My father bought this car when it first came out in 1999, since he'd owned a 1991 Lincoln Town Car and was an ardent fan. Personally, after seeing all the little problems with the Town Car, I couldn't understand why he liked Lincoln, particularly with a new and unproven model. About the only good thing I can say about it is that it offers a solid and stately ride for an American made car. Otherwise, it is seriously underpowered for a V8, only 215HP.
After about 3 years, my father decided that he was tired of the under performance of the LS and got himself a Mercedes-Benz S500. The LS then became my weekend car as my 1998 Honda Civic EX was my daily commuter and old reliable. I didn't put a whole lot of miles on it, probably only about 6000 miles a year. But, problems (listed above) just kept coming up. Since I didn't have to pay for the car, I just put up with all the expensive repairs.
Eventually, I traded in my Civic for a new MB E500 and the LS became the beater. It does do quite well on ski trips and for my property management trips, except for the engine misfire issue. Now, I mostly use the LS to get me around LA's vicious roads.
And, despite all of its faults, it does do one thing well -- take a beating. Safety was one of the top reasons my father liked about big Lincolns. Unfortunately, in the last 18 months in LA, I've already gotten into 3 fender-benders where others ran into me. Surprisingly, I've had only minor scratches and dings on my bumper even when other cars, including a late model BMW 530i got some serious body damage. Just for that, it's been worth its price.
But, I don't see myself getting another Lincoln. My E500 has higher structural rigidity and is just a much smoother ride. I'd probably consider an Audi or a Porsche sedan in the future as both Lexus and Infiniti have a rather flimsy feel that reminds me of my old college Civic. Even though it was super reliable, I won't be going back to that.
