[GregR]

I promised the wife that after we moved we would work on getting her a better car. She really wants a Lincoln Mark VIII. We'll be buying the car used and I'd really like to know if there's anything with these cars I should pay close attention to. Are there any years that had more problems? Any components that were prone to breakage or wear? I'd also like to hear your opinions if you've owned or driven one. Thanks.

Greg

 

[jleas524]

They are awesome cars. very heavy though. My uncle had a black 95 for a while. Nice riding car. air suspension is great, but very expensive to fix if it breaks. Two of his ride height position sensors went bad right after the warranty ran out (go figure). made the car look like a "low rider".

 

[sean67]

My parents have one. Sweet car. Rides great, handles great, and nice power and exhaust tone. They have had the car for about 3 years and have had no real problems. Parts are high for what they had to get fixed but I can not remember what it was. My mother thinks it's a man's car. My dad loves it. They seem to depreciate in value quickly. My parents bought it used. It is a 97.

I would like to have and have hinted at my dad about it several times. No takes.

Sean

 

[steve card]

I own one and it is a real nice open highway car. Thats where you really get to love it. It is not a car for someone who is afraid of the cost of repairs. Most things that need doing will require a real good mechanic or take it to the Lincoln dealer. Mine has been pretty low maintainance. The air ride is nice but you will need new bags and struts on the front(all one unit)at about 6-8 yrs old or 60k. thats not cheap. But I cant think of a reason to want to trade it in on anything else, I love it. Last of the 2 door lincolns. But the mk9 is in the works. Looks kinda euro.

 

[mn12]

One other thing to look for if it is an early one like 94-95 vintage is torque converter shudder. This is noticable usually around 45 MPH when the torque converter locks. It feels like you are dirving over a rumble strip so it's not easy to miss. Ford/Lincoln redesigned the converter and developed Mercon V to aid with this problem. The Marc VIII and Tbirds share a near identicle platform and were put together pretty well. There is a good Marc VIII section on this forum

http://www.mtcforum.com/

 

[xracerbob]

And best of all- you have an IRS donor any time you need it.

 

[mn12]

Well for that mater you have a DOHC 4.6 if you feel ambitious

 

[jleas524]

but depending on the year, the IRS might not be what you want. it is an open diff. the ABS is what assisted the traction control. I have a complete Mark VIII IRS unit here if you want one bad enough....