Related to my other post regarding looking for an Excursion locally, I'm seeing that this is not so easy. There are Excursions available online, but I'd have to pay for an online mechanic to inspect it and have it shipped to me. I checked the VIN numbers on a couple of ads that had very low prices compared to the Kelly Blue Book ratings and I found them on a Russian bidding site where they were shown as wrecks. I definitely would like to avoid a scam.

Any thoughts on buying online? Is there any chance of not getting swindled and getting a good deal (even with an online mechanic to inspect the vehicle)?

Thanks,
Tim

 

NO




These vehicles are (by production date) 22-17 years old, they have to register for the draft.

 

For buying online.....DONT. Unless you can drive out and see it, or have someone YOU KNOW do the same, DONT.

One of the things i have worked in the past is helping catch the high tech groups that list fake cars for sale, get you to wire money, and then you never get a car, and they use a pre-arranged group of people to launder the money so it isnt easy to get back, they usually find a accomplice outside the country who will take a piece of the pie to take in the transfer, and then send back the majority.
They do that because when money crosses international certain boundaries, it becomes incredibly hard to track or recoup. Meaning they dont get caught, and keep the money.

Do NOT be my next client! But if you do fall for one, Give me a call, lol, i will help you, after a polite told ya so. The last case i took care of i saw to completion, my involvement took about 20 hours, you do not want to know my hourly rate for computer forensics services. I am cheaper than the big companies that do it, but that isn't saying much, its hard, tedious, mind numbing work to un-ravel these peoples identities, its like peeling a fresh onion just below your nose.

I paid for my Excursion using Paypal, but that was not until i walked around the truck, looked at it, and saw the title with my own eyes, then we went into the third party MVD Services building we met at, had the teller take possession of the title, i showed her the paypal transfer, he showed receiving it, and then the teller put it into my name. That's the only way to do an online buy.

 

I have purchased several vehicles online.

A pre-purchase inspection at a reputable shop that you choose is a must. I always add engine compression, leak down and bore score inspection. Depending on shop and vehicle $500-800 is well worth it for a PPI and should allow you to make a sound decision to purchase a car remotely.

 

Magnus,

Thank you for your reply. When you purchased online, did you purchase locally or did you have your car shipped and have the car inspected at the remote location prior to purchase?

Thanks,
Tim

 

MasterX,

Thank you for your reply. I would like to avoid purchasing online, that's for sure, but I'm not finding it easy to find an Excursion. I also need to find a reputable mechanic in the central NJ area to do the inspection.

You mentioned inspecting the title. Is there anything I need to look for in the Title specifically (the last car I purchased was 20 years ago and I probably didn't do what I was supposed to do and got lucky with my BMW 530i).

Thanks,
Tim

 

I am a die-hard Excursion owner. My first was 2001 Excursion V10. Next, I ordered a 2005 V10. In 2019 I notice some rust. The rust turned out to be terminal from driving through big coastal puddles on Cape Cod at the request of my grandsons. I wasn't going to give up my Excursion. I was able to find the exact same 2005 Excursion V10 in California using Car Gurus. The dealer had good reviews so I bought the truck with 125,000 miles on it. I had it shipped to Massachusettes directly to my Ford Dealer to fix anything that was needed. I spend about another $5,000. Today I still drive it and have no desire to give it up. I also purchased another car from a Texas dealer that was pristine. There were other online dealers I would not even consider. Read the reviews and you can get a sense of how they treat customers.

 

tkingjir,

Thank you for your response! This is very helpful.

Regards,
Tim

 

Tim,

I have purchased cars from across the country and shipped to me. The PPI serves as your eyes and inspection. In fact, many times a PPI will flag things you would never have cared about yourself. But make sure you pick a shop that you can call and talk to beforehand to get a sense for how they walk through your vehicle.

I have purchased 3 Porsches this way.

 

If you are really serious there no substitute for homework. You should be willing to travel. There lots of rust free Excursions available out here in the west. These trucks are getting old and you need to be up close and personal with one before you buy it. Out here in the PPC(Peoples Republic of California) owning an Excursion is a thing of scoRn. You can find a rust free example for a relatively reasonable price. Since the gas is approaching 5$ a gallon people are running from them.

 

California believes they are a soveregn country of their own, no doubt, and no respect for federal laws, they just re-write them as they see fit with no care of if they are against federal law or not.

 

Hi, would you recommend using a Ford dealer as a pre-purchase inspection service, or is that not something they won't do? In other words, why not just find a car online that seems to be a good deal, and then have it sent over to the local ford dealership and have them do the core bore, leak and engine compression tests, something online inspection services like Carchex and Lemonsquad won't do?

 

It really depends on the dealer. The ford dealer in my small town does not have a regular mechanic on staff anymore. Just some guys that can change oil and tires, basic brake work etc.

 

I discovered if I bought a truck from a warm and sunny place the truck did not have any rust. It was well worth the shipping cost to avoid a rusty Excursion.

 

I have done it 3 times. The first was a little disappointment but ok. The second one was great. The third was pretty good. I did V-10, 6.0 and V-10. Out of all 3, the diesel was best as received. Everything was correctable and was stuff I would have done anyway. The first one, I made a serious error. I neglected to have pictures taken of the underside. It had significant rust. It had a hole above 1 running board which I corrected without too much problem. The rest was wire brush and rust converter. It was good after that-until it flipped on black ice. I bought the first 2 with 80K miles on them so mostly they were a little safer to buy. The latest one I just bought is a V-10 and has 100 K miles on it.The 6.0 I checked every car fax type service. They were all good. No accidents—reported anyway. I did find a small area which had been repaired with bondo and fiberglass mesh on the front corner of the left front fender.. I never saw it until the second time I buffed it out when I could see the shadow of the mesh. It was really well done and not an issue. It definitely a good idea to have an independent mechanic check them out , specially a diesel. Independents will see future repair jobs so they are going to tell you everything-probably. I didn’t do that as I was satisfied the engine was good and it was-very good. To get there, I had them video the thing running-inside in the cabin, under the hood telling them what I wanted t see, underneath and had them video a test drive as well. They didn’t mind as they then had all of that information even if I didn’t buy it. Don’t buy anything without seeing underneath-checking for rust. Be sure not to buy one from the rust belt or one with a branded title of any sort. You have to be diligent on that part because if it has been sold a few times in different states, the title could be washed. The current one had the driver’s door replaced which is not uncommon. They are heavy and can sag. They did not do a great job on it with alignment and the paint color matched but was somewhat orange peeled. I finally figured out it was a replacement because the paint chipped on the inside it was white (X is mineral grey). It also explained why there was a lemon sticker on the door about which I raised holy T hell. There was nothing on the title or service history which chronologically didn’t have many gaps. That could still conceivably happen but I would now have pictures of the latch side of the door which is where they are generally placed. It’s really really hard to take that sticker off. I tried. I was impressed that they taped over the sticker when the repainted. I also bought all 3 from Ford dealers with the understanding that if there was something seriously wrong that they could have shown, and they didn’t show, they would get it right back with shipping on them should that occur. If they don’t agree, consider walking. There are some dealerships where people may not be so bright and don’t ven catch some things, which is why you have to.
Right now, they are holding buyers hostage with diesels-ridiculously so which was why I bought the V-10 plus the fact, you can buy a new engine for what some diesel repairs cost. The V-10 has an excellent track record. It’s not perfect but very good. If you get a really high mileage one, all things wear out so factor that into your equation. Now that the Excursion fever by car dealers is becoming not quite as appealing because of gas prices and the fact that people are not going as much for the hefty price tags, they are a little more motivated. I’ve seen unmodified ones going for 40 to 50K which is ludicrous.

You might check if there is a forum member in the town or close to it where you are considering buying it from as many of us don’t mind going and checking something out. It’s a bit of a brotherhood thing I think. Most Excursion owners are willing to help other owners or potential owners that are on this forum. It’s one of the last bastions of honesty and generosity.

Hope that helps.

I’m now realizing why I don’t write many replies. I can’t shut up!