California Dealer Sells Low-Mileage 1998 Lincoln Town Car for 2024 Kia Forte Money

Photo: Bring a Trailer/autoevolution

His ride of choice for the show is a 1998 Lincoln Town Car, which used to belong to his brother – I won’t spoil the plot for you, in case you want to binge-watch it. Trust me, it’s a solid show, created by none other than Taylor Sheridan, the man behind Yellowstone. Also, Antoine Fuqua is an executive producer – this man directed Training Day and should need no introduction.

Anyway, I feel as though we’re getting off topic, so let’s get back to the third-generation Town Car, which was unveiled at the 1997 New York International Auto Show, packing a 4.6-liter V8 engine with variable power ratings (we’ll talk about that in a minute).

Compared to its predecessor, the 1998 Town Car was wider and taller, albeit also three inches shorter. Ford actually re-engineered the platform in 2003, with Lincoln extensively revising the Town Car, but to some people the pre-update car is just cooler. They also kept calling it a third-gen model, which made sense seeing as how the styling didn’t change all that much.

Now, what we have here is a 1998 Signature Series spec model, with 12,000 miles on the clock. It was sold at auction just last month for $19,250 – pretty much the starting MSRP of a brand-new 2024 Kia Forte (totally different cars, obviously).

In terms of aesthetics, the body is finished in Medium Charcoal Blue Clearcoat Metallic (Mike’s Town Car from Mayor of Kingstown is black) and comes with a set of 16” Snowflake alloy wheels featuring Goodyear Assurance All Season tires. Other highlights include the cornering headlights, a single exhaust outlet (this is relevant), and heated power-adjustable side mirrors.

Photo: Bring a Trailer

Meanwhile, the interior boasts Dark Denim Blue leather seats (power-adjustable), woodgrain trim accents for the dashboard and door panels, automatic climate control, cruise control, a cassette stereo, power windows and locks, plus the now-iconic Town Car multi-function steering wheel, which looks timeless.

As for that previously mentioned 4.6-liter SOHC V8 unit, it was factory rated at 205 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque, with everything going to the rear wheels via a four-speed automatic transmission. Had this been a dual-exhaust outlet model, it would have had 220 horsepower and 290 lb-ft of torque.

The third-gen Town Car was never high on performance. The most it’s ever put down was 239 hp and 287 lb-ft of torque following the 2003 upgrade.