My Escape has 65,000 miles on it and has been well maintained. How many more miles could it go?
I would not be surprised if it reached 300,000 miles with proper care.
You must do transmission fluid service at 50K intervals and brake fluid flush every three years, oil change at or before 5K or 6 months, which ever comes first.
Coolant changes at or before Ford recommended intervals.
Any modifications to the vehicle may shorten its life span.
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Thank you!
There is almost no real answer to that question . It is a mechanical thing and mechanical things break . Of course your tolerance for repairs and service have a lot to do with how many miles you will put on it.
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Purebred gave you a good answer, but I want to add an important detail:
HOW you drive it is as important as how well you maintain it.
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Where you live makes a diff. Rust ends the safe and useful life of many vehicles that are otherwise able to keep going.
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VDCdriver makes a good point. If you drive it like I drove at 18, it may not last another 10,000 miles.
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If you live in the salt belt, Escapes don’t seem very resistant to rust esp. around the rear wheel wells.
If he’s like most 18-year-olds he’s hoping the answer is 3 months.
Can you coat it with something?
Anyplace where rust is a real problem, rustproofing companies abound. They do extend the life of yje car of skillfully applied.
I predict it will last exactly as long as you can keep up with the maintenance and repairs as needed.
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Or to the scene of the accident whatever comes first.
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I’ve never owned a Ford but my Pontiac has 160,000. My Buicks had 500,000 and 350,000 and my Olds had 240,000 and 480,000, among others. If you are worried though, might want to trade for a GM.
I have had GM a couple of times. Right now, I am into Ford. When I posted “18 years old” that’s my kid who is driving the 2012 Ford Escape. We’ll see how long it lasts.
Tell your kid to learn how to do maintenance, and keep learning. It is the cost of repairs that kill a car. Cars really depreciate too quickly, so that a $3000 car with many more miles in it is junked because it needs a $3000 repair.
The Escape has low mileage for the age so that is a plus.
How long it will last depends upon how it is driven and how well it is maintained.
You say it is well maintained but many people have made that claim on this forum and the real answer is that it was anything but well maintained.
How often were the oil changes? Has the transmission ever been serviced? What about brake fluid exchanges; or cooling system?
So what are the answers to those questions which I might add are just a sample.
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Is this a hand me down within the family? If your family hasn’t owned it since new, you can’t know the maintenance history. If all maintenance was done per the maintenance manual in the glove box plus extra brake and transmission fluid changes about every three years, then there is an excellent chance it will last until you are in your mid-20s.
+1, on all points.
Almost everyone over the years who stated that his/her vehicle had been “well-maintained” turned out to be wrong when we delved into the extent of that maintenance.
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It could last until it’s stolen, likely taken to a chop shop and never recovered.
It could last until it’s stolen by a homeless person who breaks into your house, finds the key, lives in it for a month, then wrecks it running from the police.
It could last until it’s t-boned by a teenager coming over a blind hill going twice the speed limit.
It could last until it’s rear ended and totaled by a hit-and-run driver with stolen license plates.
All of these events occurred to me or family members cars that were well taken care of but came to early demise.
Sorry to hear about those cars tragic ends. I have had cars rear ended and never the same.