Ford Explorer. Any good?

[Cheech]

Just when I thought I had decided on a Prado, I have now started to look at these Fords.

I would really like a Patrol actually, but they do seem to be quite a lot more expensive. I suppose it is all related to getting what you pay for.

With the explorer, they have a bigger engine than the prado's, but a bit smaller than the patrols. Size of the body seems to be similar to the prado. Patrol seems to be a bit bigger in body than the prados.

So this to me means the explorer may be a bit more powerful on a size to weight ratio. Though I have not had all the specs out. Just the impression I have been getting looking at lots of cars on the net.

Did I mention I am mad keen Ford. Not that that makes a heap of difference getting a 4x4, but certainly does not go against a choice.

Have been looking at cars around the 1998 - 2000 vintage. Looks like I can get an explorer for around $10,000.00-$12,000.00, whereas I would be looking at around 15 - 17 for the Prado, and a bit more for the patrol.

Are the Prado and Patrol that much better. If they are, are the explorers reasonably good anyway. Have gone off pajero's.

The car will only see off road at Fraser and similar places a couple of times a year. The rest will be to the supermarket and towing the 1700kg boat.


I liked it better when I thought I had made a choice on manufacturer!!

Cheech

[Kleyny]

i think the term exploder is the term allot of people call these 4X4s.
I think its something to do with the wireing.

stick with a prado IMO

[akman1]

Hey Cheech,they are called exploders for a good reason.You'd be doing well to get over 100k out of one before spending nearly as much on the engine as you payed for the car,there is the reason as to why they are so much cheaper than other vehicles of the same vintage(just like a Disco looses around 70% of its value after a few years)Best of luck deciding:)

[choppa]

to place a bit of """fairness"" into the equation,,,

yes the earlier models had a habit of self combustion but this was very quickly rectified but the name stuck like the preverable,,,$#@ to a blanket

in reality,,, the explorers ARE the no 1 selling 4x4 in the worldwide market,,, the problem they had was to do with the australian design regulations,,, they are absolutely hot property in the used car market,,, we had/have the occassional come in as trade,,, but there normally sold prior,, or as there going through roadworthy etc etc

the v8 models,,,, good truck,,, but the 6'ers outsell 10-1

front end can be touchy,,,, but a look at servicing records can place your mind at ease,,,

prior to my existing truck,, we had 5 new models passed onto us from ford australia,,, 1 was in black,,,, this came that close to being mine it wasn't funny,,, why didn't i buy it???? my preference has always been a 4b with a tray,,,

oh,,, know that police chase we all witnessed with OJ Simpson trying to evade the law,,,,, explorer;D ;D

choppa

[hellfish]

If it aint Japanese dont buy it! Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, u cant go wrong. I work on a few Exploders regularly and they are a very very poorly built car. Like akman said stick with the Playdoh.

[snasman]

Steer Clear of the ford Cheech,cant go to far wrong with a Toyota they are a much better built Vehicle.

[Pacific]

Had an Explorer for 9 years . Still happy with it after 150000 k's . Had a Patrol before that for about 11 months . Couldn't stand the thing it was a piece of, ......you work it out . Total repairs in the Explorer , brake linings , tyres , radiator and a clutch . It is still quite, doesn't use oil and even after being in the weather for most of it's life the paintwork is still good . Rear springs sagged and were replaced under warranty . They sagged again and it now has after market springs and no problems . Pretty good on the sand and ok to tow with . Much more economical than the Patrol we had and more powerful.

If you asked me would I buy another .......yes I would . The only downside is you couldn't put gas on the model I have.

Pacific

[Pacific]

Just a bit more about Explorers . Ten years ago I towed a caravan from Sydney to Queensland with a 4.2 litre auto Patrol . The Patrol developed a "hernia" and while the engine was being repaired under warranty I was lucky enough to be able to hire an Explorer with a towbar . I towed the van all over the place and was impressed how much better it was towing with an Explorer . Took the Explorer on the beach and it was better there as well . A few months later I gave the Patrol the flick and have never been sorry .

Pacific

[Cheech]

Thanks for the comments.

[JRBK]

Cheech,
I went through the same dilemna you're going through a year or so ago. I wanted a prado, landrcruiser or pajero. The missus wanted a territory or the like as we have 4 kids.
The result was a Ford Explorer as Torque Ford at Redcliffe had a good deal on them. The fact that it is the missus car, and she went from a Ford Laser, to a Holden Zafira up to a Ford Explorer 4wd, she had to be comfortable driving the bigger car. She tried driving a 2 different pajero's and hated them. She loves her Explorer now, and can even reverse park for the first time.
We only considered the Explorer as my cousin has one and absolutely loves it. She said they would buy another any time and would recommend one to anyone. They take theirs to Fraser and everywhere no problems, never missed a beat.
I have a new dilemna now, as a well looked after second hand 100 series landcruiser is coming up sale and i'm now trying to convince the missus to buy it.
Good luck..
Mark..

[KAGEY1]

They Aren't Imported Anymore, And This Will Kill The Resale Value. You Should Save Many Thousands Of Dollars Before Even Considering These Cars. Fuel Economy Is Pretty Bad If You Do Much Running Around Town.
We Have Trouble Selling Them Up Here In The North. Cheers, Geoff

[choppa]

They Aren't Imported Anymore, And This Will Kill The Resale Value. You Should Save Many Thousands Of Dollars Before Even Considering These Cars. Fuel Economy Is Pretty Bad If You Do Much Running Around Town.
We Have Trouble Selling Them Up Here In The North. Cheers, Geoff

we found the same with the sales in north qld geoff on the explorer,,,, i work with the pacific motor group,,,, 13-14 dealerships qld wide,,, and yep your true in what you say re import,,,

but as would be aware,, they are returning,,, similar fate to that off the f250,,, australian design rules changed,,, cars no longer complied

if you have any issue with trades coming in that you don't want,,, do what our guys do,,,, truck em to brissie;D ;D ,,, wholesale value here is far greater

choppa

[Cheech]

Choppa, does that mean there are good deals to be had in buying one myself from nth Qld. Buying second had I would not have warranties anyway, so would be the cost of a flight and fuel to get back to brisbane. Under a grand.

[ozscott]

Good Christ there is a bit of mis-information going on (yet again) about steering clear of non-Jap 4wds.

I dont like the lack of off road aticulation and clearance in the explorers, but otherwise dont know much about them...but for petes sake please leave other non-jap 4wds out of it (The Land Rover range minus the Freelander). Please read earlier threads about Discos and Defenders/County's in particular.

Cheers

[choppa]

cheech as a prime example,,,, we just sold a explorer v8,,, to a bloke in nsw that has been trying to locate one for about a month or so,,,, placing it through salary sacrafice,,, and its second hand,,,

as i previously stated,,, these things within ""our group"" are considered money in the bank,,,, if you do a search through the various auction sites,,, carsales etc etc,,, they are far and few between,,,,,

a quick and easy way to place minds at ease is to phone or call into your local service (ford) centre,,,, ask the manager/mechanic what their opinion is,,,

but i stand by my comment,,, north qld is nearly 5-1 in sales of cruisers compared to what we sell on the sunshine coast,,, same would apply to commodore,,,, and hence when we get something down here that may pull more dollars up there,,,, its trucked,,,,, vice versa in regards to what we sell more off compared to them

choppa

[haggis]

the only problem with the ford explorer is the timing chains .
they get very noisy after about 120000 klms . to replace the chains is a very costly job as they have one at the front & one at the back . you have to take the engine out to do them . service them well and they arent too bad .
cheers fae haggis ................................

[FNQCairns]

the only problem with the ford explorer is the timing chains .
they get very noisy after about 120000 klms . to replace the chains is a very costly job as they have one at the front & one at the back . you have to take the engine out to do them . service them well and they arent too bad .
cheers fae haggis ................................

Jeesus now thats a right shocker...what pinhead thought that was a good design and what shiny bum passed it:o.

cheers fnq

[DR]

cheech as a prime example,,,, we just sold a explorer v8,,, to a bloke in nsw that has been trying to locate one for about a month or so,,,, placing it through salary sacrafice,,, and its second hand,,,

as i previously stated,,, these things within ""our group"" are considered money in the bank,,,, if you do a search through the various auction sites,,, carsales etc etc,,, they are far and few between,,,,,

a quick and easy way to place minds at ease is to phone or call into your local service (ford) centre,,,, ask the manager/mechanic what their opinion is,,,

but i stand by my comment,,, north qld is nearly 5-1 in sales of cruisers compared to what we sell on the sunshine coast,,, same would apply to commodore,,,, and hence when we get something down here that may pull more dollars up there,,,, its trucked,,,,, vice versa in regards to what we sell more off compared to them

choppa

hi choppa, so what models had problems & which ones are the safest to look at as value for money?? just looking on carpoint & they seem to be pretty good value..

[Cheech]

Thankyou everyone for all your comments good and bad. Has allowed me to make a more educated decision.

Settled on a car today. Put down my deposit and now going through the rest of the rigmarole.

What I took from everyone was this,,,,

get newer if possible as the repair costs will be less
the v8's make for a good truck that is still reasonable economical
The older model or models had problems that gave them a bad name that they seem to still have unjustifiably stuck to them
the 6 cylinder has timing chain problems when they get a bit old
They are not necessarily the best 4x4 around, but still perform ok off road
Nobody that had actually owned one that commented on them had a bad thing to say
Better deals can be had if you look outside Brisbane

So this is what I have bought

2004 ux limited
v8 auto

Being a limited, which is the top of the range, it has everything that opens and shuts. Leather upholstery, the works. Is almost too nice to take off road!

I bought from interstate. had the car checked out, and had my cousin have a look at it and take it for a run. Will be transported to Brisbane as part of the deal.

Very happy with my purchase.

Thanks again everyone for your advice.

Cheech

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[DR]

Congratulations cheech, that looks like a nice vehicle.
Was it better value buying interstate?? you don't have to mention price..

[Cobia Kid]

Hey Cheech,they are called exploders for a good reason.You'd be doing well to get over 100k out of one before spending nearly as much on the engine as you payed for the car,there is the reason as to why they are so much cheaper than other vehicles of the same vintage(just like a Disco looses around 70% of its value after a few years)Best of luck deciding:)
Too Right! We have a Ford 'exploder' and it does the job but the engine light has been on nearly the whole time we have had it. if it goes red we have to pull over imedietly and not drive until repaired(which i doubt it will be).
Any way i like the patrol myself,
Cheers,
Jamie

[Cheech]

Jamie, have a re-read of what you have typed, and you will see how ridiculous it sounds. Your vehicle has an overheating problem, and instead of having it fixed, you just put up with it and then call it an exploder!

DR, there seems to be very few v8 explorers in Qld. That is one of the reasons for looking further afield. The ones here seem to be a couple of k more expensive than NSW and vic. Probably not a lot more expensive, but you then open up a very large market to look at.

This particular truck was significantly less than the average because it has higher than average k's for that year. There is always a tradeoff. About 10 years ago I bought a falcon that was a newer model than I could ordinarily afford. Reason was it was higher than the average number of K for that year. I took the punt and now 10 years later I am about to retire that car and in that period it never had anything break down. Standard services and regas. No other mechanical expenses. So that is first hand experience that a newer car for less money just because of higher K's can work out to be a really good deal. Doing the figures, if I bought an older truck for the same dollars as what I spent on this, I would have then had the higher K's anyway. So it all adds up nicely.

The deal came in at $22,500.00 including new tyres and transport costs to Brisbane.

Cheech

[DR]

thanks cheech, great buying.. :thumbsup: