When I think of South Carolina, it’s hard not to think of Hilton Head. And when I think of Hilton Head, I immediately associate it with a Lincoln Town Car that has four sets of golf clubs in the trunk. Who knows if that’s how this particular Town Car was used, but what is obvious it that it wasn’t used much at all: just 4,600 miles are on the odometer. This is likely one of the nicest ones left and surely owned by an elderly driver who was forced to park the luxury sedan after a few years of driving. Find it here on eBay with a slightly bonkers $38,000 asking price.
Now, that’s not to say that a near-new Town Car shouldn’t fetch a fair price, but I’ve got to believe the market for such a car is quite slim. As a 1990 model, this may be one of the earlier second-generation models produced, making its low-mileage even more impressive. This generation continued using the venerable rear wheel drive Panther platform with a 5.0L V8; power was not particularly impressive at 150 b.h.p. Later cars saw more respectable power increases, but this one is a far cry from the impressive Ecoboost motors found in many Ford products today. The “Antique Auto” plates and garage / stable mate may indicate enthusiast ownership of this preserved Town Car.
The interior does present quite well, with that classic leather bench seat that looks comfortable enough for sleeping on. The second-generation Town Car was one of the first domestic vehicles to come with dual airbags standard, joining a small group of vehicles from Porsche and Mercedes- Benz that also offered supplemental restraints. No word on the interior functions but I’m assuming the full assortment of power features still work. Leather appears untorn and mostly unused, but lighting isn’t great in the photos. Once again, for such a high ask price-wise, I’d expect far better photos than this.
Even with this dark photo, the paint still appears to shine well so hopefully, it was garage-stored while it accumulated the few miles it has. The Town Car is an important car in automobile history, as it was a smash success for Ford and Lincoln. Whether it will ever become collectible is questionable, as the production numbers made it anything but limited. The trouble with this example is the asking price is top of the market – if not beyond the top – so for anyone other than a collector who wants to stare at a mint second-generation Town Car and never put any miles on it, this is going to have limited appeal to buyers hoping to acquire an appreciating investment.
$38K?? The seller seems to have partaken of too much recreational pharmaceuticals It’s a nice ride, well kept, with ultra low mileage, but indeed the market for this is VERY slim. Pack it away for another 10-15 years, and you might get $25K out of it
I like the way you but it Dovi65! You hit the nail on the head by pointing out the market for these are so very slim. They’re not seen as classic and they’re enormous, too! He gave about 2K for his (sure his had many more miles than this one) but….
KBB for a 1992 model (as far back as the site goes) is $3K for an excellent condition, low mileage example. $38k is ludicrous.
I just turned down a very nice grey one with burgundy leather cant remember mileage but very clean for 2k
One too many zeros.
More like 2 too many LOL. I like these but think of what you could buy with $38k
Park it in a dry shop, leave it for 10 years and try again. Now is not the time for that kind of money. Just my opinion.
Thats sweet but a little nuts on the price.id like to see the 57 chevy thats parked next to it in pix 6 and 7.i wonder if thats theres or if they would take 38k for that one.
It must have been a typo…I would think it should have read either $3,800 or $13,800! For many, it is still considered as an used car and to be nothing atypical in the south such as South Carolina or Florida as it is often these immaculate cars with low mileage sit in carports and garages unused as their elderly owners stopped driving, but liked the piece of mind that they had a car nearby. In fact, my 89 year old mother’s 2008 Toyota Camry only has 10,280 miles on it, and she has not driven in the last 4 years! I drive it on occasion to keep it alive. Probably the finest and the most minty Camry around outside of Toyota Factory Museum!
More like 6k,
Must need the 32,000$ for crack cocaine habit
It looks like a base model rent a car.
We had a ton of those in Las Vegas back in the ’90s.
Nothing rare or interesting about this car.
Lincoln air compressor & air suspension ?
Run Run Run away like the wind. The costs of that repair executed correctly far exceed the overall value of the vehicle. I have wrenched on two of these and no thank you ever again.
Remember these a few years old going down the road with the tail end draggin, or the entire car on the bumper stops ( even better ). Junk
You’re right about that air suspension. Years ago, when they were still making them, I travelled a great deal with my dad. Like the game “popeye”, we’d point out these that had the air suspension out on them, with their tails dragging the ground and the headlights shooting for the stars!
As a long time Mark VIII owner, I am all for the public thinking of the air suspension as black magic. Then it allows the willing few to buy low-mileage examples at reasonable prices. This one, however, doesn’t fall under “reasonable” anything.
Sometimes I think that low mileage classics are to just sit and look at. About a year ago, I bought a 1978 Thunderbird with 45,000 miles. I have driven it not quite 1,000 miles since I bought it. I immediately changed all the fluids, and now I’m constantly trying to fix one leak after another. But it will be worth it in the end. This one could possibly do the same. And for $38,000, no thanks. I would put that in a new pickup and drive it frequently.
If you’re a airport chauffeur or Uber driver, a low mileage example like this is golden.
I owned a 1990 Town Car. The beast rode well and handled decently. At over 100K problems crop up, mainly transmission, and air suspension. Do have a good relationship with your mechanic! As much as I’d like another (and there are no fewer than four near me for sale) who in the world thinks 38K, even at this low mileage, is a deal? I know I’m nuts but I’m not stupid.
A friends father left him a car just like this when he passed , wow , well about 5k later it was roadworthy , lots went wrong after about 10 years of storage . only reason he fixed it as it was dads Lincoln !!
I failed to mention that my Thunderbird had been in storage for a few years. I guess that’s what really does it.
I have been burned by two low mileage storage cars in the last few years. I would rather have a 100k miler with maintenance up to date than a 10 year stored 50k car. Just my opinion.
1990 was Lincoln’s makeover year slightly downsizing for the extra long Town Car’s from the 1980-1989 era. Second generation?? $38,000 is absolutely ridiculous. But regardless from 1990-1997 this model ran strong and were pretty nice Town Car’s of the Nineties.
I have a factory black on black Signature 90. With factory moonroof, factory jbl with CD. Have restored the car top to bottom – paint, seals, replacement interior trim, engine reseal, etc. Absolutely fantastic automobile. Not fast but a great highway cruiser. Dark tinted windows, cold AC, and quality ride make this my favorite car. Have 4K into it.
Yes, the early air ride was problematic, and VERY expensive to repair. My Dad spent $2 large on bags for his ’98 Town Car. A few months later, it got T-Boned. :(
My ’03 Vic has the same system, but the quality of materials of the bags greatly improved.I had to replace the compressor about 4 years ago, but other than that, they perform well. There is a cheap replacement kit to replace them to conventional shocks. I doesn’t affect the ride. The main purpose for the system was for leveling, not for an improvement in ride comfort. If you don’t load the trunk down, and have 2 people of ample girth riding in the back seat, they’re superfluous. This is a beautiful car, but the asking price is just so crazy, it’s out of bounds.
I second that about the air ride. Even though the car has low mileage does not mean the air ride is not going out and it is truly expensive to repair . I know someone that that had a 1989 Lincoln ,I believe and it went on there Ontario to Florida trip and it almost ended it. You could not give me this car
Watch me pull this number out of my a$$!
I had a cranberry/silver one just like this. Bought it for junk actually. Put in a battery and a set of cop car rear springs. It’s still running around two owners later.
Those center caps are fragile like egg shells and they’re pretty much unobtanium. A number of odd and hard to find 1990 only bits. Later 4.6 has way more power.
Swap in some coil springs from a police car donor and forget about air suspension problems. Easy fix. Plenty of springs available at Pic and Pull.
The New York livery industry loved these as “airport cars” and Crown Vics as Taxi’s. Most could make it to a half million miles (mandatory retirement mileage) without much trouble.
This guy’s dream and 38000 gotta be kidding me
Buddy of mine has one. Swapped the air suspension for conventional shocks. He’s a cheapskate so I know it didn’t cost him much. Loves it.