Well I went and did it. Traded in my wife's 2002 Escape. It had just over 180k and still ran good but was starting to get small issues here and there. I probably could have gotten more miles out of it but it was just a trust factor when she travels with my 8 year old daughter.

We drove the new Escapes and to be honst just did not like the seats. In fact on a 10 minute test drive my back was already starting to bother me.

We tried the Fusion but the only Ford dealer for about 75 miles would not budge on his price. SO we settled on a Dodge Avenger. I have never owned anything but Fords so we will see I guess.

I have to say our 2002 Escape was a great vehicle that zero issues until it hit about 135k. Then the issues were just little things. Engine was still peppy and never failed to start. I will miss it. Good luck to you all.

 

Good luck with your FIAT. {ha!!!!!!}

Sorry you had lost confidence, but you will have likely 60 months of payments that could have been more than enough to pay for a completely rebuilt drive train, brake system, suspension, and a whole lot more. I do understand, honestly, that you can lose confidence in a vehicle, and worry that it might not make it home. That is not a good feeling.
Any way, best of luck.
tom

 

Good luck with the new ride, hope it gives as good of service as your Escape did.

I just went over 140K on my Escape and seriously considering another vehicle. I have an interest in the Jeep Wranlger Unlimited, the 4 door version. I rode in one in the front seat and the ride really is not that bad like the 2 wheel version which is horrendous. You do get quite a bit for your money with the Unlimited. New engine this year for Jeep and slightly better gas milage with it. Not sure, but think they got a new tranny for it also. I can trade my Escape in and cough up $1500 and lease a 4wheel drive version for about $225 a month for 39 months. Never leased before, but now at my age and being semi-retired, I think this is the way I want to go.

 

I was surprised they gave us $4500 on our trade in for the Escape. I KBB it at 4,600. I was somewhat upset that the Ford dealer I have bought my last few from would not budge at all on the Fusion and it was used be it only had 15k miles on it. They are hurting too, but their loss I guess.

The Avenger has decent ratings if you believe all that stuff and the dealer we got it at wanted to deal. According to edmunds.com we got the Avenger for a good price.

I could have kept the Escape and probably put money in it. But then my wife would want to drive my truck when the Escape was down. In all reality the Escape was a family vehicle and it was just getting to the point where trust was soon to be an issue. If it was not our primary vehicle, I would have kept it for sure. It was the first SUV we owned that drove like a car.

 

I like the Avengers looks.There was a ad in the paper for 0% for 72 months on them! Good deals to be found on new cars now.My Daughter bought a Milan last year and likes it alot.The dealer offered her $1500 for a 01 Escape with 180,000 miles so I got it now.

 

You did the right thing, and you got a great car in budget.

Don't listen to the ones on here that are so proud of their own ability to turn wrenches that they can't see past their own smugness. You now have a vehicle with a warranty, and most likely, a loaner agreement if the vehicle ever does need work.

I am a network engineer, i work 50-60 hour weeks and i rely on my car to keep going. When the expedition becomes untrustworthy it too will be put to pasture. I love it deeply (first car, lots of mods on it) but it's a tool as well, and other vehicles like the new Kia Soul, Honda Fit, or Ford Fiesta/Focus will suit me just as fine. I can turn wrenches great, but i don't have the time and I'm not fool enough to think otherwise. What time is not at work is spent taking care of the household or the masters degree. What time of that is not spent is just a bit with the family (fiancee) which is what I enjoy most. I'm not going to take that little bit of time to go wack on a vehicle that's stressing me out because i can't fix the problem on my 30 hours of weekend time. I'm at the mercy of stealership and shop prices and the cost of me to rent a vehicle in place, lord knows work doesn't stop just becaues my car did. The Expedition has cost me a little this year in fixits including a tow (luckily covered) and being long out of warranty it sucks on my wallet like a new calf whenever it happens. If something major goes i'm replacing it.

To tomw, why would you charge 10k to rebuild a car when you can get 0 down and low interest payments on a new car with a warranty and new everything? Do you have a card with 10k at 0 interest for 5 years? I make pretty good money and I don't. Or would you just pay 10k cash? Many of us don't have that cash on tap, and on top of that in this economy when anyone and everyone is let go at anytime on tap, you would be a royal fool to spend 10k liquid assets in a flash to just rebuild a car when you can carry that burden over a time period with less liquidity.

 

I kept my '09 Escape XLS and traded my wife's '03 Buick Century in on an '11 Avenger. (She is no longer physically able to drive) The local dealer (York in Prescott) made me very happy with all the discounts and juggling and that 283 hp makes me smile when I need to GO. My first thought was a Fusion but, the local dealer (Galpin), had only one in stock and that was a 4cyl and they wanted a lot more for it than I paid for my very well equipped Avenger Heat. The only drawback to the Dodge is rear visibility which is abysmal but not out of the ordinary these days. In contrast, only a convertible could have better all around visibility than my Escape. The day I bought the Ford, I bagged the rear headrests and folded the seats and that's the way it'll stay as long as I own it. I guess I tend to ramble on and on....

 

We've had very good service and reliability from our previous Chrysler vehicles. I think you'll be pleased. I know what you mean about the seats. Our 2010 Escape and my F250 have lousy seats. The Avenger is built in the US too. The Fusion, as much as I like it, is built in Mexico. We need our jobs here.