Anyone familiar with mid '90's Lincolns? (and VETTE FOR SALE!)

[Buick From Hell]

I've decided my old decrepit body is tired of gettin' beat to death in my '84 Vette on Utah roads, and decided on going for a little bit o' luxury!

Been checking out mid '90's Caddies & Lincolns, and I came across a nearly flawless '96 Mark VIII today--other than the battery was dead!

Anyway, I told the sales guy I'd entertain offers on the Vette for trade, he asked me what I'd like to get, I told him...

I asked how much for the Mark, he said "I think he (the lot owner) is asking 99..." Thought that sounded a bit high, as I noticed some '95's in AutoTrader going for the 6's, and some '97's in the 8's & 9's (NO '96's for sale in my vicinty!)

Anyway, he grabs the keys to go for a ride, and that's when we found out the battery was dead...Then the salesman made the biggest mistake of his life: "Oh, wow! I didn't know the battery was dead, I don't think this car's been moved in months!"

oops! (he also mentioned that the owner is desperate to move cars right now because of road construction & shady former employees)

Well then, it must be time to wheel & deal, yes??? Then he explains that <ahem> "it's a bit tough to negotiate when working with a trade-in!"

right...so we go in and go thru the little "sales ritual", where I sit around and wait while he makes the best deal for me he can...which was "we'll give you what you want for your Vette, if you give us what we want for the Lincoln!"

heh heh, fat chance! I DO want the car, but I'm NOT going to trade in the Vette!
shameless plug time!
For Sale, 1984 Corvette, relatively CHEAP!! (honest!)

ANYWAY--This Lincoln has only 63k miles on it, has the 280 horse intech V8, and I couldn't find a scratch on it or IN it...Kelly bluebook "dealer" value comes in at $10,790, so $9900 is in the ballpark, BUT I know this car's been there awhile, and we supposedly got a "desperate" owner. Think I'll start the bidding at $7500 and see where it goes!

Now, back to the title of this thread! Does anyone know of any '96 Lincoln "stupid $#it" I should be aware of? Any help and/or advice is much appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

<edit>great, my web's server is down, no pics...

 

[TurboJim]

Well, 96 is the new style ones. Basically a T-bird with some bells and whistles. Has that Intec V-8 thing. Impressive power. ONly think I have seen on them, and I dont recall the year, but had a run of em. Headlight switches. The breakers in them were crappy and you'd be driving and the lights would flash on/off/on/off

I honeslty dont recall much in the way of problems. But I have only seen a dozen tops. Maybe a Ford guy will chime in.

 

[John Larkin]

I used to deal with them back in the late 90's when they were 2-3 year old cars and they were electrical nightmares. They have several computer systems on board and full power everything so odds are something is going to fail regularly. I never heard one with a knocking engine or trans problem. The price you are being quoted is real high. It's a $6,000 car, retail. If it were yours, they'd offer you $4,000 trade in. Hope that puts it in perspective. There's one around here in someone's yard for $6500 and it looks nice.

 

[GNSCOTT]

Get the trade in value of the car and see what he paid for it. It could be worse for a car that has sat on a lot too long. He now has his money tied up in it and possibly property taxes he had to pay so now he's into it for money and he'll either want to dump it quick, or try to make his money back.

 

[TurboRegal84]

Kevin,


Ever think about a Regal GS?

I picked mine up for $5800 with 60,000 miles on it.....They Move out, have the bells and whistles as well! Pretty nice cars, and you are in the price range.

 

[slimm]

Kevin I had one. Parts are expensive. The front air bags sometimes will start to leak making it look like you are driving a lowrider. Plug wires are huge $$ they have a ceramic shaft that goes through the valve cover to get to the spark plug, if I recall the dealer wanted over $300 for a set, and the cheapest I could find them at a parts store was about $125. Like John said I think the price is high, but I always liked the car.

 

[Lee_Burough]

The market is SOFT for those luxury cars now

Thats why I just bought an 94 SLS with 65k for $6600. I put tires, repaired some parking lot damage, and replaced plugs and wires. Still running 10k later.

Go online to NADA. look at the whosale or trade in value and subtract $1,000 to 1500. That is closer to what the car is "worth." Start your negotiations there.

I had a two year old Continental lose a timing chain at 63k in 1986....Haven't driven a ford since. The dealer knew about the manufacturing defect. There was no factory help to repair the defect, which occured with a car load of people in the middle of the night in the middle of laborday weekend in the middle of Kansas....A freakin Mardi Gra Do you have any idea how many bugs there in the summer time in Kansas? Whew!

John Larkin is right, take his advice.

 

[CopGn]

I own one and love the car. It is my daily driver. I think the price is a little high. For info go to MarkVIII.org You will find more information than you need.

 

[Buick From Hell]

Thanks for the replies guys!

Got looking around the nickel-ads today, and found out I've been driving right by a '93 on my way to work! Checked it out, it's virtually the same car as the '96, other than the engine! It's got a few more miles than I'd like (106k), 2 teensy dings in the drivers door, and the leather is starting to look used. Other than that, it looks like a garage queen! Asking 49, maybe I can snag it fer $4000

 

[87ttypeV8]

my mother had a 1996 lincoln continental
had the 4.6 liter i believe.. she just said it had a mustang engine

it was in and out of the shop alot for electrical problems and we ended up getting the lemon law thing for buying a new car... all previous payments were returned to us because it was warratied work for the same problem about 5 times

great car... i liked it was a few years ago before i was really into cars but i enjoyed

 

[Gothmog]

My uncle who has the money to buy a nice car, says he can't find anything he likes better than his Lincoln. I drove it alot, and I like it too
Weaknesses:
Transmission, he replaced his at least 2 times under warranty
Trans mounts, replaced alot of them

Air bag shocks

Leather seats-seen alot of these cars with worn driver seats

The car is fast and comfortable, $7500 seems right, too bad you don't live in the N.E. there's tons of cheap ones to be had

 

[kh440]

Apples/oranges, but I have a 97 Town Car that I have never had any serious trouble (electrical bugaboos in the fuel pump and that's about it) I have heard horro rstories about the body control modules on the mark's though. Ford basically has: good engines, ok transmissions and CRAPPY electronics.

 

[Gokou]

A friend of mine has a Mark VIII LSC (I want to say a 98? It's a special edition something or other). I've driven/rode in it numerous times. Quite a nice car. Ride is good, very comfy, good power, lots of neat toys (which may come back to haunt you however...) His has mid 20K miles on it, and he hasn't had a problem with it yet, but he really doesn't drive it all that often.

At the prices you can get them for now, you are getting a LOT of car for the money, but there are a LOT of things to go wrong on them, the air suspension being the thing that pops into my mind first.

And as others have mentioned, when things fail, due to the complexity it can be hard to troubleshoot, and parts will be on the expensive side.

 

[2quiktocare]

Main problems I have seen on them is the air suspension and the trans. The trans is easy to remedy though with torqing the valve body with every service. Go with the 4.6, it is a great engine and silky smooth too. Mark

 

[GNVAIR]

Kevin,
The Mark 8 is based on the MN12 chassis which is the same as the 89-97 T Bird/Cougars.
The Mark 8 came out in 1993 and ALL have the 32 valve 4.6 V8 which is basically the same engine that was used in the 96-98 Mustang Cobra models minus the steel crank and with milder cams. I have driven a few of them and they are pretty darn fast for what they are. Probably comparable to a stock 84-85 Turbo Regal. The suspension and brakes are very nice and the interiors are very plush. The last year they made them was 1998.
Problems others have mentioned are very common and easily rectified. I have seen them back east here for as low as $3500.
There are tons of them out there to be had now.
I think some of the guys are confusing the Mark 8 with the continental which is a 4 door sedan and front wheel drive.
I could have sworn the "Intech V8" logo was only used on the Continental.

 

[Gothmog]

oh yeah, the rotors go every 20k miles from warpage..

 

[Buick From Hell]

I LOVE this board!!

Well, update:

Checked out the '93 this morning. Was disappointed. They wouldn't budge from the $5k price, wouldn't even look at my vette, and it took too long to start up...when it did, it ticked for about a second, then quieted down. But there was a slight miss (dirty injector or spark plug I figure) and hesitation. Also, the interior was pretty "used" too, carpet had stains...

SO, I went in to haggle on the '96. They had it all cleaned up, it's definitely nice! And, you guys are right on the money about the air shocks, nose of the car was right on the ground! (they're fixing it as I type!) Body has a couple of minor blemishes, gotta look hard to find em...and the only problem whatsoever with the interior, is the fuel-door release button is missing (new one will be in tomorrow)...otherwise, it's like brand new inside! Fired right up, no noises or missing or hesitation. I just drove it around the parking lot, made sure the tranny felt okay, stabbed the gas, it DOES go...!

I'd link up some pictures, but my domain is dead at the moment! (hoping that's fixed tomorrow)

Anyway--there's 361 '96 Mark VIII's for sale on autotrader, and the average asking price is just north of $7700, and most in that price range had substantially more than 65k miles on 'em...we ended up at $7900. Maybe a bit high... one side benefit came of it: The salesman is buying my vette! (saves me the hassle of ads & all!)

ONE LAST QUESTION (hoping you guys will check in )...I got offered a 3-year bumper-to-bumper warrantee for $1500...with the front shocks running 5 bills apiece, and possible tranny problems....whaddya think?? personally, I think NOT...we took out an insurance plan on our motorhome 2 years ago, and we got to use it this year, had to replace the air conditioner ($550) and have the generator fixed (about $300)...$850 with a $50 deductible...however, we paid $1800 for THAT insurance. We'll probably never get another grand's worth out of it! (that IS how they make their money, I guess!)

and Lee--it's definitely an "InTech" engine!

 

[GNVAIR]

Yeah Kev, I wasnt sure if the Intech moniker was reserved for the 4 doors or not.
I would definitely go for the warranty as some of the items on that car can easily eat up $1500 with the quickness.
I would love to get one of those cars myself, but I am in the midst of relocating. Good luck with you purchase

 

[Scott Atk]

you definitely want an extended warranty with that car. Try www.warrantybynet.com for a free quote. I use them for my 96 Aurora (another great hi-tech car that you can get cheap) Ive had it into the dealer 4 times and they paid everytime with no questions asked. definitely recommended.

 

[Buick From Hell]

Well, seein's how I'm fairly handy with a wrench (when I need to be) and I can usually get parts wholesale, I went against the grain and didn't get the warrantee coverage...hopefully I won't kick myself in the ass later!

Got the car tonight, she's a sweetie! All the bells & whistles ring & tweet! Electric dual photo-cell operated automatic non-glare rear-view mirrors? Holy time-warp Batman!! Where the hell have I been?? (of course, this IS the first car I've owned that's newer than an '89!)

I was kinda expecting a bit more from 280 horses, but there won't be no moss growing on the tires --it DOES run good!

And it DOES ride a tad quieter & smoother than the ol' '84 Vette! (kinda like Anna Nicole Smith is a tad bigger than Christine Aguilera!)