I borrowed a 04 Explorer for a day from a friend of mine who is also a dealer. The ride quality was great, but thats about all I can say for it. It had a blend door issue (which made the heater blow cold air) and a horrible whine in the rear diff which both seem to be very common problems with these trucks. We are going to find a GC to test drive and see how we like it.

05+'s seem to be far superior to the previous years in Explorers from first hand experience. Several friends had 02-04s and had problems that I don't, and I have twice the mileage.

Good to know. The one we drove was awful.

Picked up a 06 Mercury Mountaineer last light. Loaded up w/ AWD & 74k miles.

Thanks for the insight guys.

Congrats! You'll like it.

Woot! I knew you'd find a good deal on the mountaineers. For some reason theyre still cheaper than an explorer even though imo theyre actually nicer. good vehicles though, glad to see you pick up something you were looking for :D