I bought a 2017 Lincoln Navigator L

[fantastic]

Our 2008 XC90 wasn't cutting it with 7 of us. There was very little room behind 3rd row seating. What to do? Go buy a bigger vehicle!

The "Extended" versions of the GM Suburban/Yukon XL/Escalade ESV & Ford Expedition EL/Lincoln Navigator L was on the menu. But after thinking about it more the GM engines were not having a good reputation. While i'm sure the 3.5L has its issues it seemed to be the better option. The GM models seemed to hold a higher cost on the used market which is surprising based on how many they sold.

Now it was time to search high & low across the internet world. I used Auto tempest & was able to find several options. I settled on a 2017 Lincoln Navigator L down in Garland, Texas. The dealer sent me the Carfax & I noticed it was licensed as a New York Taxi. Never bought anything like that before & the pics seemed to check out. It had "Severe" damage report, by the auction dealer, along with a "Minor" damage report listed on the Carfax. This stuff is such a gamble but it didn't have a branded title so that was good & only 73,190 miles on it seemed like the kind of miles I was after.

Went to go pick it up this week & took 3 days/2 nights from MO. We swung in to visit my sister & brother in-law along the way back. Dealer put on new tires, battery, & oil change. On the drive home we lost 2 lug nuts & I could turn several of them by hand. Tire & repair shops don't seem to believe in using a torque wrench. Went to Oreilly's & got some lug nuts then borrowed a torque wrench to proper 150 ft lbs. One of the rear belt latches is broken so I'll need another one. A nasty rock chip on the windshield I'll need to get a chip repair kit for. I see no indication of major issues with frame etc. I do see the back quarter panel seems to have a bit less clear coat on the black paint?. Whatever alarm system on here is absolutely annoying! Seems like I need to use the key fob to unlock or else it triggers it. I'm still trying to figure it out. Moving on...

Wow, This 3.5L 380 HP / 460 Torque (Horsepower and torque ratings achieved with 93-octane fuel.) is absolutely wonderful! This thing will get going with no trouble. What really surprised me about this engine & vehicle is how quiet it is. Even idling with the hood popped it was whisper quiet, don't even hear the twin turbo. I just tried the cooled seats today & that is quite something to feel a cold bee-hind. It has a 6 speed "SelectShift" transmission that seems to hold gears longer & goes into 6th gear on a level highway as early as 40 MPH. 4.10:1 Rear axle ratio seems to move this heavy SUV. I need to take it over a CAT scale soon to get an idea of its curb weight. Brochures seem to suggest around 6,300 lbs. 8 seats will be nice to have an extra one available for our other family members (I have 7 kids). I feel like I'm back in the late 1990's with the big SUV craze...ha! MSRP Sticker was $71,XXX (I can post it if you'd like). I didn't trade in anything & plan to keep the 3 vehicles, total now, until they quit.

What do you say?

 

[The_Jeff]

I didn't know those existed! Lincoln has been poor with their advertising.

If anyone used them, it would be a NYC livery service. Was it actually a medallion cab or just a "black car"? I suspect the latter.

Seems like the dealer believes in "Armor All", not "Armor Here & There."

 

[fantastic]

I didn't know those existed! Lincoln has been poor with their advertising.

Me either, They didn't sell a ton of these either compared to the sister Expedition. Then learning about the names of the "Extended" versions to make sure I didn't get stuck with a shorty.

If anyone used them, it would be a NYC livery service. Was it actually a medallion cab or just a "black car"? I suspect the latter.

This was no NYC yellow cab.
I don't know anything about taxi's up there. The dealer mentioned, maybe, it was a company that shuttled their coworkers?. I do know this needs to be registered as a commercial vehicle due to being over 6,000 lbs. but that's a separate deal than the taxi registration on the title. A "premium" option for Uber or Lyft? What's a "black car"? Interesting to ponder though.

I kept thinking well it stayed warmed up & most likely didn't tow anything being in NYC so the transmission is probably in good shape.

Seems like the dealer believes in "Armor All", not "Armor Here & There."

This thing has a pleasant liquor smell inside from the detailing or should I say Lacquer...
They seemed to have cleaned it well that's for sure.

 

[robbobster]

Sweet truck right there.

But might be kinda tight for 7?

Wife and I have two young boys - 3 and 5 years old. Add the au pair & the 5 of us makes our Suburban feel small.

If we were 7 I’d be looking at passenger vans

 

[gman2304]

But after thinking about it more the GM engines were not having a good reputation. While i'm sure the 3.5L has its issues it seemed to be the better option

I Agree. Good luck with your “ new “ Lincoln!

 

[loneryder]

Me either, They didn't sell a ton of these either compared to the sister Expedition. Then learning about the names of the "Extended" versions to make sure I didn't get stuck with a shorty.

This was no NYC yellow cab.
I don't know anything about taxi's up there. The dealer mentioned, maybe, it was a company that shuttled their coworkers?. I do know this needs to be registered as a commercial vehicle due to being over 6,000 lbs. but that's a separate deal than the taxi registration on the title. A "premium" option for Uber or Lyft? What's a "black car"? Interesting to ponder though.

I kept thinking well it stayed warmed up & most likely didn't tow anything being in NYC so the transmission is probably in good shape.

This thing has a pleasant liquor smell inside from the detailing or should I say Lacquer...
They seemed to have cleaned it well that's for sure.

That might be one of Navi's former limos.

 

[4wd]

I didn't know those existed! Lincoln has been poor with their advertising.

If anyone used them, it would be a NYC livery service. Was it actually a medallion cab or just a "black car"? I suspect the latter.

Seems like the dealer believes in "Armor All", not "Armor Here & There."

They sold a fair amount here - but the dealership dropped Lincoln around the COVID/chip crisis - then literally across the road - the competition dropped Caddy …

 

[4wd]

Me either, They didn't sell a ton of these either compared to the sister Expedition. Then learning about the names of the "Extended" versions to make sure I didn't get stuck with a shorty.

This was no NYC yellow cab.
I don't know anything about taxi's up there. The dealer mentioned, maybe, it was a company that shuttled their coworkers?. I do know this needs to be registered as a commercial vehicle due to being over 6,000 lbs. but that's a separate deal than the taxi registration on the title. A "premium" option for Uber or Lyft? What's a "black car"? Interesting to ponder though.

I kept thinking well it stayed warmed up & most likely didn't tow anything being in NYC so the transmission is probably in good shape.

This thing has a pleasant liquor smell inside from the detailing or should I say Lacquer...
They seemed to have cleaned it well that's for sure.

I take airport limo’s often - Lincoln and Caddy have faded to more practical next level down. Recently in a ‘Burb with 558k - so I suspect they have their own shop and an AFM delete happens at some point. OTH, one of our engineers is well past 200k on a 5.3L AFM stock
Just sold one with 115k and it ran great.
BiL has a 2015 F150 3.5 eB and zero issues …
We had a 3.5 eB in an Explorer - but the monoxide thing pushed us to dump it at 39k bcs Ford offered no solution …
Great motors though …

 

[panthermike]

Looks really nice from the photos, congrats

Keep that oil changed often and I would service the transmission unless there is history that it has been done.

Those EcoBoost motors sure do scoot!

 

[Hirev]

Looks like a nice ride with a lot of room would be nice on road trips. I don't think I've ever seen Lincoln Navigator around here. Did not even know about them.

 

[Kira]

8th picture down.....brown tint on a black/black vehicle.
Nothing wrong with it, just noticing.

What became of the 2008 XC-90? Was the READ unit ever problematic? Did the vacuum pump ever leak?

 

[joekingcorvette]

Very nice! I also notice the price is usually a little lower on the Expedition/Navigator's compared with the Suburban's. I like the FBI style black on black. The Navigator has ton's of do-dad's and gadgets to play with. With only 73 rounds on it the vehicle should last a long time with proper maintenance.

 

[FordSVTGuy]

Love it! I like the clean look of the dash and control panel. As others have mentioned, keep up with maintenance and you should be good…

 

[D60]

The '18 F150 I just serviced still had 2-piece lugnuts. You can get a whole set of solids for ~$30 on Amazon

That may have been livery but would have been "luxury limousine" category rather than "taxi" -- at least that's how CO handles it. Still, the drivers don't own it and don't care. Negligence abounds. My ex-wife used to manage such a place.

Not suggesting it was a bad deal. Looks nice.

 

[The_Jeff]

8th picture down.....brown tint on a black/black vehicle.
Nothing wrong with it, just noticing.

I think it's just an auto-white balance artifact.

Tan shoes are ok with black suits now.

 

[gman2304]

Tan shoes are ok with black suits now.

My wife and I have discussed this very thing. I liken it to wearing sneakers with a Tux.

 

[fantastic]

Sweet truck right there.

But might be kinda tight for 7?

Wife and I have two young boys - 3 and 5 years old. Add the au pair & the 5 of us makes our Suburban feel small.

If we were 7 I’d be looking at passenger vans

Compared to the XC90 it's a bit more room. My main goal wasn't to add more room for the kids but more room behind the 3rd row seat. The 8th seat compared to the 7 seat Volvo is a nice bonus. The 2nd row captain chair option on some of these would be cool but I'm not going to pass up a good deal like this on just b/c it has the 2nd row bench. Yes the kids need to fold the seat up to get into the 3rd row but Ford made it more convenient by allowing the whole seat to go forward.

This video shows the captains chairs but the same idea.

I take airport limo’s often - Lincoln and Caddy have faded to more practical next level down. Recently in a ‘Burb with 558k - so I suspect they have their own shop and an AFM delete happens at some point. OTH, one of our engineers is well past 200k on a 5.3L AFM stock
Just sold one with 115k and it ran great.
BiL has a 2015 F150 3.5 eB and zero issues …
We had a 3.5 eB in an Explorer - but the monoxide thing pushed us to dump it at 39k bcs Ford offered no solution …
Great motors though …

Good notes, thanks
I imagine the 5.3 and early 6.2L are good engines & owned several early GM's but the 3.5 was calling my name. I think the only real advantage to the GM was that it offered safety braking. There's possibly more I missed but that's what I came up with. They seem to hold their value on the used market.

Looks really nice from the photos, congrats

Keep that oil changed often and I would service the transmission unless there is history that it has been done.

Those EcoBoost motors sure do scoot!

Absolutely, I'll schedule the transmission change & a few other things. I need the door button lock/unlock code b/c I never got it. I can change it to something easier to remember which I'll do. The factory code still works even if that's changed.

8th picture down.....brown tint on a black/black vehicle.
Nothing wrong with it, just noticing.

It shows up that color on that picture but it doesn't look brown in person. I will point out that this tint is sort of starting to turn purple & is scratch up here & there. It's probably been on there for a long time & not sure what the original quality of the tint was. I'll have it all re-tinted or removed. The front two aren't tinted & I'll certainly get that done. There's a 35% limit in MO for the front two but the rest are anything you want.

What became of the 2008 XC-90? Was the READ unit ever problematic? Did the vacuum pump ever leak?

It's still sitting in the driveway.
Everything is still working as intended. The original surpentine belt is getting quite cracked. I called up a local mechanic shop & they didn't want to do a quote on what it would be to replace the water pump when that time happens. Obviously, easier to do all the replacements while they're in there. The closest Volvo dealership is like in St Louis & that's over 200 miles away. I need to find somewhere closer that knows what they're doing on these. We bought it in TX at 116k & now it's at 150k miles. We took it down to buy this Navigator & didn't skip a beat. The wife did pick up a nasty door ding from some other vehicle in a parking lot opening their door along our route somewhere. The brake vacuum pump did indeed leak. I bought a cheap gasket kit on eBay & replaced it in the garage.

All cleaned up & reinstalled.

 

[fantastic]

Doing my maintenance scan yesterday I noticed the brake fluid was plum overfilled. Sucked it down to the max line. It does look like new fluid however.

While I'm at it let's pop off the air filter to check it's status. Nasty! Labeled Motorcraft and just by how awful it looks I'm sure it's the original filter no one decided to change. I couldn't make out the date though.

Vacuumed and wiped out the box but no pic. Went straight to O'Reilly's Auto for a Microgard MSA81025 and seemed to fit good. Claims twice the capacity and there seemed to be more pleats in the Select filter.

 

[nickaluch]

NYC black car service vehicle has long idle hours most have there miles turned back yearly just before state inspection. Never brought back to dealership unless warranty work all repairs done by private company no computer input of work done so no paper trail of vehicle mileage. They live a hard life there working vehicles running constantly

 

[fantastic]

NYC black car service vehicle has long idle hours most have there miles turned back yearly just before state inspection. Never brought back to dealership unless warranty work all repairs done by private company no computer input of work done so no paper trail of vehicle mileage. They live a hard life there working vehicles running constantly

I found a NY address that was saved as a "Favorite" in the navigation. When I looked it up seems to be a bus terminal or something of that nature. I need to go through the other addresses as well. There's no option in the dash settings to see idle hours. Not certain what a black car is other than a decent taxi service (more room)?

I did need new Iridium spark plugs since it was misfiring under throttle. Apparently 74k is overdue for new plugs on these engines. Ford did have an updated part number to use. They did use the updated number Along with printing me out an OASIS report.