98 Lincoln Mark VIII? Looking for opinions

[Kompresshun]

So I ran across this car on Craigslist and it looks to be in great condition, i've always thought about getting one but this is the one i've been looking for. It's a 98 Mark VIII LSC, pearl white with tan interior and here's the info from the listing:

-120K (looks like a 60K car)
-Recent Transmission/filter service
-Recent Coolant/thermostat service
-Blend door fixed (March 2010)
-Drivers seat track fixed (Feb 2010)
-Cold Air
-5K on rotors/pads in front and pads on rear
-Steering fixed (March 2010)
-Interior 8.5-10
-Exterior 8-10
-5K on tires
-Air suspension works great (front will sag over 2-3 days of sitting)

I love my I30 but the guy is looking for a 4dr car to replace this with and he seemed interested in trading for my car. I wasn't really looking to get rid of my car any time soon but my step dad has owned one of these for about 8 years and it's a fun car, gets pretty good gas mileage, and very comfortable. My only worries are the air suspension, it being rwd(which will probably in the winter) and it being 2dr since we have a baby. I was just wanting to see if anybody had any thoughts or knew anything about them? I'm not really sold on the idea of trading but it's one of the few cars that i've thought twice about since I bought the I30, I probably don't need it but I like horsepower so it's tempting

[Mr1der]

In before Jesda.

they're usually a pretty solid car. The suspension is the biggest issue with them.

you will not like it with a baby though, it's backseat is fairly useless.

[TOMMY VERCETTI]

Is there any Pictures of the Car?
{ Always remember it's a Ford }

[Kompresshun]

In before Jesda.

they're usually a pretty solid car. The suspension is the biggest issue with them.

you will not like it with a baby though, it's backseat is fairly useless.

Yeah those are my biggest concerns, it would be a lot of fun but I think it would get old real quick with the baby and she's only 7 months old so it's gonna be a while before she's out of the car seat.

Is there any Pictures of the Car?
{ Always remember it's a Ford }

http://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/1902240370.html there's the link to the listing with 4 pics in it

Yeah I had a Ranger before I bought the I30 and i'm not sure I want to trade a perfectly good Nissan/Infiniti for another Ford to be my daily driver. It's just a sexy looking car with V8 power so it's tempting but I can't even sell my self on it yet, then I have to sell the wife on it if I do decide to pursue it.

If I had cash to throw away right now i'd buy it just for an extra car for the price.

[Bubba1]

In before Jesda.

they're usually a pretty solid car. The suspension is the biggest issue with them.

you will not like it with a baby though, it's backseat is fairly useless.

I remember the Mark VIII's had a lot of electical gremlins too as there were a LOT of gimmicks in that car.
I always thought they had an attractive shape, but IMHO was entirely too big/heavy for a 2 door. It's probably best as a freeway cruiser. Not a particularly crisp handling car. I'm not sure it's an ideal choice for a daily driver.

[Kompresshun]

I think i've talked myself out of it along with what i've seen so far in the replies here, that pretty much made the decision. I couldn't talk myself into giving up the I30 anyways, i've gotten too partial to Nissan vehicles now to go back and although it's had a couple of high repair bills in the past year, it's been the best daily driver i've had. Thanks for the opinions guys!

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

Electrical nightmares...

[Jesda]

Electrically, they' generally reliable. The major issues are the suspension air bags, air compressor pump, and height sensors. When they go, head over to Arnott and order the coil conversion kit. Its a few hundred bucks plus a few hours of your labor.

97 and 98 have occasional blend door problems that require expensive dashboard removal, but the one you're looking at had it fixed. 97 and 98 model years are also much nicer inside than previous, but a little bit heavier. 93-96 were around 3750 lbs.

They are indeed heavy, but also very quiet. If you open the door panel on one you'll find several layers of thick insulation. On-center steering feel is a bit spongy.
They do handle reasonably well, similar to a full size sport sedan, but not razor sharp like a typical sporty coupe (contrast/compare: BMW 3-series). I took Bo's '93 through some windy roads in northern Oregon and had a good time. They're better for cruising than carving, though the coil spring conversion does improve handling.
I would say the Cadillac Eldorado ETC has better routine handling, but that handling has a lower limit due to being a nose-heavy FWD car, while the Mark is RWD and reasonably well-balanced.

The back seat is spacious enough for a fat adult like me to sit comfortably, but getting a kid in and out of there will be a pain. The kid thing would be a dealbreaker for me.

[bobotech]

I have 2 marks, a 93 and a 97. Love them both but love the 97 more, has a lot more creature comforts.

You will need suspension work soon, if the bags go down after a couple of days, then your front bags are gone and you will need new ones or a conversion kit. The front struts are roughly 275 a piece I believe.

You will need to convert your front headlights over to standard HID using a kit. I did it and it was painless. The 96-98 Marks used a very rare DC based HID system with 9500 bulbs were are totally obsolete and not available. You then clip the front input wires to the factory ballasts and attach the new ballasts and mod the 9006 bulbs to the factory housings. Slightly a pain but now my Mark uses standard HID bulbs which are cheap to repair. My old factory bulbs were old and one was out and the other was very dim.

[bobotech]

Oh yeah, as far as I'm concerned, a 98 mark with 120k on the odometer is a 1500-2000 dollar car or so. I bought my 97 in slightly more worn shape than your car and I paid 500 dollars for it with bad bags.

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Bro....

Whatever "floats" your "boat" man. No pun intended. With the air suspension I'm sure it's really comfortable.

[Mr1der]

don't hate on the MN12 cars.

they're massive beasts and all things considered, my old SC wasn't a bad car when turning, but it's also a 2 ton behemoth.

[Bubba1]

don't hate on the MN12 cars.

they're massive beasts and all things considered, my old SC wasn't a bad car when turning, but it's also a 2 ton behemoth.

Did your SC have bow thrusters too?

[zacmil]

I say if you think you might like one, go for it. My first car was a Ford that I inherited from my dad and in the 6-8 years and 150,000 miles or so that we owned it we never had a real problem out of it. My grandpa owns a 97 or 98 F150 which, unless I'm mistaken, uses the 2 valve version of that engine and it's been a great vehicle. Also, I wouldn't be too concerned about it being RWD with Kentucky winters. Last winter was pretty rough, but, lets face it, things here are generally pretty mild.

[Mr1der]

don't hate on the MN12 cars.

they're massive beasts and all things considered, my old SC wasn't a bad car when turning, but it's also a 2 ton behemoth.

Did your SC have bow thrusters too?

indeed. you should've see me dock it at the station.