2002 Ford Escape V6 4x4

K

KravtZ

Active member
Sup y'all

I know a family friend daughter moved out and is looking to get rid of her car. Its a 2002 ford escape v6 with 4x4.

120,000 miles on it and in great shape.

My question to you all is...does anyone out there drive this? How is reliability? Would you buy an escape with 120,000 on the clock? I don't drive that much maybe 5-6000 miles a year.

I have a 2003 vw jetta now with 140,000 which is getting to the end of its life so I figure I could sell it for a grand or so and then jump into the escape.

Let me know thoughts.
 
topic:KravtZ said:
Sup y'all

I know a family friend daughter moved out and is looking to get rid of her car. Its a 2002 ford escape v6 with 4x4.

120,000 miles on it and in great shape.

My question to you all is...does anyone out there drive this? How is reliability? Would you buy an escape with 120,000 on the clock? I don't drive that much maybe 5-6000 miles a year.

I have a 2003 vw jetta now with 140,000 which is getting to the end of its life so I figure I could sell it for a grand or so and then jump into the escape.

Let me know thoughts.
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2002 with 120,000 miles on it.... I wouldn't buy it IMO. If it were a model like a 2006 or something newer than yeah, but a 2002 is pretty old. I found a 2008 pontiac G6 on my local craigslist that had 95k miles on it and I bought for 4800. Continue to look around.
 
13565302:AgitatedHiatus said:
2002 with 120,000 miles on it.... I wouldn't buy it IMO. If it were a model like a 2006 or something newer than yeah, but a 2002 is pretty old. I found a 2008 pontiac G6 on my local craigslist that had 95k miles on it and I bought for 4800. Continue to look around.
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Yea kind of my thoughts. I feel lik late 90's early 2000's American cars for the most part were such crap builds.

But after selling my car and knocking down the price on the escape I could prob get into the new car for 7-800 bucks.

That being said, My current Jetta drives ok and is fine but getting old. I don't want to buy something that is going to constantly need work. I know my Jetta and know how to get around emissions tests, cheap repair parts, etc. But it is a piece of crap.

I'm not actively looking for new cars this fell across my lap. Guess Im wondering am I that stupid to pass up on this?

I don't mind driving an old car and don't care what other people think. Money isn't a particular issue I just feel like a depreciating asset isn't worth me spending $20,000+. Thats why I drive older cars. My Jetta has lasted 5 years for less than $2000 bucks.
 
13565307:KravtZ said:
Yea kind of my thoughts. I feel lik late 90's early 2000's American cars for the most part were such crap builds.

But after selling my car and knocking down the price on the escape I could prob get into the new car for 7-800 bucks.

That being said, My current Jetta drives ok and is fine but getting old. I don't want to buy something that is going to constantly need work. I know my Jetta and know how to get around emissions tests, cheap repair parts, etc. But it is a piece of crap.

I'm not actively looking for new cars this fell across my lap. Guess Im wondering am I that stupid to pass up on this?

I don't mind driving an old car and don't care what other people think. Money isn't a particular issue I just feel like a depreciating asset isn't worth me spending $20,000+. Thats why I drive older cars. My Jetta has lasted 5 years for less than $2000 bucks.
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700-800 dollars isn't bad but then again you might be repairing it more often than you're driving it.
 
One of my co-workers has one of those (not sure what year, but same body style) and I'm pretty sure she's up around 350-400,000km (218k+ miles). Sure you may have to deal with maintenance and repairs that come with age (like any vehicle that age), but it's a Ford and parts are plentiful and cheap.
 
I have a 2005 escape with 166k miles on it. Love it. It's a beast in the snow. I tow my camper with it. The 3.0 V6 is a solid engine. I had a wheel bearing go out and an ABS sensor fail and I was able to replace both by myself.

Definitely recommend.
 
Don't go by miles. Look in the engine bay and look under the engine for any oil leaks (or any fluid but oil is the most common. Check the sway bar link bushings, those are common to be worn out. Make sure the 4x4 works good and listen for any whining noises. Make sure no dash lights are on. Scan the vehicle for codes, O'reillys and other parts stores will usually scan your vehicle for free and tell you the codes. Look for the wear patterns on the tires and also make sure the rear diff isn't leaking.

That's pretty much the main problems on that year of Escape. If everything checks out then I'd pick it up. They are kind of top heavy so be careful in the corners.
 
13565401:CameraWiz said:
Don't go by miles. Look in the engine bay and look under the engine for any oil leaks (or any fluid but oil is the most common. Check the sway bar link bushings, those are common to be worn out. Make sure the 4x4 works good and listen for any whining noises. Make sure no dash lights are on. Scan the vehicle for codes, O'reillys and other parts stores will usually scan your vehicle for free and tell you the codes. Look for the wear patterns on the tires and also make sure the rear diff isn't leaking.

That's pretty much the main problems on that year of Escape. If everything checks out then I'd pick it up. They are kind of top heavy so be careful in the corners.
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Thanks man. Gunna give my neighbor some $ and a 30 rack of brews to come down and check it out with me this weekend.

Hope it checks out. Really need a 4x4 SUV with some more space. Jetta isn't cuttin git
 
My GF has an '05 Escape and she hit some pretty serious problems around 90k, but it's a Ford so repairs were relatively cheap, it just seemed like everything kinda shit the bed all at once. I've driven it a bunch and it's a perfectly fine car in the snow, but I would take an AWD wagon over it any day.

+1 on it being top heavy, but for an SUV it whips around pretty nicely
 
13565597:no_steeze said:
My GF has an '05 Escape and she hit some pretty serious problems around 90k, but it's a Ford so repairs were relatively cheap, it just seemed like everything kinda shit the bed all at once. I've driven it a bunch and it's a perfectly fine car in the snow, but I would take an AWD wagon over it any day.

+1 on it being top heavy, but for an SUV it whips around pretty nicely
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Im more concerned about reliability above all else. I currently have a 2003 Jetta with 140k on it going strong as hell.

I do want awd suv just cant determine if its to unreliable to trade up to.
 
buddy had one he used a work truck and beat the shit out of. Has almost 300k when between the trans slipping and it eating wheel bearings he scrapped it. He love it for how hard he beat on it tho.
 
13565610:KravtZ said:
Im more concerned about reliability above all else. I currently have a 2003 Jetta with 140k on it going strong as hell.

I do want awd suv just cant determine if its to unreliable to trade up to.
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If you're purely focused on reliability find an old v6 4runner with no rust. Those things will run strong over 400k. I drove an '86 for a little while in Tahoe and it was a super fun car
 
they're called the exploder for a reason.

I've seen one that had a solid axle swap, and a big turbo diesel swap but other than that I would stay far, far away from these. Pathfinders, assuming the timing belt is fine, would be a way better bet.
 
13567102:Mod_Dane said:
they're called the exploder for a reason.

I've seen one that had a solid axle swap, and a big turbo diesel swap but other than that I would stay far, far away from these. Pathfinders, assuming the timing belt is fine, would be a way better bet.
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hmm, it seems like "exploder" would be a better name for an explorer, not an escape. whoever came up with that is stupid
 
I had a 2001 with like 90k miles and the 4 wheel drive went out for seemingly no reason. Was gonna be a couple grand to fix it so we just decided to sell it. Idk if this is a common problem but I'm just sharing my experience with the car.
 
13567187:cornholio said:
hmm, it seems like "exploder" would be a better name for an explorer, not an escape. whoever came up with that is stupid
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me and drinking and forums gets a bit confusing sometimes, but I have my opinions on newer ford products and I will leave my statement as is, even though you were completely right and I thought op was about explorer.
 
13568296:taj. said:
140k

end of it's life

are you fucking kidding me? Every car should run to at least 200k...
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Its just getting old man. I do all oil every 3k, maintence, etc. Clutch is slipping a little,making weird noises all over. Needs new coil packs and mis fires on occasion in the rain.

Prob needs a good $1500 worth of stuff. Would rather sell it and buy a new car.
 
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