Fifty150

Interesting. You couldn't find a 7 seater. When I was looking around the dealerships, and checking inventory online, they were everywhere. But then again, it is still 2016, and you were looking for a used 2016. That usually means that availability would be limited to whatever the rental car companies are trading in, because most private owners don't trade in their cars within the same model year. I hope you saved enough money for it to be worth not buying the 7 seater that you really wanted. I imagine that you would be able to install the 2nd row 3 seat bench. The hardest part may be pricing and availability. Since seating is rarely a collision repair item, it's not as easy as getting a bumper or a door. You will probably need all the hardware, brackets, and latches. You may need to drill a hole here or there. If you're not worried about functionality, and only seating, then you could probably get a torch, cut what you need to, and weld it in permanently. I added 3rd row seats to an older SUV that didn't come with 3rd row seats. I've also added flip and fold jump-seats into the bed of pickup trucks. Once, I stripped seats out of an old school bus, and installed them into a cargo van. Being a guy who has owned Jeeps & trucks most of my life, welding and drilling holes into cars does not bother me. But other guys would never take a Sawzall, drill, or torch to their cars....even if the end result was getting what they wanted.

Interesting. You couldn't find a 7 seater. When I was looking around the dealerships, and checking inventory online, they were everywhere. But then again, it is still 2016, and you were looking for a used 2016. That usually means that availability would be limited to whatever the rental car companies are trading in, because most private owners don't trade in their cars within the same model year. I hope you saved enough money for it to be worth not buying the 7 seater that you really wanted. I imagine that you would be able to install the 2nd row 3 seat bench. The hardest part may be pricing and availability. Since seating is rarely a collision repair item, it's not as easy as getting a bumper or a door. You will probably need all the hardware, brackets, and latches. You may need to drill a hole here or there. If you're not worried about functionality, and only seating, then you could probably get a torch, cut what you need to, and weld it in permanently. I added 3rd row seats to an older SUV that didn't come with 3rd row seats. I've also added flip and fold jump-seats into the bed of pickup trucks. Once, I stripped seats out of an old school bus, and installed them into a cargo van. Being a guy who has owned Jeeps & trucks most of my life, welding and drilling holes into cars does not bother me. But other guys would never take a Sawzall, drill, or torch to their cars....even if the end result was getting what they wanted.

Interesting. You couldn't find a 7 seater. When I was looking around the dealerships, and checking inventory online, they were everywhere. But then again, it is still 2016, and you were looking for a used 2016. That usually means that availability would be limited to whatever the rental car companies are trading in, because most private owners don't trade in their cars within the same model year. I hope you saved enough money for it to be worth not buying the 7 seater that you really wanted. I imagine that you would be able to install the 2nd row 3 seat bench. The hardest part may be pricing and availability. Since seating is rarely a collision repair item, it's not as easy as getting a bumper or a door. You will probably need all the hardware, brackets, and latches. You may need to drill a hole here or there. If you're not worried about functionality, and only seating, then you could probably get a torch, cut what you need to, and weld it in permanently. I added 3rd row seats to an older SUV that didn't come with 3rd row seats. I've also added flip and fold jump-seats into the bed of pickup trucks. Once, I stripped seats out of an old school bus, and installed them into a cargo van. Being a guy who has owned Jeeps & trucks most of my life, welding and drilling holes into cars does not bother me. But other guys would never take a Sawzall, drill, or torch to their cars....even if the end result was getting what they wanted.

So how many people have backed into a ditch, or spun off the road, and that hook came in handy?

Interesting. You couldn't find a 7 seater. When I was looking around the dealerships, and checking inventory online, they were everywhere. But then again, it is still 2016, and you were looking for a used 2016. That usually means that availability would be limited to whatever the rental car companies are trading in, because most private owners don't trade in their cars within the same model year. I hope you saved enough money for it to be worth not buying the 7 seater that you really wanted. I imagine that you would be able to install the 2nd row 3 seat bench. The hardest part may be pricing and availability. Since seating is rarely a collision repair item, it's not as easy as getting a bumper or a door. You will probably need all the hardware, brackets, and latches. You may need to drill a hole here or there. If you're not worried about functionality, and only seating, then you could probably get a torch, cut what you need to, and weld it in permanently. I added 3rd row seats to an older SUV that didn't come with 3rd row seats. I've also added flip and fold jump-seats into the bed of pickup trucks. Once, I stripped seats out of an old school bus, and installed them into a cargo van. Being a guy who has owned Jeeps & trucks most of my life, welding and drilling holes into cars does not bother me. But other guys would never take a Sawzall, drill, or torch to their cars....even if the end result was getting what they wanted.

Interesting. You couldn't find a 7 seater. When I was looking around the dealerships, and checking inventory online, they were everywhere. But then again, it is still 2016, and you were looking for a used 2016. That usually means that availability would be limited to whatever the rental car companies are trading in, because most private owners don't trade in their cars within the same model year. I hope you saved enough money for it to be worth not buying the 7 seater that you really wanted. I imagine that you would be able to install the 2nd row 3 seat bench. The hardest part may be pricing and availability. Since seating is rarely a collision repair item, it's not as easy as getting a bumper or a door. You will probably need all the hardware, brackets, and latches. You may need to drill a hole here or there. If you're not worried about functionality, and only seating, then you could probably get a torch, cut what you need to, and weld it in permanently. I added 3rd row seats to an older SUV that didn't come with 3rd row seats. I've also added flip and fold jump-seats into the bed of pickup trucks. Once, I stripped seats out of an old school bus, and installed them into a cargo van. Being a guy who has owned Jeeps & trucks most of my life, welding and drilling holes into cars does not bother me. But other guys would never take a Sawzall, drill, or torch to their cars....even if the end result was getting what they wanted.

I've always wondered why people who need four wheel drive, or all wheel drive, don't buy what they need. When my lifestyle was such, that I needed four wheel drive to go through snow & navigate off road to get to hunting camps & fishing spots, I simply bought 4WD. That didn't mean that I bought what I couldn't afford. I never owned an expensive Lexus, Porsche, or Audi SUV. I bought used Ford Rangers and Jeep Wranglers because that was what my budget allowed at the time. If I lived in a snow zone, and I depended on only owning 1 car, that car would be something that I could drive in the snow. But on that note, I always wondered why even the Econolines never came with a 4WD option. It seems simple enough that since Ford could produce a four wheel drive F-150, then they could produce a four wheel drive E-150. After all, there are companies that convert Vans in 4WD. In the case of the Econolines, they simply add the 4 wheel drive parts from the F-series.

That makes it a buyer's market. You are in a much better position of negotiation. When I bought my F-150, the F-150 dropped from the #1 selling auto to selling almost nothing every month. Of course, that was back when gas was almost $5 per gallon. Consumers typically opt for larger vehicles when fuel prices are low, and smaller vehicles when fuel prices are high.

A lot of the lower price point cameras, most likely CMOS technology, have LED lighting built in. The alternative is to install LED lighting in tandem with the camera. I installed inexpensive cameras along with inexpensive LED lights. Night vision is great.

This guy wouldn't even look in my direction.

When I installed my camera, there were all sorts of backup cameras on Amazon.com for about $20 USD, or less.

Sounds exciting. Keep us posted on your mileage. High 5.

Far Out! High 5.

Don, you are correct. On my truck, I have a suspension lift. But just a lift kit is not good enough. I added steering stabilizers, regeared the rear end, upgraded braking, new wheels to fit around the new brakes + mount larger tires, and custom tuned with correct gear ratio and tire size. All of that for a 6" lift with just slightly larger than OEM tires. The lift kit was cheap, compared to what everything else cost. You really can't do just a little bit, and expect to gain anything at all. What is that inch going to do for you? Since there is no lift kit for a transit connect, you would need to fabricate and engineer a lot of new parts.

Just as bad as Honda with the horrible clearcoat. Of course, Honda dealers are calling it normal wear & tear, or owner negligence in lack of proper care. Ask a Honda dealership, and they will tell you that you should regularly wash, clay bar, wet sand, and wax. "Regularly"? Well, you obviously didn't do any of those things enough, or with enough regularity. And you should have parked indoors, in a temperature & humidity controlled garage, and used a car cover. Or you could have simply saran wrapped your car from day one, then stored it away without ever driving it.

This was a common problem with a lot of Chevy vans. In the beginning, the dealer said it was rock chips, which are common on the hood of vehicles. Then it gets bigger, and all of the paint starts to peel. But look at the size of those rock chips! Keep an eye out on the road. You'll see a lot of Chevrolets like this.

Now you can add a Painless fuse block for anything else that you might want. http://www.painlessperformance.com/webcat/30004 This weatherproof 20 circuit universal fuse block is a great starting point for custom wiring jobs that need something rugged and dependable that can withstand the elements. It comes fully assembled with wire leads that you can connect to your existing wiring and is completely sealed from the elements for trouble free performance. Includes mounting bracket.

Optima, Blue Sea, & NOCO are all quality parts. You should have no problems with that set-up. Oftentimes, the failures come by way of lesser quality parts. You could easily save $$$ on a couple of cheap batteries, and other off brand parts that you could source online. Yeah, save money on a battery today; have failed system tomorrow.

does not look like flaking or peeling paint to me

The girl at my insurance company just asked, "business or personal?" I answered that it was the kind of van with seats. She said, "Yeah, people use passenger vans for business too, but sometimes they don't tell us. We have to ask. That way, if you are driving people to the airport, or doing Uber, we can deny the claim unless you are upfront and honest in the beginning." Makes a lot of sense. I really am using my vehicle for personal driving. I can see how the insurance company would tell you that since you lied, they are not paying. Especially in the case of Uber drivers, who are engaged in commercial activity without the proper licenses. But that is another conversation. This topic is already way off topic.

My car came with only AM/FM. My simple solution was to use a little device that broadcast over FM, kind of like my own radio station. I hear that those Ford stereos leave a lot to be desired.

I only use the ones that do not have those big spinning things to beat up your paint. There are some car washes that only use high pressure water jets. No spinning brushes to scratch your car.

Ford wasn't able to help with the conversion?