1997 Lincoln Mark VIII LSC 4.6 DOHC from North America

Summary:

Solid drivetrain with minor maintenance

Faults:

Since I've owned the car, I have no drive train failures or engine failure, period. The drive train is solid and the engine is nice. Love it over the SOHC 4.6.

The main flaw with these cars, depending on where you live, is rust and the suspension.

So far went through one wheel bearing.

Inner/outer tie rods.

Upper control arms (both).

2 airbags and a compressor.

Those items can be expensive to install, however it's well worth it with the solid drive train.

So far this car mimics the Crown Vic, except without independent suspension and more horsepower; it even sounds the same as it.

Watch out in the rain and snow; it does ride much more dangerous than any Lincoln Town Car I've ever owned. Make sure as well to run thick fluid in the 8.8 diff so to prevent wear from this as well, and throw a tranny cooler on the 7r40w, since let's not forget this tranny is designed for vehicles with much less HP stock, and until the late 97/98 Mark they didn't install an improved design. Overdrive gears are a problem if not maintained properly and the fluid is brown.

If you live somewhere that has snow/salt, undercoat this car right away or it will lose value fast. I use rubber undercoating on the doors and take it to a shop to do the underside. So far that works great; other Mark 8 owners however need to scrap their cars after a long winter due to rust being a big issue with these cars.

General Comments:

This car is a fast, reliable luxury car that looks sharp.

To top things off, keep the drive train maintained and avoid the snow/rain, and you'll have a car that easily lasts more than 200,000 miles, even with a heavy foot

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 2nd September, 2014

1997 Lincoln Mark VIII LSC 4.6L V8 from North America

Summary:

Comfortable, fast, good looking

Faults:

Drink holder broken.

Loud rattle in sunroof.

General Comments:

I love how the car rides, and the seats are second to no other vehicle I have ever driven.

I bought it from an estate sale, and the car has 18,000 miles on it. I have 5 cars now, so I don't need another one, but I have always loved these cars. Anyone care to tell me what it's worth if I want to sell it?

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st June, 2014

21st Jun 2014, 15:31

With those low miles, I'd ask at least 8-10k.

21st Jun 2014, 16:55

Figure around $1200.

$1215 if you fix the cup holder.

21st Jun 2014, 17:27

Check its value at www.kbb.com.

23rd Jun 2014, 23:15

A car like that is worth what the market is willing to pay for it. Even when new, these cars were manufactured in fairly low numbers. Now after over a decade with that low mileage, the car could be worth at least $8K-10K to someone looking for a low mileage one. I can't imagine there are many left with that low miles on them.

I would suggest putting something like that on eBay or AutoTrader if you decide to sell. You would be most likely to get the true value on a site like that. KBB will not accurately figure for the extremely low miles of a car that age; just compare their value for one with 75K and yours. I am guessing they will will show around $500 difference in value. NADA may be more accurate.

1997 Lincoln Mark VIII 4.6 from North America

Summary:

Buy an import instead

Faults:

I have always kept this car garaged.

Alternator went at 24000 miles.

Headlamps both quit at 28000 miles. Lincoln does not make these headlamps. They require a conversion, for which the market rate is $1900 for the pair installed. WTF?

My last Lincoln was a 1949 V-12, and although it burned oil, it looked better and was far more comfortable and reliable than this $35,000 junker. If I'd have bought a 528 BMW in 1997, I'd have saved a couple k, and even with 6 or 7 times the usage, the car would be better overall.

Suspension is suspect, and rattles like a bad strut mount bearing now.

Center console/cup holder broke at 300 miles, and no-one can fix it.

The security system on this car is not as bad as a supercharged GM product, but it is highly overactive. Don't go near one of these cars without a key in hand.

I've owned 200 cars. Nice ones! This Lincoln is a key indicator that we should all sell American Car Companies short, because they will fail for lack of voluntary recalls and inebriated engineers. Today I am planning on replacing this POS Mark VIII with a Toyota product.

I can only drive this monstrosity in daylight until some enterprising foreigner designs a headlamp fix for $20-30. It rained on me a few days back. I ran with bright lights. Today I opened the trunk and 2 inches of water slush-ed around as I helped the springs to hold the trunk open. Beam me up Scott! Is there no sense of pride here in the USA anymore? Why are there no voluntary recalls in the interest of customer retention? I believe it is because USA car makers feel that they have just a few more years left to milk veteran patriots who prefer to buy American cars, before they cede the whole industry over to Japanese and Korean car makers.

General Comments:

Pathetic.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 30th October, 2010

31st May 2012, 09:31

A BMW would've had 30 times more electrical issues.. A Mark VIII along with all luxury vehicles requires more maintenance than a typical Honda etc.

27th Aug 2012, 12:33

Amen brother! BMW's (or any German car for that matter) are far worse than the Mark VIII. As the other poster said, if you don't want to properly maintain it, you should've bought a Toyota or Honda.

29th Jun 2016, 02:27

You've got to be joking, I'd rather fix a Mark VIII than a 5 Series. Price parts out for each car and you would go broke just looking at the price for 5 Series parts, even if it was a 97.