Hey everyone, I’m looking to upgrade from my 2013 Ford Escape (currently at 214,000 miles). I need something with a third row, so I’ve been looking at Explorers.
I found a 2020 Explorer XLT with 54,000 miles for $22,999. Carfax looks solid—two owners, no accidents, regular maintenance—but I want to make sure I’m not missing anything.
This is my first time buying a car on my own, and I don’t want to get stuck with something full of issues. Any advice?
That price is about average for a 2020 XLT with those miles—not necessarily too good to be true. Limited models from 2020 are going for $24K-$26K with similar mileage.
One thing to check: Early 2020 builds (VINs with ‘A’ or ‘B’) had a lot of issues. If your VIN ends in ‘C’, it’s one of the later builds and should be better.
@Alix
The ‘A build = bad’ thing is mostly speculation. I have an A build and haven’t had major issues. A lot of the biggest problems weren’t really addressed until late 2021.
Van said: @Alix
The ‘A build = bad’ thing is mostly speculation. I have an A build and haven’t had major issues. A lot of the biggest problems weren’t really addressed until late 2021.
Fair enough, but I had an A build that was bought back as a lemon due to transmission failure. I also follow several Explorer groups, and most recommend avoiding A builds. Some are fine, but they had the most problems out of all the 6th-gen Explorers.
Just traded my 2020 Explorer because the transmission kept needing reprogramming.
The car tries to “learn your driving habits”, but after a few months, it starts shifting hard or hesitating. Took it back every 6 months to get it reprogrammed.
Montana said: @River
Same here… 7 trips to the dealer for shifting problems so far. Super frustrating.
I heard some people are using FORScan to turn off the adaptive learning on the transmission, and they haven’t had issues since. Might be worth looking into!
I have a late 2020 Platinum with 100K miles—bought it used two years ago, and I’ve put 65K miles on it. No major problems yet, but I wouldn’t have bought it without a warranty.
I bought a certified pre-owned 2020 Platinum with 74K miles. It had some issues upfront:
Moonroof sunshade was broken
Side mirror was loose
Needed a new catalytic converter
Axle CV boot and differential seal were leaking
Luckily, all of this was fixed under warranty.
The dealer also threw in a free ceramic coating and dropped the price from $30K to $26K. With an extended bumper-to-bumper warranty to 125K miles, I feel good about it.
So far, zero new issues, but it really depends on the vehicle history. If it was well maintained, you should be fine.
Avoid the 2020 Explorers. My workplace uses the police version, and even those fall apart by 50K miles. Tons of electrical issues, and I’ve heard the axle seal repair can be $8K.