After ten years of driving Subaru Outbacks I wanted something a little bigger. You see my fiancee is over 6’4″ and an ex-defensive lineman, so a smaller car is not very comfortable. But I was spoiled by driving a Subaru which was all wheel drive.
My goal was to find a smaller domestic 4×4 SUV that got good gas mileage. I live in Nebraska, you might have seen a little of our winters, and I didn’t feel comfortable driving a 2WD. So after doing my research on www.fueleconomy.gov I decided that my decision was a Ford Escape. Isn’t she pretty?
I searched all over the internet for a good deal on a pre-owned car. I had a price range where I wanted to stay and expectations on mileage. Sometimes you just have to throw that out the window when you find a good deal. This 2001 Escape had just been detailed and pictures were just uploaded onto the internet when I saw it. Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time.
Facts: Baxter Jeep Dodge, Omaha (ask for Kenny), 2001 Ford Escape XLS, 69,291 miles, asking $8,950
I knew from all my searches that for an Escape in that price range I wouldn’t be able to find with less than 120,000 miles. I had spent hours looking at other Escapes in the area and none were in this good of shape or as clean. But I had to bargain, and I did, hard. After several hours of deliberation we settled on $7,995.
After driving it to Des Moines the next day it got 22-24 mpg on the highway, not bad for the size vehicle. My Subaru consistently got 25 mpg.
So I drove it off the lot that night. One of the first things I did was buy a Dog Pet Barrier for the back. Although I used a Kurgo dog zip-line I didn’t want anymore dog hair in the back seat. Below is the day I installed it and we went to the park to enjoy the sun and a good book.
My Favorite Dog Travel Products
Brody has ridden many miles with me back and forth to Lincoln and considering the hyper dog that he is this wouldn’t of been possible without the award-winning dog travel products from Kurgo. I highly recommend them
