This is my week old 2k excursion. Today i shined it up and got it ready to pick up my 5 year old from school. May not seem like a big deal to you but to me it is. I used to roll up in the parking lot in a purple dodge caravan with no ac and one running gear. The fact that I had to sit there for about 45 min in a hot van in south fl was not only uncomfortable but very embarrassing. Sitting there around all these nice cars and trucks made me realize that i was being selfish, selfish because i deserved better and and so did my kids. The moment came 3 weeks ago when the van through a rod on the highway and i knew I had to get something better. My previous truck was a
1994 Chevy Suburban with titanium headers, flow master exhaust system and clean blue paint. I had to get rid of it because i wasn't getting enough handyman work and gas was getting to be an issue. So i sold it for a mere $2700 and with pressure from my wife, I ended up buying a purple soccer van with issues.

I began my search for a bigger and badder truck than the 94 burban., I couldn't find anything that would top my last truck. Nothing felt right. I must of driven 20 suburbans in one week and That's no exaggeration. I saw a number of excursions at various dealers but didnt even try to approach any because knowing my wife hearing that these trucks are v10's she would just look the other way. But something told us to test drive a 2003 ex and it was like a perfect pare of Jordan's..search over,, yesss she loved it and i was trying to be positive about it until the sales man said $10,500.. My heart sunk and my wife and I looked at each other, did some deep soul searching in silence. We both most of thought the same thing at the same time. Can we afford it? We had a few bucks in the bank but it would have been close.

We made him an offer to finance but he wanted something like $400 a month. We offered $1800 down and $250 a month. He went back and fourth on the monthly payments but didnt bulge much. We decided to hold our offer firm and let them simmer on that.

We went home in love with the truck but cautious to not make a stupid decision. After the second day we got a call from another salesman in the same dealer telling us that that truck is worth more, that the price we saw was the cash Internet price. We told him that that was false advertisement and to go f--- themselves.

So now with a new truck to look for, we automatically began searching for excursions we can buy out cash, Maybe a later model but cash..we looked and looked and no luck, everybody wanted over $8k and our budget was $6500. we decided to be patient and wait, but waiting wasn't really an option since we were using my mother-in-law's car. What a nightmare, her car is a Nissan xterra and no 3rd row. (we have 5 kids, 3 in car seats and boosters).

I spent night after night looking as i knew my wife was getting inpatient and looking at navigators and explorers... cars I really don't like. But patience payed off when out of the blue this puppy showed it's face on cl. 2000 2wd, very clean, leather interior and only 135k miles. I must of been the first caller cause the owner said "damn, I just submitted the ad".. Lol.. And to think I was gonna just give up and settle on a green navigator that looked like it came out of the hood..

He wanted $7000 so i wanted to see it. I drove from Weston fl. to Miami next to the new Miami marlins stadium almost 45min where I met the coolest Cuban ever. I offered $6300 knowing we would eventually meet in the middle.. we settled on $6500.. Just where i wanted him..

The truck needs a few things but overall it's all there. Aside from the occasional sputtering which thanks to this site i found that's the spark plugs. I'll be changing them along with the wires. But i'm in love. I named it resurrection because it resurrected me and it reminds me of my other truck i lost.

The icing on the cake was this website. I'm so glad there are others out here that are willing to help with issues and that share my feeling for these trucks. There is something about being the biggest, baddest SUV on the road.

So today when i drove into the parking lot to pick up my 5 year old, the look on the other parents faces was priceless. I feel like a kid with a new toy and it shows. my confidence is throu the roof and been getting alot more work... Sorry for the length of this post, just had to share my experience...

 

Welcome to the site. You will love the X. I know I do, am on number 3.

 

Welcome, 809taino,

We know how you feel. We all felt that way with our Excursions!

And the customizing and modifying never stops....

 

Sounds like your whole family got an early Christmas Present.

Congratuations, welcome to FTE, and good luck!

 

Congratulations and welcome! I've always liked that color you have.

 

I can relate. We were squeezing 5 children into donated a 4-cylinder purple Voyager with the paint and clearcoat peeling off, rocker panels rusting... until the windshield cracked top to bottom and the holes in the body kept it from passing state inspection. It wasn't even worth the scrap when I finally got rid of it. Then for a few months it was a 6-cylinder blue Grand Caravan that was actually not too bad -- until our 6th was born and we needed 8 seats. :-) At least that one had a little value to trade towards the Ex. I wanted to find an '04 or '05, but this was in really good condition for an '01 and the price was about as right as I could find within a reasonable distance.

Now that we have it, I relish the times I have a reason to drive it. (Have to budget the gas pretty tightly, unfortunately. It takes more money to fill up twice than I used to budget for gas in both our vehicles a month a few years ago.)

Like you, I'm loving the information (and photos) on this site. It has already saved tons of money fixing the little things it needs.

 

Thanks guys, I never really been part of any type pf groups nor forums and i must say, it feels great. The truck looks better every time i look at it. Someone mentioned 305 tires and i'm seriously considering it.

 

Welcome, great story! I have driven a lot of different vehicles over the years, but the Excursion is in a class by itself.

 

I think we can all relate to your story. I was driving a 1997 nissan pickup on skiing trips with ski equipment in the back while everyone got to hang out together in the suvs, so I decided to step up and find the baddest and the biggest thing out there. Enjoy your X and keep FTE bookmarked.

 

Lol.. We have a new problem now, my wife keeps making up reasons to go somewhere. With the minivan she never wanted to drive. I think we're getting a second one.

 

FTE was bookmarked the moment i joined.. I spend more time here than face book... The info is great and so are the members. I just earned my signature with this post, i think. Gotta go now.....to the... store.. or.... Somewhere... lol.

 

Welcome, your ex will give you years of service and pleasure (with a little help from the folks here).

 

I sure hope so. Im gonna give her a complete tune up first thing this weekend.

 

Congrats! I like that color.

 

welcome to the site! this site has been a haven for me in fixing lil things and modding my EX. best suv i have ever owned. this is my second one. the first one i traded it off and it was the worse mistake i ever did. now i got my baby and a kung fu grip on her!