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Comments
But wait - I did (setting aside a teutonic transgression in between) do it again.
- Ray
'00 and '03 - purchased '99 and '04 . . .
And the car is just plain old fun to drive.
It seems that the '03 updates addressed most of the concerns of the owners of the '00-'02 models. If you have any doubts, look at the 'problems and solutions' boards of the competition. You'll find that the LS has fewer and less severe problems.
You're preachin to the choir. UAW just keeps demanding more. They're just locked into that 1930s union mentality. ANd I guess they've got the big 3 locked in as well. So the Japanese (and Germans) are free to use cheaper labor in the USA while Ford goes to Mexico to build the "American Family Sedan". What a disaster. Either way, UAW is soon a paragraph in the history books. Just hope they don't take the American auto industry with them.
Lincoln Zephyr. Travel well in a Zephyr. What a luxury Zephyr should be. Zephyr - American Luxury. Sorry, it just isn't working for me. And it does really conjure up some major recent bad iron. At least the Monterey and Montclair names date to the 50s and 60s when American iron was as good as anything and people loveed their cars. Nobody will remember or care about the 1930s Zephyr. At least then it might have been a good name.
But ANT says it's going to have a 3.5Liter V6? That's a new Ford engine, isn't it? Bigger than the one in my LS. Yet the car is smaller/lighter. At least that's a step in the right direction.
It would be VERY stupid of Ford to place the 3.0L even pumped up to 232HP as in the LS-V6, since the Futura sedan (possibly a name change to Four-Hundred.....Taurus replacment, Also built on the Mazda6 platform, will sport the 3.5L in ST trim making 270HP.
So using common sense, it would dictate that the 3.5L will have been produced and released in another vehicle, sharing the same platform.
But yes, I'd buy another one. Why? The damn thing's such a pleasure to drive. Gets up an goes, handles beautifully - zero drift, & rides so comfortably. Love the auto driver position memory & telescopic wheel. Atuo rain sensor (Here that may be gone now.) Still proud to walk up to it & get in till this day even with the dings. & I probably could buy a better LS today for several grand less. Hard to beleive there's a better ride for the money out there. Still hope they're making them in '08 or may be forced to buy a 2-3 year old one.
Trading in a low mileage, but getting tired '94 Cad Eldorado. Having had 4 Audis, 4 Porsches, 1 Cad, 2 Oldsmobiles, 1 Chevy Cavalier, a Geo Prism, a couple of Pontiacs and I can't remember what else over the past 40 years; this promises to be an interesting experience.
Got a decent deal from a Lincoln-Mercury dealer who has been in business forever. Only about 4 miles from my house so service udring warranty should be easy.
Thanks again for the input and advice.
It actually cost me less (a lot less) than my '00. With all the improvements, it is a better car AND a better bargain.
Just my 2 cents - with a $.02 mail in rebate = free info.!!!
- Ray
Never expecting to call any Lincoln 'a bargain' . . .
Now, to the Lincoln people. DO NOT let this opportunity slip away. You still have the chance to bring this car into the spo(r)t light. Show us the Ford GT. Show us the new Mustang. Show the world what we already know. That the LS can kick a** and take names. Also, 3 letters...AWD, seriously.
Laxman,
Will own a LS again,very soon.
Right on, Laxman! What you said!!
No doubt it is superior to the Eld. Very comparable to the Audis I have had in the past. Going to pick it up late this afternoon--if it is not raining. got to kep it clean for a day or two.
I am a new member and I really need some help.
I am a new owner of a Lincoln LS 2000 v8 automatic transmission and I love it !
I am looking for a shift knob woodgrain who will fit on this car at a reasonable price.
Any idea where I can find it.
Thanks
Marco
circlea
I would say, take a look at Camry's, Corolla's from 1999, to now. The vehicle could be weeks old (back then and now), and there's brake bulbs already out on them. For some odd reason it's one of their gremlin's that hasn't been corrected till resently. Naturally, Ford nor Toyota, make the lightbulbs. The bulb supplier is at fault.
But naturally, because the LS is american, it's "An issue, that requires immidate dramatic attention at the dealership".... When at Toyota, it's "a minor inconvinience" that can be smoothed over with a coupon for a free oil change....
My LS gets autocrossed monthly (very competitively too), and I certainly don't baby it, but I do hold to rigorous maintenance schedule. The car does not burn oil, rattle, or vibrate. Previoulsy, I'd owned Japanese brands for 15-years and none of those cars were as trouble-free as this Lincoln. Check out my edmunds profile to see which cars I previoulsy owned for reference.
You won't regret getting an LS.
As with all cars, they're machines, and you can get one that is more problematic than others. But by and large, these cars have an excellent following and reputation, despite Edmunds' long term report.
Yesterday, I even heard Click & Clack from Car Talk (NPR) actually recommend one to a caller, saying it was "very reliable"! Remarkable, from two guys who rarely have much good to say about any domestic make.
I PROMISE you that the LS will be at least as reliable as any European brand, and likely better.
Bought a new LS8 a few months ago, so far 13K miles and no issues either. You can definately feel the upgrades done for 2003+, even if they were minor overall, but still has been reliable for me. And that's quite a bit to say considering how hard I drive vehicles.
What really sends me though, is the way these cars perform...
Silver is a good dirt/dust hider. As the same with light french silk and even seafoam green (forgot the specific name). I have black myself and I'm a slave to it, but every car I've had with painted bumper's, I've asked in black....IN case there's a bump or scratch, it doesn't stick out, as it would on white or a lighter color. But that's just a me thing since I ram shopping carts, and rubbermaid trash cans that might have wandered onto my path....
Unfortunately, I seem to find white and yellow things to back into with my black bumpers... However, since the new SUVs I'm driving have the reverse sensing on them, I hit a lot fewer light poles now
1. Would you get another Lincoln LS?
Not only would I, I did. I had a 2000 V8 Base (leased). I now have a 2003 V8 Sport (in the Siver Birch that doesn't please nvbanker).
2. Is the Lincoln LS reliable?
I had zero reliability problems with my '00 LS. I did have a couple of the early issues, transmission re-flash to improve shifting, rear axle replacement to get rid of the drone, etc. I'd call these refinement issues, not reliability problems as they had no effect on the ability to drive the car. For the 2001 model year these early build refinements are not an issue as most of the updates went into production towards the end of the 2000 model year. If you belive Consumers Reports, they have now put the Lincoln LS on their recommended list.
I would not take the Edmunds long term test seriously. They don't understand why the battery is in the trunk and they refused to check into having their PCM re-flashed to improve the shifting even after several people in this forum e-mailed them to tell them how to solve the problem.
Ironically, the window regulators are under the highest stress when they're in the full up (window closed) position. The TSB simply authorized the replacement of the opposite side rear window regulator to be replaced when replacing the broken one. The culprit was a plastic clip breaking after it had weakened under the constant stress of non-use (closed windows) and exposure to higher ambient temperatures (this problem was more common to LSs that resided in the sun belt).
The window regulators were purchased from the same vendor that supplies Mercedes, though only Lincoln opted for the plastic clip. The 2nd generation window regulator had a reinforced plastic clip, and that too failed. The 3rd and final regulator design utilized a metal clip like those used in the Mercedes design. This is the fix that was applied to my car, and I've had no problems since (knocking wood while typing).
I bought a White one this time, so that shows you how much taste I have......
Actually I haven't hit anything to scuff the bumper's, I've always had this radar for knowing what's around me. But I do hit things out of the way that happen to be rubber, so it bounces off.
The few marks I've had I've been able to remove with compound, or in a case where I was rear ended (Camry's front bumper fell off, grill crunched, hood lip mared), I see that as I walk to the rear and was about to kick the lady then I see my bumper...swiched her pain flakes, used my nail and her paint came off, no issue.
Also helps I have reinforced bumper's because of these inconviniences, and because I'm just waiting for someone to cut me off so I flip their vehicle (frontal reinforced as well), BUT that's another story....
The color choice was determined by the interior color and what was on the dealer lots. I didn't want a black interior, because our other 2 cars have black interiors. I would have been just as happy with Medium Steel Blue, Light Gold Parchment and possibly the Tundra that you like. I didn't want red because the wife's car is red and I didn't want a dark color because they are too much of a pain in the rear end to keep clean.
It was in the dealer's shop this morning. Stupid hood latch would not lock properly. Had to take it off yeaterday and adjust it so it would lock. Dealer did some adjustments this morning and pronounced it fixed. Also reminded us that since it is an aluminum hood (I knew it was light) & to be careful closing it. I close the hood on my Boxster wearing cotton gloves so I don't mess up the paint. Is that careful enough?
Looking good so far. Yesterday she had the sunroof open and the seat heater on. Only in America--what decadence!!
Don't just take our word for it, check are the problems and solutions boards for the LS vs the Acura TL. You'll find that the TL has 500 postings to that board vs 100 for the LS. Yet the LS has 13,000 postings to the regular discussion board vs 6,000 for the TL. The TL has tire problems, flaws with the NAV system, rattles, rattles, rattles.
And don't forget the 3 year reliability study from JD Power. You'll find Lincoln ranked way ahead of anything German that is not a Porshe.
First, the number of posts you see in a discussion do not tell you the numbers of posts that exist in archived versions of that discussion. Some discussions have as many as ten or more archived versions (we had to cut them off around 500 posts on our previous platform ).
But even if you knew the total of all posts under any one subject, you still don't know which posts were specific problems. And even if you knew THAT, posts on message boards such as the Town Hall are entirely anecdotal.
You need to do some research on the websites that gather data in a controlled manner and publish meaningful statistics to find out the average reliability of any given vehicle. JD Power is certainly one of them.
:-)
Regarding bulbs burning out, is it due to the bulb manufacturer simply making bulbs that don't last? Or is it due to the car manufacturing that somehow causes them to burn out. ( I really have no idea which it is). I have noticed that by far the cars that I notice with burned out headlights are VWs and I mean by far. I would think that if it was the bulbs, that would be an easy fix. Change your supplier. Since so many of these cars have headlights out (Mostly Passats / Bugs) I would think the cause lies somewhere in the electronics of the car.