2000 Mercury Mountaineer Base Sport Utility 4-door 5.0l on 2040-cars

Thanks for looking at this listing.  My family has owned this truck for approximately 11 of its 13 model years. My mother in law bought it used from a dealer in 2002 and I bought it from her in 2005 with about 36,000 miles on the odometer.  Since that time, I have put 85,000 miles on the truck and it has performed wonderfully.  It has never let me down.  I am selling it only because the commute to my new job is 100 miles roundtrip and while this vehicle is trustworthy and reliable, the average MPG of 17 is costing me too much money.

Engine is the 5.0L motor that has been in the Mustang for years.  Very reliable and moves this vehicle along with very little effort.  I have gotten as much as 21mpg on straight highway runs while on vacation, but mixed city and highway is about 16.5 to 17mpg. 

Transmission shifts firmly and gets into top gear around 37mph.

The tires are about three years old with about 26,000 miles on them.  That may seem like a lot, but look at the pictures where I've shown a penny in the tread.  The original Michelin LTXs were replaced at 95,000 miles and still had 50% of their tread left.  They had dry rotted to the point where safety dictated that I replace them.  I kept them inflated to the max pressure of 35psi and they wear very little. 

It has been set up with Sirius Satellite Radio.  Its hardwired through the antenna using an FM Modulator.  I have no need for the receiver anymore so I'm letting it go with truck.

While the vehicle is in overall good shape for being 14 model years old with 121,000 miles, there are a few "defects":

1 - There is rust on the rocker panels (see pictures).

2 - There are a couple of small dimples on the front of the hood that came from my father in law pulling too far into the garage in hitting the vice on his workbench.  They are hidden by a bug deflector.

3 - The Manual A/C & Heater work fine, but Automatic Climate Control does not work  because the blend box door is broken.  Replacing the door is a very expensive and labor intensive job as the dashboard has to be taken out.  The manual buttons work fine, A/C is ice cold and the heat gets hot.  Defroster works fine.  Its just that the Automatic Function where you select a temperature does not work.

4 - The brakes work fine but the ABS light is on.  In as much as my shop and I can determine, we think its a sensor.  I replaced one of the four hubs a couple of years ago, but apparently that wasn't the sensor that was bad.

5 - There are some typical dings and scratches here and there after 13+ years and the paint is faded in spots and has some discoloration from exposure to the elements.

6 - There is one scratch on the door guard and step by the rear passenger door (see pictures) where my father in law bumped up against a wooden fence post.

7 - The rear hatch will not stay open.  One of the hydraulic struts broke its mount.  It needs to be replaced.  It has a rear glass panel that works fine.  I've been loading it from the back using the glass panel now for a year.

Its been a good reliable vehicle for over 11 years.  I don't have kids, but if I did and they were going off to college or needed a first car, I'd hope to find a truck like this for them and together we'd take the time to fix the tailgate hatch issue. 

I'll try to post a video of me starting it up and taking it around the block, showing you window operations, etc.