Newbie here

[Total Noob]

Hey guys. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I have been a fan of the Expedition since 1998. I am now on the market for one, it'll be my first. I have a guy selling a 98, and he says all it needs is a good "buffing". What are some of the things I should look for when purchasing a 98? Its an XLT 5.4 with 195,***, I really want this truck, but please help a newbie out!

Thanks in advance..
Total Noob

 

[Bedrck47]

Welcome to the Forum

 

[stamp11127]

Welcome to the site.

Good place to start is reading the first generation forum threads. There you should find purchasing advice and common failures with repair info. One big thing to be aware of is a leaking windshield and it's effect on the electrical system.

 

[1997SCEBFEX]

welcome and let us know what you decide.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Hey guys. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I have been a fan of the Expedition since 1998. I am now on the market for one, it'll be my first. I have a guy selling a 98, and he says all it needs is a good "buffing". What are some of the things I should look for when purchasing a 98? Its an XLT 5.4 with 195,***, I really want this truck, but please help a newbie out!

Thanks in advance..
Total Noob

Question? is this going to be a daily driver? If so, how many miles do you plan to put on it in a week? I know you are all jazzed up about buying this, but it is a 20 year old truck for all intents and purposes and no matter how much you want it there is that to consider. 195K is low mileage for a 20 year old vehicle and people have run them to 300-400 thousand miles, but it took a lot of work and effort to keep them going. You don't say what the asking price is, but figure over the length of ownership 3-5 years, you will probably put $5k to $8k in repairs. If you can do most of the needed work yourself you can cut that figure in about half. That was based on my old 05 that I owned for 3-1/2 years and put another $8k Into it. Granted there are differences in the vehicle but there will always be things to repair on a 20 year old vehicle.

You might want to look at newer Expeditions depending on your price range and go from there.

 

[Total Noob]

Question? is this going to be a daily driver? If so, how many miles do you plan to put on it in a week? I know you are all jazzed up about buying this, but it is a 20 year old truck for all intents and purposes and no matter how much you want it there is that to consider. 195K is low mileage for a 20 year old vehicle and people have run them to 300-400 thousand miles, but it took a lot of work and effort to keep them going. You don't say what the asking price is, but figure over the length of ownership 3-5 years, you will probably put $5k to $8k in repairs. If you can do most of the needed work yourself you can cut that figure in about half. That was based on my old 05 that I owned for 3-1/2 years and put another $8k Into it. Granted there are differences in the vehicle but there will always be things to repair on a 20 year old vehicle.

You might want to look at newer Expeditions depending on your price range and go from there.

Hey Andy. The guy selling it is selling it for $1500. It was his wifes truck. He is a Ford Master tech. He states that it only needs a good "buffing" (Paint wise). its black and beautiful. And I trust him. He worked on my 98 eddie bauer explorer. Had her running great till the tranny blew. (no reverse).

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Hey Andy. The guy selling it is selling it for $1500. It was his wifes truck. He is a Ford Master tech. He states that it only needs a good "buffing" (Paint wise). its black and beautiful. And I trust him. He worked on my 98 eddie bauer explorer. Had her running great till the tranny blew. (no reverse).

It sounds good. I'd offer $900, because you don't know when the transmission is going to go in a truck that old. I'm sure he has wiggle room. Make a cash offer of $900 in $100 dollar bills and see what he says. Maybe he'll come back at $1200 and then you could offer $1000. It's fun to negotiate the price. Just make sure that you have money tucked away for the repairs that you know are coming.

Why is he selling it? Check for rust too. Look at the rockers, radiator supports, floorboards, and the trailing arms. They have been trouble spots in the past.

Just some more thoughts on it.

 

[rjdelp7]

Scan OBD for codes. It is real easy to disconnect battery or manually clear codes, for a master tech. If there is a bunch of "monitor not ready or pending", it has issues. The lower trailing arms and radiator support rust out. Does the AC work(big bucks)? I worked for a dealer, years ago. Most of the mechanics were lazy. One bragged he had not changed his oil in 2 years. They always wanted to take a loaner car, because there hoopty was broke down. Even if you get this cheap, you will put 5X that in repairs. Be smart and buy something newer, with less miles.

 

[GAINMOB]

Welcome to the site

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[jeff kushner]

WTTC ! Let us know if you get it!

jeff

 

[Adieu]

13 is waaaaay high imho...unless you're paying for tires wheels and a sparkly perfect leather interior with DVDs and shit, and the rest of the truck just got thrown in for free