overall miles on your LS? is there a 'danger' number?

[steagle]

as ive posted about before im looking at used 2000 LS V8 (base model) and the main thing im hesitant about is the fact its got over 95k on it already. granted, we're in los angeles where you do significantly more miles than any other US city and i'm sure most of that is freeway driving but even still, im wondering if i should be extra cautious, and if anyone else here with 2000 models reached some sort of level of miles where they needed to perform substantial repairs or replacements. so, what are your guys' and gals' miles on this great car, and what are the major numbers i should look out for?

(ps - this would be my first american car, after driving datsun, isuzu and hondas for my whole life, thus my curiosity)

 

[jdsimons]

Well thats is a good question really.. lol.. Ya i just bought a 2000 lincoln ls v8 sport about 6 months ago and i am have really enjoyed every moment i get to take it out and cruise. I bought this with about 62000 miles on it and i flew down to dallas to get it and drove it back to Nebraska. I am very picky when it comes to me driving it, like i will use my other car all the time to drive to work and will generally take the lincoln out for vacation or going out of town for something, really trying to keep the miles off it. I have a dodge with 230,000 miles on and while i was on 150,000 i still drove it every day and ran like a champ. But reading things from various ls site just seems like these cars are not made to run over 100,000 miles without paying at least 500 a month of car maintence in a year. Kinda sucks that these cars are very expensive new and just don't last as long as the 10 to 20,000 cars these days. I would also like to konw what other people think about where the threshold is when it comes to buying a used lincoln ls. At first i thought 60,000 miles were low, but on these it likes telling someone it has 180,000 miles get ready for some repair bills.. lol

 

[eL eS]

I would have to simply say if there is no warranty left then reconsider or consider an extended warranty. Even extended warranties usually expire at or around 100k miles.

I would not buy with anything, not just the LS, over 25 to 30k miles. This gives you plenty of time to see where the car is going to take you... out back for a beatin' or to point be and back.

I am 109k and it has cost me several thousands of my own dollars from 80k to present. Up to 80K it cost the OEM and Extended warranty thousands of dollars. Everyone buy the same car but gets a different experience with their product.

 

[steagle]

jd - i've got 226,000 on my accord, so i'm right there with you heh. these cars are like tanks. but i'm really tired of the harsh auto tranny and stability issues like the weak cv joints and halfway busted axles. i could easily drop a couple grand into getting this car back into shape but i'd rather drop the money into a car i actually like, and want to work on for awhile. after the several years ive owned this car im just a little tired of it.

but eL is right on, getting a car with high mileage may save some upfront cash but you'll more than make up for it in maintenance. there's never a happy medium. the figure of $6,000/yr in maintenance sounds horrible. that's like Porsche levels. for an American car that just seems incredibly steep.

 

[Fordman]

I agree, One of my son's has a 95 Toyota Camry 114,000 miles it's nickle and dimming him all the time. CV joints,oil leaks and the list goes on from there. This is a Toyota, Consumer Reports #1 car. BULL...it's not any better than any other car with high mileage. I recently sold an S-10 with 155,000 miles from time to time things would go wrong but nothing major. Bottom line if your driving a car as sophisticated as the LS it will be costly. My factor warranty runs out in August, so in a month or two I will be looking into extending it. I really love my car too. But I also don't want to all of a sudden have to lay a couple thousand bucks. Just keep up all the maintence, that will really help.

 

[steagle]

good call Fordman. though i disagree slightly about comparing Toyota/Honda to Chevy at high miles. i've never seen a Chevy (or Ford, for that matter) perform well at 300,000+. whereas there are plenty of Hondas out there (and even Mercedes) with original engines still running smooth. but ultimately, you're right in saying once a car hits a certain age, it doesn't matter if god himself was the original engineer

true about the LS "sophistication factor" - just one of the responsibilities of owning a car like that. i may be getting a little carried with the LS i'm looking at, not only is it a more trouble-prone year but at 95k, it might be even more $$ than keeping my accord going.

 

[kleetus]

I had a 86 grand marquis with 212k on it with the original motor in it. I redid the tranny once to make it shift better, but I was hard on it. It ran great up to the day I hit a motor home with it... Just for giggles, I did total the motorhome too... something to be said for a full frame and plenty of metal!

 

[steagle]

hahaha

 

[jdsimons]

ya i too parted ways with my dear dodge, whom i loved..lol.
it started nickel and diming me also. But i mean the main point here in my opinion is a dodge intrepid is in no way in the same class as the ls, don't get me wrong though i love this car, but a car of a lot higher quality I would most likely speculate, thats just me though that this car is high quality and durable. But i guess most people who can afford to drive these probably tend to get a new one every year so they don't have problems like this i guess. lol.

 

[pusha2009]

jd - i've got 226,000 on my accord, so i'm right there with you heh. these cars are like tanks. but i'm really tired of the harsh auto tranny and stability issues like the weak cv joints and halfway busted axles. i could easily drop a couple grand into getting this car back into shape but i'd rather drop the money into a car i actually like, and want to work on for awhile. after the several years ive owned this car im just a little tired of it.

but eL is right on, getting a car with high mileage may save some upfront cash but you'll more than make up for it in maintenance. there's never a happy medium. the figure of $6,000/yr in maintenance sounds horrible. that's like Porsche levels. for an American car that just seems incredibly steep.

You sound like someone who is spoiled and a brat. I mean come on if you don't like the car sell it. Just don't go saying oh I am going to put money into a car I like. The whole Lincoln And Caddie Fourm is going to be pissed at you.

 

[1BADLS]

I owned a 1987 Olds delta 88, it had 378,000 miles on it, the trans went south, the car is in my back 40 behind the barn, the motor still runs great, even after sitting for a year and a half, amazing 3.8L series 2. And for the more miles in LA, I dont realy think that is true, I live in chicago, and all of our cars have well over 100,000 after 2 years, average ( consumer reports 02/04 ) as for the highway miles, in LA as a truck driver, its been my experience that even highway miles are stop and roll traffic, pretty much like being in town for 50 miles straight, man I hate the 101!!!