I got quite a surprise today. My next door neighbor, a Baby Boomer like me (after a long courtship, he married the older single woman who was living there) came home with a brand-new standard-wheelbase Ford Expedition Limited, jet black in color, to replace his old 2003 (also jet-black on color), which apparently just wasn't worth fooling with any more. It was nickel-and-diming him to death, constantly refusing to start and/or having minor breakdowns. Many parts on it were also getting old and cracking, tearing, falling off, etc.... but he refused to replace it for years. (fortunately, he has another car, an old Ford Contour SVT, and also his wife's Ford Escape, to use, if needed). He works in a bicycle shop, as a mechanic, so he has at least some of the tools he needs for simple repairs and maintenance.

Well, I guess he finally had had enough of working on it (I would sometimes help him wth small repairs if another set of hands was needed)...so it was off to the Ford shop. Believe me, those are not cheap vehicles...regular-wheelbase Expedition Limiteds start at 63K, but, of course, big discounts are usually available on large trucks and SUVs that size, as they have an enormous markup over wholesale/invoice. A new vehicle, of course, deserves a new bottle of SCRATCH-OUT.

He got it back home just in time for a snowstorm today LOL.....so I'm going to wait and try and get some shots of it, with my new Apple i-Phone7, after the snow is gone and it is all cleaned up. (Hopefully, even though it is not a wide-angle i-Phone 7 Plus, it will take better pictures than the crap-images I got with my old i-Phone 4). In the meantime, I'll post some Google-images of (about) what it looks like.

im sure it was quite the upgrade, the late 90s early 2000s fords with the Triton V8 had a lot of issues. Expedition and Navigator are my favs out of he domestic SUVs

Yes, it did have lot of issues under the hood.....particularly as it aged. Seemed to be mostly smaller parts breaking down, though, not big, major engine or transmission work.

It's surprising that a guy that ran vehicles into the ground presumably for financial reasons would spring for such an expensive vehicle like a brand new Expedition. Sounds more like a guy that would only buy used.

It's a new left over 2018 model though. They probably stole that car, and the dealer was happy to oblige and apply every known discount

I've seen guys that will buy new, but run it for 20 years. They're usually in the boomer or older generations. I can definitely respect that. My grandfather bought a brand new F-150 in 1994 and kept it until he died in 2010. It was pristine though.

I didn't discuss the details of what he paid, though he's the type of guy that has no qualms about things like that. Anyhow, we were too busy today going over all of this vehicle's million and one-features, particularly the electronics, where the list of equipment on it is virtually endless.

Even with a hefty discount, though, one is starting from a pretty lofty base....the sticker was over 73K. That's (roughly) twice what my Lacrosse ran, though I agree with you......judging by similar advertised deals, I'm sure he got probably at least 8-10K off, maybe more.

There are also even more expensive Expeditions available, if one wants to spend...Platinum and extended-wheelbase models. And, of course, the Lincoln Navigator....Jill said she saw one that listed for some 100K, probably a Black Label version.

I did a little research on 2018 Expedition Limited's around that MSRP and 8-10K off even up to 12K I saw. So I'd estimate he paid low $60K

What is it about the Tahoe/Suburban/Escalade you like more than the Expedition/Navigator?

Personally I can't stand the interiors of the GM triplets. The Expe/Navi have better materials, drive nicer with their IRS (though the GM's are getting that soon), and the third row room leg room is better IMO.

That's usually the case. Growing up, we're predisposed to what our family and friends like. Happens with anything. Cars. Food. Sports teams.

I came from a Ford family.

Both, IMO, are much nicer, inside and out, than the Toyota Sequoia, which was never really done very well to start with, and is badly in need of an update.

One thing that is noticeably missing, in this size/platform segment, is an entry from FCA, though the Dodge Durango is close. FCA management says they considered doing a true full-size SUV from the Ram pickups, but nixed it.

The last one I sampled (though it was, admittedly, several years ago), steered and drove like a school bus. The interior was El-Plastico-cheap throughout. And its ride, while not particularly harsh, was not what I would call smooth, especially compared to, say, the competition from Ford or GM. The only more unpleasant full-size SUV I've sampled was the absolutely terrible Ford Excursion, which was a 7500-lb. dinosaur that was clearly too large and heavy for its suspension/underpinnings, which, in my experience in the test-drive, made it unstable to the point of being borderline-dangerous at highway speeds and/or road-irregularities.