It has come time to purchase a "new" family vehicle. My wife and I have 4 kids, so third row is mandatory. I have been looking at Expeditions, primarily for fuel economy. We live 25 miles from "town", so we drive lots of miles...if the Expedition does 2 mpg better than something comparable, that adds up for us. We have been looking at 15-17ish. I have noticed they sell for significantly less than comparably equipped, miles, age GM SUV's, like almost half price in some that I have seen advertised. I have found a 2017 EL Limited, black on black, 150K. The pictures all look great. I have a cousin that lives locally to it (I am 200 miles away) and he is going to look at it for me. It is what I would consider almost suspiciously cheap. I think the dealer that has it is a wholesaler. It is a used car dealer in the middle of a line of new car dealers, so I assume it was probably a trade in at one of the new car dealers adjacent to them. What do I need to be concerned about with a unit with this kind of miles? I am all about getting a good deal on a vehicle, but I am not interested on a good deal on a money pit. Is there concerns with the higher mileage Expeditions that cause the value to be so much lower than GM products? Thanks in advance!

 

Never owned an expedition but after some quick research I can see why the value would be down. The engine. it is a 3.5L ecoboost engine for that model years. Being a gas turbo, maintenance is the key. Also with 150K you are getting 150K of wear and tear. You may be buying someones problem. If the glove box doesn't have a stack of the records, I would be weary of the vehicle. Plus you have a vehicle that is nearly 10 years old. It's GM equal is most likely going to have a V8 N/A engine mated to a 6 speed AT. Providing that generation doesn't have GM's AFM. That can be costly if that system fails. However there is no replacement for displacement. That is going to mean an easier to work and more simple platform.

I would research on here around the 3.5L Ecoboost section. Get an idea of the issues with the engine. Find out what kind of service is needed for the vehicle.

Good luck!!

 

Cam phasers/timing chain stretch are an issue on these . Make sure no noise on cold start. It's an expensive repair. Beyond that, it would be normal pre-purchase inspection stuff. A lot of maintenance should be done already with 150k.

I'd definitely try to find a private sale with maintenance records instead of used car dealership.

I just picked up a 2017 Expedition for our family. I was hesitant on getting into a twin turbo engine, but I think the problems with the Ecoboost platform are smaller than the GM engines/transmission problems in the same years. And they are cheaper.

Good luck

 

You should consider looking for a 2018 if you are after MPG. With the 2018 aluminum body and 10 speed transmission MPG is much improved. My 2018 averaged 21 MPG for the first 25k miles. Combination city, highway and trailering.

 

Maintenance records are key, so get a Carfax report and look at the history of it. You can tell if someone maintained their vehicle or not from those.

 

We have a 2017 EL Limited. We got it with 90K on it and we're at around 210K on it now. Lot's of baseball mileage and highway mileage. I love it. My wife loves it. We've done brake and shock maintenance, as well as one spark plug set replacement. We've had three real issues: 1. The throttle body went out. That was an easy swap. 2. The wiring for the blower motor for the AC fried, so I had to replace that. 3. The rocker panels rusted out literally a few months after the corrosion warranty ran out. Otherwise, it's been a wonderful family hauler that has seen lots of driving. Everything from towing cars to trailers to just getting kids to school.

OP, what did you end up getting?

 

I've owned both, and the 3.5 ecoboost has more power than the GM smallblock and gets better mileage. The GM v8 would be a super reliable engine but they ruined it with the AFM.