By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
If buying, you have a spirit of adventure that many of us admire. I certainly do.
I like Audi's. In fact, I really enjoy them, based on several work-related European rentals. I've spent quite a bit of time on their boards, probably much more than they would wish. The message that comes through (& through) is that they aren't reliable enough to last past the warranty, without "breathtakingly expensive" repair costs.
An Audi is wonderful to drive and even better to look at (especially inside), but any number of the systems don't appear to last especially well. I'm not much impressed with "free" maintenance or warranty coverage, as the hassle of dropping off & picking up the car at the dealer to repair some glitch or other (even with a loaner) is intrusive at best.
Anyway, keep us posted.
My LS ('00 manual w/ almost no options & 74K miles on it) may have a blinking airbag light and a driver's side door handle that doesn't work (no doubt due to a window regulator repair that wasn't done properly), but I have some hope that most of the car will still function for the next 2 or 3 years. By then it will be seven years old and will have well in excess of 100K miles.
Audi people rarely talk like this, or wish to.
For that matter, most LS people don't either, but I do, and a significant number of people who buy (not lease) Asian vehicles do as well.
I'm hoping you aren't faced with the same issues. I myself am on my second LS (previous one reached 125K before trade-in) with zero defect. Only did one TSB for transmission re-programming and that's been it. So far my current one has also been defect free.
Wish you luck though.
Usually, I tell people who don't like their Lincoln, to buy a Lexus. It's their only hope for happiness in this world.
In my opinion, life is too short to drive boring cars. I do get most of my automotive thrills instucting/driving at track events but I still like to drive something interesting on a day to day basis. After a typical frantic day at the office I could not imagine facing the drive home in a minivan or FWD appliance. YMMV.
Audis are great cars. To lease. The S cars are even fun to drive. Long term ownership is another matter. A friend of mine was a sales manager at an Audi/BMW/Porsche dealership. He maintains that Audis are 100000 mile cars at best. My wife considered a CPO A4Q Sport but(luckily for me) the Louisville Audi dealer ticked her off and she wound up with an E39 5er. That said, her next car might be a Ford product. Since we no longer need the big sled she's been looking at an RX-8...
Two small issues and a question.
The ashtray door in the center stack doesn't line up when closed, and the lower black rocker cladding on one side seems a litte loose. That's it-period.
Now the question.
When I depress the windshield defrost button, it doesn't come off just by depressing again. I have to hit the "off" button. Is this normal?
Lots of electrical problems with all my Audis, however, Window switches constantly breaking. Steering rank on our '85 5000 needed to be replaced at about 45,000 miles. Lots of gremlins.
Interestingly enough, my son just leased a 2004 A4 1.8 turbo quattro. He has only had it for a few months, but it is really a nice little car. Learning from my experience though, it is a lease and the lease expires when the warranty does. His dealership is only a few miles from where he lives and works and the dealership has a free loaner policy.
Got tired of driving 30 miles form home to my local Audi dealer. So when it got time to get my wife a new car we decided to stay in town. Drove the LS and bought it. Got her a V6 with appearance package. With the rebates, discount, extra $$$ because we traded in her Cadillac, the dealer almost owed me money at the end of the day. Car has been OK. Several unscheduled trips to the dealer. Wheel speed sensor went bad 2 days after the 5,000 mile oil change and caused the ABS light to constantly stay on. Battery died one night. Had to jump start the car and take it to the dealership for a new battery. Just had a recall for a water pump hose.
Is it a BMW? Not even close, but then it was $15,000 less than a new 530i. Is it an Audi A6? Again, no, but it is thousands less.
I would certainly prefer a new A6 4.2 V8 to the LS, but $52,000 is more than I care to spend, the dealer is 30 miles away, and the local Audi dealership does not have the best reputation for service.
My local LS dealership is Lincoln-Mercury only, no mega brands store, is about 2.5 miles from my house, and at least gives the impression of caring about its clients. Good enough for me.
Thanks for the input.
But what dealer doesn't have shop full of their products. Should we depend more on disenfranchised owners or product evaluators like Edmunds, Consumer Reports or JD Powers.
On the montego... I just dropped my 3rd Child, my LS, off at day care, the dealer, for more work. I now have an oil leak at a rate of 1 Tsp +/- a day on my garage floor and no telling what is being lost while on the road. At any rate.. They had some Montegos in the shop hoods up I asked my service guy if they were prepping for delivery then he explained how they are currently troubleshooting the fuel delivery system. 15 so far have had issues with the fuel system over pressurizing and flooding the car. Brand new cars about to be delivered to customers have died on the lot or shortly after leaving.
The shop does not even have the technical publications yet no IPBs. They are fixing these cars with good ol' trial and error.
I seen 2 cars hoods up and fuel rails disassembled; I don't reckon it was on the account of because.
It does look like a car that can gain an audience though given some changes to the body and extra horse power. I think it would look better wit nicer wheels and tinted glass.
Is the AWD version going to have more HP. I havent really studied the car. I went to mercuryvehicles.com and tried to check but couldn't find powertrin info. Is that mercurys official website?
Will the AWD perform as well as the FWD Montego when trying to get out into a busy hwy or 0-60
I do not autocross and usually only find that I need the power for passing and entering the hwy. I do prefer a sport suspension though.
THE FIRST:
#0 of 601: Lincoln LS? (usauto) Thu 21 Jan '99 (06:22 AM) -- Anyone know price and/or availability?
LS's BEST FRIEND's FIRST:
jroger19 (jroger19) Sat 12 Jun '99 (05:20 PM) -- As part of Lincoln management, I want to thank all of you for your opinions and comments concerning the LS. We pay close attention to what you and other consumers think, and take that into account in a major way as we continue to develop our cars.
As biased as I am, I will not give you my thoughts on the car or its competition other than the following:
-- It is best to compare cars at similar price points. Companies, at a price point, have to make decisions concerning how to spend the cost dollars that are affordable. For example, Lincoln chose to put a V8 in the LS at its price point; others chose to put in a 6.
-- Driving the LS and its competition at a race track, one after the other, is, believe me, an enlightening experience. There are very major differences at the limit. I wonder if any of those front-drive GM fans have ever experienced thier car at the limit?
-- Cars at our drive events around the country were pre-production units, made at various stages, and the fit and finish are not really representative of production units. Please stop by your dealer and check out aproduction unit. Again, thanks.
AND. . .DRUM ROLL. . .ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY MOST PRESCIENT:
div2 (div2) Tue 11 May '99 (07:13 PM) -- The LS sounds like a competitive car. The problem will be with Lincoln's dealers, who don't know how to sell a car to someone who isn't a member of the AARP. Maybe they learned something from the MERKUR fiasco, but somehow I doubt it.
Ah yes. . .the good ol' days.
Now we've had no posts at all for well over two weeks, and only a few over 300 in the last six months. Time was, we did 36 in a day. Oh well. . .
RIP
Another nail in the coffin is a story on BON today about UAW worker protest at Dearborn concerning the Wixom plant has NO future cars in the plan. Hear that giant sucking sound? That's the jobs to build the 500, Montego, Fusion, Milan and Zephyr being whooshed off to Mexico. Wixom looks to be about to be turned into a shopping mall.
Scuse me, Bill Ford? If you think I'm going to buy "The next AMerican sedan" after it's been made in Mexico, you're sadly mistaken. I'd rather buy a Totota made in Kentucky.
Great observation. I will certainly second that!
2000 LS, V8, Red, 19" wheels w/275/30s mich pilots, Magnaflow X pipe cat back exhaust, tinted windows, 27,500 miles, leather, traction control and optional stereo, dual power heated seats, near showroom condition, no roof, no sport trans or suspension, no push button entry or nav. Well equipped but not loaded.
Sold at $15,900 with two people fighting over it.
Bye.
I'd have guessed (did, in fact) almost $4K lower.
Enjoy that CTS.
Hey, UAW: you are also part of the problem. Wake up.
"If you think I'm going to buy "The next AMerican sedan" after it's been made in Mexico, you're sadly mistaken. I'd rather buy a Totota made in Kentucky."
Great observation. I will certainly second that!
were flying, and I could hardly wait to get to work in the morning, so I could log on and read all the new messages.
Here we are, almost 5 years later, still have the LS. It's been a good car, however as most of us realize, the end seems to be around the next corner. ANOTHER orphan car in my garage. (the last was also a neat car, a 1997 Nissan 240 SX)
I just looked in my garage and realized it's all GM in there! Who'd a thought?
Enjoy your Lincolns, I have enjoyed all 6 that I have owned and will probably be back someday.
That (along with the input from the engineers) was one of the things that attracted me to the LS. Jim helped me out with paint colors because when I tried to order mine they had replaced Cordovan with Autumn Red but nobody could show me what it looked like.
We need more car people like Jim in leadership roles at the car mfrs.
Many TBird owners are having repeated problems, my brother-in-law being one of them..
The TBirdnest chatbox has a lot of owners complaining. Ford has even been replacing some switch that fails to shut the rear defroster off when you park the car.
Since mechanically, the cars are very alike, I'm just wondering why TBirds have problems while LS's do not.
The engineers have done extreme testing on the LS tranny and never saw a filter that needed to be changed.
What kind of tires did you get and what size?
A 4000 lb car sitting on 4 small pieces of rubber. Look at the tire where it touches the ground. That part is flat and in some cases tends to stay flatter longer resulting in a less than smooth ride.
It can be worse in the winter because the tires are cold and "hold" the flat spot longer until they warm up. Up the pressure and see what happens. You could also try parking on a carpet scrap or something else soft.
I know there were a number of changes for 2003, notably the horsepower. However, my understanding is the interior was upgraded as well. What were the the significant 2003 improvements over a 2002?
TIA
As a side note, this is the last year for the V6 LS, in case anyone else is wanting the V6 version.
They're practically giving away new V8s and V6s these days. You can probably get $10K-$12K or more off MSRP which puts a loaded V8 in the low to mid 30's while the V6 can be had for $25K. It's a steal.
That's Honda territory!
The question (which I think is mostly answered) is whether Lincoln will ever learn to market a vehicle like the LS such that it's sold for more than it costs (to manufacture), without huge rebates.
With trucks and 25-year-old taxicab platforms, they're doing OK. With the LS. . .
Great question, cpn - and I agree. I'm hoping though, that consistent management from Bill Ford, may give the company some leadership that will give Ford, and the Lincoln division a chance to more evenly market the right products the right way. I've even heard the LS may be yet marketed as a performance sedan when the V-6 is dropped next year and the V-8 is what remains. Wouldn't that be nice? Wonder if they could afford to "freshen up" the sheet metal too?