I'm looking to get an Excursion for trips with the family to the country. This would be a limited-use vehicle; probably no more than 5,000-6,000 miles a year. The purpose for getting this vehicle is to haul family, dogs and gear, and tow a trailer from time to time.

Any gotchas, aside from gas mileage, I ought to look out for? I understand that with older vehicles with higher mileage things will go wrong, but I want to do a good job of scoping out potential purposes to eliminate known issues.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Edit to add: I need 4WD.

 

i had a 2000 limited 4x4 with the v10 and traded it for an 05 f150 4x4 almost a year ago. i liked it and had no problems with it. i was getting 12-14 mpg out of it on average running 80 mph back and forth to work roughly a 100 miles per day. had right at a 100,000 when i traded it. when gas prices went through the roof i traded for the 150 hoping to save money. kind of regret it a little now because my 150 only gets 13-14mpg on average with the 5.4 motor.
back to the excursion: from what i have heard dont get the 5.4 motor in it, it has to work to hard. make sure to get the rear air also (not sure if they come without it though)

 

I use my 2000 V-10 4x4 Excursion as a vacation/weekend trip vehicle... I have owned for almost three years... Purchased with 35,000 miles on it and it only has 46,000 now, so it does not get used much. I have had no issues with it at all, knock on wood. There are a couple of other sites that have more activity and information about the Excursions... http://www.supermotors.org/clubs/for...rums/index.php

Good luck with your search...

 

My dad has a 2000 Excursion Limited with the V10. He really likes it but says it only get 11 mpg so he drives the towncar lately.

 

Thanks for the comments. As I was looking I decided I don't need 4x4 so I wound up with a 2000 Limited with the V10. About 60,000 miles.

That is one smooth engine. Pickup on my Excursion which weighs in at 7,500 lbs or so is equal to pickup on my F-150 5.4L. I can run at 85 mph at about 2,500 rpm and at that speed I can get about 13 mpg, which isn't as bad as I thought.