Buying first car & continental

I

Instrument

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Hi, guys! Im new here in this forum. 2 weeks ago i got driving license, and now im looking for my first own car.
In my country (Finland) Lincoln isnt popular car brand, almost no one knows it. So thats the reason why i came here. The car what im thinking to buy is this: http://http://www.nettiauto.com/en/lincoln/continental/7030421
I know its expensive, but its rare here. I wanna know what i need to wait with these 96000 miles. What bugs/fix there is coming with these or next 100k > miles.

Sorry for my bad english, im from North-Europe, Finland :)
 
Welcome, and congratulations! Getting your license for the first time, and getting your first car are exciting times! You'll find lots of helpful information here, and good people. Good luck with you decision!
:W :V :D
 
The listing says 96,000 kilometers so that's like 60k miles. That's very good for a car that old. The driver's door arm rest is worn but you may be able to find an ebay seller willing to ship a new panel to you.

You want to make sure the transmission shifts well and doesn't hesitate when holding a steady highway speed of 60 mph. Later model cars got a larger transmission cooler so you may want to add one later to keep the transmission happy. The air suspension is getting a little old but parts are available to keep it going. I love the 95-97 suspension because it has air springs front and rear instead of just in the rear for 98+.

Someone has already added extra lighting which is good. These cars don't have the greatest headlights, though the 95-97 may be better than 98+ models.
 
welcome

Instrument said:
Hi, guys! Im new here in this forum. 2 weeks ago i got driving license, and now im looking for my first own car.
In my country (Finland) Lincoln isnt popular car brand, almost no one knows it. So thats the reason why i came here. The car what im thinking to buy is this: http://http://www.nettiauto.com/en/lincoln/continental/7030421
I know its expensive, but its rare here. I wanna know what i need to wait with these 96000 miles. What bugs/fix there is coming with these or next 100k > miles.

Sorry for my bad english, im from North-Europe, Finland :)
Click to expand...

welcome , this forum has lots of very knowledgeable folks , so if you have issues come up do a search and you might find the answer , if not post and people here are helpfull. i have a 2000 conti , i purchased it in oct 2014, with 134000.0 miles the one your looking at has less than half that under 60000 miles . mine has held up well , i do know that at some point the air suspension in the rear had new air springs installed as well as new brake pads , you will also need to do the normal stuff , oils changes , belts ect.
aside from that i wouldn't expect much unless the previous owner did not do standard maintenance. this car tends to have allot of power so i hope you dont have a heavy foot so to speak . if your not careful it can get away from you . im just sayin because i do have a heavy foot and if i had this car when i bought my first car i would have gotten many a ticket . good luck , i am sure you will enjoy the ride of this car , it handles very well and is very responsive. take it easy and enjoy it , its a smooth ride .

drew:cool:
 
The only maintenance I did around 60k was the brake pads and rotors, I have the transmission flush at 80k.
I am close to 129k miles now and the front suspension started to squeak, when the weather gets warmer I have to do more investigation what needs to be replaced (shock absorber conversion to passive)
 
You should buy a service manual for your car.
You can go online and look at your car's repair histories and likely issues.
I do not like the idea of tranny flush and do not do them.
You can take the car to your mechanic and have them inspect the car and tell you what is what.
The factory suspension is great and the air part is not hard to deal with and cheap parts.
I use my 'listening stick' and put it on various bearings (the other end is at my ear) and areas on my motor while running and hear what is going on. Check water pump, serpentine belt route bearings like idlers and tensioner and alternator.
 
Isn't the exchange rate $1.30 per Euro? $10000+ for even a low mileage Continental is very steep. What steps would you need to import one from North America? Will the government accept the emissions and safety equipment as sufficient for import? If so, I have to figure $3k to import and $5k for low mileage rust free western or southern car would leave you $2k+ to go on a road trip. Or not. Possibly the advantage of getting one you can see and touch may be best. Welcome
 
Thanks for answering all. I asked more photos but he didnt send me them yet, im waiting for 1 week now..
In Finland there isnt repair histories online. Only thing how i can be sure what what parts there is replaced is receipts. And seller doesnt have them. Or service menu, but there is only maintenance records. It sucks.
Has anyone changed light bulbs to xenon lights? Could these lights work fine? http://www.ebay.com/itm/351315250069?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
 
I hate to be the guy to say this, but those are not HID headlamps at all, but really just standard(and probably poor quality), halogen bulbs painted blue. They will most likely not last very long, but most importantly, would probably make the car look cheap.

Assuming that the Conti's headlamp housings of this era can adapt to HID well enough(this I cannot attest to, I do not own a Continental, but I understand how HID lamps work), the biggest problems you may face will be getting the light pattern correct, since the factory housings are designed for halogen bulbs, and are fluted and contoured for such. The beam cutoff is important, as is the reflective backing and whether or not it's even really much good anymore after nearly 20 years. Maybe someone has done this swap specifically, and can shed more light on this though.

What I think you're looking for, is probably closer to something like this - http://www.ebay.com/itm/HID-kit-55W..._Merchandise&var=&hash=item1e8356114e&vxp=mtr

Now, that's just an example, and not necessarily the exact brand I may choose, but hopefully it give you a rough idea. If you can adapt your current headlamp housings for HID use, then the rest is generally pretty easy. Good luck though, and definitely keep us updated. Knowing that these beauties are rolling around all parts of Europe as well certainly warms my heart. : D
 
The headlights on the 1995-97 models aren't bad. They are larger than the 1998+ models so they put more light on the road. I would go with a good halogen bulb and leave it at that, especially since it has driving / fog lights added already.

HID bulbs in reflector housings never work well. They blind other drivers and don't put as much light on the road as you'd hope. You can do an HID projector swap but it's quite an involved job and can get expensive if you don't do all the work yourself. There are retrofitters in every country though!
 
I retract my advice. Yesterday, the official exchange rate was 1.05 US = 1 Euro. Too much change in short time to adjust for 20% difference in costs. Unless you get an outstanding car for a very reasonable price.
 
Welcome. My name is Jim Brunner and I am from West Hollywood, California, in the U.S. I have had my 2000 Lincoln Continental since 2002. It was used by Universal Studios in Hollywood for a VIP car along with 3 others just like it. It is a "three coat process" White Parchment Pearl finish as all four of them were. To say "I LOVE my car" is the understatement of the year. This is my first Ford product, having had 5 Cadillacs before this Lincoln. It is by far the best car I have ever had, and I have had a lot of special cars in my lifetime. This car, unlike the Cadillacs, which were in the repair shop more than I care to remember, has been virtually trouble free. I have 122K miles on the car now, having done a 100K service on the car, which changes the platinum spark plugs, full tune up new hoses and filters, etc. That cost me roughly one thousand dollars, which is about par for that kind of service in any of the brands. I fully expect another 100K troublefree miles on the car. It is gorgeous!!! I don't know how to download pictures on the this site, but will as soon as I can figure it out. No.....my car is NOT for sale! LOL. I am happy for you, that you too, discovered the Lincoln Continental. Are you aware of the return of the Lincoln Continental in 2016?? I can't afford it, but it's a beauty. You should be able top get pictures etc by doing a Google Search. I am on Facebook also, if you ever have any questions or would like information on the Continental.
 
I had my headlights changed to Zenon HID when I first got my 2000 Lincoln Continental back in 2002. They have always worked fine....In the later years many more people are offering conversions at a much lower price than I paid.
 
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