I've owned this LS for 5 days, and it's in the shop already!

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1hawaii50

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So I trade a member here for his LS after he assures me numerous times that the car has "no issues". The second day I have it, I go to start it, and it cranks, but won't fire. I try it a few times, and after stepping on the gas pedal, it fires right up. The car idles fine and seems to run fine, so I write it off as a "hiccup". My 3rd day of ownership, it happens two more times, now I know there is a problem with the car. After browsing the forums here, I'm thinking I have an injector issue. I decide it's probably worth the $95 fee for Lincoln to troubleshoot the fuel system for me, so I know exactly what to replace. This morning (5th day of ownership) I drop the car off at Lincoln. As I'm sitting in the car filling out the envelope for the night drop with the car idleing, suddenly, the engine develops a pretty good miss, and starts shaking like crazy....GREAT! I add that to the symptons on the night-drop envelope. I get a call from Lincoln this afternoon. They tell me they found the problem. They found a bad vacuum line, heavy carbon deposits in the throttle body and intake tract, and the computer needs re-flashed/updated per the TSB for the hard start issues. So now, on top of the $135 I paid the Ford dealer in Wisconsin to go over the car before I bought it, I'm out another $501 for the repairs today. The good news is, they assured me that the injectors and the coil packs are fine. I did drive the car this afternoon, and so far it is fine. The most irritating thing is, I find a post on this site from the previous owner, where he was chasing a hard start issue, so he obviously knew about it before he traded me the car. I'm sure it just slipped his mind as he told me over and over how the car had "no issues".

That being said, it will be $500 well spent if the car doesn't give me any other "major" issues.
 
1hawaii50 said:
So I trade a member here for his LS after he assures me numerous times that the car has "no issues". The second day I have it, I go to start it, and it cranks, but won't fire. I try it a few times, and after stepping on the gas pedal, it fires right up. The car idles fine and seems to run fine, so I write it off as a "hiccup". My 3rd day of ownership, it happens two more times, now I know there is a problem with the car. After browsing the forums here, I'm thinking I have an injector issue. I decide it's probably worth the $95 fee for Lincoln to troubleshoot the fuel system for me, so I know exactly what to replace. This morning (5th day of ownership) I drop the car off at Lincoln. As I'm sitting in the car filling out the envelope for the night drop with the car idleing, suddenly, the engine develops a pretty good miss, and starts shaking like crazy....GREAT! I add that to the symptons on the night-drop envelope. I get a call from Lincoln this afternoon. They tell me they found the problem. They found a bad vacuum line, heavy carbon deposits in the throttle body and intake tract, and the computer needs re-flashed/updated per the TSB for the hard start issues. So now, on top of the $135 I paid the Ford dealer in Wisconsin to go over the car before I bought it, I'm out another $501 for the repairs today. The good news is, they assured me that the injectors and the coil packs are fine. I did drive the car this afternoon, and so far it is fine. The most irritating thing is, I find a post on this site from the previous owner, where he was chasing a hard start issue, so he obviously knew about it before he traded me the car. I'm sure it just slipped his mind as he told me over and over how the car had "no issues".

That being said, it will be $500 well spent if the car doesn't give me any other "major" issues.
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Send that WI Ford dealer a copy of the bill from the Lincoln dealer and ask for your $135 back.
 
ILLS said:
Send that WI Ford dealer a copy of the bill from the Lincoln dealer and ask for your $135 back.
Click to expand...

Won't work don't waste your time...you can't prove anything and there never going to cover a 135 bill they check suspenion and what not tires...been there done that...you payed for them to pull your car in and go outside for a smoke and tell you your cars fine...simple...just a lession on dealerships thats all....
 
I hate to say, when spending money on a used car it is best to spend the bucks and have it checked out by a mechanic, if there was items that need to be fixed you are in a better position to negotiate price and not have so many surprises after the sale.

I know 20/20 hind sight.
 
Sorry about your luck. However Id appriciate to know who this shady dude is who sold it to you so I and others can at least not get bit by him too.
 
It only gets better. I get in the car this evening to run some errands and guess what...I have to crank it for 3-4 seconds. The third time I crank it, it finally starts. Obviously Ganley Lincoln will be getting a call in the morning. I spoke with the previous owner tonight, and he swears when he got the hard start issue, he found a leaking injector. He replaced the leaking injector, and cleaned the others. He said the problem went away and came back a month later, and he says he then changed plugs and the problem went away again and never came back. He says the car never gave him any problems other than the hard starts, which he thought were fixed, so he never mentioned them to me. Lincoln has $501 worth of explaning to do come morning, before I call MasterCard and refuse payment. As far as anybody here having any dealings with him, it's not likely as he no longer has a Lincoln. Also, I guess at this point I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. However, there's no excuse for what the Lincoln dealer pulled on me today.

If anybody has any ideas on what I can check, please let me know. I've already searched and read through the posts. Sadly, I'm not a professional mechanic, so I don't have access to a lot of diagnostic tools. If I know what part is bad, I can fix it/replace it...diagnosing it is the problem. I figured Lincoln built the car, if anybody should be able to diagnose it, they should...apparently not!

I really want to like this car. I spent the weekend buffing it out and cleaning/conditioning the leather, and the car looks great. Once it is running, it runs great and idles fine. It just doesn't want to fire up right away.
 
gcwimmer said:
I hate to say, when spending money on a used car it is best to spend the bucks and have it checked out by a mechanic, if there was items that need to be fixed you are in a better position to negotiate price and not have so many surprises after the sale.

I know 20/20 hind sight.
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I hear you, but he lives in Wisconsin, and I'm in Ohio, so I was kind of limited on what I could do.
 
For the hard starting issue that I had, it supposedly was a wire in the fuse box in the trunk by the battery that had become corroded. There was/still is a leak that is leaking water into the spare tire compartment and water was sitting and I guess at some point got high enough to reach some of the wiring. According to the dealership they found the wire, replaced it and "fixed" the leak and so far I haven't had any problems since except that it still leaks. Check in your trunk after you wash it or a good rain storm, see if you have any water accumulating down there. I hope this helps, I was in the same boat as you when I bought mine, took it back to the dealership 5 or 6 times for the same problem before they fixed it. I got to drive a new MKX for 2 weeks though :)
 
how is a leaky injector, and a missfire make the seller of this lincoln shady?? these cars have these problems.. he cant control a problem on a used car 5 days after it has been sold...
 
Lincolns are very good cars, my grandad worked for cadillac in detroit for 32 years and guess what he drives? LINCOLN, they have problems as do all cars, but lincoln rocks!!!!! LOL
 
i'm not knocking lincoln...

I as a technician have learn to hate all cars equally LOL!
 
gcwimmer said:
I hate to say, when spending money on a used car it is best to spend the bucks and have it checked out by a mechanic, if there was items that need to be fixed you are in a better position to negotiate price and not have so many surprises after the sale.

I know 20/20 hind sight.
Click to expand...

HE DID he paid $135 to a dealership to look over the car, they should have at least pullled up the codes and service history!!!!!!!!!!
 
i feel in love all over again while driving home from work, i am driving about 80mph and didnt realize my exit was approaching, so i tap the gas pedal and my rpm"s jump to 6500. I started smiling, and exited the expressway. I call my friend who is a die hard mopar fan, and i tell him, he laughs and brags of his magnun srt8 that passes everything but a gas station.
 
Sorry, specs on the car:
2002 LS
3.9L
53,400 miles
Audiophile sound system
Automatic

Anything else needed?

Went back to Lincoln dealership today. They told me drive the car for a few days to give the computer a chance to "re-learn" everything, as they had just cleared it yesterday. I told them I'll call them back Monday, and I"ll put some miles on it over the weekend and see what happens.
 
1Hawaii50 - I PM'd you. I have a starting issue that still continues. Made a lot of changes, including new injectors.
 
lincoln00 said:
how is a leaky injector, and a missfire make the seller of this lincoln shady?? these cars have these problems.. he cant control a problem on a used car 5 days after it has been sold...
Click to expand...

I did say I'm giving the prior owner the benefit of the doubt, but it is one heck of a coincidence that the hard start surfaced the SECOND day I had the car, not the fifth day.
 
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