Faults:

I recently purchased a one owner Lincoln Town Car that had 54003 miles on the odometer. I verified the mileage to be correct by checking with the selling and servicing dealer as well as checking it on Auto Check. So I know the mileage is correct.

The other day I was driving the car on the highway about 65 miles an hour and the engine starting missing. I took it to the mechanic and he found there was no compression on the number 3 cylinder. I watched the check being performed and am satisfied the repair is needed. I don't know the exact amount of the repair but the mechanic estimated the repair to run about $1900.00; a valve spring broke, the valve dropped and was hit by the piston causing the valve to be damaged.

I am completely happy with this car even-tho I have only owned it for a short period of time. I don't blame the former owner; at this time I blame the manufacturer because I have now talked to another mechanic that has seen this problem happen several times on the 4.6 engine.

I previously owned a 95 Lincoln Town Car with the same engine that went 215,000 miles without major problems and I expected the same out of this 97. I love the good mileage I have gotten on the highway, about 25.3 and it is very quiet and the seats are very comfortable. It is an old fashioned design, but I didn't mind that so much.

Since this failure was so sudden and unexpected and not due to abuse, I now wonder what the chances of it happening again as soon as it is repaired. Right now I've lost confidence with this engine and I am going to sell the car. I know other owners have had problems with the manifolds cracking, but I thought that was the only major problem with these engines.

Sorry Ford, I am going to pass on any of your products on this engine in the future.

Faults:

When I got it, the seller noted two defects, the keyless entry buttons didn't work (the remote did work) and the passenger side mirror could not be controlled electronically up and down.

Since then, the sunroof stopped working, the intermittent wipers stopped working and the shift lock became flaky (sometimes it won't go out of park when running). I am living with the above defects.

One air suspension bag began to leak, and that I couldn't live with. I bought the air spring (bag) with a 3 year warranty for $89 and it is easy to install. A street mechanic charged me $50.

This is an old man's car. Don't buy it for handling and performance.

General Comments:

The best car I have ever owned. The ride and comfort are unmatched in any other American car, or even by luxury foreign cars costing under $65,000. You can drive 700 miles in one day, get out of the car totally refreshed. With most other cars, you need a few hours to recover.

The gas mileage on the road is quite good, 25-26mpg, but in the city, it is an atrocious 13mpg.

The Lincoln Town Car has a relatively low resale value. As a used car, it is one of the greatest bargain's in the world. A reasonably good one from 1993-1997 can be picked up for $1500-$3000.