looking for a 2005 4x4 6.0

[jmcktay]

I am looking (feverishly) for a 2005 4x4 6.0 excursion. Cant seem to find any with decent mileage and they seem to be appreciating and dealers/individuals are asking whatever. Anyhow..found one with 91000 miles for 23000.00. I am concerned with the egr/head gskt issues and am well aware of the 7.3 vs 6.0 debate...which seems to be highly in favor of the 7.3. Please assure me that buying a 23000 dollar 6 year old vehicle is a wise decision! I will not be modifying or doing heavy towing. But I will be driving the heck out of it and adding to the mileage. Please give me some peace of mind! I had a 6.0 f250 2006 that had no problems at 88000 miles. Help!

[tuckman]

Get the vin and go to a Ford dealership and get and Oasis report, then post the results for us.
I paid $24 (Canadian) for mine last year but it had a few bad injectors so I talked the guy WAY down after I got 6 codes while getting ready for a test drive. I took an Edge Insight with me and it saved me thousands!

[jmcktay]

Checked the oasis--absolutely nothing. Car fax showed 1 owner. Car was in Miami. Drove 5 hours this morning as the dealer advised me it was very clean, tires good, interior perfect. Got there and it was junk. Couldn't tell from pics, but it was lifted (backyard job), dents, dings, and stunk. Almost went postal. One way rental there and another to get back. Anyhow...I can't find anything 2004/2005 with less than 150000 miles for under 25000. Got a 2007 f250 4x4 that I'm looking at (good oasis as well) but i have three kids and their buddies! REALLY want the ex, but can get a 2008/2009 suburban for the same if not cheaper. Losing my mind!

[tuckman]

That sucks man, I would have been pissed!

If you are looking at a suburban get one with the 8.1L gas motor, you will get better mileage with it than the 6.0 gas. They are hard to find also but are worth it.

Personally I just think the suburban has no personality compared to an excursion.

Put a WTB ad here and places like thedieselstop, powerstroke.org and any other sites you can think of that people own diesel Excursions. The nice thing about that is that you can go thru old posts from the seller and see what problems he/she may have had and possibly how they fixed them.
Don't count out Ex's that have slight lifts, exhausts and guys that use SCT tuners. An ex with a 2" to 3" lift may be because they did leaf spring swaps to improve the handling of the Ex especially while towing. Some responsible owners like myself use the SCT tuner to help gain fuel mileage, tow safer with tow tunes, adjust the speedo for different tire sizes and read codes when the check engine light comes on. On a side note I would have to say if you did find an Ex that has been running a tuner, find one that has been studded.

[Travis R. Bullock]

I might be looking to sell mine for the right price as I would like to get back in a pickup. Shoot me an email, I have just over 60k on my 05 and it is in great shape and loaded.

[Wild_Horse_Ranch]

Well I paid considerably more than that for an Eddie Bauer with 67,000 miles.
I made sure I got the 3/36 bumper to bumper warranty. The original engine warranty timed out.

Excursions are getting rarer and rarer. I could have bought the same vehicle for less than what you are quoting this time last year. About July of '10 prices shot up even on ones already listed for sale Extended warranty through Ford is about $3250.00.

My ford dealer tried to stick and additional $1,000.00 on to the warranty price, and I am a repeat customer (1) F-350 SD, and now (2) diesel Excursions. I pulled out a sheet of paper from Fords with the price of the warranty. I got the sheet from another Ford dealer, while I was looking at a low mile '03 and asked about warranty on the truck. So it pays to shop around and ask questions at other dealers before you buy.

[Wild_Horse_Ranch]

Oh yeah one more thing, get the VIN# and run the oasis report through Ford Service. Carfax has alot of holes in it. That oasis report will show what work has been done to the engine by the Ford Dealer(s).

[Travis R. Bullock]

My 05 is listed in the classified section, it also comes with a bumper to bumper extended warranty that goes until the end of 2011.

[winr_on_top]

Go to searchtempest.com. This site is a craigslist search engine that can search all craigslist ads within a specified mile radius. When I had looked for 6months I finally found mine Feb 09 135 miles away. It was a land developer's sales vehicle where he picked up clients at the airport. It had 26K miles, limited, loaded 6.0 and clean as a whistle. He was asking 27 and I got it for $23,000.

People who know Ex's and hold them near and dear to their heart will ask way over book (they are worth it). Problem is most banks won't finance you unless you bring money to the table. Find a owner who thinks of the Ex as your normal everyday car and then you get the killer deal like I did. Run an Oasis, have it inspected by a local Ford dealer for around $129 and you will know what your getting.

Also, you can find a wholesale broker (plenty on craigslist) and give them your specs (mileage, year, options, $, etc.) and they can look for you. A lot of their vehicles come from bank repos and they consign vehicels for them. Prices are most often well below book.

Lastly, search cars.com and autotrader.com.

When buying a EX, it takes patience. Good Luck with your search.

[jeeplj8]

Originally Posted by jmcktay

Checked the oasis--absolutely nothing. Car fax showed 1 owner. Car was in Miami. Drove 5 hours this morning as the dealer advised me it was very clean, tires good, interior perfect. Got there and it was junk. Couldn't tell from pics, but it was lifted (backyard job), dents, dings, and stunk. Almost went postal. One way rental there and another to get back. Anyhow...I can't find anything 2004/2005 with less than 150000 miles for under 25000. Got a 2007 f250 4x4 that I'm looking at (good oasis as well) but i have three kids and their buddies! REALLY want the ex, but can get a 2008/2009 suburban for the same if not cheaper. Losing my mind!

Just playing devil's advocate for a moment - why are you stuck on an Ex diesel? It sounds like you need a large SUV, no doubt. But I bought my Ex because I wanted something to tow with, which you said you would not be doing.

As you pointed out, you can get a much newer Suburban for the same money, which will also have a nicer interior. My wife wanted me to get a Suburban, but I needed the tow capacity of a 3/4 ton and wanted diesel, so that ruled it out.