Hi everybody! Found the forum earlier this evening and have been reading through lots of threads. There's obviously a LOT of expertise here.

I've wanted an Expedition for awhile now and have finally gotten serious about it. My wife and I found a 2003 Eddie Bauer at a Mitsubishi dealership today and took it for an extended test drive. It has 47K miles and is in extremely nice shape inside and out. Carfax says it is a one-owner vehicle and was originally titled in a nearby town. Carfax does mention one accident reported involving a "rear impact with another vehicle. Minor or moderate damage reported". I couldn't find any obvious evidence of repair during a cursory inspection (and I'm reasonably competent at recognizing repair work from working at a body shop for a few months back in the day) but I intend to take a much closer look.

As far as options are concerned, I'm not exactly sure which things are standard on the EB, but it has a sunroof and captain's chairs in the second row which we really like (instead of the three-piece bench). But the third row seats aren't power (which isn't a big deal to us - just mentioning it for price considerations). Oh and it has the 5.4 V8 and new Goodyear tires.

We decided we wanted it bad enough to at least make a lowball offer, which the dealer promptly rejected. After some haggling the dealer's last best price was $21,900 plus tax, tag, title, etc. My last offer was $21K plus tax, tag, title, etc. (no trade - cash price). We parted ways after that, but I think they might meet me in the middle if I show them the cash. Based on what I've said about the vehicle, does this seem like a pretty good price? Most of the prices I'm finding at Autotrader.com, Carmax.com, Driver's Way, etc. are $2-$4K higher for similar trim/mileage levels, so $21-ish seems like a pretty decent price. But with all the "employee pricing" going on in the new car market, I'm wondering how depressed used vehicle prices should be right now. I'd hate to think I'm getting a good deal now only to find I could get the same truck for $1,500 less two months from now when the effect of the new car pricing really hits the used car market. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated! If I left out any crucial info needed to give good advice, just let me know.

Also, are there any red flags I should look for in regard to the 2003 models?

Thanks in advance for any wisdom you guys would like to share!

David

 

47K is a lot of miles for an 03.

FWIW, I just got 23,400 for my 03 XLT Premium. No sunroof or quad seating, either.

21,900 sounds fair.

 

Being that the 2003 was Ford's first year with this new version, there were a few bugs to worked out. Get the vehicle build date and ask for an OASIS report from a Ford dealer. You will need the VIN from the Expedition that you are interested in to do that. Tell the the Ford dealer that you interested in the vehicle, they don't need to know who you are buying it from, and you want the to know what TSBs have been remedied. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the input guys! Yeah 47K is pretty high mileage, but this one is about as squeaky clean as I've ever seen, inside AND out. And I don't even think they detailed it because there is one little spot that looks like something white rubbed up against the body and left white paint. I'm pretty sure a decent detailer could have buffed it out so that it would be all but invisible.

BUT, it is a very early build, so you're probably right about possible bugs. Is the OASIS report something I'll have to pay for?

Any other nuggets of wisdom?

David

 

I got my 03 EB w/ 81K last summer. Obviously total highway miles, and by the president of an oil company in Ohio who drove everywhere and took good care of it. It too was squeaky clean, had every option (DVD, powerfold, roof, climate seats, etc) except rear air suspension and a price about $10K lower than avg NADA & KellyBB. Nothing wrong with getting a good price on a higher mileage vehicle if well cared for.

That said, there are a few quirks with a first year edition. Pay attention to this forum's threads.
1) Tires. My EB happened to have a fresh set of Michilinns that have been excellent. But, threads show the factory supplied conti's usually are often lousy and I believe it.
Get Bridgestones when you are ready to change tires.

2) Rear end grinding on turns starting up from stop. Yes - and replacing rear end fluid with premium stuff solved it (just like the threads said).

3) Biggest beef - COPs fouling out. THe 5.4 engine at some point went to Coil Over Plugs (I don't think it was 03) and positioned them vertically such that if you get an underbody car wash spray (or engine wash, or heavy puddle jumping) water collects down in them and they foul out withing a few days. After 2 of these in 2 months (at $200 a crack) I got real discouraged until I found this forum. Sure enought, I had my mechanic apply die-electric grease on each cop and have been trouble free since.

4) Reverse Tilt Mirrors. Sometimes mine go goofy adn ratchet. There is a tsb I think. My mechanic checked the memory module but it was OK. I haven't pursued it yet with dealer. I do know original owner had the right mirror replaced because of this.

47K mi is average. Price sounds about right. Because of gas prices and some people's hesitancy to go for guzzlers, I bet the dealer with meet you haldf way.
Good luck.

 

Prices in Texas may be a bit lower than where you are, but I just purchased a 2004 Eddie Bauer with 17,000miles for $22,900(excl. tax, title & license). The car is in mint condition with not so much as a scratch of blemish on the paintwork. Dealer was asking $28,995 for it a week ago. The biggest pain was it was a cash deal, yet still took me over 3 hours to get out of the dealer. Carfax showed one owner, with no damage. It was manufactured on 10/02/2003 and first registered as a personal vehicle on 07/02/2004. I think I got a great deal, and it runs great. However, I guess it has the original brake pads, as there is a lot of dust on the front rims

 

Nice going - sounds like you got a great deal! I think I'll fly you up here to negotiate my next used vehicle . Brake dust is incredible on mine too. This is a common comment in the forum - just keep a stash of good armorall wipes.

 

Last week I brought home a Blue Oval Certified 2003 XLT with 33k for less than 19K and added the 6yr. 100k ESP.

The first thing I noticed was the grinding noise and shimmy, I'm bringing it in to my tech to have the tires force balanced and the rear dif fluid upgraded. If the shimmy isn't eliminated I'm going to replace the Conti's with Bridgestone Dueler Alenzas ASAP.

 

Yeah, that sounds about right. I bought my 03 XLT in mid-June. It was a Certified Pre-Owned deal with 39K for $19,500 and I got the ESP for $750. What made it such a good deal was that it came with 20" custom MoMo wheels, brand new Goodyear tires, billet aluminum grills, Magnaflow exhaust, DVD player and a custom paint job. There was a brand new '05 "dealer-customized" Expy on the lot with basically the same package, and they were asking $46,000!!! Mine was a one-owner truck, traded in by an older gentleman for a new T-Bird. It is in awesome shape for having nearly 40K miles on it, and it was less out the door than half the sticker price of a similar new truck!

blakrj - you got a great deal on that EB!!! Brake dust be damned! That thing sat on a lot for 9 months and then owned for only one year? Probably got more wear and tear from sitting on the lot than from the owner.

 

I had the factory gear oil replaced w/ Mobil One 75W-140 synthetic, added a friction eliminator additive and this took care of the grinding in the rear end. However after force balancing the Cont's still have a shimmy at 70-75 although not quite as bad. I'm thinking about repacing the Conti's with Yokohama Geolandar H/Ts GO51 any opinions would be appreciated.