Bye Bye to my Mark - Potentially picking up a 98 LSC CE, or 97 LSC

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MN12hybrid

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I can not seem to catch up with the repairs on my Mark, and it may be time to throw in the towel. I have a 94 base, but its a late 93 model, and to my understanding has a few parts that I should probably
take off to move to the newer one, including computer and drive shaft? I have 260k miles roughly.

This CE looks great, is the price ok considering whats in the ad? I am worried about the seat, since I am 6'4" and have to drive it a good 60 miles to get it back home. Is there anything I can do on the spot to back the seat completely with the motor not working? There is a Mark VIII collector who buys junked Marks, and I was thinking of having him pick up my old car after I take what I need from it, and provide me a rebuilt seat track at the same time. I would love to pick up this one, and fix all the issues including the rear neon. Its already converted to springs with only 90k miles, which is good because that means the ball joints and bushings are probably in good shape too. I do wish it was a little lower though.

http://ventura.craigslist.org/cto/5053663772.html

There is this 97 LSC, but its a good 90 mile drive. I tried asking him questions tonight, but he was not able to answer and he told me to just come drive it which left me a little spooked, but he messaged back and will talk to me tomorrow about it.. I really like the color. If I went for this car, I would offer $1700, possibly $1800 at the most. Does that sound reasonable?

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/5070776773.html
 
I'd go for the CE. All those problems are very common.
You can fix the seat control panel with abs epoxy ($6) if the pieces are still attached.
Glitch for the neon ballast $100
Seat track will set you back $150-175
Blend door about $40 if you can do the work
Side mirror $50
Buff the headlights for $<10

Things he didn't mention-
Missing chrome windshield button on the turn signal stalk $20
Window switch covers maybe $15-20

Get ahold of racebronco2, he can probably give you a fantastic deal on a lot of the parts needed if you decide to purchase it.

Edit: Now that I re-read your post it would appear that you already know him. :)
 
I agree. The silver one has many more miles, seat and steering wheel covers (to hide the worn items?), and the cup holder is gone. This is a no brainer, buy the CE and enjoy it for many years to come.
 
My Great 8 said:
I agree. The silver one has many more miles, seat and steering wheel covers (to hide the worn items?), and the cup holder is gone. This is a no brainer, buy the CE and enjoy it for many years to come.
Click to expand...

Damn, I went for this CE and it was sold. It was up for more than 2 weeks and it really was a good deal.

A lot of these CL ads, are with people who just don't want to answer questions. One of them sent me a text back saying, "just buy the damn car bro." Not exactly the best way to sell anything. The silver one apparently has a rip in the drivers seat so he said that he cut the top leather off another mark in the wrecking yard, and then dropped a seat cover over that. Interesting idea, but the passenger and rear seats are fine. I noticed that the far right vent in one of the interior shots, looks almost like its broke, but the rest of the dash looked in the pics. I am going to maybe look at it this weekend. He has different pics spread across the few ads.

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/5070776773.html
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/5076919526.html
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/5069662234.html
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/5073910080.html

The car probably has a bad ball joint. It does pull to the right slightly when braking so I would be looking to get the lca and ucas.

On one of the pics, you can see a shot of the instrument cluster. The temp gauge appears to be in the middle, is that normally where these gen 2's run under normal conditions? The guy still never got back to me about the rear neon. AC blows cold out the vents, so blend door has to be working and I do like the moon roof. Is there anything else I should be checking for other than the obvious? This would be my first gen 2 if I bought it.

What should I offer if I am interested? Its going to be a long drive to get over to him, about 90 miles.

I know its hard to tell by looking at an ad, but what type of readings are you guys getting from your Mark VIII radars when looking at these ads posted for this silver lsc?
 
Pulling when braking will most likely be a lower bj, I'd inspect the strut rod bushing too.

The vent can be bought for 15-25 bucks, it just pops out with a flathead.

That is the normal Temp position for a gen 2.

When the Blend door actuator fails it usually effects the heat, leaving only the a/c working.
 
Well I have been looking at different cars, including a 2006 Lexus SC430 which I was almost ready to buy until the used car salesman tried "inflating" my monthly payment by almost $160.

I found this 96 Mark base about 30 miles from me - less than 70k miles and looks very nice for $3200. I was trying to get a 2nd gen LSC this time around, but for a low mileage Mark I am willing to "embrace the base" and go back with 1st gen again.

I am beginning to like the interior of the 2nd gen more though, it has a bit more of a luxurious touch I think.

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/5090859449.html

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I wish I didnt let that 98 CE slip through my hands!!! It would have been a perfect candidate for bolt-ons and keeping for many years!
 
My Great 8 said:
As you can see that interior color never holds up. Wait for what you want. It will show up.
Click to expand...

Oddly enough, its mostly first gens (no matter how low the miles) that has fading color in the interior leather. I found one with 45k miles, which the guy wants $6k, but I think he would go down to $4.5k

I was leaning towards the 2006 Lexus SC430 and getting rid of my Mark, but now I think I am going to keep my Mark (if I get this Lexus), and completely rip it apart and redo it since I wont get **** for it if I sell it.
I have a buddy with a driveway where I tricked out my Thunderchicken before it was stolen, and it would be interesting to do the same thing with my Mark (same color) in the same spot 12-13 years later.

The problem is that most of these sellers on CL, and in general are ****ing absolute idiots. They list a car that is complete and ready to go and then you go look at it and it needs the common things taken care of like this Lexus. I told the guy almost 5 days ago I am going to buy it and need it this weekend, and the idiot just sent the car off to his mechanic last night.

I was looking at a Mark VIII LSC, and the ad was vague with no info, no mileage even. I started asking questions and the guy responds, "dude bro, just buy the damn car alright?" and "I have wasted time with too many idiots and know these cars well and I have it very cheap, with his $3500 price for a 98 with 200k miles." There was another guy who has a silver 97 LSC that I have in the top of this post thread (where I had a different listing from another person for a 98 LSC CE I messed up and didnt buy), and he tries putting off my questions and said he doesnt have time to talk back and forth with basic texting, and he is a "family man." This is the car that you guys were telling me about the seats, and the steering wheel cover, and the idiot would not even answer my damn question about the rear neon - How hard is that to check? I live 100 miles from this guy, so of course I want to know BEFORE I get there. I had to pull teeth to get him to tell me the car pulls to the right (most likely ball joint) as it is. That is not the way to sell a car, and it shows because these ads I mention are still up and they have to drop the price every few days because of no interest! The rest of the Mark VIII owners I talked to (all older folks and I doubt its coincidental) were respectful, answered my questions, and didn't make me feel like they are doing me a favor for buying their damn car, and understood that a good running car is important to me if I'm going to drop a fat wad of cash for the purchase. I have bought many cars in the past and never experienced anything like this!!
 
Hi, I too had a cold buying experience with buying 4 10 spoke 1996 mk 8 wheel, the aluminum finish type. Bought on e bay for 300 incl the tires. The seller would not call me on sunday. Said he rest on sunday and he will call mon or tues. I had to pick up the wheels some 220 mile one way and this guy just wouln't call me to set up arrangements. I sent 8 letters and recioeved 1 answer. Tuesday night he calls and says it ok to drive up. Upon arriving I couln't fin d his house. Calls him telling that I am at a Burger king and how to get to his place. He finally says to meet him at burger king. He had the wheels, I paid in cash and got a cash reciept. Never knew his last name or how to get to his house. Drove back to Akron Ohio in my 1996 mk 8 . Gas mpg was 25.5 as high as 25.9. I would not buy more from this guy as he was too secretive and liked to be a controll freak
 
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