Initial Reaction upon driving and owning the Ford Explorer Platinum

So when I first went inside my 2017 Explorer Platinum it was surreal. A car I’ve been researching for months is finally mine.

Initial reaction when I first drove it:

  • Steering wheel turns so smooth. My Xterra felt stiff/heavy so this was a good change.
  • Quiet interior.
  • That acceleration is nice!
  • All this technology! Self parking, collision warning, Android Auto, backup camera, front camera and a full list of other stuff will keep me busy for the next few days.
  • The entire car is super spacious. Can’t wait to take all my buddy’s to go to the lake or midnight run to the diner.

What I didn’t like:

  • Limited visibility. I’m use to wider side mirrors like my Xterra. Also, for some reason the rear view mirror show’s a lot less, most likely the due to the wider C-Pillar.
  • The MPG. This thing drinks a lot of gas when driving in the city. I average around 13-15 mpg so far. I’ll update later to see if the highway driving is any better.

Pre-owned Issue

The car market right now is a sellers market and sadly there’s not much room for negotiation. I accepted this Explorer knowing there was some minor cosmetic imperfections.

I discovered the previous owner must have had a pet wolverine, the center armrest console was scratched. The car also has a few exterior imperfections. Here we’re the issues:

  • Scratched middle console lid.
  • Missing leather patch on passenger door.
  • Scratched seat on passenger side.
  • Dog nail imprint on dash.
  • Bubbling on hood front.
  • Side mirror has a crack on the blinker light
  • Dog nail scratches on rubber trim outside the window.

Scratched center armrest 

Missing leather patch on passenger door

Scratched leather seat

Imprints on leather dash left by dog’s nail

Bubbling / rust on hood

Cracked blinker light on side mirror

In my future blogs I’ll be writing tutorials on how to repair majority of these issues. So stay tuned!

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