hi gene - i'll chime in on this one since no one has addressed the old folks problems.
having been there, done that.....with my own dad, the lincoln towncar is the only choice hands down. here are the main reasons i've found. and before i say this, i will tell you ahead of time, i have a car lot and put him in a lot of different vehicles.
- he had trouble pulling himself into a truck type applications. it hurts them and nothing to grab in pull themselves in or out.
- a lot of cars, such as t-birds, and cougars, mustangs, drop down when you get in and they have problems getting down and getting up from that position.
- the van wasn't too bad, but i guess it would depend mainly on the van.
- the crown vic would be the next choice but when compared to the lincoln, there isn't any.
- the lincoln has done their homework, because, i guess, a lot of people who can afford them or older. the leather seats are easier to slide in and out of as compared to cloth seats. don't sound like much but ask anyone who has had a hip replacement operation. and the oh shit handles are standard on the lincoln. it is those handles that they can hang on to while getting in and out of that makes the difference as well at the seating height. they don't drop in. when they go to get out, the first thing they do is open the door, grab the overhead handle and pull themselves over to the edge of the car, then swing their legs around to stand up. all this takes a lot of energy at that age.
a young person doesn't give it a second thought about hopping in or out of a car. my brother has trouble climbing into a lincoln towncar. sitting aside the fact that he's 400lbs, he's had a knee operation and can't bend his leg much. when he gets in, he puts one hand in the middle of the seat where the lincoln emblem is and the other one on the roof structure of the car and ease himself into the seat. then he gets the overhead handle to pick himself up and move himself around to position himself to drive.
i doubt very seriously if you will find a 98 lincoln towncar in the price range you quoted. they just had a 98 lincoln that ran very good that brought over 4,000 dollars, but it had 608,000 miles on it. that's right 608,000 miles. i also see one on ebay that sold with 310,000 miles that brought over 5,000 dollars. check out the ebay prices and then go shopping locally.
you can pick up a real nice mid 90's lincoln for that price range that will perform the service that you require of it and won't break your pocket book. also, be advised, since you said that you are not going to use it that much, that the depreciation factor comes into play and lincolns do depreciate a lot faster than the crown vics.
hope this information helps.
~ curtis
knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional