Comments: 1-15, 16-18
I bought the car brand new from a local dealer. It had 13 miles on it. Since then I have had many problems.
The first was when I bought the car I got home and heard a ticking sound coming from my engine compartment. After calling the dealer several times, I brought it in to be serviced and they re-torqued the camshaft.
The motor was quiet for about 40 miles, then the sound came back. I had been to the dealership 14 times when they finally found that my motor was defective, and replaced it with a brand new one under factory warranty. So far it has been much better and gotten better mileage than the factory one.
The dealership drove my car into the lift and cracked my bumper and scratched my hood while installing. The car is at the paint shop now, no expense to me.
Also my A/C unit has crapped out twice since I owned it.
Factory 6 disc DVD stopped reading discs, sent out for replacement.
Hi-beam was out when bought, very hard to change on your own.
I love this car, it handles like a dream. I have 20'' wheels on my car and lowered it with the H&R lowering springs. Very comfortable, gets looks everywhere, quick off the line and on the highway, yet still gets high 20's on fuel.
Plenty of legroom in the back, truck big enough for the baby stroller and groceries.
Handles nice, quiet cabin with nice engine sound under a load, very nice smooth shifting, but tight shift points.
Interior nicest I have ever seen, far ahead of Cadillac.
Sorry to say, but your Zephyr sounds like a lemon. How is this acceptable to you? That is your hard earned money that you're plunking down on it each month. :New-Flash: You can do better! A new car should have no engine issues, non working high-beams, ect... Do you work for Lincoln and are forced to drive their vehicles?
DT.
I have not spent any of my money. dealership covered everything including a loaner car. car has been fine ever since. It will probably be a collectors car someday, seeing it was only in production for 8 months.
"I have not spent any of my money. dealership covered everything including a loaner car. car has been fine ever since. It will probably be a collectors car someday, seeing it was only in production for 8 months."
Low production lenght or quantity does not guarantee collector status, you can ask any sterling or merkur owner about that.
By the way, This looks to be the same mistake Cadillac made with the Cimmaron. The Zephyr is nothing more than an OVERPRICED GUISED UP FUSION.
It was only in production for eight months under the Zephyr name. The same car lives on in 2007 as the MKZ.
"Low production lenght or quantity does not guarantee collector status, you can ask any sterling or merkur owner about that."
Well, I had a Sterling and it was a very neat car that I got offers on. In fact, the guy that bought it was a serious collector with classic Alfa Romeos and Citroens in his garage. A car does not have to to have the bloated collector car price to be a collector car. Anyway, this review is about the Lincoln Zephyr and no others, so let us get back to it.
I think that the Zephyr was introduced too soon, and the MKZ is the better car due to it's better engine and AWD option. If Lincoln could have waited a year, they may have developed a bigger following by now instead of confusing the less-informed consumers by changing the name.
Why on Earth would anyone even consider this car when for the same price you can get a much better car like a Lexus IS, Cadillac CTS, Acura TSX, Infiniti G35, or Chrysler 300C
Ford, as we all know, is in deep financial trouble and Lincoln may be one of the brands that go the Oldsmobile way.
Confusing the brand image with names then letters further complicates matters. Other than the Navigator (which "lost" the battle to the Escalade) no one really knows what Lincoln stands for.
The only reason would be the reason most people buy American cars - price. Not the price that's listed on the sticker, but the insanely low firesale price that it ultimately goes for.
I agree that the confusion in some new Lincoln models will not help their sales line. I can't keep them straight! However, in my option (only option) I think Ford should drop the Mercury line, and make the Lincoln a "real" luxury car. Just my option.
I have had my Zephyr for four months now and absolutely love it! I am 26 years old and was able to finally cross over into the luxury car realm and buy new! I am proud to drive this car and feel extremely safe in it.
The only problem I have had is while driving, once the transmission is traveling at a low rpm, say about 1500-1800, I hear a "buzz" noise coming from behind the dashboard or in the engine compartment. It is intermittent, but quite annoying. I have my car at the dealer now as we speak and I was told that there is a TSB (basically a silent recall) on the Zephyrs. It is an exhaust leak problem that can be fixed. Has any other owner noticed this annoying noise? I am quite curious. Other than that, this is by far one of the most beautiful cars on the road.
To 24th Dec 2006, 10:38:
Are you kidding?! Even though Ford is in the midst of hard times, they would never bring Lincoln to the chopping block. That brand has way too much of a legacy and potential for resurrection of status. I'm not sure how they'll do it, but I can tell you that's not a thought that has crossed the minds of anyone at Ford. They'd sell of Land Rover, Volvo or Jaguar first. Mostly likely of those would be Jaguar, which has been a pretty consisten money pit for them.
I drove a Lincoln MKZ AWD yesterday afternoon and fell in love.
Tons of power, great handling, beautiful interior, extremly queit and comfortable ride, and a trunk big enough for four sets of golf clubs!
To the commenter wondering why someone would purchase a Zephyr or now MKZ over a Lexus IS, Cadillac CTS, Acura TSX, Infiniti G35, or Chrysler 300C.
Here are some reasons as I have driven them all, the lexus rides very firmly and feels underpowerd in the 250 AWD version looks great inside and out, the Cadillac is RWD and does not offer AWD, but is fun to drive, but hard riding good looks, but bland interior, the Acura is FWD only (has pros and cons) and feels under powered as well as bland looks and passable interior, the G35 rides much to stiffly, but has good power and fun to drive has decent looks and offers AWD, but again the interior isn't anything special, and the 300C looks are OK, but isn't as fun to drive as the lincoln (you can really feel its size and weight in tight manuevers) although it does offer AWD has lots of power options a nice ride and a big trunk, but the interior feels somewhat cheap to me, BMW 330xi has good power OK looks, but very firm ride and the interior is nothing special, Mercedes C-class is nothing special either, but does have everything except a nice enough interior and has a much higher sticker price, Jaguar X-type 3.0 good power good looks nice interior nice ride decent trunk size and AWD only problem is parts and maintenance cost as well as production ending soon. However I would have a hard time deciding between and Audi A4 and a Lincoln MKZ. the lincoln has a nicer interior and more rear leg room and bigger trunk and cheaper maintenance/parts, the audi has better AWD, manual transmission option and higher sticker price. the Audi is considered a sports sedan and the Lincoln a luxury sedan. Tough choices.
By the way congrats on your purchase, I may end up with an MKZ of my own sooner or later but I will be buying a Lincoln Aviator in the spring before i buy an MKZ.
I just read the comments and had to pick myself up off the floor from laughing so hard at some of the totally clueless and HILARIOUS comments!! I especially LOVED comment 08:14!!
LEXUS, ACURA or INFINITY??? You've GOT TO BE KIDDING!! Lexus is a Toyota with 20 grand tacked on, and the quality of ALL Toyota products has been in such a nose-dive that Toyota just CUT PRODUCTION To try to get their build quality back UP to the level of FORD and GM!! As for Acura (A Honda with 15 grand tacked on) it is great if you don't mind driving a loaner car for a week every other month while your transmission is replaced. And for Infinity?? COME ON!! For cryin'out loud!! IT'S a NISSAN!!! You know, those guys who just went crying to GM to bail them out LAST YEAR because their RELIABILITY PROBLEMS had pushed them to the brink of BANKRUPTCY!! No thanks. I'll stick with a Ford product, like the MKZ. I like having the freedom to drive a car 10 years (if I should choose to) without having to get on a first-name basis with some dealer's service manager.
Crazy crazy. An Acura is not JUST a Honda with "15 grand tacked on." Same for Lexus and Infiniti. They happen to only share one platform each with their "lesser" stable mates and offer more luxury at a price that would not fit their parent company's products. Good Lord, this post is about a Lincoln anyway, not Nissan's financial troubles and Toyota's quality issues, which I know they will resolve before they get out-of-hand.
As for the Lincoln; good job!! It looks great and is priced well.
By offering the most powerful engine in its class and 4-wheel-drive, Lincoln has a definite winner in the MKZ. Based on the outstanding Fusion platform and rated higher in reliability than any of the competition, I can't imagine it not turning the heads of those currently driving less reliable and rougher-riding Acuras, Infinities, BMW's and Lexuses. My family has had 2 5-series BMW's. The MKZ rides much more smoothly, though it doesn't corner quite as well.