After shopping around, my daughter is hooked on a 2002 Ford Escape XLS. 126,000 miles.

I've seen reviews on 4-5 websites and they are mixed, from "I love it and it runs great even at 150,000 miles" to "I bought it new and after only 75,000 miles it sucks".

What is the most reputable review site that you rely on for used car reviews?

Thanks!

I wouldn't go by any reviews with that much mileage. Too much room for wide variations, as you are seeing.
I liked the Consumer Reports of years ago, with a synopsis of work done on parts of a car from records from actual garages and dealers, rated in dots (like stars nowadays).

Rick, I'm not familiar with those sites. The weak link on most FWD vehicles is the automatic transmission. On most Escapes, with an ATX, you will not be able to drop and clean the pan and magnet, replace the filter, and refill with ATF. That's a major problem, in my opinion, with buying a high mileage one. Check this out carefully before buying and factor it into the equation.

Check out this link:

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Escape/2002/

It has an "Avoid Like the Plague" stamp on this car.

My husband and I use Edmund's and Consumer's Reports (online as well as print)--AND our very own favorite mechanic Bill who knows EVERYthing there is to know.

Consumers Report for many years now. My collection of car issues don't go back that far though.
The 2011 car issue only goes back to 2005 Escape models. In 2005 models, drive system, brakes, and body integrity were rated lowest. In 2008, a black ball appears for minor transmission problems.
I would personally avoid an American car with this much mileage, especially if I were looking for a car for commuting a considerable distance. For other purposes- maybe.
The other valuable source is talking to folks about their experiences and input from someone like Txgrease.
I sometimes talk to people in parking lots when I see them get out of vehicles types I am interested in. But, what they say doesn't usually match the historical data in CR. Folks maybe don't like to admit that they made a bad decision. I made some bad decisions in the past (both were cars on the cover of the CR car issues--their predictions aren't as reliable as the historical data). I make my mistakes in that category widely known, especially when the dealers didn't offer any relief. They cost me big bucks and I try to even the score.

Update. Found some of my older CR car issues. The 2007 issue (5 years experience on the 2002 4 cyl.) says the following:
At that time, the 2002 transmission had a black ball, as did the 2003 model year. Also, black ball for drive system, half black ball for brakes.
I used to see a model year with a black ball, then see red (good) for the next year and figure they had a problem and corrected it--WRONG!
The next year, the red ball had become a black ball for that same model year. It just took some time and mileage for the problem to show itself.

Thank you. Edmunds is good but my subscription to Consumer Reports lapsed, so I'm not getting all of the goodies that subscribed members get.

Thank you, wondergirl and smearcase, for the input.

Well, RickJ, please make tracks to your local public library. They have those two resources as well as others. Wanting to know details before buying a vehicle is one of library patrons' favorite reference questions.