This is VERY true.....

When I went to go pick up my 2005 Excursion, the exterior of the truck was beautiful and spotless.

The salesman handed me the key, I started it up, and went to go look below the hood. It was then that I saw the round, 400 pound salesman run and dive like no other fat man I've seen to hold the hood down and give me a disclaimer: "Now about the engine.....we can pressure wash this engine all we want, but it's only gonna get dusty all over again before you even leave."

Needless to say the engine was covered in dust! I couldn't tell there was and engine below the hood it was so filthy. There were also signs of the truck puking due to the leaking EGR cooler.

I still bought the truck and sank $4K into it to get studs, the oil cooler, and egr delete done. Well worth the money since I don't worry about my truck anymore and it's flawlessly performed for the almost 2 years, 5 months, and 86K I've owned it for.

 

Your putting 36,000 miles a year on your X ???????

 

New one in the mix

Used Ford Excursion For Sale Grayslake, IL - CarGurus

 

New one in the mix

Used Ford Excursion For Sale Grayslake, IL - CarGurus

 

Here is another one we are looking at

2003 Ford Excursion Limited 4WD 4dr SUV In Lake Villa IL - R & I Auto

 

^
Nice looking truck!

 

Mine is my daily driver, it sees a lot of highway miles.

The thing is a blast to drive!

 

Apologies for the triple post ...

 

Razzi and I drive a LOT, both of our rigs are daily drivers. Since Houston is sprawled out, you're looking at roughly 70-90 miles daily round trip commute for work. Since moving home after the military, I have gone from an average of 10-11,000 a year to putting nearly 65,000 miles on it in the last year and a half - with the only distance road trip being to Georgia and back. We're both over the 200k mark, with my 7.3 about to hit 270,000 in a few more weeks. Which is phenomenal considering the abuse, racing, and upgrades mine has on it.

Something I tell a lot of people asking the diesel vs gas question holds true no matter what brand. The engine may be a diesel, the rest of the vehicle is still going to wear and tear just like a gas powered variant. Rust, suspension, steering, engine driven accessories, body and paint, interior, electrical... Overall, the maintenance a vehicle has seen as a whole will sway my decision in the long run far more than mileage will. Daily use has a big impact as well, something that just sees short hops around town will be subjected to far more engine wear than a vehicle that sees freeway commuting. Oil doesn't get up to temperature to burn off impurities (sludge is born this way), transmission doesn't get up to temp, etc. I would take a well maintained vehicle that has had preventative maintenance done with 150-200,000 miles on it over something in the 90-100,000 mile range that has seen maintenance only when something failed and was treated purely as a car. Any vehicle and owner should have some sort of bond in my opinion, to the point where you proactively take care of it. You wouldn't wait for your pet dog to get heart worms and infections before treatment, you'd nip that **** in the bud with vaccinations, etc. Same as a child (don't get me started on the anti vaccine morons)... Someone that treated their for-sale vehicle in a similar manner gives me a warm and fuzzy over the purchase compared to someone that treats theirs purely as a utility item.


I'm a fan of fast gassers in cars, but I will never be able to get another truck without a diesel. The modification bang for the buck is significantly higher (provided it's not a DEF vehicle) than a gasser, and the longevity and mileage all while making more power is hard to beat. I have a 4.5 ton tank on 35's and stock gears that can drag even with an Evo or a Coyote til around 80, and still get 15-16 cruising on the highway.

 

That one looks pretty nice. Price is about right too as long as it's clean, no rust, etc. The carpets may need to be cleaned and there is slight wear on the front seats of the leather. It has the cargo liner which is nice and about $100 right there. Looks like there is a brake controller too. I am no expert but are the fluids all low??

Eagle Eyes should be coming around here shortly.

You're in my old stomping grounds. Born and raised in the North Shore.

 

If that lifted V-10 is rolling on 35"s and the stock gears expect it to be a little doggy, but deeper gears will fix that.
I'm not a big fan of K&N filters on street vehicles, be sure to go over the entire rig very closely and arm yourself with any and all deficiencies you find to negotiate a better price. Look for any broken or missing exhaust manifold studs, not a deal breaker but assume $400 to $800 for a shop to pull the manifolds and replace the studs, or you can do it at home in the driveway like I did, but they are a good negotiation point using those shop costs.
Good luck!

 

You guys are great at picking sh** apart.... LOL Which is exactly what I need. So what do yall think? More I look at it the more I like it. Im sure gonna try to get the truck lower than the advertised price. And I understand that there might be a few issues to deal with but over all.. The mileage seem to be ok? I mean there should be plenty of life left in that motor right? Give it to me straight fellas.

 

Have you seen a carfax?

Interesting that there are no pics of the undercarriage the bolts holding the top radiator bracket are significantly rusted.

As Tom (WE3ZS) mentioned the exhaust manifold studs are probably beyond repair.

Opinion: offer $10,000 and see what happens.

 

Like I said in my prior post, depends on the maintenance. If it's been taken care of properly I wouldn't blink at 197,000 miles.

 

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