2019 Lincoln MKC Reserve - should I buy???

[GON]

The main reason for shopping is comfort. My wife's medical condition makes comfort over function. I agree that Lexus has Lincoln MKC beat in the reliability lane but the cost reflects it. Probably $10,000 difference. So there is that risk / reward ration where that $10,000 difference can pay for a lot of repairs. If comfort on the MKC was more comfortable for her, it would be the way to go. The manufacturers are really asking a lot from 4 cylinders. Volvo has a 4 cylinder that is turbo charged with a super charger. Ouch - poor little car.

The MKC had a screen that is big enough for us, I am not a fan of cars with infotainment screens that are small movie houses.

The 40 weight / blend oil change is something I would have done to my beater cars that had oil issues. Using a higher weight oil to cover the ills. I wouldn't do it to a well running car without any ills.

I didn't know about the premium gas needs. Cars were reaching the point that 100,000 miles on an engine was no big deal but it seems that we are heading backward to the days that an engine with 100,000 miles was end of life. My 2011 Honda CR-V has 125,000 on it, burns no oil, leaks no oil and runs perfect. If not for the fact that Honda CR-V went all CVT after 2016, I would might look at CR-V's.

I see a lot of late model Lincoln SUVs in the pick a pull. They are not even desirable enough to make it to a typical salvage yard. I see zero late model Lexus SUVs in the pick a pull.

10k USD is nothing when it comes to peace of mind. Get your Wife the most comfortable Lexus she likes, and call it a day. You will sleep great at night with your Wife owning a Lexus SUV, a Lincloln SUV will keep you up at night.

Sorry to post this- I love the Lincoln history- and have passion for Lincolns; having your Wife have confidence in her wheels far outweighs our sentiment of a late model Lincoln.

 

[CKN]

We are retired and don't put a lot of miles on our car, maybe 6,000 miles a year. But yeah who wants a modern engine that is shot at 100,000 miles. So I would have a hard time with it. Darn car is really comfortable and interior is appealing to us.

Our Volvo V60 had the oil consumption test done and passed the test. At 52,000 miles all kinks are worked out except for the ride is too sporty and rough for my wife. Low profile tires on our constantly crappy roads causes pain. I recently had a discussion on here about tires. OEM says I can go from 40 to 45 aspect ratio and that may help a bit. Plus I am going to try the MICHELIN CROSSCLIMATE2
tires which may have a better ride. So we can spend $1200 on tires and see how it goes.

I just don't know what engineers and manufacturers are thinking? Recently test drove a Lexus with a mousepad. Sorry to any owners that have them but to me, it was the craziest stupid arrangement I ever saw! Now I understand why so many people drive with their heads down and not looking at the road. To me, a knob is much easier to find, to feel and to use that a mousepad or even a touch screen. But then maybe I am crazy because I am from the days you had vent knobs attached to cables. I wanted air into the footwell, I pulled a knob and a cable opened the vent flap. No motor needed. Not sure if I ever had one of those cables break but I have had motor driven blend flap problems on cars.

They did make a 2.3 for the MKC. Was that more reliable than the 2.0?

What a diatribe of nonsense. Starting with your 3rd paragraph. What a "mature"view.

 

[andrew_j]

The quality/build of the fancy Ford will never touch a Lexus. Comfort is subjective and more emotional along with branding/looks etc.

How long do you expect to own it? If 6 years go for it. Longer term I’d stay away.

 

[urdrwho]

No don’t think so. My understanding is the 2.3 is one of the better EcoBoosts in the lineup.

Hm? An article from an engine tuning guy site ......

Common Ford 2.3 EcoBoost Engine Problems and Reliability

Learn about Ford 2.3 Ecoboost common problems including carbon build-up and head gasket failure. Is the 2.3 EcoBoost reliable?

tuningpro.co

One mention on head gasket.

"This is hardly worth mentioning as it’s been discussed and the problem appears to be limited to early 2.3 EcoBoost Focus RS models. Sometimes these problems can be tough to discuss. The internet often has a habit of blowing things out of proportion. However, sometimes things can also slip under the rug. Nonetheless, we’ll keep this short and leave it somewhat open ended.

This article discusses the possibility that affected Focus RS models accidentally received Mustang head gaskets. That seems to be the general consensus. Only a few percent of Focus RS cars were affected and Ford ultimately resolved the issues.

We figured it was worth a mention just in case anything deeper is going on. There don’t appear to be many, if any, head gasket failures on Mustang’s or other models using the 2.3 EB engine. Again, the 2.3 EcoBoost is still a pretty new engine. Time will tell if there are deeper issues here, or if it was truly an error with incorrect gaskets being used."

All this worry is because I don't plan on doing my own work anymore and my arthritis would not play nice with a lot of wrench turning. Ugh - life? I could do just about any job from swapping engines on my Jags in a parking lot, to removing heads on a GMC school bus in a parking lot and everything in between. Those were the days but now I don't want to have to do it and I don't want to finance too many of my mechanics ski trips to Colorado.

I did see a 2019 CPO and I like the idea that was given to go find a CPO. Depends on the date of build, January build or December build, I'd get an extra 11 months of warranty. Maybe all cars don't run their warranty months from date of build?

 

[urdrwho]

What a diatribe of nonsense. Starting with your 3rd paragraph. What a "mature"view.

My wife says I am just to say - thank you.

 

[urdrwho]

10k USD is nothing when it comes to peace of mind. Get your Wife the most comfortable Lexus she likes, and call it a day. You will sleep great at night with your Wife owning a Lexus SUV, a Lincloln SUV will keep you up at night.

True. We don't take loans on cars, we write a check and that started 30 years ago. So although the extra $10,000 can be done, when writing a check it is much more apparent than amortizing that $10,000. My mother died at age 98 and she had a Lincoln Town car that ran for 30 years. We made her park it when she hit 90. A mechanic I know had a friend who at the time was an older guy (to us) and had 400,000 on his Lincoln. My mechanic called the guy Doc but I haven't seen that mechanic or doc in 15 years. But those were Lincolns from a previous generation. Guess these smaller engines are being asked to do a lot and meet CAFE standards, MPG and power.

 

[urdrwho]

The quality/build of the fancy Ford will never touch a Lexus. Comfort is subjective and more emotional along with branding/looks etc.

How long do you expect to own it? If 6 years go for it. Longer term I’d stay away.

That is a good question. The car that gives her pain was to be our long lasting car, maybe our last car. But then all things changed so how long we would own the MKC could change. We don't switch out cars very often. Our eye/body like the look and feel of the MKC but we know Lexus will beat the MKC in the maintenance part.

 

[Audiman]

BITOG has got to be the only place that if you ask what oil should I use 9/10 you will get told Mobil 1 0w40 then people say don’t buy a car that’s had 40 weight oil put in it, crazy.

 

[dogememe]

I wouldn’t be afraid of an MKC. However, it sounds like that particular one at that dealer is not a good one. I’d look for a different one if you like the car.

 

[nickaluch]

If you don't mind a bigger vehicle check out the Buick Enclave rides like a traditional big Buick from back in the day. Big and comfy great travel vehicle

 

[urdrwho]

Well if anyone will see this we went to look at two cars yesterday and ended up with a 2016 Lexus RX 350. Yikes used car prices are crazy. I had on the list to see a Mazda CX5 and a 2019 Lincoln MKC which was a CPO. But there was a Lexus dealer across the street, a big dealership and we've used that dealer before and like them. My wife felt pain in the Mazda but the Lexus was good for her pain. The deal started happening, sitting in the sales office and by this time my wife had been up and about for 2 hours, doing the 40 minutes to see the MKC was not in the cards.

The sales guy mentioned it has a 6 cylinder, a bell was ringing in my head but couldn't remember why???

The car has 57,332 miles on it and is in very good condition. It has a timing chain - good. It has a traditional transmission - good. They did their 168 point inspect and put about $2500 in the car, new brakes, discs, Michelin tires, air filter, cabin filter, oil change, etc.

Negative for me is my right knee hits the steering column when my seat and wheel is positioned to my driving preference.

That 6 cylinder. So I get home and get on the computer and there he is, I watched it before, The Car Nut youtube. Where a $20 gasket means removing an entire engine to fix an oil leak. I hate oil leaks, smoking off engine, drops on the garage floor. On a 2GR engine it is a very expensive job.

Now the question becomes, is this common on 1% out of the millions of engines. On Tuesday I go to pick up the car, give a check, sign the papers.

Also I didn't read a carfax while initially looking and carfax says, one owner and a minor damage (CF not was probably hail). I need to look on top of roof.

This car was sold and ready for pickup but the guy backed out and bought one of the big Lexus SUV's. So this car was prepped and ready to go out the door to the new owner. On our test drive, going over a bump I heard the shocks make a noise or something down below. While sitting at sales guys desk he says, "I heard a noise going over a bump, I want to have our garage look at it." He asks if I heard it, yes I heard it. My wife heard nothing. I'd be very sexist if I say a certain sex never hears any car noises. Kudos for him for being proactive BUT this car was ready to be picked up by a new owner and what's up with the 168 point check for piece of mind?

The deal -

Car sticker was $27,750
My trade offer $12,000 (2016 Volvo V60 with 52,000 miles)
Out the door tax and tags was $17,500 to be paid
I said I would like $16,250 out the door
Leaves office and in 30 seconds he's back - $16,250 it is

That timing cover oil leak is an expensive, big job and I am a bit worried. It has to be a very small amount of engines.

 

[urdrwho]

I see a lot of late model Lincoln SUVs in the pick a pull. They are not even desirable enough to make it to a typical salvage yard. I see zero late model Lexus SUVs in the pick a pull.

10k USD is nothing when it comes to peace of mind. Get your Wife the most comfortable Lexus she likes, and call it a day. You will sleep great at night with your Wife owning a Lexus SUV, a Lincloln SUV will keep you up at night.

Sorry to post this- I love the Lincoln history- and have passion for Lincolns; having your Wife have confidence in her wheels far outweighs our sentiment of a late model Lincoln.

We bought a Lexus, an older model and I just posted the experience of the car.