Ford Build Quality vs Lincoln Build Quality

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lseguy

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My 2002 V8 LSE that I've owned since new. 142k miles. All original ball joints, wheel bearings, hubs, tie rods. Driven moderately. No racing on the track, spirited on street..lots of stop and go sometimes..lots of highway sometimes. Lowered on eibach springs for last 70k miles and running on 18 inch wheels.

Wifes 2007 Ford Escape 2WD that we bought last year with 32k miles on it, now has 42k miles. One owner vehicle (before us) in great overall shape.

ABS light issue due to broken ABS tone rings, so halfshafts had to be replaced under powertrain warranty. Dealer also found play in passenger side wheel bearing so that was replaced. I visually noticed deterioration cracking around circumference of rubber on tie rod ends with grease leaking out.

My LSE balljoints/tie rod end rubber looks almost like new still. No bearing issues, no tie rod issues..I mean just solid.

What gives? Is this typical of Ford vs Lincoln?
 
Well....... I have had front end problems in all fords that I have owned. 1994 F150, 1999 F150, 1998 Crown Vic, 1971 Mustang, and my 2002 Lincoln LS. My LS now has 126K miles on it (mostly highway never been on a track) and all of my suspension boots are blown. I have replaced both front spindles already. My 2 Fords with leather seats had some serious wear/coloring problems on the drivers seat by 100K. My LS driver's seat still looks great. All but 1 of my Fords has had door panel breaking issues. My LS door panel is perfect. Numerious plastic interior pieces in my LS have broken due to being brittle (defroster vents, ac vents, message center buttons, power window buttons, etc.) I replace everything, but none of my other moderf Fords had that problem to the extreme of the LS. None of my other Fords gave me any mechanical problems before 100K, but the LS.... (coils, VCGs, window regulators, power locks, brakes, etc...) Ford, and Lincoln paint stands up extremily well--no complaints there. I gotta say that I think the LS is on average no better or maybe even a little worse than other Fords that I have had.
 
It's not really typical of Ford vs. Lincoln, it's just two different cars. One's a lemon. Do a search you'll see there are plenty of Lincoln problems too!
 
I think, if anything, the real difference is in the spec of parts. I seriously doubt they do anything extra to build a Lincoln then they do a Ford. If there is a difference, it's because a part is different. Maybe an extra layer (or there even being a layer) of sound deadening here. A thicker windshield there. Better (or real) leather seats. Stuff like that.

I am pretty sure they are all built with the same assembly line process. It's not like one is assembly line and the other is hand built. Ford would build them all on the same assembly line if the tooling setup worked for both. They have done it when the changes were just minor things like badging and grilles. They did it all the time with Mercury and Ford models when they matched.
 
yeah, not really lincoln vs ford. its more just one car vs another. some cars, even between the same model, are just better than others.
 
To sum up my opinion, and having taken apart the LS quite a bit.... The LS had MUCH better quality carpet and padding. The leather is of better quality. The door seals and insulation is better. Other than that I think that it is mostly model differences.

I am glad that your LS is treating you so well.

My wife has an 05 Altima. 130K. Only minor problems with interior plastics. No problems with upholstery. I have had $0 in repairs (previous owner did cat and brakes). The paint (like on almost all Nissans down here) is starting to fail. I hate driving it and am damn glad the the wife will drive a crappy car even if it is reliable.
 
quality

I think quality has to do with the price of the car. don't expect a tempo or topaz to last very long. More expensive cars have more things to break. The number one car for some time was the buick century, mainly because it didn't have anything to break! Also the people buying it dind't expect much. Turn the key and drive. Modern cars are better and they keep getting better but with a low cost it is hard to build everything quality.
 
do camry's fit the cheap car stereo type? a girl i know had 280k on her camry last time i was in it. her sister is still driving it. those old camrys are freakin tanks.
 
camry

I would say no to the camry being a cheap car. They are a cheap lexus. If it costs more than $20000 I don't think it would be considered cheap, a loaded camry is like $30000 or more. The yaris would be cheap. You can't have reliable and quality it just can't be done. The car market is so competetive now you can't make a bad car and be successful. In order for it to have quality equipment it has to cost more than $10000. Though Hyundai is making a real move in that area. That new accent of theirs looks really good, I haven't driven one but I have heard it is quite good. But to get a nice one of those you are still close to $20000.
 
My wife used to like Camrys. Yes they are pretty reliable but you can't drive one block without seeing your car, really one just like it, driving down the road. If that is what you like great but, you will not have that happen with an LS. These cars were stopped being built in 2006 and people still come up to me and ask me what kind of car it is. I just used a new mechanic for front brakes. After he came back from the test drive he was smiling and had fallen in love with the car. He loved the engine sound. I have a short ram with cone filter.
 
Thanks for the input. Just seems like wheel bearings, tie rod ends, and ABS tone rings should last longer than 42k miles and 4 years on a Ford.

I guess the answer is..not necessarily.
 
This thread can go on forever about wich car is better, I had a 1981 toyota corolla with 190k 1.8 5spd and it looked great in and out no major problems at all I swear the car would run with almost no oil.
 
I had an 81 Toyota Hilux pickup with 558,000 miles on it. Total POS but still ran. I traded it in on a 99 Tacoma (back in 01) and I asked the dealer what they were going to do with the old truck. They said that they were going to dig a hole behind the dealership and bury it.
 
scjmc said:
I had an 81 Toyota Hilux pickup with 558,000 miles on it. Total POS but still ran. I traded it in on a 99 Tacoma (back in 01) and I asked the dealer what they were going to do with the old truck. They said that they were going to dig a hole behind the dealership and bury it.
Click to expand...

Thats insane!! Lol an old classic toyota goes a long way I also had a 85 corolla sr5 loved it had 280k when it blew the head gasket.
 
I even towed 3x capacity with that old toyota. Very tough for a small truck.
 
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