Used Ford Explorer for Sale in Big Sandy, MT

This car is great in the snow - there is almost no snow that this car will not get through. Acceleration is not so good. For a V6, it seems rather under powered. Also, for the smaller of the two engines, this car gets rather lousy gas mileage. My car has over 130,000 miles and it drives really well. Low sound, very few rattles and a very smooth ride. It also is great for hauling as the explorer is very spacious. It also features third row seating which is a great bonus. The inside look leaves something to be desired. The inside really isn't much to look at and the car seems to be lacking options for the fully loaded model. No sun roof, radio controls on steering wheel, etc. There are problems with the paint as most explorers in this year have chipped paint on the hood. As for handling, the car does a fairly decent job at cornering and taking turns - about as well as can be expected for a car of this size. Parts on this car seem to fail like clockwork. I know someone who owns the same model and year and we both have the same parts fail at around the same time. Most of these parts are routine maintenance parts like springs, ball joints and belts.

I purchased a high mileage 1998 Ford Explorer to use for its towing capability and to haul things in the rear cargo section. The vehicle had a towing package and was wired to hook up to a trailer. With a 5.0 L engine the vehicle has plenty of power. I like that because it has been my experience that four cylinder and small six cylinder engines fail early if used under heavy work conditions. They may get better gas mileage, but they have to work too hard to live a long life if used under work conditions. The thing I don't like about it is that small components like power window motors, door locks, and similar interior components do fail, and I always seem to be fixing these things. That is to be expected for high-mileage, older vehicles, but the Ford Explorer does seem to have more failures than normal. Since I am an experienced shade tree mechanic that isn't an expensive problem, because I can just buy parts and fix it myself. Someone who doesn't have that capability would find it an expensive recurring problem if they can't turn a wrench.

Overall, the Ford Explorer is a good buy, and I love driving this SUV. The base of the car is wider than older years which makes it feel more sturdy on turns. This SUV has been great in all weather, and the ease of using four-wheel drive by the turn of a knob is awesome for winter conditions.