At $3,500, Could This 2003 Lincoln Town Car Make You Large And In Charge?

Unlike the dinosaurs, which are long gone, today’s Nice Price or No Dice Town Car still allows us to experience a bygone era of gargantuan proportions and marshmallow ride and handling. Let’s see if this creampuff’s price makes it the cream of the crop.

There’s something tantalizing about getting something on the cheap that once was really expensive. It’s one of the major benefits of being a late adopter. You may not be getting the latest hotness, but the proof is in the pudding that patience pays off, even if time has dulled the experience somewhat.

That was the obvious case with the 2007 BMW 650i convertible we considered yesterday. When new, that car cost an eye-blistering 85 to 90 grand to drive off the dealer lot. Now, nearly 20 years and an ugly cracked dash later, $9,000 is all it would take to free it from the shackles of its present owner. Oh sure, any nearly two-decade-old Bimmer is going to threaten its owner’s financial solvency at some point down the line, but won’t it be fun while it lasts? That seemed to be the opinion of the vast majority of you, and the result was a narrow but bold 64% Nice Price win for the E64.

Have you ever considered the incongruity behind the name of Lincoln’s long-serving Town Car? Lincoln applied that name to the largest of the large of its cars, which stands in stark contrast to the small “city cars” that we generally think are appropriate for navigating the cramped quarters of urban out-and-abouting. It’s not actually contradictory, however. The name, Town Car, is an anglicization of the French “de Ville,” meaning “for use in town,” a descriptor that separates it from a more utilitarian country wagon. Long before Cadillac used the de Ville name on its models, it described a specific style of vehicle, first horse-drawn and later motorized, with an open compartment for the driver and enclosed space behind for passengers. Neither Cadillac’s de Ville nor Lincoln’s Town Car offered this blatant example of literal class separation despite each being among the largest cars money could buy and, hence, having plenty of space to do so. That being said, Lincoln’s Town Car was always targeted to those with an appreciation for the pampered lifestyle.

This 2003 Lincoln Town Car represents the last in the line of both the model name (at least until Ford’s copyright gets close to running out) and the Panther platform upon which it was based. First introduced in 1979, underpinning the Crown Victoria and Mercury Marquis, the Panther served as Ford Motor Company’s stalwart big car platform for the next 30 years.

Lincoln moved its largest models to the Panther platform in 1980, shrinking the outside dimensions while opening up greater interior space in the process. Over the ensuing years, the Town Car would be split off from the Continental nameplate, saw two major bodystyle changes, and enjoyed a ton of incremental updates that massaged the ride, handling, performance, and packaging.

This being the last of the line (Town Car production ended with this edition in 2011), it’s arguably the best of the bunch. That means it has four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, a dashboard full of airbags, and a suspension that’s gone through years of tweaking to ensure it rides and handles the best so big a barge possibly can.

This being a 2003 means that the drivetrain has been improved as well. This year the dual-exhaust version of the 4.6-liter SOHC Modular V8 became standard. With that twin-pipe exhaust, the engine makes 239 horsepower and 287 pound-feet of torque. Paired with the higher-ratio rear end, that gives the Lincoln the same specs as the Police Interceptor edition of the Crown Vic, making it a real Hot Rod Lincoln rather than the Caddy-powered car made famous in the oldie station song. Backing that engine up is Ford’s four-speed automatic with a traditional column shift.

According to the ad, that drivetrain has pushed this big brute for 192,000 miles, although the seller claims that “you’d never know it from the way it drives.” The ad also notes that the car is free of rust, presents as clean, inside and out, and has “everything working like it should.”

This was apparently a Grandpa’s car (big surprise) and has been garage-kept when not out looking for early-bird dinner specials or cruising bingo parlors looking for blue-haired matrons to woo. Sorry, that’s just the image I have just conjured based on the car.

Everything looks to be in pretty good shape here, although the center armrest shows a bit too much use and one of the buttons for the cruise control has gone AWOL from the steering wheel.

A clean title and a surprisingly scrape-free exterior are added incentives, as are the seller’s suggesting that the car is “Highway ready,” making it “perfect for long drives or daily commuting.” That is, of course, if your daily commute involves the highway.

The asking price for this Town Car is $3,500. Yes, $3,500. That makes it a lot of car for the cash, but it gives us pause to ask whether other options at that price point might be a better expenditure. What do you think? Does this Lincoln have enough life left in it to make for a solid, cheap-seats ride? Or would that $3,500 asking be better invested in ordering up Ubers when the need to go into town arises?

You decide!

Nice Price or No Dice:

Madison, Wisconsin, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Don R. for the hookup!

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