I want to buy a used car(either a 2002 Saab 9-5 Linear Sedan or a 2001 Volvo S80). My parents on the other hand are trying to get me to save my money and drive one of their older 2000 Lincoln Town Cars. I don't think the Town Car is a safe car because the fuel tank is located behind the rear axle. My mom wants me to save my money for a rainy day and not buy a car, and maybe(which seems unlikely at the time) my dad will buy me a cheaper car like a high milage 1999 Volvo S80 so I can save my money for a rainy day, or else I'll have to buy a car with my own money because I just don't feel safe any car that has a rear fuel tank(such as a Pinto, Mustang, Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis, or Town Car).
I know my dad probably won't allow me to sell the 2000 Town Car in order to buy a 99 S80, but just on the off chance that he does allow it, what is this 2000 Town Car Executive worth? My dad says that it's worth at least $10,500, but I say it's worth less than $6700.
DON'T FORGET TO LOOK AT THE PICS AT THE BOTTOM.
I'll give a detailed description and point out the problems and I've included SEVERAL PICS to show you what kind of wear and tear and damage the car has. Don't Forget to look at problem NUMBER 16, since it's the most important problem.
Here's a list of the problems.
- The rear bumper is cracked.
- The left rear tail light is chipped.
- One of the side view mirrors is painted a different color than the rest of the car.
- The button to open the gas door doesn't work, so you have to open the trunk and pull a cord with a handle inside the trunk to open the gas door.
- The remote sensors on the car don't work so you CAN'T open or lock the doors, or open the trunk or the gas door remotely.
- The Power Mirrors Don't work, you have to physcially push the mirrors with your hands to adjust them.
- The door to the driver's left armrest is loose and even if you try to put it back in place, it just falls off every time you close the door(the big one not the armrest door).
- The Front Center Armrest(storage console) is unhinged on the right side and part of it is missing and broken.
- The rear left ashtray door is missing.
- The 12 volt input jack would normally be inbetween the 2 cupholders, but on this Town Car, it just dangles near the floor and it's impossible to try and put it back in its place(it just doesn't seem to fit).
- The front right floormat is missing.
- The car generally has excessive wear and tear for a car that's less than 4 years old.
- The driver's control console(windows, locks, mirrors) is not properly in place.
- You always get the "sevice engine soon" warning when you turn on the car.
- The Magazine Pouch that's located on the back of the front passenger seat has become unstappled and part of it is dangling on the ground(unfortunately I forgot to take a pic of this).
- The BIGGEST problem is that the transmission is messed up. The car will NOT shift past 2nd gear while in "OVERDRIVE"(overdrive is the normal driving setting). Each time you star the car, you have to push a button on the shifter to switch to "Overdrive Off". What "overdrive off" does is that it only gives you 3 forward gears instead of 4, and "overdrive off" also gives you more engine breaking. So I always drive in "overdrive off". If I ever forget to press the button to engage "overdrive off" after starting the car, then the car tops out with a BLAZING FAST top speed of about 35mph in 2nd gear and I can hear the RPMs going real high so then I have to press the button to engage "overdrive off and then I can shift into 3rd gear. I wonder if my dad gave me this car because it only has 3 forward gears and thus has a very low top speed compared to all other cars on the road. I never drive that fast anyway, and thus I've never even found out what the top speed of this car is in 3rd gear(since it basically doesn't have a 4th gear because it's broken).
BTW, don't forget to see the pics to see what I mean.
Here are the pics.