Might Purchase 2004 Lincoln LS!

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SoonersLS

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I'm looking at a 2004 Lincoln LS. Previous owner says it is in good condition. What sorts of things should I look for when take my dad with me to see it? He said it has a new degas bottle, newer spark plugs and engine coils. Car has 105k on it and a few aftermarket accessories. Paint isn't in the best shape b and it has one fender that is a different color but it looks pretty sweet! I'm hoping my dad lets me buy it. This will be my first car!
 
V8 or V6?
Check that the transmission does not lurch into gear and that there is no unreasonable delay when shifting from park to reverse or reverse to drive.
Verify that the electronic parking brake works correctly.
If it's a V8, if all the plastic cooling system parts at the front of the engine weren't replaced when the degas bottle was, you'll be doing it soon. (DIY about $500, shop about $900)
Check the rear toe links and other suspension parts. Check for vibration at 80+ MPH. Plug an OBDII scan tool in and see if the monitors are complete (if not, they just cleared codes and you will probably have a check engine light on in a day or two).
Make sure the air works, cooling, heating, and in between. Check both heated/cooled seats.
 
It is a V8 thanks for the information JOEGR I will give that to my dad so he can ask about that. He seems unsure about buying a car off the internet from a craigslist ad but I think it will be ok. The man who is selling it seems like he knows what he is talking about. Dad thinks the accident it was in might be bad though im not sure
 
Im kinda handy and want to learn know how to fix cars. My mom thinks I should be a mechanic and says I would be good at it. So im ready to learn and read how to fix the Lincoln from the forum.
 
Craigslist ads can be the real deal or they can be a waste of time. I'm only 23 and have already had 9 cars to my name. Two were handed down to me, but the other 7 were all off of internet ads and 6 of them were out of state deals.

Most times you can tell if the ad is a scam as soon as the person replies to you. If they are for real they should give you a phone number or call you back. Most scams will either give a fake number or just use email to contact you. If you talk to the person you should also get a good feeling from them or a bad. The only thing is sometimes pictures on Craigslist can look a lot better then in person. If it's a car that's a long drive away I'd want them to text or email pics to me just to verify the condition.

If you or your dad has any buddies that work at a car dealership they may be able to run a free carfax for you. Otherwise it costs money to get one. Also if the car has been wrecked get the vin and try just googling it. I once was looking at a car that was wrecked before and by googling the vin up came some links and I found some images of the car when it was wrecked and got to see how bad it was.

Price is almost always negotiable so don't pay the price that's listed on the ad. And don't be crazy like me and buy multiple cars over 1000+ miles away from home lol.
 
You said it has a different color fender? Makes me think it's been in a wreck, so check for suspension/motor damage from that. Also listen to the engine and see if it missing on the test drive. The coils on the LS are prone to failing, but are an easy fix. Good luck and post pics if you get it.
 
Go to salvagedb.com, enter the vin and see if it has a salvage history. Never pay full price for a salvaged car.

I buy cars at craigslist and it's really hard to find a honest seller, luckily the LS I bought was from an honest guy who served in the military. He priced it low enough based on the condition of the car and told me about the history, also have it shown at his home. Some of them are from guys who resell cars from auction and they have clean Kansas title with them even they were salvaged before (hello state of Kansas DMV) So with the clean title they ask for full price with some wiggle room (as if you have a good deal)

I've also helped a friend buy a car from a shop that sells cars on craigslist, not a nice experience since the shop was actually cannibalizing parts from other cars to fix the one they're selling. Nothing wrong with that but the problem is they're not so honest with the deal. Later on we have to deal with replacing the crankshaft position sensor, catalytic converter, water pump, thermostat and hoses. They just reset the codes for the CATS and crankshaft position sensor, so that the check engine will not show up during test drive. We spent close to $600 for parts to make the car running well again.



https://www.facebook.com/diylincolnls8
 
Joegr, you said Plug an OBDII scan tool in and see if the monitors are complete (if not, they just cleared codes and you will probably have a check engine light on in a day or two). What do you mean the Monitors are Complete

Thanks
 
qzyl2m said:
Joegr, you said Plug an OBDII scan tool in and see if the monitors are complete (if not, they just cleared codes and you will probably have a check engine light on in a day or two). What do you mean the Monitors are Complete

Thanks
Click to expand...

make sure all the codes are being read, when you unhook the battery it resets all codes until you drive it around for about 100 miles,some take even longer, if they were trying to hide something like check engine light then that will make it disappear temporarily
 
Monitors being complete or having a status of "ready" indicates that the car has been operated long enough for all the the emissions related tests that the PCM does to have completed and any failures would be indicated. Since a lot of check engine problems can take a day or more since the PCM was reset (battery disconnected) or the codes cleared before the check engine light turns back on, people selling a car will sometimes disconnect the battery and reconnect just before you look at the car or drive it. They know that the light won't be back on until after you have bought it and driven it home. If you check and see that the monitors aren't complete, then you'll know that they are probably pulling this trick on you.

Here's more detail on the OBDII monitors.
http://www.deq.state.va.us/Programs...tsVehicleOwners/UnderstandingOBDMonitors.aspx
 
Would be a great first car , the Ls is my 5th car and being 20 I think its good , if u get it at a deal buy a warranty for it , I was quoted 2100 for 5 years of coverage and I can choose any dealership I want
 
Definitely sounds like it's been in some sort of an accident. The fact the fender doesn't match means they cheaped-out on the respray; UNLESS it's a tri-coat paint. Those are very, very hard to match! autocheck.com is a better source than carfax. Any Ford dealer can run the VIN for you and show you the work any Ford dealer has done.
 
Lots of good information this will be helpful. The LS is black but the new fender he put on isnt the same color it is like a gold beige color. He is selling the car with some plastidip if I want to use it. He said that was his plan to fix the car
 
My parents are going to go see and drive it tonight. Hopefully they will agree and we can buy it
 
SoonersLS said:
My parents are going to go see and drive it tonight. Hopefully they will agree and we can buy it
Click to expand...

Very cool Sooners, these guys on here should be pretty help full , they have already coverd most things that you should look for upon purchase.

Looking forward to seeing some pics!
 
What he said. I knew nothing about these cars a couple years ago. The guys here will help ya out for sure. Plasti dip huh? Couple guys have done it here usually comes out well if prepped right. Think there is a white and orange one here and plenty who have diped wheels. Look forward to seeing some pics
 
yeah i think we have 3 guys who plastic dip there cars they look nice so hopefully you get your ls tonight.
G rells - white
random guy - orange
that other guy who did tons of body work- gunmetal grey/silver?
 
Thanks Joegr, so if I understand if there was a CEL on and it was cleared with a OBD11 tester, the car would fail emission test, if it was taken for E test right after clearing CEL.

Thanks
 
I hope you have at least two jobs.

Why? You'll need them to pay for those repairs, son.
 
^^^ this need to be taken into consideration, at over 100k miles, its time for a lot of stuff to wear out and in need of replacement, a lot of which is not cheap (like all of the plastic parts in the cooling system)
 
1LoudLS said:
^^^ this need to be taken into consideration, at over 100k miles, its time for a lot of stuff to wear out and in need of replacement, a lot of which is not cheap (like all of the plastic parts in the cooling system)
Click to expand...

Yep, you may be getting it for a good price now, but it was $40K+ when new. Even though it is cheap now, repairs will still cost in proportion to it being a $40K car, so figure about twice as much for repairs as you would for a car that was $20K when brand new.
 
exactly, I got a $40k car for over 70% by buying it with 60k miles on it. for the first 50k i drove it had been the more reliable car i've ever owned. the only thing that needed fixed were the headliner issue and the trac control button and VGCs and coils were done on the dealers dime at 99k miles. the second 50k miles have definitely cost a lot more as stuff was wearing out and needing replaced (like all the suspension, brakes) then there were the things that does not tend to be normal with other cars like window regulators, plastic cooling system parts, ect.

in the end i still have a $40k car for a fraction of the price.
 
Sooners if you really want to practice your mechanical skills I'd recommend a 2000/2001 V6 with 100+k miles.
 
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