I only popped in on this forum here and there, mainly because our Expedition was pretty much trouble free (owned it since '02). Wife wanted to upgrade and we seriously asked ourselves if we still needed a full size SUV - dogs are gone and we don't plan on getting any more, and Wife wasn't all that enthused with the newer Expy's (and another brand was out of the question). So we've decided to try a F150 crew cab - it's on order since we couldn't find color/options we wanted anywhere...

So yesterday was when the new owners came to take "Eddie" away . He was an absolute workhorse for us and the new family are daughter and hubby of our friends, and don't have much money and also are expecting their first child. We sold it to them very cheap - so in the end we feel good about the whole thing: a new young family getting a hardy low miles vehicle that needs absolutely nothing...

Y'all take care up here!
Scott

 

Until something goes wrong with it.

 

80700 miles on it, new Cooper tires, new brakes/fluid, fresh synthetic oil change, trans service, transfer case and diffs fluid changed, power steering changed, plugs done proactively 15K ago, 10K on a New (not rebuilt) 130A Alt, AC just checked and charged, air suspension all parts changed in last 20K, coolant has been done twice, battery 2 years old and kept on maintainer. New owner is putting wiper blades on it and that's it...

It runs flawless, it's always run flawless - maybe I missed something but it has had meticulous maintenance. Yeah, something could go wrong down the road, but it is the ever-so-reliable 2 Valve 5.4 with the also very reliable 4R100 that has lived its whole life in rust free CA... The kids are ecstatic and we're happy it is going to a deserving home...

 

With our 03, even when stuff went wrong, it was relatively easy to fix and relatively cheap so I guess it depends on your definition of expensive. Both my mom's 97 and my 03 both made it to over 150k+ with few problems. Mine is at 193k and change and just took us on a 2000 mile road trip last week.

 

And that's exactly what the new owners did: took a mini-vacation and stopped at sites they wanted to see on their way back to Texas - he rambled well over 2K flawless miles just on the trip home and they absolutely LOVE the new-to-them Expedition!

 

And the story (for our ex-Expy) did in fact get sadder (as we recently found out)... Kids got assigned to Maine (he's new Coast Guard). Expy pulled trailer with their old Volvo and other stuff packed down from TX coast to Maine - no issues. In December there was a really big snow storm and she thought her water broke and was having labor pains - Doc says get down to the hospital (an hour away). So they drove off into the worsening snow storm. I don't think the young man had any snow driving experience, let alone being a first-time father and in panic mode, my guess is maybe going too fast. Anyway they get into whiteout conditions, as we understand it - he had it in 4hi, they decide they have to turn around. I think he couldn't tell where the road was and somehow hit a boulder in the turn around, lost control and went down the embankment - he must've had his foot planted on the throttle as the Expy refused to roll, then they hit a tree on the side and bounced around and hit 2 more, stopping still upright...

They basically walked away... But Eddie was totalled saving them and their unborn child (it was false labor). Some wrecking yard in Maine got a lot of nice rust-free parts and a well taken care of drive train...

I wish it was a better ending for such a solid truck - but I guess he did what he was meant to do in the end...

Well, you folks carry on up here.

 

I see it as a Total Save. That's what I want my upcoming X to do for me and mine if it comes to that.