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The LS doesn't have an air suspension...you're thinking of Continentals or Mark VIIIs. I have a 2001 LS V8 with 120,000 miles. I have owned it for almost four years and have only spent about $1500 on repairs. The most expensive was replacing the front driver's side ball joint...$730 at the dealership. I also have had to replace one window regulator and a door lock when I first got it, but otherwise the last year and a half (about 20,000 miles) it has been completely trouble free. All electronics work perfectly. The LS has a few common nagging issues, but they are great driver's cars and those of us who own them would gladly buy another despite the shortcomings.
What are those common problems, and how likely am I to encounter them in about 6-8 months of ownership on a well maintained car?
Had an '03, LOVED it, put about 70K miles on it under my ownership.
Ignition coils are almost universally a problem, I believe the issue is oil leaks around them. If they have been replaced (under TSB or warranty or whatever), I believe an improved replacement was made, so it shouldn't be a recurring problem. IIRC, the symptom was hesitant acceleration and misfiring, but under what conditions I don't remember.
If I saw paperwork that the coils had been done, I'd be OK.
What repairs if any have been done to the timing chains, in particular the tensioners and guides. The 3.9 V8 is FAMOUS for timing chain issues and the vast majority end up experiencing them by the time they are in the 120k range. If nothing has been done to the timing chains in terms of replacing the tensioners and the plastic guides, then that might be a good reason why the car is selling cheaper then others. The repair at a Ford dealer would run you $2k+ do to all the labor involved and it's a matter of when, not if it will need to addressed. If they let go, it could be as minor as bent valves or as major as needing a new engine. I wouldn't buy this car unless that work has been done or plan to get it done soon after purchase.
Just a quick update, I went to the dealership the car had been serviced at (according to the service due sticker) and asked if I could see the maintenance history on the vehicle. When I said the year, they instantly knew who I was talking about, and pulled up a list 30+ pages long. Previous owner took fantastically good care of this vehicle and all the important things (ball joints, tie rods, transmission serviced x2) plus a bunch of stuff he seems to have done just to be sure has been done to the vehicle. When the service manager heard what I paid for the car his mouth dropped and he simply said "that's a steal!"
Oh, and I ended up paying $5226.93 out the door (TTL etc incl.), with a full thank of gas.
If that mound of paperwork doesn't include complete replacement of the timing chain tensioners and waterpump, you are on very borrowed time at the mileage you posted. Get it done right away as a matter of urgency. I consider this such a high-risk of failure that I would not want to drive the car 1 mile until it has been done. If you ever heard a weird noise (slapping/pinging/grinding) on startup, shut down immediately. The car came with plastic tensioners that are very well documented as wearing out, allowing the timing chain to jump a gear resulting in as little as new valves/pistons to, unfortunately more commonly, a completely new engine. The water pump impellers were also plastic, and disintegrate over time. Get that and the thermostat (as you'll have easy access to it) replaced ASAP.
Finally, as originally mentioned by several posters, the transmission was considered 'sealed for life' which in this case means about 100-130K miles, although the Ford 5R55N transmissions have been documented by Jaguar owners not even making 50K miles.
You may think you have bought cheap, but in reality you need to spend ~$2000 (chain tensioners, water pump, thermostat and trans fluid flush) to have a car that isn't one step away from meltdown.... If you are a very handy with the wrench, it might just be within your capabilities to do this work yourself, but I have seen what's involved in changing the tensioners and it is a very long, complex, fiddly process that also requires several custom tools....
If that mound of paperwork doesn't include complete replacement of the timing chain tensioners and waterpump, you are on very borrowed time at the mileage you posted. Get it done right away as a matter of urgency. I consider this such a high-risk of failure that I would not want to drive the car 1 mile until it has been done. If you ever heard a weird noise (slapping/pinging/grinding) on startup, shut down immediately. The car came with plastic tensioners that are very well documented as wearing out, allowing the timing chain to jump a gear resulting in as little as new valves/pistons to, unfortunately more commonly, a completely new engine. The water pump impellers were also plastic, and disintegrate over time. Get that and the thermostat (as you'll have easy access to it) replaced ASAP.
Finally, as originally mentioned by several posters, the transmission was considered 'sealed for life' which in this case means about 100-130K miles, although the Ford 5R55N transmissions have been documented by Jaguar owners not even making 50K miles.
You may think you have bought cheap, but in reality you need to spend ~$2000 (chain tensioners, water pump, thermostat and trans fluid flush) to have a car that isn't one step away from meltdown.... If you are a very handy with the wrench, it might just be within your capabilities to do this work yourself, but I have seen what's involved in changing the tensioners and it is a very long, complex, fiddly process that also requires several custom tools....
- Tim
Thanks for backing me up on that. Viking, please take this advice and what I posted earlier to heart. It's not something that only happened on a few of these cars, it's something that effected virtually ALL of these cars. If that work hasn't been done already, you need to plan to get it done ASAP.
Thanks for backing me up on that. Viking, please take this advice and what I posted earlier to heart. It's not something that only happened on a few of these cars, it's something that effected virtually ALL of these cars. If that work hasn't been done already, you need to plan to get it done ASAP.
I'm aware of the issue, but as far as I've read it's a 120-140k mile issue, at which point the car will be sold again, in any case, I know it's been looked at previously, the car was taken care of to the point of overkill.
I appreciate the advice though.
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