At $29,999, Is This 2003 Ford Excursion 4X4 Diesel A Clean Deal?
One thing that seems common among trucks like today’s Nice Price or No Dice Excursion diesel is how many miles they seem capable of wracking up. Let’s find out if this one’s price makes it worth going the extra mile.
While there may not be an abundance of custom Cadillac wagons like the 1970 Fleetwood we looked at on Friday, the few that exist did, in their day, have a lot of notable owners. Those included Evel Knievel, Dean Martin, Fat Elvis, and comedian Bob Newhart. The $38,995 price tag on last Friday’s car, means that pretty much anyone of modest finances could add their name to that list. They might even gain some notoriety for it. That wouldn’t be a bad deal, either. At least not to the narrow 54 percent of you who awarded the Cadillac with a Nice Price win at that asking.
That Cadillac wasn’t the only car we looked at last week. In fact, it proved to be a week full of audacious and extreme examples of cars not for shrinking violets or those lacking a sense of adventure. One of last week’s candidates proved notable, not for its looks but for the surprisingly high reading on its odometer. Last Thursday’s 2000 BMW M5 had already racked up over 230K before the seller decided to part ways with it. Not only is that an astonishing count for an M5, but it’s also an impressive achievement for damn-near any vehicle.
That is, of course, unless that vehicle happens to be a Ford Excursion diesel. I’m sure there’s some very good reason for this, but it seems that almost all of the PowerStroke Excursions out there right now have crazy-high miles on them. It’s as though they all left the factory with 100K already notched on the bedpost. For whatever reason — call it reliability or just dumb luck — these stupid-big Fords also seem capable of stupid-big mileage without demanding weekly back-pit overhauls.
This 2005 Ford Excursion Eddie Bauer edition seems to be no exception. According to the instrument cluster shot offered in the ad, it sports 226,475 miles and change already under its belt. Despite that, the seller claims it to be “the cleanest one on craigslist” and asserts that it has “not been beaten to hell or abused.”
The pictures bear that out as the truck presents very well. One area where the Excursion typically falls down in the wear and tear department is the seat upholstery, especially in leather and notably on the driver’s throne. This one, in Eddie Bauer charcoal and tan two-tone, looks to be in perfectly serviceable condition and the seller says the back captain’s chairs are virginal, having never cosseted a single caboose.
A third row comes with the truck, but the seller doesn’t show us that in-situ. Instead, we get a shot of the load area up to the rear captain’s chairs. That’s a space so vast and commodious that pioneers might set off across the country to stake a claim in it. The rest of the interior is equally nice and even has the original stereo and DVD entertainment system, a throwback to when toddlers didn’t have their own smartphones and entitled attitudes.
There’s more to like when it comes to the truck’s mechanicals. The ad says that a major service was undertaken at 200K which included new tires, pads and rotors, and both of the big batteries. Other work included replacement of what the seller says is all of the “bolt-on accessories. That means the radiator, alternator, A/C compressor, and water pump are all 26K fresh.
Those accessories are all bolted to the six-liter edition of the Ford/Navistar Power Stroke V8. These engines have had a few engineering-related issues — most notably the head bolt count which can lead to combustion chamber sealing problems — but with over 200K on the clock, this one doesn’t seem to be hobbled in any way.
In fact, the reason given for this Excursion’s sale is the tried and true “I’ve got too many cars and not enough asses to fill them” conundrum. Hopefully, the present owner’s other rides offer as much versatility as does the Excursion. Not only can this truck lay down the miles, but it also can tow up to 11,000 pounds and its 4WD system means that a little snow and ice won’t slow it down. Perhaps its best feature, however, is the SecriCode keypad entry that allows for fuss-free entry and amazingly remains a FoMoCo exclusive to this day.
All that gets wrapped up with a $29,999 bow and while that price means it’s far from the cheapest Excursion on the market — and there are quite a few — it may make it one of the best deals when condition and service are taken into account.
What do you think, is this Excursion worth that $29,999 price as it sits? Or, does that make this a big Ford with a too-big price?
You decide!
Sacramento, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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