Our new car is coming tomorrow......Yee Haw.......

[Wise Owl]

:-D

Ok here it is.
182799 182800

2007 Ford Explorer XLT with 119,000 miles on it. Our neighbor checked it out and drove it. He is also going to deliver it up to us tomorrow. He owns the cabin across the road from us and a really good friend of ours.

It's going to take all the car money plus most of our SS money for the month to do this with tax, and fees plus the insurance for it and very basic coverage for the Expedition till it gets sold.

So, ladies and gents, what do you think of our newer wheels? Will it pass muster with you all? It's pretty cherry inside and out. Drives really nice according to our friend who put it thru the paces Tues afternoon. All the buttons and stuff work fine. Did a Carfax on it and that's clean. It has a 30 day warranty on any of the inspectable items if those don't pass muster with our mechanic who WILL be looking it over after it gets here. (not sure on that cost)

Gonna be tight money wise but, we will have a good set of wheels. I was in town yesterday and the Expedition suddenly got a flat tire. It happened about 200 yds from a garage so I very gently drove down the street and pulled in. Cost $20 to get it fixed and put back on. Whilst doing that, the mechanic says, your sway bar connector thing on top is broken.......:( Driveable but be careful. So, I am worried about just getting home as there is a HUGE hill to go down to get here. I stopped at OUR mechanic's place to make sure it was ok to get home and back. Yup, stay off the mud runs and it will be ok. Good thing as I have to go back to town to get the money transfer done to the car dealer.

So, we will be mobile anyway and in a pretty RED car!

[kmrra]

I would drive it , looks good

[shoot-n-lead]

Looks very nice!

[Jr.]

Glad to hear you got some new wheels! Looks like a fine vehicle to me.

[Bookworm]

New vehicle is always exciting. Congratulations on the purchase.

Now go get some mud splashed on it, maybe it'll cover up that blue oval and make the vehicle easier to look at.....[smilie=1:

[Wise Owl]

New vehicle is always exciting. Congratulations on the purchase.

Now go get some mud splashed on it, maybe it'll cover up that blue oval and make the vehicle easier to look at.....[smilie=1:

Ha, ha. It will be coated with snow and stuff from the drive up. Good thing we have those pics above to see what it looked like clean, huh? Sure won't stay that way but, maybe we can get off this mtn and get her washed a couple times this winter.

Thanks for the looks good stuff tho. It's a nice red......lol.

[buckwheatpaul]

I am so proud that you all got a good vehicle coming your way. Merry Christmas and the car is even the color of Santa's sleigh.....

[jonp]

Looks in great shape although considering the cold heading your way I hope you have a good battery!

[ShooterAZ]

Congrats on your new ride, looks good to me.

[runfiverun]

that should be a good one for you guy's.
we bought the wife's mother/father one exactly like that and it served them well.

[wv109323]

Our company cars were Ford Explorers and I had a personal one. That should tell you something. Common problem among all I owned was front CV bearings. They were quite expensive at first but now around $120 each. The other thing is gas mileage. 15 MPG is about average and 17 at best. They are solid vehicles. Congrats. My model years were 1994.1996 1998 and 2005

[Circuit Rider]

Looks Good Wise Owl, Hope you and the Misses have a great Christmas, and a much better New Year. James (Circuit Rider)

[jrayborn]

cool.

[smoked turkey]

That is a great looking car. Cars seem to be better engineered than some in the past. If they are taken care of like yours has been no telling how long they will last. We are accustomed to a dirty car. We live in the country and the country roads are rough on cars. No matter what we do we find it is impossible to keep our red GMC Terrain clean. A dirty car is still a good car even if it does not look so good. Enjoy your new wheels.

[Petrol & Powder]

I think that will do just fine.

As for the CV joints mentioned in post # 11, that's not limited to that particular model. Pretty much a failure point on any vehicle that has a driven front axle. The good news is axle shafts with new/rebuilt CV joints have become very affordable at this point in time. Most of the cost now is labor and not parts. If you're mechanically inclined you can do it yourself. If you have a friend that is mechanically inclined it is a "one good bottle of whiskey" type of payment. If a garage handles it - it's no longer a "electric bill vs. car repair bill" kind of job.

In any event, I think that vehicle will be just fine.

[Wise Owl]

Looks Good Wise Owl, Hope you and the Misses have a great Christmas, and a much better New Year. James (Circuit Rider)

That would be MR Gray Wolf or Sam to you all......lol.

I think it needs either a big green ribbon on it or a small green wreath on the front, just for Christmas.......cause it was a gift from ALL OF YOU AT Castboolits.

Thank you so very, very, much.

God bless you and yours at this special time of Christmas.
Merry, merry Christmas!

[jrdztech]

Looks very nice. Congrats!

Got Brass

[shaper]

I am happy for you, the Explorer looks nice.
Hope you and yours have a very merry Christmas.

BTW, How is your lead stock? Let me know if you need more.
shaper

[MaryB]

Sweet! Let us know of you need a little extra help making it through the month, been there done that! Sometimes an extra $100 makes a huge difference.

[Alvarez Kelly]

Congratulations. I think you found a winner! Have a safe and Merry Christmas! :-)

[Fishman]

That looks very nice!

[Wayne Smith]

Congratulations Sam and Julie. Looks good.

[JimB..]

Great that you got it worked out. Have a merry Christmas!

[Wise Owl]

Well, we found out last night from our friend that he isn't sure when he can get it up here. Hoping for tonight because the weather this weekend is going to be rough. He is a hunter and wanted to come up to do some bunny hunting but right now it's minus 14 outside and we have snow coming tomorrow and then freezing rain for Sunday.....blech...
He has a 3 hour drive just to get up here.

I have go into town to the bank this morning for the money transfer to the dealer. Not looking forward to going anywhere in this cold. High of around 4 for today. Praying our old car is going to start and then get to town and back in one piece.

As to finances as Mary spoke about, it's going to be really tight to get thru the next two weeks. Plates to transfer and insurance, taxes on new car are about $360! Owie........then title and a couple other things.
And then be able to buy groceries and such.

Yup, it's going to be tight.

But, we will have a car that will not fall apart on us. (praying hard nothing else happens on the Expedition today. Wednesday's flat and broken sway bar breaking was more than we needed. Scared me badly.) Tire is ok but didn't get the sway bar fixed. Just more money into that car.....sigh...

I just want this over with. My stress level is beyond normal.......

Thank you all once again for helping us tho. I pray you all have a great Christmas and that our Lord blesses you mightily......!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Glad to hear the replacement vehicle will arrive soon. Merry Christmas.

[Deep Six]

First off, congrats on the new ride!

Secondly, keep an eye on the electronic throttle system on the 07. Two of those same models in my family, both have issues randomly stalling in the middle of the road. Dealership tried to fix em a couple times, replacing ignition switch, gas pedal position sensor, and throttle body actuator, all with no solution. My hunch is it's the fuel pump driver module, which is a known issue on the same years F150. Crazy electronic throttle systems don't use a constant delivery pump in the fuel system like cars have used forever. Instead they have a computer constantly varying the pump speed based on engine load and pedal position. Only problem is the computer is mounted in a plastic box on the frame near the gas tank. After some salty winters the seals corrode and the computer gets wet, leading to random stalling as the computer quits driving the fuel pump. Really all just due to the ridiculous emissions regs the EPA rammed down everyone's throats.

I've been driving Ford trucks since I was 16 but really don't care for any of 'em new enough to have an electronic throttle system. The Explorer was a very solid design with the first decade 91-01 being exceptionally long lasting trucks, with the exception of the auto transmission in the early years. Manual trans was always a better choice for longevity in the early ones. The later ones like your 07 are still good sturdy trucks and offer higher comfort levels than the early ones but did start to incorporate the dumb stuff like electronic throttle systems to appease the ever-growing EPA menace.

As for your expedition, the tire could have happened to any vehicle and the sway bar end links are a known issue with them in winter salt states. They simply just rust away. Not really a big deal though as the part is just a few bucks and easily replaced. The mechanic was right that you don't need it, sway bars were usually optional on most vehicles for the longest time. Just don't try pulling any steep curves at 70 mph without it.

[RogerDat]

Glad to hear you're going to be getting some safe and dependable transport.

Wife drives an 05 Escape and likes it very well, not as large or heavy duty as yours but has been very good for towing or hauling stuff. This year I had to hit bottom of doors along inside seam with wire wheel and stop rust, then coated with that spray on rubber sealant. You know the stuff on TV that seals a screen door so you can make a boat out of it. Should be good for a few more years now. The plastic part on the bottom of the door that provides "style" to the outside along the bottom of the door wraps under the door (or did in 05) and some bright engineer forgot to include weep holes or notches for drainage so it holds a little water along the bottom edge of the door when it rains or is slushy out. Something to check for and keep an eye on if you have that same bottom door trim situation.

May yours serve you well and safely for many years to come. Wishing you and yours a merry Christmas.

[blackthorn]

Good news! Gail and I wish you a merry Christmas and a New Year that is less stressful than 2016 has to have been for you both.

[Pine Baron]

This is good news. May God continue to Bless you both. Have a Merry Christmas.

[skeettx]

AND a great CHRISTmas color :)
Mike

[Wise Owl]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?322748-quot-quot-new-truck-deal-turns-to-a-disaster-quot

I have no words right now. Please read the post Sam just put up.

Sick to my stomach.

[MaryB]

I will second the sway bar not being a big issue as long as you don't high speed swerve to avoid something. Even then you will get a lot of body roll but should be okay. We use to disconnect them to rock crawl in the river valley near me. We did it at home and drove 20 miles to get there on some pretty curvy roads. Reason we disconnected is to get more suspension travel.

[mold maker]

It's always darkest just before dawn. Have faith that fate will deal ya a good hand.