I often wonder about questions like this...
Isn't it a little late to be wondering about the reliability of a this
vehicle? You already bought it.
Not addressed to *YOU* you, but the generic asker of the question.

To be more on topic; the cost of the extended warranty will be pegged
to the warranty maker's opinion of the reliability of the vehicle the
warranty applies to. IOW, it doesn't really matter what *we* think
about the warranty, as the warranty's cost will be adjusted already
according to the reliability fo the vehicle.
If, for example, we all think your truck will fail 3 days after the
factory warranty dies, the cost of an extended wearranty will be very
high, and you'll need it.
OTOH, if we think your truck will probably last until it has 250K
miles or 8 years (whichever comes first), the warranty won't cost as
much, and you'll probably not need it.
So, check on the costs of the warranty from various vendors, and make
your decision: does the cost match your desire to protect your
investment? If so, buy one. If not, don't.

Personally, I've only bought one extended warranty for a vehicle, and
it paid for itself on the one repair it needed and was covered for,
for what that's worth.

I would get a ford esp warranty.  I got a 5/100k Premium care for my 2002.  It
cost $1700.  I figure it will give me an extra 3 years of coverage(18k a year).
Thats $600 a year to cover alot of stuff that could break.  If I don't use it
great, but just one trans problem or ABS problem and your ahead.

I just bought a similar vehicle -- Explorer XLT with 22,000 miles,V6,
4WD, nicely equipped.  It was a rental vehicle -- local dealers all had
4-6 of these on their used car lots, each of them with 20-25K miles,
similar equipment -- looks like Hertz must be trading in their Explorer
fleet.

Anyway, this is the first U.S.-made vehicle I have purchased in 30 years
(except for an F150 that I bought in 82 and sold in 85) -- everything
else has been Nissans.

I have NEVER purchased an extended warranty on anything -- appliances,
computers, vehicles.  However, I bought the 5 yr/75,000 mile extended
warranty on my Explorer.  The warranty covers damn near every part of
the vehicle -- and I just bailed out my daughter to the tune of $700 for
repairs on her Ranger's transfer case (which was out of warranty).  I
figure the price of the extended warranty is good insurance on my Explorer.

J

Thanks! I think I will take them up on their offer .... maybe next month.

I'm new to 4x4s AND Fords, so I better act responsibly :-)

I bought a '98 XLT in 2000 that had 28k miles on it. It had a 60k
extended warranty. I bumped it up to 100k warranty and am glad I did.
The ball joints and some other stuff went out on it and the warrenty
paid for everything and paid for itself. Make sure it is a FORD
warranty ONLY, and NOT a 3rd party warranty.

Hi, just wanted to let you know that I just purchased the same vehicle and
not even 35,000 miles into the car there were problems with the
transmission. It happened when putting the car in reverse and would make
the car jump really hard. I also bought the extended warranty, THANK GOD
and turns out they are having problems with the 2004's and some type of
sensors affecting the transmission. The dealership did a great job of
fixing her and now she is as good as new. Just wanted to pass the note on
to you, something you may want to keep an eye on. Sarah

Depends.  What kind of engine does it have?  Any visible leakage around the
seals or the transmission?

Most extended warranties are crap.  You get better odds gambling in Vegas.
You're better off finding out how much the extended warranty would cost you per
month and putting that amount in a savings account.  Then when things go wrong,
*you* can decide whether you want to pay to have it fixed or not.