Just bought a 2010 ST Limited

[Duncan Kimbro]

Hey guys. I’m having a pretty good day today.

I bought a 2010 Limited V6 4WD today and traded my 2003 XLT. The 2010 is Brilliant Silver Metallic. I wasn’t sure about the color at first but it’s grown on me over the last couple days. I actually picked the car up last night and had my mechanic look over it this morning before I closed the deal this afternoon.

101k miles, one local owner who originally bought it at the dealership where he traded it in about 30 miles away from here. All maintenance, repairs, new tires, etc. were done at that dealership. I don’t know the older gentleman who owned it, but one of my business partners knows him fairly well. My partner told me he is the kind of guy who keeps his vehicles well-maintained. Knowing that, seeing the physical condition of the interior and exterior, and driving it for pretty much a full day made me confident that it’s in pretty good condition for a nine-year-old truck.

I was able to look over the undercarriage and suspension while my mechanic had it up on the rack, and everything looked pretty good. Gotta love those mild Tennessee winters!

There are a couple of minor cosmetic issues on the exterior that my body shop guy said he can take care of fairly easily (It’s sad that I have a body shop guy, but I have teenagers and a wife who has a tendency to bump into things in parking lots). The instrument panel dimmer switch seems a little buggy, and I need to replace a couple of bulbs. It may need front brake pads in a few months. That all played into negotiating what I thought was a fair price.

I have a few mods I want to make, particularly black wheels, a black grille, and changing out the stock 6-disk changer (and the underwhelming 1st gen Sync system) for a touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and a back up camera.

I have some pictures from the dealership website that I can post later on.

 

[Duncan Kimbro]

I’m sure I’ll have questions, especially about mods I’ve never done, but I’ll make sure to search here and Explorerforum.com, so please be patient with me!

 

["Risky Bizness"]

Congrats on your Sport Trac !!!

We changed out the stereo, like you are wanting to do, and added a remote start unit as well. I work for a dealership, so like you, I was able to look ours over, and drive it for a couple of days before buying it.

 

[Duncan Kimbro]

Thanks Risky!

Good test of the ST today. 370 mile trip to Thanksgiving with old friends. It did well and I averaged almost 18 MPG, once I remembered to flip the A/C off after it fogged up a little this morning. I tend to drive fast, so I think that’s pretty good.

 

[Todd Z]

Welcome and good luck with it !! There are a bunch of common issues but those are easily fixed.... Also immediately install a 16lb rad cap off of a 98 mustang v6... the 20 PSI is way to high !!

 

[Evox]

Congrats! Hell, the older I get silver and white appeal to me more and more. I have a black BMW that just breaks my heart. The dark colors are great if you're a car detailer and willing to do the work to keep them looking good, but the darker colors are just so damn unforgiving. They show everything, including those annoying swirls.

Personally I prefer silver.

 

[Duncan Kimbro]

Thanks Evox. The silver has grown on me, and I think if I black out some of the chrome, I will like it even better. My white 2003 was a lot easier to keep looking good than any of the dark cars I've owned.

CarMax in Las Vegas has a beautiful Blue Flame Metallic 2010 Limited with black XD Series Grenade wheels that's pretty nice looking. I think that's would be my choice if it were local and the price was lower. I think I may put a set of those wheels on my ST.

Posted a photo below...still all stock at this point.

 

[swshawaii]

Duncan, congrats on your very clean 2010 ST purchase. Agree, and never believed I'd own a white or lighter colored vehicle, but wouldn't own anything else now. Was very hesitant to buy my low mileage 2005 Trac ten years ago but the price was too good to pass up from a desperate seller facing foreclosure on Maui. Common belief is white or lighter colors gets dirty faster but found out the opposite to be true after owning a factory black 1979 Ranchero "land yacht" years ago. Originally wanted silver but a long time friend who owns a Corvette shop said silver paint is difficult to match. My only "complaint" is wax is hard to see. LOL

One thing for sure is white is MUCH cooler than black. MANY black vs. white vehicle temperature articles found on line.

Here's just one:
https://www.autotrader.com/car-video/car-color-test-are-black-cars-really-hotter-sun-video-242940

 

[Evox]

Have you thought about lifting it a little? I'm not a fan of the super high lift kits, but a subtle lift really would make that ST look good. Also, a good brush guard or bullbar might look pretty good too. Mines only a 4x2 so I'd feel a little bit like a poser putting any serious off-road parts on it. But that's a 4x4, so....

 

[Duncan Kimbro]

I may consider a small amount of lift, but I don’t plan to take it off-road, not intentionally anyway. I’m keeping the same size tires for a while...just ordered a set of 18” XD Series Satin Black Grenade wheels. If the expensive Michelin tires weren’t in such good shape, I’d have considered larger rims/tires, but I want to keep the Michelin‘s that are on there now. I’ll post another picture after they’re installed, maybe as early as this coming weekend.

Ironically, it looks like a bull bar was previously installed. The brackets are there under the front bumper. There are a couple of “outee” dimples where it pressed the plastic front bumper cover against the structural bumper below it. They aren’t particularly noticeable, but it may be cheaper to install a replacement bull bar then to have the dimples fixed.

 

[Duncan Kimbro]

Duncan, congrats on your very clean 2010 ST purchase. Agree, and never believed I'd own a white or lighter colored vehicle, but wouldn't own anything else now. Was very hesitant to buy my low mileage 2005 Trac ten years ago but the price was too good to pass up from a desperate seller facing foreclosure on Maui. Common belief is white or lighter colors gets dirty faster but found out the opposite to be true after owning a factory black 1979 Ranchero "land yacht" years ago. Originally wanted silver but a long time friend who owns a Corvette shop said silver paint is difficult to match. My only "complaint" is wax is hard to see. LOL

One thing for sure is white is MUCH cooler than black. MANY black vs. white vehicle temperature articles found on line.

Here's just one:
https://www.autotrader.com/car-video/car-color-test-are-black-cars-really-hotter-sun-video-242940

Thanks Steve. So far I’m really liking the silver. I’ll see how much I like black leather on a 100 degree day in July! I need a windshield screen and front tint.

 

[Duncan Kimbro]

1st significant mod...satin black XD Series Grenade rims. Stayed with 18” so I could keep the like new Michelin tires. The offset is only slightly different than the OEM rims by about a quarter inch, so the wheels now have a slightly wider stance. I haven’t noticed any difference in handling or drivability.

The chrome blackout has begun!

 

[Evox]

1st significant mod...satin black XD Series Grenade rims. Stayed with 18” so I could keep the like new Michelin tires. The offset is only slightly different than the OEM rims by about a quarter inch, so the wheels now have a slightly wider stance. I haven’t noticed any difference in handling or drivability.

View attachment 1093

View attachment 1094

The chrome blackout has begun!

Man o Man, those look great on that truck! I'm really liking the silver. It has a classic look to it. It looks good without being showy, and it'll hold up better than a lot of other colors except maybe white.

Did you lift the truck a little? It looks great.

 

[Duncan Kimbro]

Thanks E! I’m liking the silver more every day.

Did you lift the truck a little? It looks great.

I haven’t done a lift. From what I’ve read here and on explorerforums the options are really limited (yes, pun intended) for the 2nd gens without getting into major frame/suspension mods. Plus, I have a lot of other modifications / $$$$ to spend first.

I think I’ll leave it for now and may consider a 1-2” lift when these tires wear out (or the rubber starts to deteriorate).

I only have a couple mile commute and spend a lot of time in rental cars for work so I really don’t put a lot of miles on a vehicle. Things like rubber deteriorate from age on my vehicles before wear ever gets them.

 

[Todd Z]

Welcome and good luck with it.

 

[Duncan Kimbro]

Thanks Todd

 

[Evox]

Thanks E! I’m liking the silver more every day.



I haven’t done a lift. From what I’ve read here and on explorerforums the options are really limited (yes, pun intended) for the 2nd gens without getting into major frame/suspension mods. Plus, I have a lot of other modifications / $$$$ to spend first.

I think I’ll leave it for now and may consider a 1-2” lift when these tires wear out (or the rubber starts to deteriorate).

I only have a couple mile commute and spend a lot of time in rental cars for work so I really don’t put a lot of miles on a vehicle. Things like rubber deteriorate from age on my vehicles before wear ever gets them.

It must just be the wheels then. It looks slightly more raked forward to me with the original wheels on it and looks more square and even sitting on the new wheels. But I guess it's just black wheels. In any case, it looks great.

 

[Duncan Kimbro]

Now that you mention it, it does look that way. I suspect its because my driveway has a slight slope and the parking lot with the original photo was level.