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What happened to Ford's slogan "quality is job 1"?
Manifolds all rusted too!
Your Ford dealer has a new Explorer/Escape/Expedition/Excursion brochure that lists all 2002.5 Explorer changes and new options. It has copyright 2002 on back cover and has a blue cover with a picture of sandstone outcroppings (looks like Utah).
I have test driven numerous new cars, most of which all had squeaks and rattles in the body and/or interior. It just doesn't seem as though automakers are building cars as solid as they should be. The prolific use of cheap plastic in interiors does not help either. Unfortunately, domestic models tend to rattle more than import makes. Although, one Honda Accord I drove had a particularly bad rattle with only 30 miles on the car. Buying a car these days, regardless of who made it, is pretty much a gamble.
The Sports Group is $765 invoice and $900 retail and includes Bright Machined Aluminum Wheels, (5) P245/65RX17 OWL All-Terrain Tires, Unique Platinum Wheel Lip Molding, Step Bars & F&R Bumpers.
Does anyone else not like reading all the marketing info getting posted on here? I can get it anywhere - on the web - on tv - in any brochure. This message board is starting to read like another sales brochure. Thanks to the owners willing to post their real world experience.
I don't want this valuable resource to start to be another sales/marketing tool.
Just wondering what y'all think about your explorers. Would you buy a Ford Explorer a second time given the opportunity? I have never had an SUV but I would like to get something that is tougher than a car and something I can move things in when I need to. I might look into getting one used because they are kind of up there in price. Also I like the safety of a vehicle that has a commanding view of the road and one that sits up higher.
Thanks for any replies.
To date, my new Explorer has been quite reliable as well as a pleasure to own and drive, and if things continue to go well, I would buy certainly consider buying another new Ford truck in the future.
tidester
Host
SUVs
Thanks
That is kind of the catch 22 of buying or leasing a vehicle that is heavy with incentives. Everyone is buying the vehicle for less money so it has an impact on the value down the road. There is no free lunch.
The low residual on a lease was enough of a factor for me that I decided against getting the Explorer.
I probably should have clarified my viewpoint a little bit better. The reason I did not think the Explorer was a deal at 43% residual was because the payment would have been more than it would have been three months earlier when there were no incentives available. In a two/three month span the residual I was quoted went from 50% to 43% for three years. For a $37,000 Limited that is a reduction in residual value of $2600. So even with a $2000 incentive, I would have been out an additional $600. The interest rate stayed about the same over that period.
It may have an emotional decision more than anything, but I was just a little disappointed that the payment would have been higher than it was previously. If I get an Explorer I will probably wait until fall when the residuals should be higher again for the 2003's.
Anyone have a suggestion for mitigating the problem?: or is there an add-on that might work? I seem to remember some rather awful looking bent chrome panels with an array of punched holes that affixed to the leading edge of windows 30-40 yrs ago; but maybe there's some better technology out there now. Or is it a "just live with it" deal. In past cars, cracking the moonroof seemed to solve it, but no moonroof on this one.
Any help appreciated.
I also noticed the pulsating pedals phenomenon.
Are there any canadian owners that read this? There was an interesting posting on the Pathfinder section about how much you can save buying from canada instead of US.
2002 Mountaineer V8
45% after 36 months is pretty optimistic. If you can get into a lease with such a high residual, you will be better off as your lease payments will be slightly lower. 35-40% is probably more true-to-life. There are a ton of these vehicles on the used market (coming off leases, trades, etc.) and the numerous incentives are just killing their values. The overly sensationalized tire and rollover issues didn't help either.
For example, I financed my '00 Explorer (new) 16 months ago. MSRP was $30K. Current value is approximately $15K. After 16 months, it's at 50%. My parents leased a '00 Mountaineer 22 months ago. The current value of that truck ($17K) is less than the optional buy-out 14 months down the road when the lease ends. Ford will probably make them a sweet deal to try and entice them to buy it at the end (it won't matter...given the problems they are having with it they are looking forward to giving it back). The same happened at the end of the lease on their '97 Explorer. Ford dropped the price of the buy-out almost $2K to get them to buy the vehicle. Sometimes they wish they had; that '97 was an absolute gem.
1) Highest possible residual value
2) Lowest possible money factor, ie interest rate.
Actually there is a third item, which is the lowest possible selling price which becomes your capitalized cost and transaction starting point.
Personally, I could care less if the vehicle I'm leasing will be worth half as much as the contract RV, since I'm not looking at buying it out. Unless of course, by some sort of financial miracle it's worth is half again as much as the RV (fat chance). If that were to happen you buy the vehicle for RV and sell it on the open market for a profit.
The point being is a manufacturer can set a RV anywhere they want, within reason, to move vehicles. They may also play with the Money Factor as well. They may take a hit at lease end, but there are other places in the transaction that they make on. I don't think you can look at 'real world' values at lease inception because you really don't know what the real world will look like in 3-4 years. The Explorer/Firestone situation is a perfect example.
As always, YMMV
Nick
It is very important to look at real-world values when getting into a lease. The last thing you want to do is get stuck in a lease with a residual value that is artificially low. You would end up paying way too much to "borrow" the car over the term of the lease.
Leases are not the bargain they used to be. Financial institutions set their residuals way too high during the leasing boom, and the market became flooded with 2 and 3 year old used cars thus reducing the market values of the cars. While the residuals being used currently are more reflective of market conditions, they are not as high as they used to be. There are still some good lease deals out there, but the cars they used to be best for (BMW, Lexus, Cadillac, etc.) now require significant cap. cost reductions/down payments. By the time you come up with a $3-$5K down payment, it is much more cost effective to finance the vehicle.
Ultimately, though, it is whatever best suits the buyer. With the number of SUV's being leased and sold in the US, the depreciation is only going to increase as more and more hit the secondary market. When the economy improves, and manufacturers put a hold on huge incentives and special financing, the residuals will improve. For now, though, they are going to drop like rocks.
For those of you in the market for an Explorer, here is a list of the changes per the new Ford ordering guide:
New Standard equipment on XLT:
1) Fog Lamps
2) Black leather wrapped steering wheel
3) Electrochromatic mirror
4) Low back bucket seats with adjustable head rests (standard on XLS too)
In addition, there is the new optional XLT Sport Group package that was discussed earlier in this forum.
Other mid-year changes:
1) Color keyed running boards on Eddie Bauer and Limited
2) New colors (Aspen green replaces Dark Highland Green, True Blue replaces Deep Wedgewood Blue and Silver Birch replaces Silver Frost)
3) Easy entry/exit driver seat on Eddie Bauer and Limited is programmed to move 1-2 inches for easier entry and exit from the vehicle
4) AdvanceTrac enhanced stability control system available with 4.6L V8
5) Moonroof and auxiliary climate control can now be ordered together and will include a new medium overhead console.
regards,
m. rankell
or noise from the "front end" of others on this
site. I have had this for some time and the day
that the dealer had the car to find it was the one day is snowed in NE Texas. Not much luck in
finding such a problem when the roads are wet. It
is not a loud noise, but persistent, on uneven
pavement. The sign off by the dealer said that
the front suspension had been checked and no problems were found.
I have been under the car while another person
rocks the steering wheel from side to side so that a knocking sound results. You can feel the
"knock" in the rack and pinion steering box. It
is most prominent in the pinion shaft housing.
This was not a day one problem, but developed over time. Have any others had this problem and had it corrected? If so, I would like to know what to tell the dealer to look for.