Thinking about replacing my LS

D

Dutch

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I have just gone another 3 days without my Lincoln. It was in the shop to fix a front end vibration that feels like an out-of-balance tire but isn't. The problem still exists.

So I've been thinking about getting a Charger. I have looked at them and driven them a great deal, and have decided that the bootom-of-the-line SE model is just what I need. It's plenty fast (250 HP/250 Tq). I will be giving up all the luxury stuff the LS has, such as rain-sensing wipers, power seats with memory, automatic temperature control, etc. I would be buying a car with manual cloth seats and plastic hubcaps strapped to steel wheels.

Would this be a terrible mistake? The Charger would be maybe a couple tenths slower than the LS in the 1/4, which is no big deal. The Charger R/T is very nice, but I'd be spending almost $10k extra to get it. It would be nice, but that's just too much money. I also like the idea of having all cylinders working all the time.

I'd get the Charger for invoice, $21,600, and the dealership offered me $10k for my Lincoln in trade, which seems almost too good to be true. I would actually trade it in for that kind of money.

Any thoughts? By many measures, the LS is/should be the better car, but I've had so many problems with it that it doesn't seem worth it anymore.
 
do what you want but i think its pretty safe to say you will miss the luxury, the head-turning body lines, the compliments, the auroa the lincoln name brings with it, the respect from the older crowd as well as the younger, the leather, and most of all this web site....but theres nothing like the feeling of having a new car....have you thought of a new less problematic ls..now that sounds good to me :Beer
 
charger instead of an ls??

Dutch said:
I have just gone another 3 days without my Lincoln. It was in the shop to fix a front end vibration that feels like an out-of-balance tire but isn't. The problem still exists.

So I've been thinking about getting a Charger. I have looked at them and driven them a great deal, and have decided that the bootom-of-the-line SE model is just what I need. It's plenty fast (250 HP/250 Tq). I will be giving up all the luxury stuff the LS has, such as rain-sensing wipers, power seats with memory, automatic temperature control, etc. I would be buying a car with manual cloth seats and plastic hubcaps strapped to steel wheels.

Would this be a terrible mistake? The Charger would be maybe a couple tenths slower than the LS in the 1/4, which is no big deal. The Charger R/T is very nice, but I'd be spending almost $10k extra to get it. It would be nice, but that's just too much money. I also like the idea of having all cylinders working all the time.

I'd get the Charger for invoice, $21,600, and the dealership offered me $10k for my Lincoln in trade, which seems almost too good to be true. I would actually trade it in for that kind of money.

Any thoughts? By many measures, the LS is/should be the better car, but I've had so many problems with it that it doesn't seem worth it anymore.
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I test drove a charger[hemi],my son was with me.after rapping it out he looked at me and said "dad,i think the lincoln will take it".the power is not bad[in the charger]bet the gas mileage sucks,the car seems cheap,cheak out the"tilt steeringwheel",no selectshift.probably a decent car for the money but i wouldn't trade down if i could avoid it.my ls has 38k on it[2003]and still rides nicer than a new charger.sorry to hear your having problems with your ls.ps 21k+ is a real deal on that charger,the one i drove listed for 29k+.good luck with whatever you decide to do. :L
 
Forgot to mention, my uncle has owned a 2 dodges, cant remember what type, but all i do remember him is working on them every weekend, waterpumps, gaspumps, flywheels, and I also remember he rebuilt the engines like twice on each one, anyways he ended up scrapping them both. If I were you, and I wanted to replace my Lincoln, id replace it with a lexus ls 430.
 
Dutch said:
So I've been thinking about getting a Charger.
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First off, you're looking at an American car. Good for you. Second, every car is different. Lincoln has crap, Ford has crap, Chevy has crap and they all have some good ones mixed in there. It seems like Dodge has come a long way. None of us can tell you if it will be good or not, but I sure hope you don't care what the hell other people think about the car you drive. If anyone gives you more or less respect due to the car you roll in on, don't go near 'em. As for giving up luxury and such...it will help you to learn who you are by changing vehicles now and then. I think I have learned I don't need as much luxury as I thought I would. I could care less about the luxury options in the LS. I like the handling. Scares the passengers sometimes though.

Let us know what happens!
 
The Charger is a Mercedes Benz with an American name don't be fooled. I can almost guarantee that you'll have less problems out of the Charger than the Lincoln (Ford) but does it look better? Nope.
 
Kamikaze said:
The Charger is a Mercedes Benz with an American name don't be fooled. I can almost guarantee that you'll have less problems out of the Charger than the Lincoln (Ford) but does it look better? Nope.
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..and the Lincoln LS is a Jaguar.

Shared engineering. Nothing is truely "Made in the USA" anymore, and it really is no secret. I would gamble a few dollars that it will be more reliable than the LS but not too many dollars. :) As long as it keeps my friends and relatives supported in Detroit, I am happy.
 
Dutch,
Bought a used Meredes once. Was a nice car but LOTS of upkeep. Lady that owned it before me spent $13,800 on upkeep in the last two years before I bought it. I spent about $2000 more on it and sold it. Next owner spent about anouther $4800. Now its been bought by a Dutch lady who is taking it back to Europe --- where maybe she can get used parts for it. Otherwise its gonna be very expensive 20 year old car. Lincolnlov
 
Dutch said:
I have just gone another 3 days without my Lincoln. It was in the shop to fix a front end vibration that feels like an out-of-balance tire but isn't. The problem still exists.

So I've been thinking about getting a Charger. I have looked at them and driven them a great deal, and have decided that the bootom-of-the-line SE model is just what I need. It's plenty fast (250 HP/250 Tq). I will be giving up all the luxury stuff the LS has, such as rain-sensing wipers, power seats with memory, automatic temperature control, etc. I would be buying a car with manual cloth seats and plastic hubcaps strapped to steel wheels.

Would this be a terrible mistake? The Charger would be maybe a couple tenths slower than the LS in the 1/4, which is no big deal. The Charger R/T is very nice, but I'd be spending almost $10k extra to get it. It would be nice, but that's just too much money. I also like the idea of having all cylinders working all the time.

I'd get the Charger for invoice, $21,600, and the dealership offered me $10k for my Lincoln in trade, which seems almost too good to be true. I would actually trade it in for that kind of money.

Any thoughts? By many measures, the LS is/should be the better car, but I've had so many problems with it that it doesn't seem worth it anymore.
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Not a dodge fan but they are giving you a pretty good price on your trade. I have been pondering the same notion that past few days as well. I am sick of all the BS with this thing and as much as I enjoy driving it I am over the poor customer service and repairs that do not fix anything.

I am considering an Asian or Euro import but I have a lot of homework to do before I decide what I am going to buy. The big killer for me is the lack of customer service from the shops and the :qty support from Ford.
 
Interesting choice. But I think the V6 models will disappoint you in performance. Eventually you will miss the power and be looking for something else. Before you buy, I would do some searching on some of their forum boards and see what kind of problems they are having. Chrysler has been known to go through a few just like us.

As to your front end shimmy....my son's has the exact same problem that they have spent untold amount of time and money on and can't fix. It popped up when I put new tires on it. Michelins. From the dealer. They've tried 8 tires now and can't get rid of it. Discount Tire did a road force balance and helped it a ton, but it's still there.
 
eL eS said:
Not a dodge fan but they are giving you a pretty good price on your trade. I have been pondering the same notion that past few days as well. I am sick of all the BS with this thing and as much as I enjoy driving it I am over the poor customer service and repairs that do not fix anything.

I am considering an Asian or Euro import but I have a lot of homework to do before I decide what I am going to buy. The big killer for me is the lack of customer service from the shops and the :qty support from Ford.
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I actually get fantastic support from my dealer. The dealer I go to is Neill-Sandler Ford Lincoln Mercury in Alcoa, TN. The service manager, Jimmy Cox, is excellent to work with. He's very sympathetic to the customer's needs and wants to resolve whatever issue you have. There are good and bad dealers out there. Finding a good one is hard to do but if you do find one that will make owning these cars must less dramatic.
 
GrayGhost1 said:
I actually get fantastic support from my dealer. The dealer I go to is Neill-Sandler Ford Lincoln Mercury in Alcoa, TN. The service manager, Jimmy Cox, is excellent to work with. He's very sympathetic to the customer's needs and wants to resolve whatever issue you have. There are good and bad dealers out there. Finding a good one is hard to do but if you do find one that will make owning these cars must less dramatic.
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:I I too get great support from both of the dealerships I have used. No hassles and they always treat me as if I owed the thing from the get go. But, then again I have only put about 10k on mine. She's up to about 50k now and has only had the VC Gasket problem. But as far a service and fixing the little things (which they've done for free) my guys are great.

I drove inside a 300 the other day for the first time and I gotta tell you I was not impressed. The interior did not appeal to me at all. I like the inside of a Kia better than that...
 
Me too!, my dealer is extremely friendly and help full, once I just showed up to pick up my friends stang and they saw my car and ford gave me an oasis report, and throughly explained all the recalls that were available for my car.
 
captainalias said:
Dutch, you had a 2003 LS and still had all these problemos?
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No, mine's a 2000. I bought it used last June with 40k miles, it now has 63k miles. I have had to replace the power steering pump, one window regulator, the spacer holding a rear window three times, and some other minor issues. There are no major problems with my car. My tranny is solid as a rock and shifts perfectly. It's just lots of little things driving me nuts. It hasn't even been all that expensive (except the power steering pump), just horribly aggravating.
 
eL eS said:
Not a dodge fan but they are giving you a pretty good price on your trade.
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This was a huge factor. They agreed to sell me the Charger at invoice and give me $10k for my LS. I only paid $14k for it a year ago (and 23k miles ago). When they told me $10k, it was very hard not to buy the Charger then and there.

I see there are a lot of Dodge haters here. I am a lifelong Mopar guy, I just converted to Ford when I could finally afford newer, modern cars and decided I wanted RWD more than I wanted Mopar. My two previous daily drivers were Mustangs, and my wife's car is a Taurus. All of them were/are good cars. My Lincoln has been horribly frustrating.

The Dodge really fits me. It's big, it's not as low as the Lincoln, it has a more old-school American feel to it. The LS has tight European road manner, and the Charger has a boatier feel to it. It may sound odd, but I prefer that big-car ride.

As for performance, the Charger is on a par with the LS. It has 250 HP / 250 Tq, about equal to the LS. The Dodge is 100 pounds heavier, but has a shorter rear end. Both have 5-speed autos. They will offer logically identical performance (mid 15s).
 
When posting a thread like this you are looking for advice and information from the membership. You will find all kinds of information that is useful and some not.

You will find die hard Ford people who will have nothing good to say about other products and others with open opinions.

What is good is you have the option to hear from a lot of car enthusiasts and then made a judgment to either purchase or stay with what you have.

Personally I would look at the 05 mustang at that price you are quoting. You may pay $5K more but I think you will like what you are buying. More power and ford I think did a nice job on this car especially for the money. (I am not a die hard Ford guy) I just think it's a good car.

This is just another option before you purchase.

You may be feeling the buy an new car fever! Be careful as sometimes you settle for something you don't want. Allow yourself a little time to contemplate the deal. Do you really like the Charger! Is it what you want! All manufactures have good cars and bad... All can put out a lemon in any model depends on the day!

Also think about this, You are going for a lesser version of the Charger. Don't buy just to have the shell. It's like buying the non-GT 05 Mustang. It doesn't cost too much more to go to the power and get the real one. Make sure you don't disappoint yourself on the Charger if you don't go with the Higher out put. I haven't looked into the Chargers so I am not sure what they have.

I have driven the 300 and the Magnum and both are fun! I like the magnum more than the 300

Take what you can from all the posts and Good luck with your choice. Make sure you post some pick of the new car.
 
I've had Chrysler vehicles before. I've had a 1990 Dodge Daytona, 1994 Dodge Ram and a 1996 Chrysler Sebring LXi. Each car had its positives and negatives. I traded my Sebring in for the LS and have never looked back. The Sebring had 130K miles on it and I NEVER had any problems with it. You can say I was a Chrysler fan but now that I've had the LS I've become a Ford person too. I'd consider a Chysler again but I would never consider anything GM makes. Why? GM doesn't make anything that I would even consider driving.

With that been said, my first choice on the Chrysler line up would be the Dodge Magnum, Chrysler 300 or the new Charger. However, since the Charger is a new model I'd wait a year or so before buying. As you know, first year models tend to have "problems". This was very evident with the 2000 Lincoln LS. I bought a 2001 LS and it's been very reliable.

Good luck with your decision and let us know how you make out! If you get the Charger post some pics!
 
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