We decided to buy an 03 pilot and an 03 explorer, both in november 2002..We liked them both and because we needed to cars, we decided to splurge and buy both..We traded a 96 Explorer and a 96 Accord for them (the accord for the pilot and the explorer for explorer)..We where able to buy a limited explorer with everything for what 2,000 less than we paid for our ex pilot w/ nav system. I spent three months looking for a dealer who would sell one to me for $750 above invoice.. Breakaway Honda in Greenville, SC is the only place that would sell me one for 500 below sticker, the cheapest i could get one... I had to settle for a Black one, but that was a minor issue.

What did we like about our pilot?
I like the power, far better than our V6 explorers, about as good as my new sentra se-r.. It gets decent gas mileage, but requires premuim. It handles well for an suv and rides well, handling the curvy mountain roads and snow and slush with aplomb. It is on par with our explorer, if not better at times. I like the back seat alot better than our explorer. The 3rd row seat comes in handy and handles small kids well. The interior is fitted with materials of a high quality, with the expception of the seats.

What did we not like?
I am not sure if it was the car or us or ? But we hated alot of our pilot. The transsmisson never shifted well, i think that was more attribute of the two faulty trannies our pilot had. The engine had gobs of power, but never idled very smoothly and felt gruff at times, and refused to run on anything less that premium. The premium was eating us alive at times, to the point i whent and bought a new sentra ser and still saved 200 a month (we have 4 drivers and drive 125K a year). The suspension cllunked at times. But most of complaints stem from the fact our car had problems. The navagation and havc system was hard to use and sometimes had a mind of its own. The moonroof had a mind of its own and leaked alot. The leather front seats are hard and uncomfertable for anythng more than an hour drive. Our cars a/c emmited a funk smell at times that never was resolved. The elctric locks and keyless entry worked for 6 months and then ceased to work. I found the guages and the dash hard to use and see. There where a bunch of rattles in our car and although wind noise was at a minumum, there was more than in the other pilots i had driven. Also ours had problems with the clear coat and the electric windows that hated us. I think that our car was a lemon from day one. But trying to get anything fixed on this car is a hellacious nightmare. I have taken this car to 62 honda dealers to get a list of 145 things fixed + mantince every 5 K... I have been yelled at, talken down to and cussed at by service managers and dealers. I bought a honda extended warranty for 3 years or 75K miles.. I know our car ate two transsmissons, unusal for a honda. One at 36K and the other at 75.8 K (now getting fixed, in south florida~!) Yes we had to send our car to south florida to get fixed, one of the few honest honda dealers. Oh well, such a nice suv, with such horrible peole. It costs me 800 to get the car back and forth to get fixed, not coverd under warranty. We just refinanced our explorer to pay off the pilot so we can trade it for another vehicle, not a honda, which is a shame, because they are nice cars. Honda wouldn't even fix somethings telling us it was our problem and after a lawsuit, still wouldn't buy our car back. Ford has bought a car back from us with no issues, so did nissan and toyota (and toyotas was due to the sludge problems!)
Amount Paid (US$): 32500
Condition: New
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: EX, Nav System, Leather