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Just wondering why these mark didn't hold their value. Any ideas?

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Posted by: jaceqq

Why in the world didn't the Mark viii's Hold their value? I know the air ride can be a pain but darn. For a car that sold new in the high 30's it's crazy that you can buy a really nice one for about 3 grand and a super nice for just a little over 5.
I'm not really complaining cause I just bought one with 80k miles for 1,300 bucks. It just seems like one heck of a car to lose as much of it's value as it has. Any ideas? Jace

Posted by: turborich

Do any 10 year old cars hold their value very well? My 2000 Expedition was worth 35K or so when it was new, now it's worth $6,500 - $7,500. Same difference. The 10 year point is the wosrt as far as depreaciation goes. You can buy a caddy that cost $40K new 10 or 15 years ago for $3,000 as well.

Posted by: buddylee

And thank god for that ! Or I wouldn't be driving 1

Posted by: turborich

Quote:

Originally Posted by buddylee

And thank god for that ! Or I wouldn't be driving 1

EXACTLY! Me too.

Posted by: MERIJONS97LSC

My Mark viii may not of cost much, But it's very valuable to me!!

And that's all that really matters.

Posted by: Russo

I think they should've marketed it differently to begin with...
They would've sold better if they positioned them as "luxury cobras". And, of course, make them a little sportier in terms of brakes, tranny, etc.

Posted by: slowmkviii

I think they held there value fairly well from 1 to 6 years old now they are just old

Posted by: k9t8m

luxury cobras? The cobras came out 3 years after the mark did. The mark is the orig cobra as far as I am concerned. The mustangs didn't get irs until what like 99 or something?

I'm glad marks don't hold their value. I would have never been able to afford one, and frankly i could care less what i could get for it, because i never plan on selling.

Posted by: mannieg

I'm glad they don't hold their value, plus not many people know what, awsome, cool, powerful rides they are, also I'm glad they didn't make tons of them, I see cobras every day, but I don't see too many marks rolling around.

Posted by: jaceqq

I agree with you guys.I'm glad they didn't hold their value or I wouldn't be able to owe a Mark either.But like it's been posted the Mark VIII wsn't a volume made car.Its a special model that Ford Made 100k of them a year.

Lower valume,higher preformance cars like the Cobra,SVO Mustangs,Buick GNs ETC,ETC just seem to have retained their value better. Maybe it's cause it's a Lincoln or wasn't blessed with a SVT badge.

I like the preformence of these cars and love the low prices but it's just a shame they don't get respect they deserve. But I quess if it had the respect it deserves the prices would be much much higher. Cant have it all I reckon. Jace

Posted by: kustomizingkid

I looked at a 91 Bently Turbo type R, it was only $29k, how much do think it sold for in 91?

Posted by: shiryu0

i got mine because of the price

like probably many of us, you get so much for little $$$.........

plus all the ricers kids are always asking stuff about it

Posted by: Calabrio

A '93 Civic EX can have a blue book of $2885.
A '92 Mark VIII can have a blue book of $2780.

The Civic cost less than half of what the Mark cost...
A fully loaded Civic ($15,330) vs. a fully loaded Mark VIII ($37,040)

Posted by: jamie97lsc

lol hold value, it lost about 8 grand of its value the secong it was driven off the dealers lot when it was brand new!!!
its probably because the mark VIII really appliedto a certain person, back then, and even still today, its a sporty 2 door lincoln that even to this day alot of people have no idea what it actually is, saled declined as 93 became 98, and the cars are highly problematic cars, high maint, costly parts, and discontinued parts makes owning one a challenge now, big reasons why you can snag them cheap.

Posted by: slowmkviii

I don't think they are highly problematic cars or high maint. we have had to do more work to the camaro than the mark there both 97s mark has more miles too I think all 10+ year old cars that are driven hard will need work

Posted by: daboot

airbags!!!!!

Posted by: 98CobraStarLSC

I talked to a guy who worked for Ford, linc. merc, during the Mark Viii run and told him i was planning on buying one, he told me to sell it asap.? when i asked him why, he told me for the amount i am paying, a number of problems could occur that would cost more to fix than the car is worth. Then i explained how they make a coilover setup inplace of the airbags, and the ballast for the rear light is now only about $400 instead of being $1200 when he worked on them for warranty work. He also told me they were expensive to insure, which it is because the headlights on the gen 2's arent cheap. Weird though. for the money, i love the Mark Viii's power and luxuriousness. The brakes could be better though thats for sure, but for the price, i am not complaining one bit. Plus, most of them were bought by older people who maintained them, so finding one in good nic, is relatively easy.

Posted by: mannieg

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calabrio

A '93 Civic EX can have a blue book of $2885.
A '92 Mark VIII can have a blue book of $2780.

The Civic cost less than half of what the Mark cost...
A fully loaded Civic ($15,330) vs. a fully loaded Mark VIII ($37,040)

This is like comparing apples and oranges, American VS Japanese. Of course most Japanese vehicles will hold the value more than American cars, Now you have to remember the car that the mark VIII was launch to compete with was the Cadillac El dorado and back then the El dorado and the Mark had about the same sticker price, Then Buick launch the Riviera to try to compete with it, however if you look at both of those American cars you can too pick them up for pennies now days. I'm I saying that American cars are inferior, Well no, I love my Powerful, Luxurious, Comfortable and Distinctive Mark VIII, as for me personally I Wouldn't be caught Dead Driving or Owning a Honda, I have never like them Never will. I have owned 22 cars since I Got out of High School In 2000, Fords Have been by far the Best Cars I have owned. In My collection now are a 1966 Stang, 2005 Explorer(wifey's Daily Driver), 97 Mark VIII.

Posted by: mespock

Quote:

Originally Posted by turborich

EXACTLY! Me too.

Who cares about value .. I bought 3 for less than $10,000...

Fun cars for a great price..

Posted by: mmtphoto

I agree with the 'who cares' group because to buy anything that can do what my 96 does, I'd surly have to shell out a lot more money and I seriously doubt that I could find anything as nice, as quick, with as many 'extras' as a Mark for less than $3000. While not the easiest car to work on, if your initial outlay is not great and something catastrophic happens to it, it can be replaced for not a lot of money, or it is not a big loss money-wise.

Case in point, I spent about $5000 total (including all the necessary stuff, like air springs, trans fix, etc) back in 2002 for a 93 that I drove for 4 years (about 50,000 miles) and it got totaled in 2006 when a woman turned in front of it at a light. I got $3200 from her insurance company and bought my 96 for $2700 and since then I might have a total of $4000 (including purchase price). It is clean, fast, confortable, looks and drives great, and I always get comments on it. I doubt that'd happen if I drove a '96 Honda civic. Even if I had to part it out, it is worth a lot because (expecially a 96) it has some very specific parts and systems on it, so it should be desirable for a long time.

In addition to that, these forums show that there is almost a cult following for these cars, so the longer you hold onto one, the more it'll probably be worth. My 70 GTO cost me about $1300 back in 1978-now, I have no doubt I could get 10x that or more, but it, like my Mark, it will probably never be for sale, to me it is irreplaceable.

As long as they are available, I'll always have one. These are just great cars, and when you find a decent one and make it right,they are almost too good to be true for the amount of money they cost vs. what you have.

The only disclaimer I'd add is I doubt I would ever use this as main transportation (unless it was only for a short period of time) because if there is something wrong with it, I think I am better off parking it and driving something else untill I can correct the problem. Some small problems can became large and expensive if ignored-good idea to have a commuter car to handle the BS trips to the store, maybe to work once in a while, for winter if you are in a snow/icy climate (these are really bad in low traction situations, even rain).

Have fun with it, I believe most of the people on here and those you will meet who know anything about Marks will agree, these are special cars.

Posted by: devilchild

i have a ...

95 honda civic with 175k...
96 mark viii lsc with 75k....

both have pretty much the same blue book value..

even though the mark was $37,000 ish new and the civic was $15,000 ish new...and the mark has 100k less on the odometer and in waaay better condition..

i wont care unless i try to sell..haha

Posted by: mmtphoto

Sounds like the best of both worlds, a Mark and a Civic-with gas going skyhigh, you could keep the Mark for a LONG time if you drive it for fun, nice days, occasions and the like and use the Civic for fetching stuff, bad weather, when gas goes to $150 a barrel and it's $4.50 at the pump, when the Mark needs repair.

Which would YOU rather drive?

I thought so, but the Civic is reality in a Mark world. Good plan.

Posted by: devilchild

yup.. the honda is my work car.. i do everything in the honda.. and drive the mark when its nice out

since september... when i got my 96..

ive driven..

honda.. 15,000
mark viii.. 500..

and i only paid $1,200 for the honda 3 years ago...

everyone needs a beater car ..

Posted by: Eagle1

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaceqq

I agree with you guys.I'm glad they didn't hold their value or I wouldn't be able to owe a Mark either.But like it's been posted the Mark VIII wsn't a volume made car.Its a special model that Ford Made 100k of them a year.

I think the total production run of the Mark VIII over six years was roughly 120,000 units. I have no idea how many of them are still on the road. Perhaps that figure is available somewhere, but I would be surprised if it is much more than half of them. We see quite a few of them out here in Southern California, where people tend to take good care of their cars due to the deplorable state of public transportation and the long distances one has to travel, there is an even stronger culture of taking care of cars, and the weather is conducive to the body work holding up (no salt, few potholes, etc). Usually they look pretty good.

But the mileage tends to be higher on Calif cars, routinely in the 12 to 15k miles per year range if it is the primary vehicle. In the midwest and east you can find lower mileage vehicles as a significant number of owners would put the Marks and Caddys up for the winter to preserve them and use the "winter car" in the snow and salt. Tough to find a truly low mileage car out here unless it is a real collector, and these cars are not, or at least not quite yet. My wife in 14 years and nine months put 142,500 on her 1993 Mark VIII, which she bought new with every available option and drove until it broke down. But she had two cars to drive. For the first ten of those years it was a 1986 Jaguar XJS, and for the last four a Lexus 430 SC, so they had some miles too, and I think her total annual driving miles were averaging closer to 16,000-18,000. That kept the Mark miles down to a sniff less than 10k per year.

After the modifications and upgrades to the car, I honestly prefer driving it to the 1999 BMW 528i that I have used as a commuter car to work for years. I think the Mark VIII certainly looks a lot better. The gas mileage is worse of course, and the back seat access in a coupe is definitionally more difficult than the euro sedan. But the Mark is FUN to drive and will outperform the bimmer and its little straight six cylinder motor without any question. And there is where the driving value is to be had with this car. If you are patient and just a little handy, you can keep this luxury coupe running and enjoy a very high quality ride for not very much money for quite a while. If you chafe at not being able to match up to the performance of the euro snob cars......fear not, for with some study and research, you can profile an upgrade program that will stomp the imports for a fraction of the cost of buying one of them, even used....if you are willing to accept the fact that mods are NEVER recovered on resale and you have to love the car and be willing to keep it for the life of the mods, or close to it, in order to extract the value back from the additional investment made. That is not the case for the overwhelming majority of owners. Most people are better served to just find and buy a clean and pampered one, and give it a lot of TLC yourself. But for those that do have that upgrade ambition and are well satisfied with the extended ownership requirement for that program to pencil out, you can have yourself one heck of a car, releasing the performance potential of the 4.6L engine with the unquestioned luxury of the interior and very slick exterior design. That is where the Mark VIII stands out. There just are not that many cars that can distinguish themselves with that potential.

Posted by: 21stcenturygadgetguy

Quote:

Originally Posted by mannieg

Now you have to remember the car that the mark VIII was launch to compete with was the Cadillac El dorado and back then the El dorado and the Mark had about the same sticker price, Then Buick launch the Riviera to try to compete with it, however if you look at both of those American cars you can too pick them up for pennies now days.

I owned a Buick Riveria before I owned a Mark VIII, and it was more $$ than the Mark VIII at that time, and recently I saw one for sale, (a 96) and it was still for sale for $4k- I guess what I am trying to say is it is a bit confusing why the Mark VIII is about the same as a Rivi, as the Rivi has a 6cyl engine, WWD (FWD) and was cheaper to begin with i think... I think the Mark will go UP in value as time goes on, its only a matter of time

Posted by: Sal329

Im glad the Mark is the price it is. Now if only the 2nd Gen will come down in price in MY area lol. I picked up my 94 last March for $2200, I have spent $350 for a 2001 Mustang 4r70w trans that is waitin to be installed, $300 for TRW front end parts, $30 for OEM strut rod bushings, $50 for Pioneer head unit, $12 for the wire harness, $100 for plugs, wires, trans filter, Mecron V when I first got the car. I still have to fix some minor things, windows do not roll down, the outside door handle broken, want to get ebay HID's, rear shocks, then next year I will replace the engine with a newer 4.6 DOHC and drive the car another 200k miles. I drive this car to work 5 days a week, 350 miles a week avg 25mpg, only 2mpg less then our 99 Accord 4cyl driving the same route. Thanks to sites like this one the info is abundant, used parts are not to hard to come by, plus junk yards, ebay and aftermarket. These cars are not too bad to maintain.

Posted by: sbcaprice305

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sal329

Im glad the Mark is the price it is. Now if only the 2nd Gen will come down in price in MY area lol. I picked up my 94 last March for $2200, I have spent $350 for a 2001 Mustang 4r70w trans that is waitin to be installed, $300 for TRW front end parts, $30 for OEM strut rod bushings, $50 for Pioneer head unit, $12 for the wire harness, $100 for plugs, wires, trans filter, Mecron V when I first got the car. I still have to fix some minor things, windows do not roll down, the outside door handle broken, want to get ebay HID's, rear shocks, then next year I will replace the engine with a newer 4.6 DOHC and drive the car another 200k miles. I drive this car to work 5 days a week, 350 miles a week avg 25mpg, only 2mpg less then our 99 Accord 4cyl driving the same route. Thanks to sites like this one the info is abundant, used parts are not to hard to come by, plus junk yards, ebay and aftermarket. These cars are not too bad to maintain.

The gen 2 are certainly alot nicer both inside n out. They are still up there a bit but some do go cheap if they have the common problems privite party. I got my 97 toreador red lsc for 3k in the chicago area-120k. It had a bad blend door, bad strut rod bushings, 1 bj, non painted door handle, and stiff steering/hard susp. Sounds like alot but compared to what i was going to spend i could still keep my daily driver. All is fixed minus the susp wich is getting new air struts in the next to weeks so it can come out of hibernation.

Posted by: poniesviii

luxury always depreciates fast. New base cheap cars have our options stock. The high dollar value when our cars were new were reflective to the cut of the line technology, which doesn't stay cut of the line for long at all.

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