, and it looks like it just came off the showroom floor. only thing that's given me pause is it's got 90k miles. There's also a lot of 01s in my area with 50k-60k miles for the same price, so I've gotta decide if the odometer reading worries me that much or not. (wifey also sez sell the stang and get an 05, but to hell with that!!!)

wabbitslayer

01 GT vert

Be aware that there are two different 02s... Job 1 cars were made up until about March (IIRC). Job 2 cars are the new design.

A couple of suggestions...

whatever model you end up considering, you may want to see what technical service bulletins were issued for it:

Those are just summaries, but you may get some idea. Recall data is there too.

I also suggest you go to a NEW car dealer. The best truck will be one the dealer himself sold and serviced. Ask the dealer to put you in touch with the former owner who traded it in. Call the former owner and get all the history... maintenance, accidents, repairs, problems... why DID he trade it in?.

This will assure it is not a ...

an auctioned vehicle former Lemon Law buyback rebuilt wreck reconditioned flood damaged odometer rollback former lease (I say avoid those because people don't take care of them) recovered stolen etc.

The dealer may be reluctant to put you in touch with the former owner. But if you push and allow the dealer to get permission from the former owner for you to speak to him, you'll be set. Ask to see the paperwork on the vehicle BEFORE you buy. Make sure any outstanding loan has been paid off... or you may find the bank that holds the old note is repossessing even though you are making payments on your loan. Of course, the name of the former owner may be in the glove box some where.

If you don't finance but pay cash, very good. If you do finance, go get your best quote from a credit union or

or ... then see if the dealer will beat it... otherwise, the dealer may very well mark up the best rate he can give you.

Put any down payment on a credit card, hopefully one with no balance, .. no checks.

I think you should have a mechanic look at it no matter how new it is, but especially if the manufacturer's warranty has expired..

Good luck.

Anthony,

Wonderful advice about the new car dealer. Just one thing, from my experience. I found out that buying a used Ford from a non-Ford dealer is a much better deal. Why? Most, if not all of the used vehicles that sit on the Ford dealers' lots in my area came from a wholesale purchase, and the salesmen play dumb when you ask them when the vehicle came from. Sure, they will run a Carfax report on it, possibly even agree to let you talk to the previous owner, but not before you take it for a test drive, make an offer, and put up with a lot of hassle. I ended up walking through the lot, writing the VINs down, thanking the sales hasslers for letting me do it, and running them through Carfax myself. Lots of interesting information came back: Canadian rentals that had had a second life as corporate pool vehicles, Alaskan repossessions, lease returns from across the continent, anything except even a single privately and locally owned trade-in. Obviously, the Honda dealer goes to auctions to buy Hondas, not Fords. If he happens to have a Ford on his lot, chances are that it's because someone traded it in for a Honda, and he is hoping to sell it retail rather then for the wholesale price. It's a lot harder to find a Ford of any particular model that way, but that's where the internet comes handy...

Thanks for the response.

Your concerns are a good reason why it's important to talk to the old owner. He or she will most likely be happy to tell you everything about the vehicle, since they have an interest. By going to a dealer that sells that brand, you'll likely stand a better chance of finding a vehicle traded in by one of the dealer's loyal customers, many times simply to upgrade to a newer model. That's the one you're looking for.

On the other hand, if a Ford customer trades in to a Toyota dealer, what does that tell you except that he perhaps was unhappy with the vehicle (or it was, as you say, an auction vehicle.).

I don't know if that is necessarily true that a dealer only goes after brands that he sells. It may be. If the dealer can't put you in touch with the old owner, that's a good sign that's it's an auction car, if the dealer doesn't tell you outright.

Here us an example: My father decided to buy a used Camry. He saw one at a GM dealer. When he tried to get ownership info, the dealer told him he got the car at an auction. I told him to forget that car and look for one at a Toyota dealer. He found one there. The dealer explained how the vehicle came in as a trade-in from a woman a few miles up the road in Vermont. The dealer sold and maintained it and actually provided my father a copy of the maintenance history. Finally, he put my father in touch with the woman, who was happy to speak both to him and me about the vehicle. A few bad things, mostly good.

Get a car like that and you can have confidence in what you're buying!!!

Anthony,

Unfortunately, I have a lot less faith in used car salesmen than you do. There is no doubt in my mind that one can develop the kind of trusting relationship with a dealer that you and your dad are enjoying. Perhaps living in a small community and buying all your vehicles from people you meet regularly in church and the PTA is the key. When I visit the three or four Ford dealerships around me, all I see is smooth talking, desperate salesmen, who may be selling cars today and cell phones tomorrow. They know that the only way to feed their children is to sell; no matter what and no matter to whom. I was never able to obtain any useful information from them and learned not to ask. If any of them happen to know something about what they are selling, it does not show, because they prefer to play it dumb.

I still had some trust in salesmen when I was shopping for a used Crown Vic/Grand Marquis several years ago. My first question when I saw one was: "Where did it come from?" "I don't know", was the standard reply. "Can you find out for me?" "We don't have this information", they all contiuned. Newer models of those probably have standard ABS, but for the 96-98 vintage at which I was looking at the time, it was optional. "Does it have ABS?" Without exception, the answer was yes, for every single one of them, on every lot that I visited. I popped the hood on a vehicle that looked in better shape than others, and there was no ABS. "You are wrong", the young gentleman chastised me with great confidence. Feeling generous, I asked him to accompany me to the car that I was driving, and showed him what an ABS control unit looks like. After several weekends of frustration I stopped asking questions and just jotted the VINs off the windshields, without even opening a door (no, you can't tell anything about ABS from the VIN without access to a dealer's computer, but by typing it into Carfax or a similar service you can learn enough to not want to open that door at all).

Thanks for that story, Happy

Actually, as a consumer journalist specializing in auto stuff, I can assure you, "Buyer beware" is the rule. (I recently finished a piece in which I interviewed about a dozen used car salespeople who are now whistleblowers. What you say is true for sure.) But that's why the buyers have to educate themselves and take control. If a dealer tells you he doesn't know where the vehicle came from, that means it's an auction car - former lease, rental or worse. You need to say: "Oh, I don't want a car that you know nothing about. Do you have one a customer traded in?" If not, or if he is unwilling to accommodate you, simple, walk away. But the moment you start to go out the door, he'll likely have one. :O) By the way, a dealer will have the paperwork on the car or he won't be able to pass title. If it's a former lease, then he may not know the name of the previous lessee, unless of course he was the one who sold the lease to start with.

You have to let a dealer know what you expect: The kind of car and the kind of info. I help lots of people buy cars new and used. I assure you that you can get a dealer to give you what you want if you are up front about your expectations. In fact, I find that dealers respect that and will drop the tricks as soon as they see it.

The quickest way to get what you want is to walk into a dealership with a printout from an online pricing service such as Edmunds, a clipboard with price worksheets and a calculator or laptop. And it doesn't mean you have to be nasty or that car-buying can't even be fun. You just have to let dealers know that YOU know what you are doing and that you have definite expectations.

As far as buying used, buying from a new car dealer is the best way to protect yourself. The new car dealers keep the best and get rid of the worst. Buying from a private person leaves you pretty much with no protection, unless of course the vehicle still is under manufacturer's warranty.

Thanks again for your interesting response.