Buddy wants an LS

KStromberg

KStromberg

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Hey guys. I have a buddy who wants to get rid of his VW Jetta and get into a Lincoln LS. He wants to know what years are good and what problems they may have. Help me out here with what to say because I don't know enough about them but I know they perform better than his Jetta and look better. That I DO know. :p

Funny story, he is Asian but says he refuses to buy "rice". He detests Toyotas and Hondas. LOL
 
I'd say go with a Gen II (03-06). More of an 05-06, since they'd be newer and less miles. 05's I believe would still be under COP warranty and the 06's would not be.

I have an 03 V8 Sport, so I'm sure someone with an 05-06 will help out more.
 
Gen II for sure and preferably a 06 if he can find one.

With 118K on mine, only problems I've had is coolant parts breaking and coils.
 
Get one with warranty. stay away form 03. and watch out for common repairs on those cars. Warranty will save you. V8 or no LS at all!
 
Go for the '06. The body kit makes it worth it.
 
2000 v6 non sport seems to be the consensus on the best LS ever made...
 
Shred, to some, you may as well be driving a gen 1. If it isn't an 06, it isn't sh** to some. Whether they will come out and say it or not. And other than the bumper conversion I have in the works, I am simply pleased with my experiences as a 2000 owner. That even goes for before the engine build.
 
joegr said:
03 was the first year of the gen II. They had some kinks to work out by 04.
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Hmm, transitional years can be problematic but I hadnt really heard about any substantial issues with the 03s that they had corrected with the next models. Is there a list of these changes somewhere? I know there was some sort of problem with the Throttle-By-Wire that was fixed at the dealer by the previous owner, pretty sure newer Gen 2s didnt have that issue

Also I changed my fuel filter yesterday and it was super easy because it was the Gen 1 design :D
 
Shredicus said:
Hmm, transitional years can be problematic but I hadnt really heard about any substantial issues with the 03s that they had corrected with the next models. Is there a list of these changes somewhere? I know there was some sort of problem with the Throttle-By-Wire that was fixed at the dealer by the previous owner, pretty sure newer Gen 2s didnt have that issue

Also I changed my fuel filter yesterday and it was super easy because it was the Gen 1 design :D
Click to expand...

The main ones were the throttle body, valve cover gaskets, the transmission solenoids, and some PCM FLASH updates.
 
Well, my crazy Asian friend picked up his new LS today. Not sure on the year yet. It is the V8 model though. He's kind of a young kid. I can't imagine what he's going to do with all the power after previously owning a VW Passat. Let's pray he doesn't go fast and get tickets. He's a good kid but he gets crazy like me sometimes. :p
 
Well tell him to spend a couple days reading around the forums before he spends any money on it!
 
does he want his hands full of problems? does he like to race and lose to just about every V6 ricer out there? does he like wasting his money on poor fuel economy?

in all honesty, a 3.5 altima is a nice ride. Tell him to save himself grief and look into that.

going from jetta to an LS your improving your ride but trippling your head aches. its a V8. do the math.

You have to really really like this car to own it. It drives amazingly but has its... down falls.
 
Lincoln_exe said:
does he want his hands full of problems? does he like to race and lose to just about every V6 ricer out there? does he like wasting his money on poor fuel economy?

in all honesty, a 3.5 altima is a nice ride. Tell him to save himself grief and look into that.

going from jetta to an LS your improving your ride but trippling your head aches. its a V8. do the math.

You have to really really like this car to own it. It drives amazingly but has its... down falls.
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Yeah, I don't know man. Impulse buy? Perhaps. He rode in my Mark VIII and was determined to buy a Lincoln and then bought the LS. I wasn't going to try to sway him one way or the other and after he rode in my car, I was sure he was going to buy a Mark VIII since he damn near urinated in the passenger seat but oddly enough he settled for an LS. Not knocking on the LS cars by any means, but they are two drastically different cars in a lot of ways. Now my other buddy on Facebook is chatting me up a storm about "oh god, he shouldn't have bought an LS, they're huge problems and money pits". :rolleyes: Whatever I guess, I don't know enough about the LS cars but since he was determined to get an LS, I figured I would offer some advice on which ones to look at which is why I started this thread.

I think I am going to send him a linky to the forum here so he can sign up. The best I can do for him is put him in touch with other LS owners.
 
Lincoln_exe said:
does he want his hands full of problems? does he like to race and lose to just about every V6 ricer out there? does he like wasting his money on poor fuel economy?

in all honesty, a 3.5 altima is a nice ride. Tell him to save himself grief and look into that.

going from jetta to an LS your improving your ride but trippling your head aches. its a V8. do the math.

You have to really really like this car to own it. It drives amazingly but has its... down falls.
Click to expand...


All LS's are not the same. Altimas and Maximas are nice but they are still FWD. Everything is not about racing. The LS has a superior suspension with IRS and will out track most FWD cars. And lots of rwd cars that are faster too.

Everything is not about straight line street racing. If you want a badass Nissan get an Infiniti M45. It's like a maxima on steroids with a V8 and rwd and more options. But you don't need to bash the LS just based on your experiences.
 
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BlackLS06 said:
All LS's are not the same. Altimas and Maximas are nice but they are still FWD. Everything is not about racing. The LS has a superior suspension with IRS and will out track most FWD cars. And lots of rwd cars that are faster too.

Everything is not about straight line street racing. If you want a badass Nissan get an Infiniti M45. It's like a maxima on steroids with a V8 and rwd and more options. But you don't need to bash the LS just based on your experiences.
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First, ive had nothing but good experience with MY ls. Im just sying the LS is notorious for problems because other people who owned them or still do complain about stupid little problems. It didnt get discontinued because its Reliable ;)

Second, Unless this guy want to race around the track, FWD is better than RWD for many reasons for everyday driving. For starters, better off the line traction in bad weather. Also, to get yourself out of a snow pit, you can turn the front DRIVE tires allowing more options.
RWD if you get stuck, your F***ed. Someone get out and push.

Third, Im not BASHING anything, just I know here in canada we get 2 - 3 feet of snow depedning where you live and such. RWD is a B**CH in the winter. And dont make comments like "well its great if u know how to drive it" cause i see MANY people sliding all over the place in the winters. Town Cars, Mustangs, Cargo cans, even pick up trucks struggling to accelerate in heavy snow. Who accelerates ok in the snow? SUV's and Altimas and Camerys and Accords =p Dont see them getting stuck.
 
Lincoln_exe said:
Second, Unless this guy want to race around the track, FWD is better than RWD for many reasons for everyday driving. For starters, better off the line traction in bad weather. Also, to get yourself out of a snow pit, you can turn the front DRIVE tires allowing more options.
RWD if you get stuck, your F***ed. Someone get out and push.
Click to expand...

OK, I'll jump in. I lived in SLC for 5 winters. The whole time we had a FWD K-Car (LeBaron). I got in just as much trouble as any RWD car. When the front wheels lose traction you're along for the ride (in a straight line away from the apex of a curve, INTO any oncoming traffic) until the tires regain grip. At least in a RWD I can turn into the skid and commence to straighten out. I saw at least as many FWDers in ditches as RWDers. I also got stuck in snow where the front tires did nothing but spin. I remember going down a slight incline, toward a RED LIGHT with the speedo reading 0mph. Yep I was on the brakes, the front tires stopped and I was moving ~30mph! Fortunately the light turned green as I got there and regained traction in the intersection.
I had a similar experience with a Saturn Aura a year or so ago. I was entering the freeway on a downhill right 270 doing ~20 in a 25 on a wet road. The front wheels lost grip and I started sliding away from the apex. The front wheels didn't grab until I was across my lane, the lane to my left and on the shoulder. When dry I take that on-ramp at almost 50; in the wet ~40ish. Oh yea, the ramp is cambered down/in, toward the right.

There is a comprehensive article on this and I will look for it. BTW, the reason manufacturers went to FWD in the first place is ease of assembly and the money saved.
 
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