Faults:

Fuel pump at 141k.

Passenger rear airbag leaking at 143k.

Window regulator at 130k.

General Comments:

My father bought this car new in 1996 with every single option they offered. It's dark green with a gray interior.

I inherited this vehicle because my father is no longer able to drive, and just after I got it, the air bag started leaking. Instead of worrying about the future reliability of the system, I went ahead and had the well known strut/coil spring conversion done. It was a fairly easy task, all things considered, and only took me about 4 hours total in my garage. I work on all of my own vehicles, never a shop. This car has been meticulously maintained, using synthetic oil and only the highest quality parts.

I absolutely adore this car; it's fast, nimble, ungodly comfortable, gorgeous, and gets excellent fuel mileage. I run Chevron or Shell 92 octane fuel only, and average 28MPG on the highway and 17-19MPG in town.

I've done a few mods to it since inheriting it 4 months ago, and that's a cold air intake, Flowmaster 40-Series mufflers, high-flow catalytic converters, drilled and slotted rotors and ceramic pads, 15% tinted windows, new rims, which are black and charcoal gray, and Toyo Proxes 4 tires. I kept the sound system stock, because it sounds plenty good for me, and works flawlessly.

Overall, this is a wonderful car with very good reliability.

Faults:

1. broken driver's side door handled replaced under warranty.

2. new wires (and thus plugs) needed at 55K miles.

3. did oil, filter and lubes every 3K miles, and used premium fuel, so the car always ran well.

4. did transmission services every 30K, so I had no transmission problems. service was about $90, which is a fraction of the cost of a new transmission.

General Comments:

1. Very economical on highway (27-28, occasionally 29 miles per gallon).

2. Dealer service was normally very good.

3. Trunk (opening and depth) was not great.

4. Terrible in the snow, even with traction control, snow tires, starting in 2nd gear, and weight in the trunk. I learned to drive in the winters of Buffalo, NY, so I am a very experienced snow weather driver.

5. Generally, a very reliable car.

Faults:

Transmission Flush and Tune up at 130,000 Miles. CD changer does not always work, but I hear that is common with these cars. Drivers side exterior door handle broke at about 128,000 miles. I hear that is also a common problem.

General Comments:

Very beautiful car for the money. Very fast and smooth. The interior fit and finish is excellent. Could use a bit more wood or chrome trim, but they did not do that back then. Absolutely no rattles or squeaks. Everything, but the CD player works perfectly. Rides like a dream. The optional JBL Audiophile System is superb. This car can be expensive to work on, but you have to remember that it is a Lincoln. This is by far the best car I've ever owned and I've had many new cars as well as used ones with much less mileage. I had always wanted one of these cars and was a little reluctant due to the mileage, but the car is absolutely beautiful and new looking. It's a shame they don't make them anymore.

Faults:

So far the biggest problem is that the previous owner (an elderly lady) wrecked and dinged up the vehicle numerous times. This has resulted in a more extensive restoration process than I had hoped for.

Of course, the air ride shocks are leaking. I intend to replace all four with new shocks from Arnott Industries. These are very affordable and actually improve the ride quality over the factory shocks. A new pump will also go in since the factory pump is getting pretty noisy.

General Comments:

What a great car! I sold these when they first came out and vowed that I'd have one someday. What amazes me most is how many are running like new with high miles. I see them with 200,000+ miles and still going strong. Mine is over 100,000 and it still runs like new.

I believe it has enough life left in it to justify the repairs I intend to make.

A real hot rod! Even by todays standards this car is fast and handles great. I have thought about chips and exhaust mods, but really it is great the way it is. I'll probably leave it stock.