1991 Ford Explorer good for my first car? ?

Question

At a dealer i'm getting a 1991 Green 4wd Ford Explorer for 700$. My mom didn't wan't to go over 1000 so this will be perfect. It only has 85,000 miles on it which isnt bad compared to all of the cars I looked at.

Is it okay on gas?

And how about saftey? Like will i feel safer then in a small car I usually drive.

Im 16 and just got my licence 2 weeks ago.

:)

I hope this is a good car i'm really excited.

Answer 1

One of the keys to pricing a car is to effectively rate the car as the price will vary widely based on condition and mileage.  Mileage is pretty obvious.  You should base condition on a Carfax report (which would also help catch any odometer fraud) and your own review. Before you buy your final step should be an inspection by a qualified mechanic - but that's too expensive to do on every car you look at.

There are a bunch of places to check car prices on the Internet. NADA guides is one - but since they are owned by the car dealers association I never recommend them. KBB is another. Driverside.com is a new site and they have a couple of extras - great data showing price based on mileage; DriverSide Estimate where they search actual listings to find what cars are actually selling for in local markets; and estimates for trade in pricing.  

http://www.driverside.com/car/ford-explo...

Also take a look a the DriverSide cost of ownership - service, gas, insurance and even depreciation to see how the price will drop over time.  Most folks look at the one time sales price - not the ongoing costs which continue long after you buy your car - you are wise for your years to be thinking about this!!!!

Answer 2

I'm sorry, it's not good on gas but it is a good price for a car though.

However, make sure you ask the dealer if there is any known problem with this car and make sure you do a test drive.

Answer 3

bad choice lots of repairs....do a carfax and see if that is real miles

Answer 4

Decent ride.

You will probably not hit 20 MPGs even on the highway with a 4x4, but you may get close.

Drive it like it is a truck and you'll be fine.  

Insurance may be lower because a 4x4 is inherently safer than most anything else out there.

The 4.0L v6 is a good engine--just watch for intake manifold gasket leaks.

The transmission is okay, but watch the vacuum modulator valve.  If your engine oil level is getting higher and reddish in color, that's because that valve is bad and trans fluid is being sucked into the engine intake and ending up in the oil pan.

Very common issue.

Solid buy, though.  If you are not driving too far, gas mileage isn't really an issue, anyway.

Answer 5

bad choice...

1 easy to flip over

2bad on gas...12 in town 16 or less on hyway

3.check insurance cost before u buy..some are twice the cost to insure.

4..get a honda or toyota or even a cavalier

Answer 6

good car, remember for a first car anything is good. depends what you do with it lol

Answer 7

Gas guzzler...bad in rollover tests!  

Answer 8

Yeah, those are really nice SUVs; my family used to have a green '94 Explorer Limited and I miss it a lot!  I can't believe that it only has 85,000 miles, that's so low for a '91 SUV!  Don't worry about the safety on those.  They're big, sturdy, and safe trucks.  Ford actually still uses the same tried and true 4.0 engine that's found in the '91 model.

As far as gas mileage is concerned; you can expect about 15-18mpg city and 20-22mpg highway.