Is a 2005 ford explorer sport trac a Reliable vehicle?

I have a 2005 Explorer with 95k miles It has been reliable in that it always runs well but suffers from fluid leaks,rust and regular maintenance needs.Good luck changing the alternator,it took me two days and cut knuckles and a sore back.Maybe the Explorer is a better vehicle.

Look for an honest and unmodified model.

At 16 years old it’s a gamble. But with the added stresses caused by a 2” lift and probably a load of other dodgy bling “upgrade” parts you’ll be taking an even bigger gamble. “Nice sound system” also usually means “badly bodged electrics” and “rattling trim and broken trim clips”.

None of that added crap adds a single cent in resale value and the lift arguably decreases the value. 

It’s a vehicle with a horrible reputation for long term reliability because they were built down to a low price from new and the “Sport” versions are usually even worse as owners tend to run them ragged.

So no. That model has never had a good reputation for reliability, and now it’s 16 years old with someone else’s bolt-on bits of showy crap. That individual example is far more likely to be even more unreliable than you’d normally expect.

Your money your choice: Nice looking with a nice sound system, or good runner with reasonable reliability?

When they were new they were reasonably reliable. We cannot possibly know whether a 16 year old truck with that many miles will be reliable because we have no way of knowing how it has been treated or maintained, and we certainly cannot inspoct or test drive it for you. I will say this - if the transmission goes out on you the cost to replace it is about $2 grand to replace it, plus labor.  If you're a logical and intelligent lad you'll take it to an expert on those trucks and spend about $150 having them thoroughly look it over before you agree to buy it.

I'd offer much less.

Wheels don't add value.

Lift doesn't add value.

LED lights don't add value.

If it was stock and had no issues, maybe.

It would have been reliable 16 years ago when it was new. We have no way to know how reliable it is today. We don't know how it's been maintained.

i would not buy any vehicle with more than 50,000 miles on it.

Got to KBB or nada.com and check the price - take away all the BS add-ons as they don't add as much value as you may be led to believe. 

156K is a LOT of miles on every part of the truck (suspension, drive train, electronics, body parts etc.).