Reading online the LS has a kinda bad rap for reliability.
My current "fun" car is an '05 VW Passat 1.8T AWD Stick with 44k on it, and I've had 3 coil packs, 2 valve cover gaskets, 2 timing chain tensioner gaskets, and a turbo replaced....ALL under warranty. At this point, that car is rock solid, fast, fun, and paid for.
But we fell into a good deal on an LS this week and couldn't pass it up. Trying to decide whether to keep it for myself (sell the VW and put 4 Grand in my pocket), or pass it on to the parents to put into commuter service.
Lincoln is an 02 LS V8 Sport with 39k on it. As I posted up in the Welcome board, it needs brakes all the way around (it was obviously not driven much), including a LR caliper that seems to be sticking.........also needs filters and fluids changed. I notice the LH steering wheel controls are inop (clockspring) and seemed as though the headliner at driver's A pillar was damp when we washed it (sunroof drain disconnect in the pillar).
Otherwise (knock on wood), the car runs, drives, and looks AWESOME. It was a one-owner car, owned by an employee of mine who didn't need it any more.
So, being a low mileage '02, that will probably only see 5,000 miles a year of use, how *bad* is the reliability likely to be? Coil packs/Trans springs etc etc are not things I really want to encounter (not saying that the VW would be perfect if I kept it, either). I had read on an Edmunds forum that by '02, some of the initial bugs had been worked out of the LS chassis and that it would be a better bet than an '00 or '01.
What are your thoughts?
Ben
My current "fun" car is an '05 VW Passat 1.8T AWD Stick with 44k on it, and I've had 3 coil packs, 2 valve cover gaskets, 2 timing chain tensioner gaskets, and a turbo replaced....ALL under warranty. At this point, that car is rock solid, fast, fun, and paid for.
But we fell into a good deal on an LS this week and couldn't pass it up. Trying to decide whether to keep it for myself (sell the VW and put 4 Grand in my pocket), or pass it on to the parents to put into commuter service.
Lincoln is an 02 LS V8 Sport with 39k on it. As I posted up in the Welcome board, it needs brakes all the way around (it was obviously not driven much), including a LR caliper that seems to be sticking.........also needs filters and fluids changed. I notice the LH steering wheel controls are inop (clockspring) and seemed as though the headliner at driver's A pillar was damp when we washed it (sunroof drain disconnect in the pillar).
Otherwise (knock on wood), the car runs, drives, and looks AWESOME. It was a one-owner car, owned by an employee of mine who didn't need it any more.
So, being a low mileage '02, that will probably only see 5,000 miles a year of use, how *bad* is the reliability likely to be? Coil packs/Trans springs etc etc are not things I really want to encounter (not saying that the VW would be perfect if I kept it, either). I had read on an Edmunds forum that by '02, some of the initial bugs had been worked out of the LS chassis and that it would be a better bet than an '00 or '01.
What are your thoughts?
Ben
.. I would not regret buying this car one bit. 
