inmanlanier
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As we've enjoyed this wonderful vehicle since purchased in April of 2013 with 25,554 miles on it, I finally concluded it met our needs so well that I'd drive it into the grave. It's not worth much for resale, despite the fact we keep it in excellent shape. I figured if the engine goes, I'd spring for the bucks and put in an Authorized Ford rebuild (still Fred Jones?). Same with the transmission. To me from a value perspective it's hard to beat for a tremendously utilitarian vehicle that is comfortable, smooth even when towing, and incredibly utilitarian. As an example, we just recently towed my F Type R Jag up to North Carolina and back so I could join my nephew and his young buck buds driving the tail of the Dragon.
Then, my dream world got shattered - my sister-in-law's old, pristine, worth nothing great car got hit by some googan. In an instance it was totaled. DOH - I hadn't thought of that possibility with the Expedition! I'm an older guy but still need a good tow vehicle for our annual trip to the FL keys towing my boat with 3 generations of family there, towing cars to race track when I want to drive, etc. I like BIG SUVs as tow vehicles with V-8 engines in them. Yes, I realize the 6 cyl turbos do well with lots of torque - but loading a smaller engine on boost for prolonged periods of time IMHO is more stressful than I'd choose as my desired choice. Then I quickly realized - there are hardly any BIG SUVs with V-8s still being made.
Here became my conundrum. For new BIG SUVs with V-8s, I think the only practical choice for us is General Motors (from my desires 'cause I'm not a Chrysler fan [sorry - Stellantis!]). Based on the recent 6.2 fiascos and GM's total abandonment of their customers, I'll never buy one of them. In reality, my purchase modus operandi is to buy used with factory warranty still outstanding, preferably in the last year of warranty for maximum depreciation on the previous owner. As I go back in time, the playing field was very limited. I decided to settle on Nissan, since the 5.6 V8 they make are very well reputed in reliability.
Here's where it gets interesting - The Nissan Armadas and the Infinity QX80s are similarly priced, and the QX80 Infinity has 1 more year of factory warranty. In addition, they add 2 more years of real powertrain warranty (not watered down crapola like Ford and GM these days), and 1 full year of oil changes and filter swaps (not a big deal to me with my 9000# Rotary lift!). In those quick checks, my local dealer has one for a very good price, less than Armadas at comparable mileage. Since my wife has gotten spoiled by the foofoo features of the Lincoln Aviator, the stars aligned to point to the infinity. I verified with my friend who is a dealer and buys from Manheim - very good deal. So... I negotiated a reasonable trade-in and now we drive a QX80. The good thing is that it has quite a bit more torque and HP at 413 ft.lbs. and 400 HP. Their 7 speed transmission is also well reputed.
The summary comparison is that we lose a little bit of interior storage space with this car (offset by a trailer box I just put on my trailers). As a result, we now have said goodbye with sorrow to our incredibly awesome Expedition after all those years of faithful service. If I can get similar life out of this one, my towing days are over!
Then, my dream world got shattered - my sister-in-law's old, pristine, worth nothing great car got hit by some googan. In an instance it was totaled. DOH - I hadn't thought of that possibility with the Expedition! I'm an older guy but still need a good tow vehicle for our annual trip to the FL keys towing my boat with 3 generations of family there, towing cars to race track when I want to drive, etc. I like BIG SUVs as tow vehicles with V-8 engines in them. Yes, I realize the 6 cyl turbos do well with lots of torque - but loading a smaller engine on boost for prolonged periods of time IMHO is more stressful than I'd choose as my desired choice. Then I quickly realized - there are hardly any BIG SUVs with V-8s still being made.
Here became my conundrum. For new BIG SUVs with V-8s, I think the only practical choice for us is General Motors (from my desires 'cause I'm not a Chrysler fan [sorry - Stellantis!]). Based on the recent 6.2 fiascos and GM's total abandonment of their customers, I'll never buy one of them. In reality, my purchase modus operandi is to buy used with factory warranty still outstanding, preferably in the last year of warranty for maximum depreciation on the previous owner. As I go back in time, the playing field was very limited. I decided to settle on Nissan, since the 5.6 V8 they make are very well reputed in reliability.
Here's where it gets interesting - The Nissan Armadas and the Infinity QX80s are similarly priced, and the QX80 Infinity has 1 more year of factory warranty. In addition, they add 2 more years of real powertrain warranty (not watered down crapola like Ford and GM these days), and 1 full year of oil changes and filter swaps (not a big deal to me with my 9000# Rotary lift!). In those quick checks, my local dealer has one for a very good price, less than Armadas at comparable mileage. Since my wife has gotten spoiled by the foofoo features of the Lincoln Aviator, the stars aligned to point to the infinity. I verified with my friend who is a dealer and buys from Manheim - very good deal. So... I negotiated a reasonable trade-in and now we drive a QX80. The good thing is that it has quite a bit more torque and HP at 413 ft.lbs. and 400 HP. Their 7 speed transmission is also well reputed.
The summary comparison is that we lose a little bit of interior storage space with this car (offset by a trailer box I just put on my trailers). As a result, we now have said goodbye with sorrow to our incredibly awesome Expedition after all those years of faithful service. If I can get similar life out of this one, my towing days are over!
