New member here. Hoping to buy my first Expy....

[Brian Burns]

Hey everyone! New member here! I posted this on a previous, but older thread and couldn't find anything pertaining to this specifically after searching through 71 pages.

My wife and I are looking at a 2017 Expedition XLT w/ 46k miles (coming from a 2012 Explorer XLT). The car was a rental from Enterprise. We went ahead and bought a CarFax for it and it came back with 0 issues reported. The CF report had the car registered in FL. The dealership let us demo it, so we took it to a local shop to have it checked out. When they put it up on their lift, they found rust underneath. However, it looks to me like it's surface rust. They didn't see any corrosion or anything like that. After reading through one of the threads, I know to look for rust on the rocker panels as well as on the frame. Shop did not point either of those two out, but no harm in checking again. The shocks also had what looked to be some type of leak around it. (SEE PICS) Not sure if these issues are normal for the mileage or something that could become an issue in the near future. Have any of you ever had these specific issues and it gave you trouble?

This stuff may not be a big deal, but I'd like to hear other opinions. Other than that, we love the vehicle (Wife's dream car) and are really close to buying it. Appreciate any and all feedback!

 

[Plati]

Kinda curious what you mean by "I know to look for rust on the rocker panels". Rust on the rocker panels starts inside of them and when it shows on the exterior - they are gone, toast!

Look for the infamous paint bubbling problem. It may not yet but ... if it already is, bad bad sign on something that new. Do any of them not bubble after 3 years?

Spend some time exercising as many controls as you can. I bought my 2014 and didnt find out until it rained that the intermittent wipers didn't work. $325

Insist it comes with 2 keys, both Admin!

Leaking shocks is a no go unless factored into price.

 

[JExpedition07]

Looks fine, the rockers won’t be bad yet on a 2017 it takes a bit more time.

 

[Brian Burns]

Kinda curious what you mean by "I know to look for rust on the rocker panels". Rust on the rocker panels starts inside of them and when it shows on the exterior - they are gone, toast!

Look for the infamous paint bubbling problem. It may not yet but ... if it already is, bad bad sign on something that new. Do any of them not bubble after 3 years?

Spend some time exercising as many controls as you can. I bought my 2014 and didnt find out until it rained that the intermittent wipers didn't work. $325

Insist it comes with 2 keys, both Admin!

Leaking shocks is a no go unless factored into price.

I'm not exactly sure myself, honestly. It was just recommended from an older thread. Plus, I found some other "rust" threads (not similar to mine) and I saw replies/pictures regarding rust on the rocker panels.

I didn't see any paint bubbling when I looked over it, but will DEFINITELY go over that again.

Good point on the controls suggestion. Will definitely do that as well.

I will mention the shocks leaking although they will probably chalk it up to the mileage or state that it is normal wear and tear.

Thank you so much for your input!

 

[Brian Burns]

Looks fine, the rockers won’t be bad yet on a 2017 it takes a bit more time.

Thank you for your input!

Is that just inevitable or something? Like a bad design from Ford?

 

[JExpedition07]

Thank you for your input!

Is that just inevitable or something? Like a bad design from Ford?

You can slow it up with rust treatments like crown. Eventually they will corrode and perforate through because salt and moisture sits in them and eats at the panel, not just a ford thing.

 

[Plati]

Thats a GREAT price on that 2017 even if you have to replace a couple shox and have keys programmed and fix a little thing here or there.

Yeah, I mean steel rusts ... aluminum corrodes ... it is kinda been going on since forever. I do think the older Expy's suffer an extra large helping of that in certain areas of the vehicle. Newer Expys have improved some design (like wheel wells) but not the rockers. They "could" have put a serious anti corrosion coating in there IMHO. They didnt so I did.

See the hole there. Just in front of rear wheel on inside. There are 8 of these on my 03 Expy that let the bad stuff in and it collects there and this results after 15 or so years if you live in Salt City, NY. My current theory is that if you flush it out well and coat it with Fluid Film or some other anti corrosion "oil type coating" on a yearly basis ... can slow it down. I'll let you know how this works on my 2014EL in 2028!

 

[sixsix]

If that's at a ford dealer they should replace the struts under warranty. If not, then once you buy it bring it to a ford dealer and have them replaced under warranty. Just had mine done not that long ago.

 

[1955moose]

Keep in mind it's a rental. Like one friend said to another, that wanted to marry an ex ******, do want to deal with someone with that kind of hard miles! Seriously, rental vehicles are usually not a good bet. I've worked both for Hertz, and Eagle Rider on the motorcycle end. Think about when you rent a car. Do you baby it like your car back home? Hell no! You drive it like you stole it! It's insured so who cares. Those 48,000 miles are hard ones. If you do buy it, get the extra warranty, your probably going to need it. Just my 2cents from someone that was in the business.

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[Black]

If that's at a ford dealer they should replace the struts under warranty. If not, then once you buy it bring it to a ford dealer and have them replaced under warranty. Just had mine done not that long ago.

It has 46k miles struts are not part of the 60k mile powertrain warranty.

I have 51k on my 2016 and one of mine is leaking. They should not be leaking this early.

Keep in mind it's a rental. Like one friend said to another, that wanted to marry an ex ******, do want to deal with someone with that kind of hard miles! Seriously, rental vehicles are usually not a good bet. I've worked both for Hertz, and Eagle Rider on the motorcycle end. Think about when you rent a car. Do you baby it like your car back home? Hell no! You drive it like you stole it! It's insured so who cares. Those 48,000 miles are hard ones. If you do buy it, get the extra warranty, your probably going to need it. Just my 2cents from someone that was in the business.

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While I would agree for the smaller and midsized vehicles.
Those like SUVs where a premium is charged for the rental is less likely to be the case.
While you certainly will find more cosmetic issues serious mechanical issue I would say are worth the cost savings for a fleet vehicle.

 

[star-art]

I posted in the other thread that I went through this when I was shopping for my '17 recently. I spent some time underneath one truck that was up on a lift while an experienced Ford tech walked me through common corrosion issues. He said they don't put any coatings on the driveline or the steering knuckles so those parts always have surface rust. He said all trucks will have that. He told me what I needed to watch out for was significant rust on the frame and, in particular, the rocker panels as these are notorious for rusting out.

I passed on a cheap older 2014 with super low miles (from Canada) because it had significant rust underneath. The rocker panels had the beginnings of visible rust on the side facing the frame and the mounting brackets for the fixed running boards were also pretty rusted.

 

[Plati]

...I passed on a cheap older 2014 with super low miles (from Canada) because it had significant rust underneath. The rocker panels had the beginnings of visible rust on the side facing the frame and the mounting brackets for the fixed running boards were also pretty rusted.

Its the thin sheet metal (rockers, wheel well, body ..) that combines with oxygen, turns to iron oxide, and goes away. The mounting brakets are a much thicker metal with a different chemical makeup. On my 2003 the brackets are rusty looking but still solid like the frame inside the rockers. Ugly looking but still works ... for now anyway.

 

[jeff kushner]

FWIW: I owned two Expy's prior to my '17 and in both the'99 & '03, I found the rocker panels full of water with the wiring bundles under WATER! I chose not to wait till they rusted and simply drilled 2-1/4" holes all the way through then coated the holes with clear spray paint....no rust.....just be very careful if you need to drill....not a lot of room to get a 1/4" bit down there w/o hitting the wires!!!

My '17 has 45K and rocker panels are dry...always have been!

jeff

 

[Big Dave]

I too bought an Enterprise rental. Mine is a 2016 Limited. Just be extra cautious when looking at the body. Being self-insured they don't necessarily have to report accidents to carfax.

 

[1111ExpyEL1111]

If it is a rental keep looking. Rental Vehicles usually get the crap beat out of them.

 

[Flexpedition]

If it is a rental keep looking. Rental Vehicles usually get the crap beat out of them.

A $19/day Focus or Corolla, yes. They get the crap beat out of them on a regular basis. But not a $109/day full size SUV. Those are generally rented by somewhat mature adults and/or families. And everything I've thrown at my Expedition she's taken like a champ.

 

[fireguy926]

My 2012 Expy was a fleet vehicle, and i bought it in 2012 with 20,000 miles ( 1 yr old). Pd less than 1/2 of sticker for a new one. Vehicle was very well maintained. Many fleet vehicles are corporate leases and may have been assigned to just one person. Maintenance is usually quite good. I will probably look for another fleet vehicle in very good condition when i buy another Expy ( best tow vehicle that can hold a large family).
Still need to be cautious thougb since there are some that get abused. If possible, ask for the maintenance records.

 

[fordexpylvr]

is there a difference between a rental car and a fleet vehicle? I am purchasing a 17 expedition with 35000 miles with DRL so I don't know for sure. It was based in Seattle for 14 mos and now is in Indiana,apparently at a Ford owned lot for Ford dealers to purchase prior to a auction.

 

[1955moose]

You don't think gangster rapper types and younger individuals rent these vehicles. Even grandpas treat rentals rougher than their own vehicle. Jeff too bad you can't call Ford like you would PG&E before you drill/dig near those wires!

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[JExpedition07]

As long as the maintenance was done it’s fine if it was driven hard. If the motor is tuned up on schedule and oil changes frequently hard use shouldn’t be an issue. I’d rather have a truck rode hard and taken care of than one that sat and didn’t get used.