because they are common, easy to get parts for, reliable, I like the body style of the older ones and probably about as close as you can get to an affordable to maintain luxury car.
I would say so. They started building the Windsor
302 in 1969 and it lasted in regular production until the mid-90s. It
was sold in everything from the Mustangs, to the Bronco, to the F-Series
trucks, and, of course, the panther bodies.
The parts availability for that engine is very high, especially with
all of the aftermarket applications and the modding community
surrounding Fox Body cars. Youāre also going a little lower tech with an
OHV engine instead of the SOHC 4.6 design.
Also, because it was produced for so long, you can get it with
carburettors, various versions of fuel injection, and several
transmissions will mount up to it. The boxy panthers were pretty
simplistic cars, and werenāt as popular as their late 90s and 00s
counter-parts, but it would still serve you well, cost you probably
next-to-nothing in insurance, and be even cheaper to buy.
Yeah not swayed against it at all, and at least they DIDNāT use a square wheel some a certain British car, and im not swayed against an old american car at all, and that is the kind of handling I not only expect but desire.
I never claimed to have a good opinionā¦ but its one Iām sticking too damn it! Besides, Iāll get plenty of opportunities to get nonboaty cars with tiny I4s later on in life, but the opportunities a big american luxobarge will only get fewer and fewer, and right now Iām dumb enough to think getting one would be a good idea so why not? If I donāt get one Iād probably regret it, but if I did get one Iād also probably regret it.
Just saying, as it has been mentioned many times already here.
You are not the first person coming here asking if X car is a good first car choice.
And then to say all the flaws your idea has do not matter and that the opinion of guys who in many cases had the experience (and regret) of owning terrible first cars does not matter.
You will buy the car, and regret it, but please donāt be that guy who then complains that itās a slow ass badly made boat that is going to cost a fuck ton of money in gas when oil comes back up (which WILL happen)
I am really wondering why you guys ask for other peopleās opinion if you are just going to ignore it all.
Iām not really ignoring it all, if anything more people have been recommending the panther platform rather than against it. somethings are just somewhat pointless to point out due to how well known they are however like āboatyā handling, bad gas miliage(which will be bad in any fullsize car), and overall poor performance, and if anything it actually performs as Iād expect, or slightly BETTER when it comes to acceleration and gas mileage. That said from what Iāve read the panther platform cars seem pretty good for a somewhat cheap to maintain fullsize car.
If to get a Panther, get a 96+
The 4.6L SOHC is by far, a better engine than the 5.0 (302) Windsor, Cleveland, and M (simply M)
List of Advantages over earlier models:
OBD-2
R-134 A/C system
Compatible parts for a decade.
Huge parts availability.
Inexpensive to buy
Inexpensive to maintain
Highest fuel economy of entire Panther range due to lean 4.6L and tall highway gears.
Compatible parts for a decade.
Huge parts availability.
Inexpensive to buy
Inexpensive to maintain
well Iāve also heard the same about earlier models with their windsor 302 in regards the that aspect, however the lack of OBD-2 ports in older cars is something Iām concerned about mainly because I have no clue what they have instead, but I am a bit weary about getting a nonpushrod engine as Iāve heard they tend to be unreliable and more expensive to maintain, however a bit better gas miliage would be welcome.
Fair enough, I probably will end up getting a newer panther if I was to get a panther at all just because itād be easier to find them in good condition as well as probably easier to check if there are problems due to the OBD-2 ports, I just wish they had that 80ās american luxury car look that I love, but meh appearances are unimportant I guess.
Iād argue that they also did a similar thing on the older panthers by making them look a bit more 70ās-ish with the pronounced lights on the side and grill and that makes the town cars look even better to me. That said I do prefer the look of the late 90ās lincolns to the fords.
Edit: just to make it clear Iāll try as much as I can not to weigh body style into my decision.
Hinestly, Iād still recommend you the Lexus. Yes, it is more expensive, but it is a better car.
While the Panthers were built just so FoMoCo could have something large, using parts off the corporate shelf, the LS400 was created as the ultimate luxury car.
This means that it is no-compromise. Its engine was not created to work in a truck, a sports car, a premium midsizer, a cop carā¦ it was built to be a great luxury car powerplant.
The transmission was not a run-on-the-mill unit, made for as many uses as possible, but a comfortable cruise machine.
The Lexus is much lighter and has double wishnome suspension, which gives a better driving experience.
The LS400 also has reliability that matches or even beats the Panthers - barely anything fails, and usually it is minor things.
If it breaks down, parts were made for over a decade for the Lexus LS400, SC400 and Toyota Celsior.
Indeed, it was so good that 1/20 of the sales went to people employed by rival fullsize manufacturers, which is disproporrionate to the number of fullsize manufacturer employes in the landbarge buyer population.
Yeah, it is more expensive than the Panthers, but similarily a gourmet dish is more expensive than a McDonalds meal. Which one would you buy if you wanted a great experience?
Dude. Yes, it is more reliable and more of a luxury car, but have you listened to any of the points the other users have made? Because clearly you fucking havenāt.
The 302 and Modular motors were made for donkeys years, so parts are by no means in short supply and performance parts (if he chooses to go down that path) are also very much available. LS400s in America are expensive whereas Panther platforms are not, and thatās really what it all boils down to. If he wants a cheap, slow āluxuryā car, the Panther cars are easily the better choice and itās not hard to see why.
They are not that much expensive. The purchase price of a Lexus would be about 1k (3k vs 2k) higher than the Lincoln, which is not much, considering how much better the LS is. And the reliability and part cost difference is going to generate costs that would be $500 at worst. At best, youāll spend less cash fixing the Lexus.
So the cost difference is going to be $1500 at worst, which is not much, considering how much better the LS400 is.
Believe it or not, thereās more components to a car than just the engine. The 1UZ-FE is a brilliant engine, yes, but: I donāt think you understand that EVERYTHING has a limited life. For example, the gauge clusters are notorious for going kaputt on LS400s. If OP canāt solder, heās gonna have to pay to get that fixed. The steering system on the LS400 also wasnāt brilliant in terms of reliability, and the steering issues can be pretty serious.
Add these issues together with the lack of available parts and the āluxury carā tax (people will charge you more for repairs) and youāve just gone and got yourself a money pit.
I love LS400s, I really do, but it doesnāt make sense to get one considering the prices of the things in America and considering that OP will happily settle on a Crown Vic or Towncar or whatever the fuck.
Edit: Also, how the hell can you say $1,000 isnāt a lot? A lot of people donāt even have $1,000 to spend on a new car in the first place.
Both the lexuss and panthers are cheap enough that Iām not too concerned about initial price of buying them but rather the more long term costs(which in terms of gas I am aware that the lexus has an advantage). but honestly being light isnāt really something Iād want especially while just learning to drive, yes itās better for gas mileage, but it also improve acceleration(which i donāt really want) and is bad for safety. Iām also somewhat skeptical about them having better reliability, I donāt doubt that they are somewhat reliable, however if something DOES break it is in the end as you said was ācreated as the ultimate luxury carā and as such would most likely have less available parts then a luxury car built primarily out of parts designed to be able to suit pretty much anything, because while the parts in the Lexus will mostly be only in their other luxury cars the panther platform will have an engine thatās been put in anything from sports cars to trucks to luxury cars and as such will have a much better parts availability.
Believe it or not, thereās more components to a car than just the
engine. The 1UZ-FE is a brilliant engine, yes, but: I donāt think you
understand that EVERYTHING has a limited life.,
Finally someone else who realizes engines arenāt the only parts that wear out!
