Thinking of getting a 04 Town Car

[Kidd-7]

It’s an 04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate w/ 120,664 miles. KBB estimates it at $4K. I know there’s an oil leak, I’m thinking rear main seal. The front lower control arms have recently been replaced. It hasn’t been driven except to the mechanic recently since about December.

To start any guidance on what to look at?
Obvious: rust, paint, interior condition, tires.

 

[Ericv8thunderbird]

Those cars are pretty much bullet proof, we use to run them at my old job as executive cars, they would see 400k without really any major problems.

One thing to look at is the rear air suspension, the bags tend to leak over time.

 

[Kidd-7]

I saw one going down the road recently that looked like the Carolina squat.

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

I love Panthers. Owned an '06 Crown Vic which I regret selling.

In '03, they received major suspension improvements (though lost the deep dish wheels as a result).

I cannot imagine a more solid car, plus a lot of your MN12 expertise carries right over.

My only disclaimer would be: there are so many of them! If you're looking for a Town Car, look at a bunch of Town Cars.

The one to get is the extremely rare "Designer", which was only made for two years iirc, after Lincoln had stopped using the Cartier and Ultimate designations. The Designer was the only Town Car of that generation with two-tone door panels, unique upgraded leather with contrast piping, unique lighter color simulated wood trim, rear head rests (combined with short wheelbase), and factory chrome B-pillars.

Other Town Cars to look at are those with factory two-tone paint or non-fleet long wheelbase models, both of which are very rare.

Shop around.

If you just want a solid Panther, I would prefer a Grand Marquis for overall simplicity.

 

[White Lincoln]

It’s an 04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate w/ 120,664 miles. KBB estimates it at $4K. I know there’s an oil leak, I’m thinking rear main seal. The front lower control arms have recently been replaced. It hasn’t been driven except to the mechanic recently since about December.

To start any guidance on what to look at?
Obvious: rust, paint, interior condition, tires.

The ride in the earlier models is much better. The quality of the car is much better in the pre-1998 models as well. I have heard from several pre-1998 owners that said they regret trading in their 95-97 model as it rode better than the 98 and newer models. It should not have an oil leak as these cars are extremely well made. Mine has 200k and does not leak. I would suggest looking at an earlier model, like a 1997 Signature version. If this car was used as a limo (or other similar transportation methods), I would shy away from it. Best to find a Town Car that was owned by a person that used it for their personal use. My two cents.

Air shocks, if not replaced, may come up due to age and mileage. The blend door actuator is a big problem, you can run a 3 min test on that from the temp control console. Ensure that all the amenities work, if it has the auto-dimming mirrors, heated mirrors, heated seats, anything the car should have, make sure it works. The parts are not that cheap to replace. If the car is taken care of, the paint should be in good condition as well as the interior.

If you have questions, the best site to go to is https://www.lincolnsonline.com/. They really know the in's and out's of these cars.

Best of luck, I hope you get a good one! They do last forever if you take care of them.

 

[White Lincoln]

The front lower control arms have recently been replaced.

That is curious to replace that soon on a Town Car. Did they say why they were replaced? Basically, that is not a common part to replace on these cars and if anything, the shocks, idler arms, bushings should have been replaced along with the lower control arm. that really has me wondering why they replaced those.

 

[Kidd-7]

Here’s some more details. One of the techs that works for me, her farther recently died and this is / was his car. About a month ago she told me there was some oil under the car and when she checked the level it was way low, she filled it up and took it to the mechanic they deal with. He could not tell for sure where it was leaking, but said the lower control arms bushings were worn and suggested replacing the oil pan gasket. Her dad said to go ahead and do the control arms, but not the gasket. I’m going to ask her for that estimate to look it over again, she did show it to me when this happened and asked for some advice. I vaguely remember pics of the worn bushings. She will be selling it once the paperwork is in order and offered it to me first. I’ve not seen it yet. He was hospitalized for about 8 months hence not driven. I’m considering it as my daughter needs a better vehicle.

 

[White Lincoln]

That sounds like a descent buy Kidd. I suspect you work on your Cougar so you should have less trouble with the Town Car. Heck, I rarely worked on my Town Car and as I have said before, the Cougar is the problem child.

The only advice I would suggest is skim over the Lincolns on Line web site for that year of car to see what people talk about the most about the car and I would do research on a descent price. I did some digging as well and the $4k price is average (for that mileage). But if it has rust, start knocking the price. You can fix an engine but body rust is a pain to repair. (old phrase from a neighbor)

Good luck!

 

[White Lincoln]

It’s an 04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate w/ 120,664 miles. KBB estimates it at $4K. I know there’s an oil leak, I’m thinking rear main seal. The front lower control arms have recently been replaced. It hasn’t been driven except to the mechanic recently since about December.

To start any guidance on what to look at?
Obvious: rust, paint, interior condition, tires.

One thing that was wrong on my car when I first bought it was the EGR valve was plugged. Probably cause the prior owner used too much crappy gas and let the car sit, idling too much. Anyway, I recall it was not that easy to get to, about as bad as the Cougar V6 EGR, but I pulled it, cleaned it and put back in. There was also a broken vacuum line to it that I had to repair. Probably what caused the clogging. So, expect some stupid things like that, as with any used car.