Just got a 2006 Ford Escape for $200, Trying to make it a daily driver for cheap

Edit: Pictures in post 43

Ok, so the other day I just happened into a 2006 Ford escape for $200. Long story short, the owner had it parked on the street downtown and it was going to be towed any day. So rather then loose it entirely he sold it for $200.

Turned out that after a new battery and minor tweaks it started right up and I drove it home.

Been tinkering with it the last few days and looks like I can get most of the issues fixed and still come in under $600. Mostly it just needs a complete tune-up and some TLC. It is in surprisingly good condition as well, interior is great, outside is decent. Drives good as well, I will know more once I fixed a few codes and issues I already ordered parts for.

The last big things to fix are:

The front bumped is just bungee corded on right now, so got to see if I can reattach it or need a new one. Looking like with some fiberglass work I can repair the bumper but watching one that is posted on ebay that is the right color anyways.

Rust, I am a Texas guy. Rusty to us is literally any rust at all. Brake calipers are a red color, that is rusty down here lol. This car came from North Dakota and for me the rust is really bad but I know it is actually fairly good for the age. No frame or structural damage I can see, just a solid coating of rust under it. The rear fender wells also have some rust bubbling under the paint.

Anyone have good suggestions on how to deal with rust now that it will never see salt again? The fender paint I can do but not sure about the under-car stuff.

Lastly the stock radio works but I need some way of getting MP3’s into the audio. I have been debating getting one of those sub $50 head units that can play from bluetooth or USB.

Anyone have experience with them?

Something like this (literally the first one I pulled up, there are tons to pick from).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/7-Double-Car-Radio-Stereo-MP5-MP3-Player-2-Din-bluetooth-FM-AUX-USB-Head-Unit/352663806555?hash=item521c66a25b:g:XO8AAOSwvH5dQtAi:sc:FedExHomeDelivery![](76116)US!–1

Or even cheaper if you don’t go for the touch screen:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/FM-Car-Stereo-Radio-1DIN-Bluetooth-In-Dash-Handsfree-SD-USB-AUX-Head-Unit-Player/323793728914?hash=item4b639c3592:g:JrIAAOSw24hcu5h1

One of the nicer units with android and GPS would be great but also a little overkill for a $500 car.

My 4runner actually has a really nice setup, A/D/S/ Amps, Pioneer head unit, component speakers all around. Although something shorted out last year and now it doesn’t sound the same. Sad it used to sound really good, now it just sounds good at mid volumes, low or high is not very good anymore. So it is hard buying super cheap for this car.

Looking for any tips on dealing with rust or car audio options on a budget. Figure if anyone has tried these cheap radios they are here.

Once the under carriage is rusty, the best medicine is 50/50 solution of diesel fuel/used motor oil sprayed on once or twice per year . That will build up a oily coating that will resist further rust. Near impossible to try to paint over the rust at this point and it would only trap moisture .

You can use a rust converter to convert the rust into a paintable surface. But if its a lot of flaky and loose rust then thats not really going to do it. Also look into POR15 paint, it can be painted right over some rust to seal it.

I have a 2005 Mazda Tribute (rebadged Ford Escape) sitting on the driveway that’s not safe to drive anymore. This generation was notorious for rust issues, especially the rear wheel wells. I’d advise you to go over it with a fine tooth comb, including checking under the carpets where possible. You should also check the wheel bearings because it tends to eat them pretty quickly. Mine lost both rear wheel wells to rust and had to have a plate patched into the driver’s wheel well because there was a huge hole spraying water and causing various electrical issues. The floor under the front carpets is just a mess of rust. I kept it going a little longer and now there are malfunctioning relays clicking in the dash, the airbags are disabled, the rear defrost and wiper are dead, and it’s the rustiest POS I’ve ever seen. The shop I take it to has advised me not to have $100 repairs done because it was in such awful condition.

Mazda knew about the rust issues with this car for many years. There was a recall on the rear wheel wells up to 2004, which they declined to extend to later years despite it continuing for multiple generations. I will never buy another Mazda as long as I live.

Hahah Bob that was totally Ford’s fault! (Though I guess Mazda could have bit the bullet for Ford…)

2006-2008 Mazda technician here

those models were also famous for automatic transmission falling out, though i suspect yours has already been replaced or isn’t going to fall out now. Regardless, check the fluid, change if necessary (closer to red is better; closer to black needs to be changed). Every 30k miles is the recommended fluid exchange interval. Believe it or not, this applies to both manual and automatic ford transmissions, as ford used ATF even in the manual transmissions (they have friction material on the synchronizer blocking rings), though it’s possible you have a mazda 5 speed transmission and not a ford, but i believe it’s a ford. (Automatic is definitely ford, and that’s why they fell out lol). Manual mazda transmissions will take motor oil. Change it either way if manual, as it’s probably never been done.

That model also had a faulty PCV valve elbow on the back of the intake manifold; reach back there and squeeze every hose you can find (will really only be the one) and see if it’s soft; if so, replace it before it leaves you on the side of the road. This too may have already been done but checking is free.

Other than that, it was a steal @ $200 even if it only lasts a few months. Rear brakes are drum on 4cyl, probably need to be cleaned and adjusted (low brake pedal is the symptom for that)

Question is, how long are you planning to keep it?

As long as you don’t have engine issues (lossy compression, oil ⇄ coolant mixing, cracked head, etc.), who cares what the interior/exterior looks like, for 200bux.

If you want to “fix it up”, that’s another issue. I had an ancient Cavalier which got rust bubbles, etc., and I had the whole car repainted for a coupla grand because I was planning to keep it ’til it blew up or burst into flames. Did it less for appearance as much as keeping rust from eating holes through the sheetmetal.

Buncha crooks, though, promised to sand it down to the bare metal, reprime, repaint, etc., but they didn’t even take off the stick-on molding when repainting it! Took apart the mount for my ceebee antenna (had everything pulled and intact: screws/washers/nuts through the holes and assembled), and some idiot who had NO reason to, unscrewed everything and lost half the hardware. And ran down my battery blasting the stereo (should’ve taken the faceplace with me, but I’m an idiot and didn’t) and I found it parked streetside, unlocked and windows open, engine running, evidently to recharge the battery. Hope they all died…

Anyway, comfort/convenience like the audio is one thing, if you want the car “livable”. Dunno how picky you are about audio quality, but even a cheap fm broadcaster could work. Eg, tune to a dead channel, set the broadcaster to that “station”, and play mp3s from it.

One of my old stereos had an aux input up front, so I could play t00nz right from my phone after just plugging it in with a 3’ cable.

For the radio, there’s a way to add Bluetooth to it, if you don’t mind tinkering. The Bluetooth board can be bought on eBay for a few bucks. There’s a channel on YouTube called The Post Apocalyptic Inventor who is a German guy and he tinkers with old electronics a lot. He has a video of how to add a Bluetooth module to a car radio.

We loved ours, when we bought a new one 2013 we sold the 2006 to a friend. The only problem he ran into was the alarm keeps going off for no apparent reason.

Thanks for the tip, that is by far the best solution I have heard so far. Reasonably priced and sounds like it would work if not be extremely messy lol.

I looked into the converter option but the cost was what drove that idea away. I could easily spend more on the converter then I got the truck for lol. Maybe there is a way to buy them in bulk?

Yeah, I plan to really go everything carefully when I get it on jack stands, thus far just been crawling around on the ground. I am far from a rust expert. I did check all the structural areas and could not find any areas where I did not find “good” metal after tapping it a few times with a screwdriver. I am guessing that those from up north would classify it as “heavy surface rust?”.

No rust inside except for a little rust on the bolt heads that hold the front seats in place but they are still sound with no holes in the floor or anything.

The bearings appear to be ok, no grinding or strange sounds when driving that I have noticed thus far. Drives shockingly good for the price actually.

I have had pretty good luck with mazdas in the past but admittedly most of my experience with them were RX7’s (had 9 or 10 of them over the years) or miatas.

I do have a question for you, did yours have the V6 or 2.3L I4? The engine seems to run good once it gets into the power band but below ~2500-3000 RPM it is a dog, not sure if that is just how the engine is? Or if something is wrong? Good power above that.

Yes, it is sadly the automatic trans version but I did get a 4WD model, so I guess it balances out lol. I wish it was manual though.

Yep, complete fluid changes are in store for everything. These fluids are WELL past their use by date. I got lucky and pepboys was clearing out a bunch of high quality fluids for $2 a quart. Got 6 quarts of high end synthetic Merc-V trans fluid for $2 a bottle. Same for oil, except I got like 6 oil changes worth lol.

Thanks for the PCV tip, I was wondering if a vacuum leak could explain the low power down low already.

Speaking of which, is it normal for it to be a dog off the line until it gets to ~2500-3000rpm and then take off with full power?

The other major issues I have are the 4WD and ABS lights are on but think I narrowed that down to the passenger side tone ring on the CV. Got a replacement coming now.

The airbag light is on as well with code 33, not totally sure on that one.

You would not happen to know of a way to program a new key for it without going to the dealer by chance? I only have 1 key and seems that means the dealer is the only option for adding a 2nd which I need.

I am honestly not sure what I am going to do with it right now. I figure I will drive it for at least the next 6 months since the inspection is good until next year and it gets way better gas mileage then my 4runner. Plus the 4runner needs some work.

My goal is to keep my investment below what I could resell it for. I am guessing I could get $1000 or a bit more for it once the work I have planned is done, so trying to keep my investment to less then $750 so I can drive it for free and possibly make a few bucks when selling it.

Cosmetically the only things I am worried about are the bumper mostly because it is rubbing on the radiator right now and worried it will eat through if I leave it this way and the rust on the fenders because that will drastically effect the value when I sell it. But I will do the fender repair myself, done a bit of body work in the past, good enough for this anyways.

I am very picky about sound quality, used to be pretty heavy into audiophile stuff in years past. That said I also have reasonable expectations for a cheap radio. The stock one doesn’t sound great even with a CD and an FM modulator sucks even worse in my past experience. So I figure that even a cheap ebay radio has to be better then that setup plus it can use my phone music over bluetooth.

I wish this one had an AUX input, it has a button but it apparently is just there to taunt you lol.

Interesting, I saw some mods like this but it seems it needs a tape deck for it to work. The stock radio only has CD which is not compatible with analog inputs from the research I did.

If you know different I am all ears. I would totally do a mod like that if it would work.

LOL, we had this happen when I installed the new battery.

Downtown with an alarm going off.

A truck with a broken window

glass all over my butt from sitting in it.

Hot, sweaty and frustrated

and a hammer, screwdriver and pliers / snips on the ground next to me.

I was ever so slightly worried about a cop driving by and having a nice long chat with me lol.

@Texas_Ace, if you want, just get some citric acid, make a concentrated solution(300g/L), heat it up in the microwave until it boils.

Be careful with it though. When very hot, even “weak” acids like citric acid or acetic acid(vinegar) get very corrosive.

So, great for removing rust up to a certain point, but be very careful handling it.

1. Make a concentrated solution of citric acid, and heat it up in the microwave until boiling.

2. Put boiling hot citric acid anywhere you need to remove it, and put parts in the solution to remove superficial rust.

3. Keep it hot as long as possible and as needed.

4. RINSE EVERYTHING with a lot of water.

5. Dry it in the Texas sun.

6. Paint over it, or the parts.

Interesting idea. I have used this trick in the past to flush radiators and it worked great there.

I guess I would just be worried about getting it all rinsed off good enough so it doesn’t cause worse rust long term.

Yep.

Acids in general are great deoxidizers, but that is also their weakness.

They clean the surface, but etch it.

It’s not too bad with weak acids, but something like hydrochloric acid will absolutely murder most metals after exposure for some time.

I’ve actually used this method for removing rust on screws before zinc-nickel plating them myself, or removing copper oxide before plating, or even removing rust from small car parts.

Worked ok, until I decided to say OVERDRIVE, and decide to take the 2x/10C rule of chemical reactions, and nuked the solution in the microwave.

Removed every traces of rust imaginable.

lol, yeah that is me.

When flushing the radiator I was supposed to add like 2 tbs, think I added like 1/2 a cup and then proceeded to heat that sucker up and drive it for a day or 2 before draining.

It worked that is for sure, never seen coolant so dirty!

Also not the best for the water pump seals, they were already going out but this put the nail in the coffin. Luckily I was already planning on doing the water pump.

Dunno Fords, but the engine might just be peaky, or might have well-worn plugs or other combustion issues. Faster rpm, it’ll almost diesel, with the plugs just pushing the mix over the edge.

Question I ask most people and get blank stares: “When was the last time you changed the plug/coil wires?”.

Had that issue, new Autolites (nice fat 9mm or so), and it ran like it had a new engine. I try to change mine every coupla years or so.

Then check the plugs. I’ve squared then regapped mine when they were easy to change, but now where you need to be a contortionist with multi-link wrench to get at 1-2 out of 6, it’s a pain in the ass, so I just pay Mr Mechanic to do it.

Which reminds me… :expressionless: