2018 Lincoln MKZ 3.0 twin turbo AWD vehicle, 29,400 miles, bought sight unseen. Dealer delivered from 5.5 hours away, drove my trade in away. Got more from my trade in than I paid for it, and car is under factory warranty for 9 more months, so had some assurances. Car drove great, sounds great, coolant full upon rest, so I took possession.
Today, 4 days later, I finally checked fluids and such. Lincoln dealer said they did oil change before sending to me. When I checked the oil, it seems to be way too full, about three quarters inch above the full line. I have no idea what oil they used- should I change the oil to get proper fill? Also, is there a better oil choice for the twin turbo engine?
When I checked the air filter I found chunks of paper stuck to the filter fins. Should I be worried and should I look anywhere for a blockage? Apologies-have pic but can't figure out how to show here.
I am suspecting a coolant leak too as coolant was full on Monday and below min line today, but I will handle that thru dealer. I am a hour or so south of you, welcome back to Tennessee!
If you’d like to set up an appointment with Scotty, email him - scottykilmer@gmail.com with ‘repair appointment Clarksville’ as the subject.
Unless you know that you know what you are thinking about doing, then buying sight unseen is a horrible idea. What I mean is, expect to be on the losing side of things. Unless you are fully prepared for all the potential faults and abuse a vehicle will have been through. (Me still working on my project car 3 years later)
Since you have the car, they probably handed the car off to a lower level tech/just starting out rather than their experienced technician (can't blame the new guy really if he ain't taught well, seen too many times where they tech is younger techs to cut corners too early) , or they just don't care, both being likely considering the facts. Since the car is still under warranty, you should be able to complain and get a full service done, probably tryna different stealership? If not then unfortunately the car will have to be serviced outside of Lincoln and then you should be able to hand them the bill to tell em to pay for the coverages. If they tell ya you can't do it, then they be lying, don't trust them.
Thanks for the reply. It was a leased vehicle and was on a lot for 4 months before auction, and the mileage was low. Plus, since everyone wants suv and trucks now even though prices are high, 4 door sedans aren't as high per much less demand.
I would only buy in warranty, and I was talked out of Audi by price and videos sharing the Germans high repair costs and huge devaluation. This vehicle has original warranty left and I did buy extended warranty and made sure turbos and related system was covered, so I am covered up to 75k miles thru 2026 complete. Due to covid I now drive under 10k miles a year, but really wanted something fun to drive. 400 hp and 400 torque in a small car is fun to drive :). Only bad thing is that I can't get it tuned till out of warranty or I establish relationship with nearest dealer (over an hour away) that won't deny warranty per tune.
Going to get new tires put on today- I would pay $800 for new tires any day over the repair bill my 2016 f150 was facing- phasers (learned hard way not to buy year 1 engines), sync 3 modules, needed tires and brakes, steering fluid issue, possible tranny issue per rough shifts, and a broken windshield- someone else can pay for those! Cheers!
Take the car to your trusty mechanic and have it checked.
always have a car checked out before buying, and you should not drive the car with too much oil in it because it can blow your seals in the engine and then you will be leaking oil somewhere. If they overfilled your engine oil crankcase i would not take the car back to them, they obviously don't care about the service they provide. Take your car to someone who cares. As for the paper in the air filter, if the filter stopped that paper from getting into your intake manifold and throttle body the filter did it's job. You picked up some paper from the street while driving and your air cleaner filter the paper out of the air. A clean air filter is important for a good running car. You should be able to see light through the filter when you hold it up to the sun. If not your filter is dirty and should be changed.
I would consider buying a car sight unseen as a complete dice roll. I've done it once out of thousands of transactions, and it turned out ok. But it was a car for myself.
Putting your hands on the car will tell you FAR more than even the most detailed online description.
To answer your original question - YES!
buying cars unseen is like gambling. (gambling at Casinos, where the odds are against you)
Would you buy a house that you've never been in? Maybe if you're filthy rich and $30k is pocket change to you.
Na, but around here the prices of houses are skyrocketing so much that many do buy houses sight unseen! My house has gone from 66k four years ago to 147k today.
It was a risk, but the warranty gave me confidence. I was looking at about 8k in repairs on the truck, so dealer and I both gambled. I will get warranty coverage on the coolant leak for sure.
But, the question remains- is there a preferred grade or brand of oil for a twin turbo car?
whatever the owner's manual calls for