Looking to buy a ford expedition from a coworker

[ademily87]

Guy at work wants to sell me his 2003 Ford Expedition XLT. He is the original owner, it's practically flawless. Leather, sunroof, factory dvd player, ac and heat, keyless entry, power seats, loaded to the max an XLT could get done. Has a 5.4 triton and is also a 4X4.

He said he'll sell it to me for $3k. He knows I need something to haul my boat with since my truck is 2wd and I want the added security of 4wd. I know 2wd is fine to load a boat at the boat ramp, but I have the worst luck in the world and can't risk anything happening to my baby (I grew up riding in this truck with my dad going to baseball games, etc).

Sounds like a good deal, right?

Wellllllll it has 246000 miles on it lol I'm a firm believer in the saying that a car will run as many miles as you want as long as you maintain it, but a quarter million miles?

Any of you guys have experience with these beasts and what's some common problems I need to look out for? Obviously he's taken remarkable care of it to have had it last this long and it to be the shape its in.

I feel like $3k is a steal even with the mileage...what do I do?!?!?!

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

 

[2013 Laguna Seca]

Exhaust manifolds for leakage. test drive and make sure the rear end is quiet. Front
suspension,ball joints,sway bar links. If it was well taken care of and free of rust i say
go for it man,sounds like a solid deal.

 

[gtmustang00]

Father has 263k miles on his, and we feel it will go 300k miles no problem. Original drivetrain never been apart. Brakes, ball joints, starter, 3k mile oil changes, 30-50k transmission flushes. Runs great.

 

[ademily87]

Exhaust manifolds for leakage. test drive and make sure the rear end is quiet. Front
suspension,ball joints,sway bar links. If it was well taken care of and free of rust i say
go for it man,sounds like a solid deal.

I know the same year explorers had rear end noise issues. Didn't know the expeditions were the same. Thanks for the heads up.:beer:

Father has 263k miles on his, and we feel it will go 300k miles no problem. Original drivetrain never been apart. Brakes, ball joints, starter, 3k mile oil changes, 30-50k transmission flushes. Runs great.

Sounds reassuring! Thanks:beer:

Sound like a steal of a deal to you guys?



Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

 

[BDF8]

I know the same year explorers had rear end noise issues. Didn't know the expeditions were the same. Thanks for the heads up.:beer:







Sounds reassuring! Thanks:beer:

Sound like a steal of a deal to you guys?



Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

I'd do that in a heartbeat. Even if the original motor grenades, just hit the junkyard and you'll still be above water. Take pics! I wanna see this bad boy

 

[ademily87]

I'd do that in a heartbeat. Even if the original motor grenades, just hit the junkyard and you'll still be above water. Take pics! I wanna see this bad boy

That's what I was thinking. Ive got one pic of it. Not a good picture at all lol he's got a set of 20" mag wheels I think on it but I'm gonna go on Craigslist and see if someone wants to trade straight up for some stockers. Going to look at it tomorrow morning since we both work late and I'll get some better picture then. Here's the only pic I have.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ademily87]

It also has two coats of protective liner on the bottom of it because he frequents New York so that'll help with all the saltwater from leading and unloading my boat

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

 

[04redfireRO]

Also ask him when was his last tune up done. The 5.4's are notorious for breaking the plugs if you try to get them out. If you brake them it will cost you a lot to get them out, but again maybe he had a tune up and he put the revised onepiece plugs in.

 

[BDF8]

It also has two coats of protective liner on the bottom of it because he frequents New York so that'll help with all the saltwater from leading and unloading my boat

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

Let us know if you buy. Good luck with the sale!

 

[ademily87]

Said he had coils and plugs done in December last year. So that's a plus.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ademily87]

Let us know if you buy. Good luck with the sale!

Will do. Thanks! :beer:

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

 

[SID297]

Also ask him when was his last tune up done. The 5.4's are notorious for breaking the plugs if you try to get them out. If you brake them it will cost you a lot to get them out, but again maybe he had a tune up and he put the revised onepiece plugs in.

An 03 would have a 2V, which isn't prone to plug breakage.

 

[Fox-4]

An 03 would have a 2V, which isn't prone to plug breakage.

Are those heads prone to spark plugs blowing out of the heads?

 

[VirtualSVT]

3k? Hell yeah

 

[ademily87]

Are those heads prone to spark plugs blowing out of the heads?

Hope not lol

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

 

[MysticRob]

10yrs old, 246000 miles = ~25k miles a year, which sounds like easy hwy miles to me, so the chassis shouldn't be as beat as most vehicles with half that mileage. I'd say check it over and buy it if everything checks out.

 

[LOL WUT]

3k seems like a good deal. My father in law has one with 190k on it, pulls a pretty hefty boat every weekend in the summer, never given him any big problems.

 

[kevinatfms]

-first year truck=terrible. even worse since its the first year for the IRS and front IWE hubs.
-only good thing about the truck is it has the 2 valve 5.4, so no plug breaking issues or plug blowout as the later 2 valve heads were 8 thread.
-the rear will chatter and groan, the front hubs will go bad and will stick, then the IWE solenoid on the firewall will get filled with water causing some very funky driving characteristics. it should have a 9.75" rear but since its an IRS redesign they really screwed it up.
-airbag problems plagued them in the beginning due to the connector behind the steering wheel having a bad case of terminal fretting.
-rear sway bar chassis links can and will break off causing the bar to just float under the truck, to replace them is a nightmare.
-also the 5.4 2 valve is notorious for passenger side cylinder head leaks at the rear of the head. check for oil puddling around the frame behind the rear tire. this is a major repair in which the a/c must be drained and lines removed from the fire wall.

i would be very careful as one rear end rebuild will be more than what you purchased the truck for.

 

[SID297]

Are those heads prone to spark plugs blowing out of the heads?

No, Ford updated the head design in 03 to solve the plug spitting issue.

 

[ademily87]

Bought it! Runs great and smooth. Interior is really dirty but my wife is taking care of that now while I'm at work. I'll keep you guys posted. Has a couple dings on the pass side. Other than that a great truck and hauler for the price!

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2