"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
11/10/2016 at 08:30 • Filed to: None
5
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"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
11/10/2016 at 08:30 • Filed to: None | 5
| 30 |
Regular visitors to these parts know that I have a thing for 2002 Ford Explorers. I’ve owned two identical ones in a row. And yet, whenever I mention my fondness for them, someone always tries to tell me it is the “worst car ever built.” They’re wrong, of course.
The “worst car” notion comes from a website whose name I will not write here - why give them the SEO boost? - but I do mention once in my podcast. And when I point out the flaws in their methodology, you will likely agree that I am right.
And I also make fun of the 2002 Daewoo Lanos. It’s all for a good cause, and - if you have one - could get you a free gift from me. I explain it all in this week’s podcast. Here is the audio:
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And the video:
Follow me on Twitter: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Hear my podcast on iTunes: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Steve Lehto has been practicing law for 25 years, almost exclusively in consumer protection and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! He wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .
This website may supply general information about the law but it is for informational purposes only. This does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not meant to constitute legal advice, so the good news is we’re not billing you by the hour for reading this. The bad news is that you shouldn’t act upon any of the information without consulting a qualified professional attorney who will, probably, bill you by the hour.
OPPOsaurus WRX
> SteveLehto
11/10/2016 at 08:38 |
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I’ve had two explorers. The first, my first car, was a 95 xlt. That thing experienced some stuff as you can expect with a 16 y/o driver. Its crowning achievement was completely taking out a 92 Dodge intrepid without hurting any of my friends I was driving with (Intrepid was parked.... oops) I also somehow bent the driveshaft during another outting. Once its entire brake system was rusted to the end of its life I traded it in for an 04 Sport Trac. That truck got a ton of complements on its looks. It had a turning radius of an oil tanker. It ended up with a broken timing belt guide rail which led me to trading it in.
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SteveLehto
> OPPOsaurus WRX
11/10/2016 at 08:40 |
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Any ideas on how many miles you got out of them (or what the odometers read when you got rid of them)?
Tripper
> SteveLehto
11/10/2016 at 08:48 |
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I’ve had 3! A 96 Eddie Bauer, a 97 Eddie Bauer, and a 96 limited. I can’t remember the mileage on the first two as they were “hand me downs” from the family when I first started driving. However the 96 limited had 120k when I bought it, and 168k on the clock when I sold it for $300 so that I could go snowboarding in VT for the weekend. Normally I would say that was dumb because the car only needed a wheel bearing, but it was some of the best riding I’ve experienced. It’s worth noting that it was on transmission #3 but it was used for towing by the original owner from 0 to 12ok miles to tow a boat so that sounds about right. Other than they were all trouble free other than an electrical issue with the computer console/headlights. I bypassed the failing part, so it was a $0 fix. Definitely another of the same vintage in my future.
E90M3
> SteveLehto
11/10/2016 at 08:57 |
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I had a 1997 Explorer Sport as my first car and my sister got a 2002 Explorer as her first car. They’re not the worst cars ever, but by no means are they really that good either. Mine always had sensor problems and my sisters had a fuel pump die and the needed the rear differential replaced, twice I think, before 100k.
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SteveLehto
> E90M3
11/10/2016 at 09:02 |
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Were they used when you got them or new? Obviously, all of mine were new (except the last one) so that makes a difference. (In that, I know they were well-maintained and taken care of their entire lives.)
area man
> SteveLehto
11/10/2016 at 09:06 |
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I’m actually considering one for my next purchase, the insurance rates are surprisingly cheap for my urban neighborhood. 2000 and up. Anything to look out for?
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E90M3
> SteveLehto
11/10/2016 at 09:06 |
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Actually they were both hand me downs from my grandparents, who bought both new and maintained them. I got mine with 61425 miles on it in 2006, I don’t know why I remember the exact mileage, and we took possession of the 2002 with like ~59k on it, my dad drove it for a couple of months before giving it to my sister.
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SteveLehto
> area man
11/10/2016 at 09:14 |
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Same research you do on any car. Get the VIN and run it through the NHTSA website to see if it has any open recalls. Then check complaints there and make note of those things to look for in the one you are looking at. And, if you can, have a mechanic look at it.
CalzoneGolem
> SteveLehto
11/10/2016 at 09:22 |
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I’m have a great 2002 Daewoo Lanos today Steve!
jimz
> SteveLehto
11/10/2016 at 09:25 |
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Are/were your Explorers V6 or V8? I do know one common problem on the early (‘97-’00-ish) 4.0 SOHC engines was rapid wear of the timing chain tensioners/guides. Fixing it required an engine pull because the timing chainset was ridiculous; you had one chain from the crank to an intermediate jackshaft, then the driver’s side cam was driven by a chain from the front of the jackshaft while the passenger side cam was driven by a chain from the rear of the jackshaft.
what is it with Germans and weird, failure-prone timing chains?
haveacarortwoorthree2
> SteveLehto
11/10/2016 at 10:13 |
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Interestingly, I just happen to be in the market for a 2001/02 Daewoo Lanos. lol
Birddog
> SteveLehto
11/10/2016 at 10:35 |
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I remember when you bought the almost identical Explorer. I can’t remember the exact comment. It was along the lines of how you know you found a good one when you buy it twice.
I was half (fully) expecting you to mention a certain “classic” car website.
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SteveLehto
> jimz
11/10/2016 at 10:37 |
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They’ve all been the 6s. And I have heard people say that but I have never had a problem with the chains.
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SteveLehto
> Birddog
11/10/2016 at 10:40 |
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I remember that too. The comment I remember the most was one person who said that the truck was Blue. When I said that it was Green, he said I was probably blue/green color blind because the truck is blue.
I assured him (and I assure you) the truck is Green. On the window sticker, the color is given as “Estate Green.” Which I cannot imagine being a shade of Blue.
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Birddog
> SteveLehto
11/10/2016 at 10:53 |
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I sure hope Ford would make sure they weren’t calling Green a shade of Blue. Anything is possible on the internet though.
ateamfan42
> SteveLehto
11/10/2016 at 11:19 |
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Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics.
Depending how one organizes the data, a lot of wacky conclusions can be drawn.
Wasn’t there a time in the 90s when the Honda Civic was the most stolen car in the US (by absolute numbers)? But it was also one of the most common cars in the US. So naturally a lot of stolen cars would be Civics, because a lot of ALL the cars were Civics!
At one point the 2002 Audi S4 was the most commonly stolen car, percentage wise. But there were very few 2002 models, because they consisted entirely of leftover 2001 models that hadn’t sold at the end of the model year. Thus, it didn’t take a large number of thefts to add up to to a significant percentage of the total set of 2002 cars.
Scimitar7
> SteveLehto
11/10/2016 at 12:29 |
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My second car was a 2000 Daewoo Lanos. It was a piece of garbage; but it was free (which was conveniently within 16-year-old me’s price range), and it would move under its own power. It was also incredibly light, which made for some fun drives down twisty Oregon back roads.
One of my friends made the joke “the logo looks like a girl dropped her panties... they must’ve done that because no guy driving one of these would ever know what that looks like.”
I still have the scar from that burn...
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OPPOsaurus WRX
> SteveLehto
11/10/2016 at 12:43 |
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yea, odometers were both working. The 95 went to about 150k miles. The Sport Trac ate the engine at something like 100,050. It was the day before thanksgiving. We got out early, and when I started the truck...eh. I ended up getting home late that day.
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jimz
> SteveLehto
11/10/2016 at 16:25 |
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cripes, the trivial stuff people will argue with you about.
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jimz
> haveacarortwoorthree2
11/10/2016 at 16:28 |
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I like the prices on those. $2000, $2000, $2000, $2500, then some bozo who thinks he’ll get $7000 for one.
and part of me wants to believe the ones who say “Get a Quote” will respond “please, just come take it” if you inquire.
1111111111111111111111
> SteveLehto
11/10/2016 at 20:21 |
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My roommate had one we called it the Exploder. Because part of it kept exploding. Once the engine, transmission, and various other parts blew over a couple years it was like a new car till it exploded again. But hey it was great for car camping and logging roads.
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1111111111111111111111
> Scimitar7
11/10/2016 at 20:27 |
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Oregon back roads are the best. I do Wolf Creek often, it super twisty flats then a nice climb and switchbacks and back to civilization 90 minites later.
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SteveLehto
> jimz
11/11/2016 at 07:04 |
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That’s nothing. I got death threats from a guy after I advocated the notion that timing CHAINS were better than timing BELTS.
Wil Haginen
> SteveLehto
11/11/2016 at 09:40 |
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Steve, I had a 2001 Daewoo Lanos. Had. If anyone has a 2002 Daewoo Lanos that’s still running in 2016, they deserve some sort of award / they should probably play the lottery, because that’s a LOT of luck holding that car together.
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Wil Haginen
> SteveLehto
11/11/2016 at 09:45 |
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I’d love to hear why you think that timing chains are better than timing belts. I disagree, but I’m open to hearing why I might be wrong on this.
Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
> SteveLehto
11/11/2016 at 11:05 |
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The Ranger
ilk
might be the most dependable, most robust vehicle on the road, but it’s one of the
worst driving
vehicles I’ve ever operated. Miserable things to drive. Yuck.
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SteveLehto
> Wil Haginen
11/11/2016 at 15:33 |
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Generally? Chains are metal and Belts are not. I know modern belts last longer than they old ones did but - if you want hundreds and hundreds of thousands of miles on an engine, do you think a belt will last as long as the rest of the engine (the way a chain often will)?
I know - this is old school thinkery here, but they have always treated me well.
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SteveLehto
> Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
11/11/2016 at 15:34 |
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Hey, if you want handling, get a Viper.
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Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
> SteveLehto
11/11/2016 at 17:24 |
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Um, surely there’s some middle ground...
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SteveLehto
> Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
11/11/2016 at 18:06 |
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Depends. I never expected it to handle well. Especially not after the Firestone/Bridgestone thing. A truck is tall and the road clearance means you are going to trade off on COG and a few other things. But, who knows? Maybe there are better handling trucks out there. Just not anything I ever looked for.