Can't sell the old car

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buck91

buck91

Joined
Apr 17, 2012
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West Michigan
Just a little guilt-rant here... The wife's Explorer Sport decided to wear out the timing chains just shy of 100k miles into its life. THe goal for this car was to enjoy a nice, fancy, fast SUV for a couple years and flip it before any significant repairs came up (between the water pump, the turbos, Ford EPAS...). So thats a fail. Its popping the CEL and has the start up timing chain clatter... Still totally drivable and only one (major) repair away from excellent condition. Given the fact we were approaching winter, live in the snow belt, its 4WD and a VERY popular model I figured we'd just replace it and then sell private party to avoid a trade-in loss.

Bad decision. [censored] thing has been listed on various sites as well as spent some time parked in visible locations since early November with ZERO calls/emails/messages. ZERO! Price seems reasonable based on other private party ads and dealer pricing... What the [censored] do you do when you need to a sell a poplar vehicle, are asking a appropriate market price and get NO interest?!?! Historically I've run much lower cost vehicles and had no trouble selling them down the line. This is an unwelcome change
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Not sure but it may be that a lot of Canadian trucks are being exported to the USA and sold into the market. Not sure if it's happening out east but out west if I spend an hour at Tim Horton's, I'll see a car carrier taking trucks to sell in the USA. The exchange rate makes it happen.

Other than that, low interest on leases and car loans make used vehicles less attractive. The strong US economy makes it easier to buy new instead of used.
 
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When they get zero interest its too high priced, simple. Needing a timing chain job its worth a whole lot less. Fix it to sell or bend over.
 
Putting a new timing chain in should be too bad if done by a good indy mechanic. At least that's what my mechanic told me today (shooting the breeze) but for a different application. He didn't give me an exact amount or anything. Might be worth getting some quotes. He had a few timing chains in the waiting room that he uses as part of the decor. I'd prob just trade it in or see what Carmax will offer on it.

In the picture the chain is from a Mercedes and stretches right above the Toyota grille. On another wall he has a chain from a 1.8 liter Corolla engine which is super short in comparison.

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fix it and drive it, for about 2 years so you'd recoup the expense then sell it
 
Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Was it advertised as having an engine problem?


Not advertised as such. I'm not going to hide something or screw anybody but not going in the ad, either. That's why I'm so surprised that I haven't seen ANY interest.
 
Originally Posted by buck91
Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Was it advertised as having an engine problem?


Not advertised as such. I'm not going to hide something or screw anybody but not going in the ad, either. That's why I'm so surprised that I haven't seen ANY interest.


Was it the right timing chain on the 4.0 SOHC engine? Until yesterday, I was looking for an Explorer/Mountaineer for my son. But I avoided all 4.0 SOHC engines because he lives 14 hours away and I'm not paying for somebody else to fix that engine.
 
I've found that the closer you get to $10K the harder it gets to sell privately unless you make it a smoking deal. Might want to get a few trade in offers and adjust your price somewhere in between trade-in and private party. If you aren't disclosing the engine repair in your ads and are pricing it as good to go how are your going to tell a possible buyer it needs a $750(?) repair?

When you trade in to a dealer it's on them to decide if it needs work or not and you're off the hook. If a certain oil runs quieter it might be a good time for an oil change.

Tough spot, good luck.
 
Turbo Explorer with bad timing chain? What year / engine is this?

If it's the 3.5 EB, it's an expensive fix, there is a TSB that involves replacing all cam phasers as well as timing chain as the only permanent fix. Not 100% sure if it applies to both F150 and Explorer, but I know that engine is involved.

I have heard of at least a couple guys that have had this repair done under the 8k/80k emissions warranty-- might apply if you are getting a CEL related to the issue.
 
The chain on the 4 liter sohc is a huge job, there is a chain in the rear also. If you just change the front then the rear fails soon after. If you fix both then the crappy transmission starts slipping and dies.
 
Originally Posted by buck91
Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Was it advertised as having an engine problem?


Not advertised as such. I'm not going to hide something or screw anybody but not going in the ad, either. That's why I'm so surprised that I haven't seen ANY interest.


I'd be pretty [censored] if I went to look at your car and it had a timing chain rattle at startup that wasn't disclosed in the ad.
 
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The timing chain on the rear of the engine requires that the engine be removed. Figure about $5k for a shop to do that. If you want to sell it you need to drop the price $5k to cover the repairs. Some shops here are opting to put in a whole rebuilt engine. That job runs about $8k.
 
Just avoid vehicles that are expensive to repair and have known issues. Always remember the KISS principle.
 
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