Quote:
Originally Posted by ike529az
I like your idea, its smart. I checked Kelly Blue book on some 07-8 Lincolns. They fell in your suggested price range. Of course, when I checked the Cleveland, Ohio dealer prices, they were way over - no surprise. Maybe I'm wrong but perhaps one factor is how many miles is on the car that you can live with. The 2007 Town car with 85000 miles came in at an avg. price of $8500. The 2006 Zephyr came in at $9000 with 85000 miles. Not many of the LS models - saw a 2005 one for $7000 with 73000 miles. I noticed these models are in the 17/24 mpg range. Any suggestions on Buick models - perhaps ones with better mileage? Do you still think the Lincoln would be your 1st choice even with the lower fuel economy? Thanks!
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I like our mechanic poster friend- he is a 'helpful soul' car guy also. He uses his knowledge, experience and passion for cars to help others. You're awesome dude!
Lincoln 101- (And Mercury) Lincoln was sorting out it's identity in the mid-2000s therefore there was some major model shuffling going on. But rewind first to the late 90s- The Lincoln LS debuted when Ford owned Jaguar- the DEW98 platform it was based on along with the 'new' Thunderbird- was a worldwide platform that had it's design DNA that came from Volvo(?) and therefore was as safe and sturdy as a tank. In addition Jaguar's overall sporty driving characteristics was firmly entrenched in the car too. The LS was Ford's attempt to go head to head with the best European sports sedans like the BMW 5 series. They pulled it off
IN SPADES but for 1000s less. Out of all the cars I have ever owned, the 2005 LS was the fining driving car I ever had. Near perfect 50/50 weight distribution, very small turning radius, independent rear suspension...it all resulted in a package that was stellar and sooooooo easy to live with day to day. All cars should drive that well. Really.
The problem was the car was so outside the typical 'floaty boaty' image of Lincoln, it became less and less of a viable sales model for FoMoCo. So Ford went the route of a FWD midsize. (The Zephyr which became the MKZ with a name change was actually sold side by side at Lincoln dealers in the LS's last year which was 2006.) There was a major update in 2003 which makes the 2003-2006 better cars overall. But the MKZ will be easier to find no doubt. The counterpart in the FoMoCo model hierarchy was the Mercury Milan. (Mercurys are a great buy too since they are a defunct car brand that can be serviced at a Ford dealer, tire stores, or independents. Plus they are cut above the average Ford in features and quality like Buick is to GM.) Grand Marquis the same story. Safe tanks with incredible durability and reliability built it. The mileage is not bad with a V-8 either. But if you want to go with a smaller engine, I suggest gravitating towards a Sable 2008-2009- the interiors of those cars are
huge or a 2006-2009 Mercury Milan, either in a I4 or V-6. (Consumer Reports ranked these on their most reliable list in 2006 and
remember they still have the benefit of depressed Ford re-sale value. Here is the link for the NADA- every sales manager at every dealer in the U.S.has one of these in his pocket. The value guides are pretty similar but this one is the gold standard of values-
http://www.nadaguides.com/
Buick 101- The Buick Lacrosse 2005-2009 (most have the 3800 Series III except the top of the line CXS trim which have the DOHC 3.4) and I've showed you how the 3800 is one of the best motors out there.) and Buick Lucerne 2006-2008 are the cars here. If you want a little more room you will appreciate the Lucerne over the Lacrosse. Both are great cars. Really good economy for the day to day driving power they provide.
An Acura is a higher price Honda and an Infinity is a higher priced Nissan. Same with Lexus- they are a higher priced Toyota. I would need to do some quick research to see which models are the best choices but suffice to say those Japanese models will cost you a little more on the used car market. The only cars I have first hand experience with are the Lexus ES 300/350 only because they are a re-badged Toyota Camry. I worked as a Toyota adviser for 5 years so I have real world experience with Toyotas. Those Hondas and Toyotas have steller resale value for a reason- they are super reliable cars that translates to used car value. But a person with insider knowledge knows what domestics have reliability that rivals the best Japanese cars and can pocket the difference. Savvy?
More later.