About 6 weeks ago I took my 2001 Lincoln to Meineke to have Rear Brakes rotor and pads done for the first time (69K miles). A couple weeks later the rear brake was generating a ton of black "dust" on the alloy wheel. I take it back in and they told me the E-brake was dragging on the rotor....and they adjusted back to normal at no cost. Another couple of weeks go by and I notice the same dust returning and that "hot" smell of burning metal. They check it out and this time blame it on a stuck right rear caliper. They can't get the pins unfrozen. I would note that on the original brake work they told me that pins of both sides were stuck or sticking.....but they were able to free them up at that time.
As long as the car was up in the air I had them check the front suspension as I've been hearing some knocking over rough roads. Well, they came up with a litany of issues....basically requiring replacing everything up front as doing it all "just once" would be cheaper than going back in multiple times. I did see the bad items which included a long crack up the right "plastic" A arm, a torn boot on the right wheel bearing/trans-axle, wobbly right wheel bearing, worn out ball joints, twisted sway bar links and beat up bushings. About the only thing not recommended were the front struts. Front brake rotors and pads were done about 3 yrs earlier (20K miles) and they said those were bad as well. Car is probably only worth $6K if everything mechanical was in good shape. I've been looking for a replacement car with much lower miles and then getting rid of this one. But, that's not working out so well.
Ride control is $3400
Front wheel bearings and seals $866
CV axles - $746
Front brakes - $515
The stuck right rear caliper will run another $820. If I eventually need other calipers this could run up to +$3300 total........or about $9000 if 4 calipers are eventually needed. And that's not even considering any future problems with heating and cooling, exhaust, emissions, electronics, windows and seats, AC, PS, etc. Fortunately, all those systems have been good.
Does $6300 seem "reasonable" for just the things called out right now? The shop stated that they only use "FoMoCo" approved parts such as Moog. They won't put "lesser" quality parts on the car. As I ponder all this, the new front rear brakes are getting eaten up....potentially another $500. New tires are due within the year ($600). Fortunately engine and trans on this have been excellent so far. I do all the fluid changes.
Got the car 5 years ago for $4000 with 39,000 miles from the original owners - elderly couple. So it's been pretty cost-effective....until now. Been closely watching the Northeast for used Ford/Lincoln/Mercury Panther platforms with low miles. So far nothing close to me. I don't want to jump on another one of these at 65K miles and find out it too needs a bunch of money into ride/suspension/brakes. So I'm more focused on cars under 40K miles. Have also been looking at new or nearly new RAV4's, CR-V's in the $25K to $35K range.
.
Never been a new car guy. Would still rather be into a real nice used Panther platform at $8K-$12K. But, this isn't the same used or new car market of 5 yrs ago. It's all changed. Since I know my car fairly well after owning 3 of these FWD 4.6L the past 20 yrs....maybe the simplest thing is fixing it and starting fresh again? At least I'll know where I stand. Yet, can I trust a shop to do good work where I won't be back in a couple years due to poor installation or parts? I also ran this invoice by my long time mechanic who I haven't needed to see since the Pandemic. He wouldn't even get back to me on it. His front desk says he is scheduled out 3-6 months or something. Yes, the market is not 2018 anymore. Good used cars are hard to find. And you have to figure most people have scrimped on the maintenance as well. New cars are expensive and still have issues. I'd be a cash buyer of whatever I do get.
I'm 70 yo next year and can't crawl around these cars like I used to. A problem-free car for the next 5-10 yrs (I do 6K-8K mpy) would be a plus. I do love the ride on these big V8 sedans. Everything still works on this car which is surprising. Other than brakes, filters, and fluids most everything is still factory original. A little rust popped up in the lower rockers and front rear wheel lips last year. I was sort of devasted with that - a $2K estimate to replace rockers and repaint at a body shop. I did my own home repairs for now to at least remove the bad rust, anti-rust treated the other metal, applied a 2 part epoxy sealer with f/g tape, then touch up painted. Keeps the mice out. The car was in a light accident with the orig owners where one side got damage on driver's door, rocker, upper pillar....even mis-aligned the hood height by 1 mm or so. So it's no cream-puff. The paint from that repair is still doing ok. Have to wonder if that accident could have affected the longevity of those front suspension parts? Car tracks straight - always has. Was a great car UNTIL this year. Was planning on a 16 qt trans fluid flush on my own this summer....now might not do it. Been 20K miles since the last one.
Fix it? Sell it and get another Panther? Get a 2020-2023 RAV4, CR-V, Mazda CX3, or similar?
As long as the car was up in the air I had them check the front suspension as I've been hearing some knocking over rough roads. Well, they came up with a litany of issues....basically requiring replacing everything up front as doing it all "just once" would be cheaper than going back in multiple times. I did see the bad items which included a long crack up the right "plastic" A arm, a torn boot on the right wheel bearing/trans-axle, wobbly right wheel bearing, worn out ball joints, twisted sway bar links and beat up bushings. About the only thing not recommended were the front struts. Front brake rotors and pads were done about 3 yrs earlier (20K miles) and they said those were bad as well. Car is probably only worth $6K if everything mechanical was in good shape. I've been looking for a replacement car with much lower miles and then getting rid of this one. But, that's not working out so well.
Ride control is $3400
Front wheel bearings and seals $866
CV axles - $746
Front brakes - $515
The stuck right rear caliper will run another $820. If I eventually need other calipers this could run up to +$3300 total........or about $9000 if 4 calipers are eventually needed. And that's not even considering any future problems with heating and cooling, exhaust, emissions, electronics, windows and seats, AC, PS, etc. Fortunately, all those systems have been good.
Does $6300 seem "reasonable" for just the things called out right now? The shop stated that they only use "FoMoCo" approved parts such as Moog. They won't put "lesser" quality parts on the car. As I ponder all this, the new front rear brakes are getting eaten up....potentially another $500. New tires are due within the year ($600). Fortunately engine and trans on this have been excellent so far. I do all the fluid changes.
Got the car 5 years ago for $4000 with 39,000 miles from the original owners - elderly couple. So it's been pretty cost-effective....until now. Been closely watching the Northeast for used Ford/Lincoln/Mercury Panther platforms with low miles. So far nothing close to me. I don't want to jump on another one of these at 65K miles and find out it too needs a bunch of money into ride/suspension/brakes. So I'm more focused on cars under 40K miles. Have also been looking at new or nearly new RAV4's, CR-V's in the $25K to $35K range.
.
Never been a new car guy. Would still rather be into a real nice used Panther platform at $8K-$12K. But, this isn't the same used or new car market of 5 yrs ago. It's all changed. Since I know my car fairly well after owning 3 of these FWD 4.6L the past 20 yrs....maybe the simplest thing is fixing it and starting fresh again? At least I'll know where I stand. Yet, can I trust a shop to do good work where I won't be back in a couple years due to poor installation or parts? I also ran this invoice by my long time mechanic who I haven't needed to see since the Pandemic. He wouldn't even get back to me on it. His front desk says he is scheduled out 3-6 months or something. Yes, the market is not 2018 anymore. Good used cars are hard to find. And you have to figure most people have scrimped on the maintenance as well. New cars are expensive and still have issues. I'd be a cash buyer of whatever I do get.
I'm 70 yo next year and can't crawl around these cars like I used to. A problem-free car for the next 5-10 yrs (I do 6K-8K mpy) would be a plus. I do love the ride on these big V8 sedans. Everything still works on this car which is surprising. Other than brakes, filters, and fluids most everything is still factory original. A little rust popped up in the lower rockers and front rear wheel lips last year. I was sort of devasted with that - a $2K estimate to replace rockers and repaint at a body shop. I did my own home repairs for now to at least remove the bad rust, anti-rust treated the other metal, applied a 2 part epoxy sealer with f/g tape, then touch up painted. Keeps the mice out. The car was in a light accident with the orig owners where one side got damage on driver's door, rocker, upper pillar....even mis-aligned the hood height by 1 mm or so. So it's no cream-puff. The paint from that repair is still doing ok. Have to wonder if that accident could have affected the longevity of those front suspension parts? Car tracks straight - always has. Was a great car UNTIL this year. Was planning on a 16 qt trans fluid flush on my own this summer....now might not do it. Been 20K miles since the last one.
Fix it? Sell it and get another Panther? Get a 2020-2023 RAV4, CR-V, Mazda CX3, or similar?
Last edited:
