Hey everyone, I wanted to make a post introducing myself and explaining a bit about what I’m considering. I’ve been a car enthusiast for my entire (short) life. I’ve owned three very different vehicles. I started with a MKV GTI (which I went to town modifying). I moved north and sold the GTI for a Subaru Legacy GT SpecB (also very modified). After I moved back to NY, I decided it was time to switch cars for something small, light, fun and very trackable. I now own an NC Miata, which rides on custom coilovers and has some other work done as well. It makes a great daily/commuter car and is a warrior out on the track. I throw snow tires on in the winter time; coupled with the mechanical LSD I’ve never really had any trouble in the snow (unless it gets really deep—there’s only so much you can do with 3-4” ground clearance). I’ve thought about retiring it for the winter and picking up some sort of beater.

The two strong contenders for me are: a WJ Grand Cherokee, which I really like. I also wanted to consider a third generation Explorer, but many owners on the forum deterred me from one because of how problematic they are, especially with major, expensive issues. So, this got me thinking: maybe I should consider the smaller Escape (first generation)!

The Escape would serve as a second vehicle for me. I’d like to keep it under about $8,000 and I'm in no hurry to buy, so I can seek out the right one for me. I'd like to limit my search to only Limited models, though there aren't nearly as many Limiteds available as XLTs.

What should I specifically look out for with a used first generation Escape? Are there certain common problem/weak areas? Is the engine overall very reliable (V6 is the one I'd go for)? How about the transmission and drivetrain in these vehicles? I know the transmission was a major weak point for the third gen Explorer. I’m open to any and all advice, problem areas, cautions, etc. to look out for when shopping for an Escape.