I am actively shopping for a 2018 Limited or Limited Max. w/ a 302a package. I have to admit I am nervous about buying a first year model. Has there been any issues with the '18's I should be aware of. Should I look at '19 and '20s instead, although that comes with a price jump. Thank you in advance for sharing your sharing yourexperience and opinions.

 

the engine was new in 2015, the 10 speed transmission was new on 2017 F150's, and the only other significant change other than styling is the updated media system, so I don't think 'new' is that big of a deal here. But I'm still in the research phase.

 

Consumer Reports is not always totally accurate, but their new buying guide (new in the last couple weeks) shows that the '18 is much worse than average with a bunch of problem areas, and the '19 is much better than average. I would expect the '19's ratings to decline as the sample size grows and time goes by, but the '18 looks bad for sure.

 

Kind of my concern. I came across a '18 Platinum. w/ 53,000 miles at a competitive price. When I looked at the car fax the service history showed a number of issues addressed by the ford dealer to include reprogramming the motor to address an engine stutter and transmission replacement. It made me start seconding guessing an '18. I thought maybe I should check with the fellas on the forums

 

Consumer Reports has flaws in its ratings, but they are a better data point than random anecdotes. In particular the '18 Expy engine is rated much worse than average for both major and minor problems; the trans is rated better than average for major repairs but much worse than average for minor problems (which is usually programming). Climate systems and in-car etronics are also rated much worse than average in the '18.

The all-new body and interior can make for a lot of potential problems. I bought a '96 GMC Savana new--1st year new vehicle with carryover drivetrain--and it was just miserable. In addition to all kinds of bad mechanical problems, I had huge problems with a lot of trim pieces and stuff (look at the fun with new Bronco removable hard tops). Some stuff wouldn't be caught and changed until a few years into the model run--like big plastic panels that warped after sitting in the sun. Good luck; buying anything used right now is not easy but if a car feels bad you should still walk away from it.

 

Enterprise has a few 2020 Limited Max's they are selling. They have between 56,000 and 65,000 miles for a pretty competitive price. I've always been hesitant to buy a prior rental for obvious reasons, but it does check all the boxes for what momma bear wants in her truck and it eliminates the 2018 issues. Heres the big picture perspective. We are a family of nine, as such we have a Transit 350 XLT van. My wife HATES the van with a passion, but being a family of 9 it is a necessary evil. My wife is home based so the expedition won't be commuting. The Expedition will be her daily driver for soccer practices, grocery. store, orthodontist appointments, etc. Reserving the van for when the whole family travels together. That being said, I'm thinking a former rental expedition might be just fine.

 

When I have looked for Expys, it has usually been for 2-3 year old former rentals. I would have planned to extend the warranty so buying before 36k miles was helpful for that. You are looking at higher mileage units, but that also means that most of their miles would have been on the freeway. Although rental companies don't allow smokers, I found that a lot of rental units had a permanent cigarette smoke stench inside. So I would want to buy and inspect the vehicle in person as opposed to mail-order. Also, rental companies sometimes have their own collision repair facilities so a lot of collision and other damage repair do not show up on CarFax. Again, inspect in person and get the thing up on a hoist. I don't think a lot of rental Expys were drag raced or mechanically abused, but renters would probably not have been used to big vehicles so I'd look for repaired parking lot damage (sideswipes and bashed/scratched corners).

I ended up with a new minivan (Grand Caravan) because it was half the price of an Expedition, fit in my garage more easily, and has more room inside than an Expy. I spent 30 years before that driving full size vans. And the pre-2018 Expys I was looking at had the chronic hood and tailgate oxidation problems which I don't think are an issue with 2018+ all-aluminum bodied vehicles. Not too many minivans on the market these days, but if you don't *need* 4WD, they are a cheaper alternative.

 

The 18s had a lot of growing pains, but it was mainly programming errors and little glitches. Most big problems were the cam phasers which wasn't rele addressed until 2020. That being said, most new 18 owners with xlt or low ltds had little to no issues. The higher trims were a different story. My 18 was mostly issue free and very reliable but it had some small nagging problems. Any 18 u get mostly should have all the tsbs and recalls done.

 

I’m curious. What IS a competitive price for an ‘18 Platinum?

 

thats actually quite easy to deal with. Rent an 'ozone generator' from your local tool rentals, after googling how to use one to deodorize a car. basically, park the car outside, close all the windows, leave the heater vents open, put the generator inside, usually the passenger foot well, run the power cord outside, and close the door on it. plug in the generator, let it run for however many hours they recommend and maybe twice as long for a big SUV like this, then unplug it and wait at least that many hours again. open the doors and let the car air out thoroughly after this, pack up the generator and return it to the rental company. you want to be very careful not to breathe the ozone as its a serious lung & tissue irritant

 

I was looking at '18 platinums and Limiteds with 302A pkgs. In this ridiculous market they are $55 to $60

 

For that price, you can get at 21 limited 301 for a Little over 60k with some finessing. And that way, you bypass all problems present in the 18s.

 

new those are like $75000+ loaded and dealers are slapping significant markups on top of that.

I'd actually ideally like to find a XLT FX4 package with 202A, but those are really hard to find.

 

Limited 301 4x4s start at 67k.

 

This was the problem with the 2016 rental I bought in 2017. The carfax was perfect, the price was great, and it was CPO, but about a year after purchasing I found that 3/4 of the right side had been repainted after some body work. Another couple years later and now there's clear coat peeling on the front and rear bumpers. I'm not a body guy, so this stuff didn't jump out at me. And of course my wife loved it and we were buying it for her, so out came the checkbook.

After this experience, I'll never buy a rental again unless I'm looking for a cheap beater, and I mean the price better be cheap.