Headhunter Posted March 17, 2008 Report Posted March 17, 2008 My 96 Jimmy is gettin a little long in the tooth. It only has 150km on it, but age is starting to add up on the old wallet. With my Dad's passing last fall, I have an opportunity to become the owner of a 2005 Ford Escape, with 30K on it. I'm considering picking this vehicle up, but have some concerns about towing ability, fuel costs and general maintenance of this SUV. I have driven it a couple of times, noticed myself that it is a pretty hungry motor, but was wondering if it might be a good tow vehicle for my boat, which I am planning to buy in the near future. Your thoughts on the vehicle are muchly appreciated! HH
Another Canadian Posted March 17, 2008 Report Posted March 17, 2008 Hi HH, I have had two leased Escapes (01 and 05), both had over 50k when I handed them back in. I can try and answer some questions, but before I do can you tell me, V6 or I4? FWD or AWD? Factory Tow package? Size and weight of boat you expect to tow? Only problems I have ever had (that were the cars fault) was a bad front wheel bearing in the 01. Fixed under warranty. I tow an 18' Aluminum Dual console, at about 2500 lbs, loaded up for two weeks away, closer to 3000 lbs. There was never any trouble with the V6 to get going, but stopping was the harder thing to do. I drove it more conservatively than most people probably would. AC
irishfield Posted March 17, 2008 Report Posted March 17, 2008 Sounds like a good name for something you'd drive on the ice !
Headhunter Posted March 17, 2008 Author Report Posted March 17, 2008 Thanks A.C. ... It's the v6 version and I don't know if it has the factory tow kit on it... my future boat will be 16 or 17 ft, that's all I know as of now! Wayne, ideal vehicle for ice driving! Not too big so it doesn't fall through as fast! LOL HH
Landlocked Posted March 17, 2008 Report Posted March 17, 2008 Headhunter, We just returned our third Escape off lease and the only reason we didn't get another is we need more room for the kiddies stuff. We've never had any problems and found them to be a great versatile vehicle. Warning...check your insurance rates...they are rated pretty high as are most smallish SUV's. Gas mileage with the V6 isn't great but they are fun vehicles to drive. Hope this helps.
Headhunter Posted March 17, 2008 Author Report Posted March 17, 2008 PERCHER!!!!!!! Yes, I am yelling!LOL HH
John Posted March 17, 2008 Report Posted March 17, 2008 Hey HH...... I had a 2005 XLT V6 2WD with factory tow. Mechanically it was pretty good I put a lot of miles on it in 3 years. Fit and finish was pretty much rubbish as were the seats. I would advise strongly against non-leather. The fabric on mine (drivers and pass seat) wore through in 60K, mind you I'm a FF. Towing can be an adventure unless you are down below 2000#....One more comment is that mine had the pipe style running boards. They look cool but try getting in without rubbing the bottoms of your (or you wife's) pants or dress along them. Pretty much best thing about the vehicle is that they perform well. If you drive it hard gas mileage will go down DRAMATICALLY... It would need to be a pretty good price as new '08's (a much better truck) are discounted very heavily. If you plan to finance it, you may find that an '08 costs very little more to carry due to the OEM discounted interest rates.
raysfish2005 Posted March 17, 2008 Report Posted March 17, 2008 I Picked up a 08 for the wife she loves it!!! nice little suv
Headhunter Posted March 17, 2008 Author Report Posted March 17, 2008 Thanks for the insight John... as it was my Dad's truck, I am pretty sure I can get a deal from the Estate Executor! Dealership offer me $14,500 for it a couple of months ago. It's paid off and will not require any money to change hands, just a "buy out" from the other parties. Thanks again and keep 'em coming if you can! HH
solopaddler Posted March 17, 2008 Report Posted March 17, 2008 Hey HH...... Fit and finish was pretty much rubbish as were the seats. I would advise strongly against non-leather. The fabric on mine (drivers and pass seat) wore through in 60K, mind you I'm a FF. Interesting, I just bought an /06 Freestyle last month and found the same problem. Absolutely love the vehicle but by far the worst upholstery I've ever seen in a vehicle. Seems like it's a common theme with Fords. Bugged me so much I just ordered some custom neoprene seat covers to fix the problem. (Sorry HH didn't really answer your question but wanted to comment )
Bernie Posted March 17, 2008 Report Posted March 17, 2008 Hi Joe. Not a lot of my customers own these. Mostly Toyota Ravs and Honda CRV's I see in here. I checked on the list of TSB's and the list was average. A few recalls I noticed as well. Give your local Ford dealer a call and ask them to check if they have all been done (have the VIN# ready). In the past I can remember doing a few electrical repairs on these due to bad connections and corrosion issues. The 3.0 engines have been pretty durable in the Taurus/Sable. If there is any info you need give me a PM.
Tybo Posted March 17, 2008 Report Posted March 17, 2008 One thing about Ford. They always circle the problem
aplumma Posted March 17, 2008 Report Posted March 17, 2008 My wife has an 05 leather and loaded and it has no issues at 65000 miles. Actually one issue that was a leak on the sunroof gasket that when it leaked showed up under the dash. They fixed it for free but I am not sure they fixed something else and told me thats what it was..... I like the ford but hate the dealer. Art
bassmaster4 Posted March 18, 2008 Report Posted March 18, 2008 my parents own an 08 and its a nice car good gas mileage and has nice interior
ecmilley Posted March 18, 2008 Report Posted March 18, 2008 don't see many issue's with these suv the odd wheel bearing and broken control arm bushings is what i have seen. they drive nice and have some pep and feel pretty solid for what i have driven in them. if you like it get it sounds like a decent enough deal, most of the small suv's are pretty similar
Another Canadian Posted March 18, 2008 Report Posted March 18, 2008 Thanks A.C. ... It's the v6 version and I don't know if it has the factory tow kit on it... my future boat will be 16 or 17 ft, that's all I know as of now!Wayne, ideal vehicle for ice driving! Not too big so it doesn't fall through as fast! LOL HH Hi HH, With the V6 and the tow package, it is rated for 3500lbs but I tried to not push the 3500lbs. I usually am closer to the 2500lbs. It did the job quite adequately, and when I did put alot of weight behind it, I drove conservatively. Fuel mileage suffered, but I think that is normal. For the size of boat you are considering, I think it would be fine as the trailered weight should be in the 2500lb range, give or take. The Escape just had more trouble stopping than starting as the weight increased. It also has a shorter wheelbase, which does not offer quite as much control of the trailer. I found if had a light load, in high winds, and going over 100 kmh, it developed some trailer sway. Kept it at 100kmh, I had no troubles. A good travel cover on the boat helped the sway, as well as the mileage. If there is no factory tow on it, you might want to consider adding and oil and tranny cooler. The factory tow option includes these. I was considering replacing the '05 with an '08, but with some deals etc. I was able to get an '07 Edge for just a little more money. I have only trailered a little bit with it, and I seem to prefer it over the Escape, but it is a longer vehicle, bigger engine, but braking is about the same. Hope this helps, AC
Billy Bob Posted March 18, 2008 Report Posted March 18, 2008 I had a 2002 Ford Escape for 5 years and 70,000 miles. It was a XLT with factory tow package. I towed my 1500 lb boat without any effort for 4 years and then in 2006 we purchased a mid size pop up trailer that weighed 3.000 lbs loaded. I towed this trailer through Ontario and 17 States doing 6,500 miles in 30 days. We crossed the continental dived twice and reached 11,000 feet in Colarado. It was slow going at times in the higher elevations but we made it without ANY breakdowns. However, I did add a extra tranny cooler and a tranny temp gauge. At times the tranny temps reached 280 degrees where the normal temp was around 140 degrees. It is VERY important to change the tranny fluid every other oil change. It's easy, just drain and refill with one gallon of fresh fluid. This will get a complete fluid change by the second change. THIS MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE. There is a Ford Escape forum that presses this point. Now in the 5 years I owned by Escape (traded it in on a 2007 Toyota Tundra) I experienced the following problems. 1. ABS brakes went ($400 repair job that I didn't get, instead just pulled the fuse) 2. Rear wheel oil seal ($300 repair job that I didn't get, instead traded it in) 3. Front calipers warped (replaced front brakes $220 by myself, But I did install Carbon Metallic Brakes) 4. Sunroof switched replaced ($45 to do it myself) 5. Front power window problems (warranty item) 6. Front power seat track very loose ( never repaired this) What I forgot to mention to tow the 3000 lb Pop Up Trailer I installed a electric brake control and this worked VERY well. So if you tow a boat that you have trouble stopping just install electric brakes. About $300 to the trailer and another $100 to the truck.
Headhunter Posted March 19, 2008 Author Report Posted March 19, 2008 Thanks everyone for your insights and opinions on this vehicle. I've been sitting on the fence on this for some time. Actually, I still have time to make my mind up, but I'm leaning toward keeping the Jimmy and getting the little things fixed on it. I think it's more a "devil you know" kind of thing. My thinking is that the Jimmy will be a better tow vehicle, has more storage space and for around a grand, I can get it back up to full maintenance. It already have the electric brake towing kit on it as well as a Tranny cooler. The body is clean of rust and it just makes sense to me anyway, to drop the grand rather than 14 times that for a smaller vehicle that uses as much or more fuel. Thanks again everyone for helping me with this decision... your input has been in-valuable! HH
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