different vehicle

My wife drives an old Dodge Neon which is on its last legs. Looking at a 99 Ford Explorer. Need your opinions, good and bad on this vehicle. Thanks.

Not a bad vehicle as long as you arent planning on driving on any rocky roads. My gf and I were in hers and we were going maybe 30 down hill, it slipped on a rock and started fish tailing. She had it corrected, then all of a sudden at the bottom of the hill it went sideways and flipped. We were going probably less than 20 mph. It didnt feel fast at all, and it flipped what felt like in slow motion.

If you like the Neon get a PT cruiser it is just a rebodied Neon.

If your wife likes the Neon, she will probably hate the visibility, performance, and fuel milage of the Explorer. But if she wants more room and doesn't drive much an SUV might be a better choice. The Explorer probably gets a little better milage, but the V8 in the Durango will tow a lot more.

My wife is very happy with her '98 Neon. She is also very happy with her '98 Durango. The Durango sucks gas (15mpg), but it's got the cargo room and 4wd.

My wife has had a total of 6 of the explorers. Started the year they came out with the unit. Only on she really did not like was a v8 full time 4 wheel drive. She usuall averages about 65,000 in 30 months and trades before it needs brakes, battery ect. Can,t say anything bad about them. The v6 is been improved a little, think she averages in the low 20s mpg.

ford explorers have a great record of lasting for over 200,000 miles if taken care of. they were the top selling suv for many many years so the bugs were worked out and they have great records. there are tons and tons of explorers out there.

bad... the tires can blow out if run a 26 lbs and you have the wrong brand of tire. like most trucks and suvs, a blow out at high speed can cause loss of control. The firestone tires would over heat and blow out.. lots of bad press, but running 32 lbs made the ride rougher but stopped the problem. goodyear and michellin tires did not have the problem. (get the michellin tires for a great quiet ride)

also the electric window motors tend to fail at 125000 miles to 200,000 miles. timing chains will get loud and rattle around 135000 to 180000 miles. brakes, tires, batteries, fan belts and hoses need to be changed as needed, ac evaporator will usually start to leak around 175,000. Auto trannys will usually need a rebuild around 180,000, and as early as 60,000 if ran hard. Most of these vehicles go to mexico where they live on to 300 to 400,000 miles but in pretty bad shape, guess they beat walking. The seats fold down and you can haul about anything, tow up to 6000lbs and it has a full frame under it. The two v6 engines are both good engines for the size vehicle, the v8 is probably a bit of an overkill. The large v6 was the best overall unless your towing and if your towing a lot, its the wrong vehicle.

Most women love the handling and visabiliy of the higher vehicle and its great feel of its controls. Most explorer owners are repeat owners that only quit buying them due to fuel prices.

Can't comment on the explorer, but if she likes the neon, a Stratus would be a nice stepup and still somewhat fuel efficient. We bought a new one in 98 and I can't get the wife to get rid of it.

Dave

One of my friends has a 1994 explorer with 301,000 miles on the original 4.0 v6 and auto transmission. It still goes down the road fine, seems like a pretty practical vehicle.

I never had one but heard some years the OHC V6 with timing chain had recall to repair guide rails that fell apart and caused problems with oil pump.
Also if the heater controls break inside the dash that can be real fun to fix. Like I said don't know if that applies to 99 or not.

If you are considering that kind of suv I have to recomend the jeep cherokee the engines in them are bullet proof! One of the best family sized suv's around IMO The engines and tranny's in them are pretty stout that inline 6 is known to last 300-400k miles

bought a Explorer new in 99. Got the 5.0 v8,great suv. Got 102,000 miles on it,haven't done much to it. Gets 21 mpg. I have not babied it to much either.

Agreeed ... Wife drives with both feet , put her in Jeep with constant 4 wheel drive,17.8 mpg,,... Son has duplicate vehicle, except he can shift to 2 wheel drive and get 22 MPG ,, And He Drives with one foot, and his brakes last longer .... I Can Teach My Son , but choose to let the wife do as she pleases , she has had No tickets ever , or accidents ,, My Son and I cannot Say that !!!

If I were you I would look into a 2002 or newer. Just upgraded my girlfriend from her 2001 to a 2002. The newer body style is roomier, quieter, and rides way better.

I can"t really complain about the"01 though. 155k and the only issues were 1 front wheel bearing, gas fill tube rusted through, rear u-joints, and the infamous 4.0 timing chain rattle. changed the tensioners for the primary and balance shaft chains. Still rattled pretty bad on startup until the tensioners on the secondary chains got everything snugged up. Still had the original water pump, alt, and serpentine belt when we sold it.

It did get pretty crappy gas milage as well. The new truck has the 4.6 V8 and I think it does better. Got about 16.5 mpg around town since last fillup and GF will tell you she has a heavy foot.

If your getting a super deal on the 99, buy it. If not, look around for a deal on a 2002 or newer. It only cost us $700 to upgrade and I think it was well worth it. $.02.

bought an '02 Explorer for my missus a few years back... one of the NICEST vehicles we've ever owned! ...comfortable, good power, good economy, trouble free, and the electronic 4wd took all the worry (for me) out of her driving on bad roads! ...D