WickedLSC
LVC Member
Hi guys/gals,
I also posted this on the FordvsChevy site but thought it might be appreciated here too in case some of you don't see it there. I’m new to these Lincoln sites and have yet to find the car of my dreams but I’ve looked at several over the past six months or so. If any of you have looked at AutoTrader.com and seen the black ’92 LSC/SE in Salina, Kansas I feel you should know more about the car before making the 1600 mile (or further, depending on your location) round trip that I did to pick this car up.
The pictures are nothing short of awesome and the car looks near mint on the outside. The reality is that the pictures don’t show the details. The paint job almost looks like Krylons’ finest and has every imaginable flaw in it.The top of the left fender has fish eyes, the trunk has bad orange peel, and it’s flaking off in several other areas. It’s obviously a $200 Earl Scheib type job done just to make it sellable. My guess is that it had the typical top side fading I’ve read so much about. There are also several dings around it that the pictures don’t show. Last, but not least, the window sweeps are SHOT and the black window trim is badly faded and actually worn through in some places.
Mechanically the car seems ok. The engine compartment is extremely clean (I realize this could have been done by the dealer) with no apparent problems and seems to run perfectly. I did notice that the plastic AOD throttle valve bushing is ready to go so that would need to be addressed pretty soon. It was very loose and appeared to be cracked. No leaks were noticed on the lily white concrete lot a half hour after a very hard test drive. The tranny seemed to shift a little funny from time to time, going straight from 1st to 3rd even under moderately hard acceleration, but maybe it was just my driving because it seemed to work itself out and shifter very firm under w.o.t. The power was a little lower than expected and in no way came close to turning the tires over but, then again, it’s a 4000 pound car. I had a ’89 5 spd LX ‘Stang that would boil the tires off bone stock though so I don’t know…………..
The interior is in very good shape considering the age. The drivers seat had very little wear and only a small tear on the outside bolster. All electrics worked EXCEPT for the passenger seat up/down and the power locks. At first I thought the actuators were just shot and it was no big deal. It still might not be a big deal but there were two old actuators in the trunk. I guess this could mean they were replaced, in which case there is another problem, or they were just removed altogether and not replaced. The trip computer is dead too and the moon roof had a lot of wind noise when closed. Closing the inside panel helped but it was still annoying. Not being familiar with these cars other than what I’ve read, I’m not sure if that’s normal and if it is I’ll be passing on the moon roof option from now on. One last thing, the wheels are “ok” I guess. The left front has what looks like clear coat coming off of it. the tires are damn near brand spankin’ new 225/60 goodyears so that’s a plus.
Originally they wanted $2950 for it. I sent several e-mails and made several phone calls asking for very specific information on this car based on things I’ve learned from reading these message boards. I even paid a $300 deposit to hold it until I left my job in Virginia on December 22nd, went home to Tennessee for Christmas, and then on to Kansas to pick it up on the 27th. I rolled into Salina around 10pm Tuesday night and went by the lot. My heart sank when I saw the paint and trim under the lot lights because I knew I was looking at a totally new paint job. I don’t cut corners with any of my toys so I knew this would have to be more than the cost of the car itself to fix. I decided to go ahead and look at it anyway when the dealership opened since I’d driven so far. Very disappointing.
In all fairness, I normally wouldn’t have expected much more from a 14 year old car. But……and it’s a big but, as stated before I asked very specific questions and they weren’t answered accurately. I commented on the cars condition and offered $2600 out the door including their $67 “admin” fee. They wouldn’t budge claiming they’d under priced it and could get $5k to $7k out of it if they went on ebay. I tried to be as nice as I could and didn’t fall down laughing as I wished them luck and left for home. that car might be worth $3k to the right guy but not me and, from what I've seen reading these message boards, probably 99.7% of you guys either. Now they’ve decided to try out their theory and have raised the price to $3950. Anyway, I just thought I’d let you all know in case anyone has been, or is near being, seduced by the pictures as I was. I trusted their word because it is a major new Nissan/Dodge dealership as opposed to “Jimmy’s BadaBing discount car sales” but it didn’t pay off.
Oh well, I suppose these are the risks you take in this market but I’m a very serious buyer and have no problem paying a fair price for the right car. So if any of you have, or know where I can find, a nice ’90 to ’92 black SE please let me know. I hope this info is helpful and I have more pictures of the car than are listed on AutoTrader. Just e-mail me if you want to see them.
Keith
Keith_H1@hotmail.com
I also posted this on the FordvsChevy site but thought it might be appreciated here too in case some of you don't see it there. I’m new to these Lincoln sites and have yet to find the car of my dreams but I’ve looked at several over the past six months or so. If any of you have looked at AutoTrader.com and seen the black ’92 LSC/SE in Salina, Kansas I feel you should know more about the car before making the 1600 mile (or further, depending on your location) round trip that I did to pick this car up.
The pictures are nothing short of awesome and the car looks near mint on the outside. The reality is that the pictures don’t show the details. The paint job almost looks like Krylons’ finest and has every imaginable flaw in it.The top of the left fender has fish eyes, the trunk has bad orange peel, and it’s flaking off in several other areas. It’s obviously a $200 Earl Scheib type job done just to make it sellable. My guess is that it had the typical top side fading I’ve read so much about. There are also several dings around it that the pictures don’t show. Last, but not least, the window sweeps are SHOT and the black window trim is badly faded and actually worn through in some places.
Mechanically the car seems ok. The engine compartment is extremely clean (I realize this could have been done by the dealer) with no apparent problems and seems to run perfectly. I did notice that the plastic AOD throttle valve bushing is ready to go so that would need to be addressed pretty soon. It was very loose and appeared to be cracked. No leaks were noticed on the lily white concrete lot a half hour after a very hard test drive. The tranny seemed to shift a little funny from time to time, going straight from 1st to 3rd even under moderately hard acceleration, but maybe it was just my driving because it seemed to work itself out and shifter very firm under w.o.t. The power was a little lower than expected and in no way came close to turning the tires over but, then again, it’s a 4000 pound car. I had a ’89 5 spd LX ‘Stang that would boil the tires off bone stock though so I don’t know…………..
The interior is in very good shape considering the age. The drivers seat had very little wear and only a small tear on the outside bolster. All electrics worked EXCEPT for the passenger seat up/down and the power locks. At first I thought the actuators were just shot and it was no big deal. It still might not be a big deal but there were two old actuators in the trunk. I guess this could mean they were replaced, in which case there is another problem, or they were just removed altogether and not replaced. The trip computer is dead too and the moon roof had a lot of wind noise when closed. Closing the inside panel helped but it was still annoying. Not being familiar with these cars other than what I’ve read, I’m not sure if that’s normal and if it is I’ll be passing on the moon roof option from now on. One last thing, the wheels are “ok” I guess. The left front has what looks like clear coat coming off of it. the tires are damn near brand spankin’ new 225/60 goodyears so that’s a plus.
Originally they wanted $2950 for it. I sent several e-mails and made several phone calls asking for very specific information on this car based on things I’ve learned from reading these message boards. I even paid a $300 deposit to hold it until I left my job in Virginia on December 22nd, went home to Tennessee for Christmas, and then on to Kansas to pick it up on the 27th. I rolled into Salina around 10pm Tuesday night and went by the lot. My heart sank when I saw the paint and trim under the lot lights because I knew I was looking at a totally new paint job. I don’t cut corners with any of my toys so I knew this would have to be more than the cost of the car itself to fix. I decided to go ahead and look at it anyway when the dealership opened since I’d driven so far. Very disappointing.
In all fairness, I normally wouldn’t have expected much more from a 14 year old car. But……and it’s a big but, as stated before I asked very specific questions and they weren’t answered accurately. I commented on the cars condition and offered $2600 out the door including their $67 “admin” fee. They wouldn’t budge claiming they’d under priced it and could get $5k to $7k out of it if they went on ebay. I tried to be as nice as I could and didn’t fall down laughing as I wished them luck and left for home. that car might be worth $3k to the right guy but not me and, from what I've seen reading these message boards, probably 99.7% of you guys either. Now they’ve decided to try out their theory and have raised the price to $3950. Anyway, I just thought I’d let you all know in case anyone has been, or is near being, seduced by the pictures as I was. I trusted their word because it is a major new Nissan/Dodge dealership as opposed to “Jimmy’s BadaBing discount car sales” but it didn’t pay off.
Oh well, I suppose these are the risks you take in this market but I’m a very serious buyer and have no problem paying a fair price for the right car. So if any of you have, or know where I can find, a nice ’90 to ’92 black SE please let me know. I hope this info is helpful and I have more pictures of the car than are listed on AutoTrader. Just e-mail me if you want to see them.
Keith
Keith_H1@hotmail.com
