Anyone with a Lincoln?

I'll just answer your questions about the Towncar and the Continental here, since it gives me more space than answering in the comment section of the other question.

The '95 and newer Continentals are still front wheel drive. Yes, they do have the 4.6L V8, but it's front wheel. The Continentals are wide enough that they were able to do this.

The Continentals ride really well, and are pretty roomy(especially since you don't have the drive shaft eating up space). They drive like a typical front wheel drive car, though. The engine is powerful enough that you get a noticeable amount of torque steering.

I don't really think that we've had issues with the Continental other than normal maintenance. A couple of the coil packs have gone bad, which is to be expected. As I recall, the coil packs run about $100 for a set of 8, so they're not too expensive to replace.

The only other work I recall having to have done was when the turn signal blinker went out. That was a pretty pricey repair, as a computer module deep within the steering column went out. It was a couple hundred dollars for the part, then a few hundred more for the labor to get to it. The air suspension may be temperamental, especially considering the age-by all means, don't buy one if the rear end is sagging.

The Towncar is another story. I know you said that you're a Crown Vic/Grand Marquis fan. The Towncar is about the same thing as those, just with a nicer interior and air suspension.

The only thing special to watch out for is, again, the air suspension.

Towncars are dirt cheap-they don't hold their value well. Anything more than three or four years old should be under $10,000.

As the owner of a 2001 Lincoln Continental and the previous owner of a Lincoln Town Car I can tell you they are both great, dependable automobiles. You’ll find that a great majority of these cars have been owned by older owners or people who value a nicer car and take care of them. I purchased my Continental this summer after much debate as to whether or not to buy another Town Car. The difference between the cars is striking, and after driving the Continental, my mind was made up.

The Town Car is a very traditional American car with a time proven, albeit dated platform that is anvil tough. I lived in Chicago and saw livery cars that routinely had in excess of 400 thousand miles of city driving on them still going strong. The Town Car has a ride that is very soft and floating; the proverbial “magic carpet”. The sheer size of the car coupled with heavy sound insulation makes this car feel like a rolling, leather lined bank-vault. Don’t let the size fool you though, a Town Car is very maneuverable for what it is. The 4.6 liter V-8 in this car is the single overhead cam version, producing between 210 and 240 horsepower (depending on the year and equipment). This is enough to move the Town Car with ample power in any situation. The key identifier of this car is that it is truly the last of the breed in American Luxury cars from a traditional standpoint. I would definitely choose a Town Car over a Crown Vic or Grand Marquis.

The Continental is a much more contemporary luxury car with less emphasis on isolation and more on a blend of refined luxury and performance. While you’ll never confuse this car with a BMW or Mercedes-Benz from the inside, you also won’t feel like you’re driving a “boat”. The handling of the Continental is nimble, the steering responsive and the 32 valve “In-Tech” dual o

I own a 2000 LS. That was the first year they made the model. It shared a platform with Jaguar and that is why they no longer make them. When they began planning to divest Jaguar they had to move to another platform, hence the MKZ and MKX.

I've owned the car 7 years come Jan 4. In that time, it had a leaking main seal, repaired by the dealer, a power window part failed but I had to pay $300 for that because the 4/48 warranty had expired. It needed a new vacuum hose that ran $1,300 because they had to remove the intake manifold to get to it (great engineering, huh), the dusk sensor has failed so I'm driving around with my headlights on all the time but that's no big deal. The safety belt system has a malfunction that I'll have to take to the dealer to get checked and repaired because most outside shops don't have the adaptor to hook up their test equipment to that system, and now a leaking pan gasket that's about a $500 job. On the upside, the OE tires that came on the vehicle howled like banshees at highway speed, so loud you had to turn the radio way up, and the dealer replaced them with Michelins at no charge to me. All of the rest of the expenses were normal maintenance, etc. The car has 60K miles on it and is running on the original brakes. I've replaced the battery once.

Bottom line: The abnormal expenses were $344 a year or $28 a month for 9 years, plus normal oil changes, tires, etc. I don't call that too much in maintenance, do you? Also, I like the car and it's been fun to drive. It's got all the gizmos I wanted and I've enjoyed it. Now, if you want to buy it, I'm in the market to sell because I've got my eye on a new SUV.

i own a 98 Cont and its been the best car i have ever owned i have put well over 150,000 on it and still put about 3000 a month on it. The Cont are still made off the taurus platform but with many refinements. I get 24 MPG on highway but i cruse 75 to 80 all the time if you slow it down a round 65 to 70 you can get 28. No major problems i have owned since it was one year old no problem with rear air suspension no engine or trans problem it just keeps going.

Lincoln's are NOT cheap, period.

With LS's not being made anymore, that makes them even more expensive to repair.

The Continental is a rebadged Taurus, btw.

Stick with the Vic or Grand Marquis.

Less electrical crap to go bad = better.