I have the chance to trade my 2002 Expedition Eddie Bauer 4x4 with 164000 for a 2005 Eddie Bauer 4x4 with 122000 miles. Now my 2002 is really nice. I have the Wedgewood Blue with a sunroof,Mach audio,leather interior,265/70/17 Cooper Discovery AT tires. Interior is clean with no rips or tears. The Exterior has NO RUST. Not even the bottoms of the doors have rust. Now the hood does have a few hail dents,but that is it. I have done all of the services, transfer case fluid changed,rear axle fluid changed,transmisson fluid changed,Throttle body cleaned,new Motorcraft spark plugs,and the Air cleaner modified for better breathing. SO my 2002 really does not need anything. Just the gas to get around in.
Now the 2005 Eddie Bauer has 122000 miles. It really is a nice Expedition. It is white exterior along with the normal tailgate blistering. I have not been able to look at the front radiator support to check it for rust. Other than the tailgate the exterior is nice. The interior had the tan leather which is like new,no rips nor tears. The third row does have the power seat which is a plus for me. Now for the powertrain. As far as I can tell the OEM plugs are still in the engine! I have read a lot of horror stories about the spark plugs. And the other issue is that I have read about a leaking injector and that it wipes the motor out. I really do not want to trade if the engine is going to be wiped out by gas. SO how would I be able to check for a leaking injector??? I know FORD did do a extended warranty on the injector along with the engine both of which just went out because of the mileage. I really do like the body style and the ride of the 2nd gen,but I like the ease of being able to lift and put up to a 33in tire on the 1st gen.
So I really would like to hear your opinion on which one you think is the better of the two!!!

 

I personally like 2002 with steel bumpers over 2005.

And you know your truck, how she behaves and what she wants. Even if you check everything on the other one, some surprise might hurt you later.

Mileage is not an issue. Mine is almost 175k and still goes like beast. My mpg in city is 13 to 14 and on highway it's 19 to 20. I even made 21.5 last year (from NYC to Roanoke, VA). That's because I took good care of her. If you consider going with the 05, take a test drive (not a short one) to see if 05's engine is OK.

 

I would keep what you have, sounds like you have a really nice, attractive, well cared for vehicle. Persoanlly I don't care for the later body styles, especially white/tan

 

As much as I like the new body style both the F150 and Expedition. My 05 F150 does not feel as solid as my 97 Expedition. Espically, the interior. I like the layout better in my 05, however it doesn't seem to have the same quality.

Honestly I'd keep the 02. The mileage difference isn't that great, and the 02 sounds like it is in better shape.