I'm getting the new-to-me vehicle itch, and I'm wondering when is the best time to scratch it. My '05 Escape XLT, with V-6 and 4WD, has 168,000 miles on the clock. It's certainly not a perfect machine, but it has been and still is reliable. It has started to develop a quirky stall, on rare occasion, when coming to a stop, but I shift to neutral, and it keeps running. Then, I can manually shift from 1st up to D, then the problem goes away until the next time it appears. I don't know if that's a symptom of a failing transmission, or if it's fuel related, or otherwise. I also experience a slight binding in the steering wheel, but I've learned to adapt to that.

Now, my point of this thread is not to diagnose my problems, (I'll take suggestions, though) but I'm wondering if it's time for me to try to get $5-6,000 for it, and move on to a lower mileage vehicle. My wife definitely frowns at the idea of picking up a car payment for a few years, but in my mind, a small car payment ($200-250mo) is the least of my worries. Should I drive this thing into the ground, fixing it along the way? Or, should I sell it for what I can get for it now, then move on to something better? Monthly money isn't an issue, but the added expense is something my wife just can't get past right now. She fought with me 6 years ago when I first bought this truck from a Hertz Car Sales dealership with 17k on the clock, and we paid it off probably 3.5 years ago.

I'm leaning towards a Toyota Tundra-type truck, which I would get a lot more utility out of, not to mention their ability to go for 400k miles. I wouldn't rule out going with an F150, but I'm not sure how long they last, if that makes sense.

Anyway, I appreciate your thoughts.

 

I'm glad someone else is in the same boat i'm in. my escape is an 02 with 127000 mi. I love it, but it is starting to nickle and dime us to pieces.


good luck! we just got back from car shopping and man is it scary out there. can't find anything that really suits us. and they think they are all made from platinum.

 

Normally I'd say do a repair until it exceeds half the value of the vehicle, but I put a ton of money into my F150. Now its near perfect and I have no problems other than needing u joints soon, gas and basic maintanence

 

Ours is almost 8 years old (2004) with over 225k on the clock. W've always taken care of the oil, tranny, coolant and other normal maintanace items and it has treated us well in return. I think the only items I have had to replace the would not be ocnsidered regular maint are the alternator and the idle speed control (which is what could be causing your stalling issue). We're hoping to get at least another year out of it so we can pay cash and not have that payment hanging over our heads.

But as we know, not all vehicles age the same and some will kill you in the wallet in the long run.

So, from what you said is going wrong with it at this point in time, I would spend the $40 on the idle speed control and $25 on a fuel filter to see if it cures the stalling issue. Sure beats $15-$20k on a new vehicle.
As far as the steering, have you checked the steering fluid or maybe have the fluid changed out for new.

 

I agree with the previous post, change the IAC and see if you need to top off the steering fluid resevoir. You might find the problems fixed. I am in a similar boat with my wife's 02 that has 192,000 miles on the clock. A week ago it refused to start, turns over fine but doesn't fire. So I had it towed to my local garage and you know what happened, it starts just fine. But my wife has decided my 09 Escape fits her fine and that I should driver hers, or my 02 Mustange GT. I think she needs to buy a new car!!! That being said I will replace the crankshaft position sensor and see what happens.

 

Every time I hear the " it is starting to nickel and dime us ..." it makes me want to ask:
Are all the nickels and dimes, even one every other month, more or less than a car payment? In other words, take a car payment, every month, and put it into an account. Pay repair bills out of that account until you decide you have had enough, and don't trust the vehicle any more. See how much money is there. I think you will be surprised at how much is left, that is, if you actually put the payments away.
Most times, repair bills, even when paying someone else to do them, will be a lot less than a few months car payments. If you like your vehicle and don't have to have the latest with all the gizmos, and you have no plans to sell, you will come out ahead paying for repairs. Or asking here how to do it yourself.
tom

 

Yea, but those nickels and dimes don't have the same new car smell! You make a good point but as you said, it's all about trust in the vehicle.

 

Thank you for your responses, everyone. I greatly appreciate you. And, thanks for the tips on the IAC and the fuel filter. I actually have a new fuel filter waiting to be installed, so I should break down and do it this weekend. I'll look into the IAC change-out, as well.

Wife and I are already in "full savings" mode, so the "payment" is essentially already being saved each month. Maybe I should separate $500/mo from the rest of it, to give it a real purpose....

 

My problem turned out to be the crankshaft position sensor, replaced and now runs good.