advice needed on buying a 98 mark VIII

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sonnyantver

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Hi,
New to the forums and have been looking for about the past month for a full size coupe. I have it narrowed down to the Mark VIII or a Eldorado. Both have their pros and cons and whichever comes first I'll be happy.
I am looking at a 98 LSC with 88k miles on it. The asking price is 6,100. I have a list of issues I need to ask about, just wondering if I'm missing anything and what kind of offer I should make. All maintenance records are available, just haven't looked at them yet, and a full inspection was supposedly done.


List of things to find out about:
1 air ride suspension
2 any problems with blend door/ replaced?
3 are headlight in good condition and clear
4 check the mirrors for yellowing ?
5 make sure taillight is working properly
6 ash tray lid
7 cup holders
8 test drive to check drive shaft vibration
 
Some of those things might need fixing, after all the newest MarkVIII is 11years old. Plan on spending money for much needed repairs, these are not cars for the faint at heart. I dont know anyhting about the eldos so you might want talk to the Gm guys on the site, it looks like you have all the Mark issues covered. All things on your list should be considered, good hunting and welcome to the site.
 
The asking price is steep. Headlights are an easy fix as long as they work. a simple test of the blend door, cold to hot & back see if the actual vent temp. matches. taillight is a $100 fix as long as the neon bulb is ok. Drive shaft vibration is common on these. I'm not sure what you need to know about the cupholders & ashtray lid. http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=49281
 
To much money imo for that car.... it looks like you pretty much have the issues to look for nailed down though.
 
Are you from Rockford IL? If so you are in Chickens neck of the woods. Id be more than happy to help you find a mark. I agree with KK, that price is WAY to high for that car.

Who would ever want a gen 2 anyway? Gen I FTW! lol
 
I think my reply got held up in editing ????
k9t8m, I'm in Rockford,MI but the car is in your neck of the woods. It's at Finishline Ford. I think putting in the link held up my post.

http://www.finishlineford.net/used-...tm?vehicleId=955959ea4046381e00c6bc28eeb3860d

After searching various web sites the prices on these cars are all over the place, that's why I am asking for your esteemed opinions on what I should offer. By looking in the pictures, they have had the car for a while, there is no snow visible through the windows.
 
Your not the first person to ask me about that car. I noticed a few things:

Front grille is chrome when should be body color, this could indicate a front end collision

It is also missing 2 center caps.

That dealership has been known to be very stiff on their pricing, meaning they will not negotiate. The car looks alright, but for that amount of $ I expect damn near perfection. We have about 6-8" of snow right now, and its not supposed to warm up anytime soon....

Let me know if you have any other questions.
 
k9t8m said:
Your not the first person to ask me about that car. I noticed a few things:

Front grille is chrome when should be body color, this could indicate a front end collision

It is also missing 2 center caps.

That dealership has been known to be very stiff on their pricing, meaning they will not negotiate. The car looks alright, but for that amount of $ I expect damn near perfection. We have about 6-8" of snow right now, and its not supposed to warm up anytime soon....

Let me know if you have any other questions.
Click to expand...

you forgot the check engine light
 
I did a VIN check on it and it came back clean. Could the grille just be a cosmetic decision? I'll make sure to ask about the light. If things look ok what might be a fair offer ?

I also did some looking around and the collectors edition should be written in the body panels and on the inside of the doors correct? Both sides are missing this, almost if someone debadged the whole thing. The number matches up as a CE as well as the entire interior. Hmmm.
 
sonnyantver said:
I did a VIN check on it and it came back clean. Could the grille just be a cosmetic decision? I'll make sure to ask about the light. If things look ok what might be a fair offer ?

I also did some looking around and the collectors edition should be written in the body panels and on the inside of the doors correct? Both sides are missing this, almost if someone debadged the whole thing. The number matches up as a CE as well as the entire interior. Hmmm.
Click to expand...

How about LINCOLN tag on trunk or is that the way Collector Editions come?
I would try and get service records see if Blend door was replaced? Thats $800 unless you are capable of doing it? Cruise leak recall? Suspension compressor and struts? replaced? If not, dollars there too.
 
It still is on ebay. The door lettering has been known to wear off. That car is a real CE. Notice the door tag, door mouldings, woodgrain accessories, and gold emblems (except the grille that someone swapped out).
 
I thought about buying that car as well, but the chrome grill scares me, Front collision?? Probably
 
I was able to find a spreadsheet of all 98 Mark VIIIs sold on ebay in the past year with around 88k miles. Only 2 went for over 5,000 with the average being between 4000 and 4500.
 
I wouldn't not buy a car because it had the wrong grille if I could insect it and put it up on a lift and check for frame damage, a wreck is very easy to spot...
 
I've looked at a bunch of cars and wrecks are usually fairly easy to spot... unibody damage is never repaired perfectly.... My theory is that if it was wrecked hard enough to tell don't buy the car, if you can't tell then who cares, either it was wrecked lightly or fixed perfectly....
 
sonnyantver said:
I was able to find a spreadsheet of all 98 Mark VIIIs sold on ebay in the past year with around 88k miles. Only 2 went for over 5,000 with the average being between 4000 and 4500.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a description of my car, when I`m through with it or something else catches my eye.
 
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