James McGill Posted January 26, 2017 Report Share Posted January 26, 2017 (edited) I just bought a Mediterranean Blue 2011 SEL with 81,250 miles. It's by far the freshest vehicle I've ever owned, but required a leap of faith for me -- 81K miles is a breathtaking number in my world. Carfax shows a North Phoenix highway commuter who took it to the dealership every 5000 miles right up to the day they traded it in, I believe for a Lincoln (ended up at a Lincoln dealership in any case). I happened to drive a 2011 Edge rental, pretty much the exact same car, on a trip from Las Vegas to Portland Oregon. I loved and hated the car, mostly because I was stuck with a defective touchscreen (thanks, Avis) so I couldn't adjust certain things. Anyway, fast forward to 2017, and I found this 2011 SEL in apparently fine condition for a decent price, and it's certainly been fun and very comfortable during the five hours I've driven it so far. My other car is a 2004 "Edge" Ranger. Edited January 26, 2017 by James McGill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted January 26, 2017 Report Share Posted January 26, 2017 Welcome! Seems to be a rare color, mostly we see Kona Blues rather than MB. It really is gorgeous, and I hope you have a great experience with it. Post some pics of your Ranger as well I would consider getting a Ford Protect/ESP warranty to go with it, should be able to get a decent price on it online. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James McGill Posted January 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2017 Welcome! Seems to be a rare color, mostly we see Kona Blues rather than MB. It really is gorgeous, and I hope you have a great experience with it. Post some pics of your Ranger as well I would consider getting a Ford Protect/ESP warranty to go with it, should be able to get a decent price on it online. Thanks for the reply. On the color - the minute I saw it in the lot, I almost turned around and left. My wife said the word "Teal" in a tone of voice that made me queasy. To be honest, it's still reverberating in my head... {teal...teal...teal...}... But the interior is luxe. I can't find any meaningful wear and tear. The driver's seat has the expected "broken in" feeling but it's still very nice. I did buy the Ford ESP (or the version of it sold at Lincoln dealers) 36K miles. I didn't mention it because it makes me feel like a chump - I don't really believe in warranties. I think of it, quite literally, as "tipping the dealer." If it ever has value, I'll let you know. I also bought the dealer's finish warranty. This car doesn't have so much as a parking lot door ding, so I figure I'll let them keep detailing and waxing the thing -- I mostly bought that plan to make the finance guy shut up about it. Reading in the forum, the only thing that jumps out at me is the common problem with the door-ajar sensor in the locking mechanism. It has me worried that I'll run into the same problem, but at least I'm forewarned. I have similar worries about being the 2nd owner on any touchscreen device. On that long road trip I mentioned with the rental, I know I was cussing at the MFT system, but I also learned every possible workaround so I really know that generation of MFT/Sync inside and out as a result. It's a LONG drive from Winnemucca Nevada to the Oregon coast, and I had a LOT of time to deal with that thing. Once I got this one with a touchscreen that actually works, I felt like I knew every feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted January 26, 2017 Report Share Posted January 26, 2017 The 2011-14 have these issues in common: Door Ajar Shift to Park APIM Brake Booster Throttle Body But it seems like you went in there with a plan, that always deserves a I have been able to recover the costs of my extended warranty due to 3 major repairs already. Of course dealers charge substantially more than an independent shop, so value is relative LOL. MFT is probably the biggest complaint on everyone's tongue, glad it did not put you off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake Willis Ehret Posted February 3, 2017 Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 Congratulations on the car! Should you encounter the ever so common Door Ajar issue shop around. I called 5 dealers and made them compete for the price. Worked out quite well in my opinion. Anyways, Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James McGill Posted February 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 Congratulations on the car! Should you encounter the ever so common Door Ajar issue shop around. I called 5 dealers and made them compete for the price. Worked out quite well in my opinion. Anyways, Good luck! I had a different problem, the radiator/condensor fan stopped working. I had my local mechanic change it while he checked over the car in general. Fan or circuit on the fan assy was dead, and apparently this is a pretty common issue on a lot of different cars that use that part. Decided it was worth paying his markup for the part and the 5 minute job in exchange for a pretty thorough inspection. I'm going to have to plan to do all the usual 90K mile stuff and he knows that when I do suspension work I'm going to want whatever passes for performance parts. Would welcome feedback on what performance parts might be -- better than stock struts and maybe sway bars for example? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted February 6, 2017 Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 What are you trying to achieve with aftermarket oarts? What was it about OEM struts and sway bars that you didn't like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James McGill Posted February 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 What are you trying to achieve with aftermarket oarts? What was it about OEM struts and sway bars that you didn't like? It's not that I don't like them, it's that they are coming up on 90K miles and I'm going to replace them. It costs the same to overhaul a front end with performance parts as it does to use stock. Even sticking with stock, are the OE suspension parts the same on base models as "Sport" models? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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