Category: Cars

That’s what I got. And yes, it’s got baby seal skin seats.

2002 Ford Excursion Limited Ultimate. I went with a V10 instead of a diesel, because for the extra $7-10,000 a diesel was going to cost me, I decided I’d just buy a commuter car.

This one gets 15mpg on the highway, 12 in town. I filled it up when it had 1/4 tank, and it cost me $110.

I have no practical use for it. I’m not towing anything, and don’t plan to. We’re not going to end up with a basketball-team’s worth of kids. I got because I wanted it, with a side of “Screw you, hippie.”*

In 2006, I was waiting outside a canoe-rental place for some friends of mine, and a black diesel Excursion with a really big lift and some ginormous tires roared by. I made up my mind that one day I would have one. I did the same thing in 2001 with a Full-Size Bronco…saw one at a gas station, decided I wanted one, and a couple years later I bought one.

Driving this thing reminds me of that Bronco. It’s a big, lumbering, mobile fuel tank that’s fun to own. That it’s practically a luxury car on the inside is just a huge bonus.

It’s also the first car I’ve owned that was made after Clinton was President.

A couple of months ago I decided that the Jeep was getting to the point where I needed to start looking at my next vehicle. If you’ve read “How to buy a cheap car”, you know my process is to start with a budget and then figure out what you get. After that I got on some forums and asked about the various engines and model years, and learned that the V10 was going to be my best bet. I also wanted captain’s chairs in the second row instead of the bench, because Tactical Dog will jump over bench seats like they’re hurdles. Repeatedly. Enthusiastically. In a 2003 or later, swapping them out is fairly straightforward but the chairs are expensive. Before 2003, there’s some cutting and welding required.

I stopped looking at them when I started getting excited about buying one. I wasn’t ready yet, and there was no need to get worked up about a good deal on something that was close to what I wanted when I wasn’t planning on buying one for 6-9 months.

Then, a couple weeks ago, I left for work and by the time I got to the end of my 40 foot driveway I had smoke coming from the dashboard of my Jeep. Long story short, there’s a wiring short somewhere behind the dash and I can’t have any dash illumination. So I can’t see my gauges at night. This kind of problem is very difficult to hunt down (read: expensive), so after lots of reflection we decided it was time for me to go ahead and buy an Excursion.

Original sticker price was just north of $50,000. I paid less than 20% of that, in cash. It’s the nicest car I’ve ever owned.

*No, I’m not calling Tam a hippie. Read the post. You’ll get it.