Parts Wanted? Attn Newbies:Did you look here?

[Dan Szwarc]

To those who complain about price gouging:

An office copier needed repair. The manager called the repairman and he came out. He looked the copier over, pulled out a rubber mallet and have the copier a good whack with the hammer. The copier sprung to life and proceeded to work properly. The manager witnessed this and then looked at his bill. It said "Repair copier: $300". He handed it to the repairman and demanded an itemized receipt. The repairman promptly amended the receipt and handed it back.
Now it said: "Hit copier with hammer: $1, Knowing to hit copier with hammer: $299".

So you see, these sellers have made the effort to KNOW what parts are for your Lincoln, find them, and stock them, ready to ship to you when you call (usually). You can look around and try to find them, do cross-references, search the internet for NOS parts, etc., but in the end, they've already saved you that time by having a business that specializes in parts for your Lincoln. Complaining about their prices is like saying you'd rather they didn't exist so you can waste time yourself looking for all these parts all over. They charge the prices they need to charge to have a business. They're not Rock Auto who carries whatever is made by whomever. They specialize in Lincoln parts, a very TINY portion of the collector car market by sales and current owners.

This is America and making money is what companies do. Some make more, some make less. Gouging is a very dirty work. Ticket scalpers gouge. Lincoln sellers cater. One is a shady character, the other provides for a special class of car owners.

Don't be a cheapskate Lincoln owner. If you want to try to save money, tell us. In the end, you likely are wasting your time and our time. Use the Lincoln vendors so they can continue to provide the support we need.

What's next, saying John Cashman charges too much because he knows how to fix our convertibles? He's the only one in the world, you know...

[John Cashman]

Well said Dan... It took me 30 years to know these cars backward and forward and the knowledge of fixing it immediately makes me a bargain at $150.00 an hour! Plus if I need a part it's right behind me in the service truck. I brief people all the time about the complexities of these vintage Lincoln's ... If you want a easy,cheap classic get a Mustang or Camero but what fun would that be? People have to realize these are probably the most complex production cars ever built. A lot of the parts I used to throw away are now in demand... Some parts are next to impossible to get,At any cost! Hey the 63 Lincoln is 50 years old now!

[gradyjacoway]

Chris Dunn and John Cashman,

Next time you all going through my town, I will fill up your gas tanks and buy both of you
some steak dinner. Plus some bacon strips for the dog!
Keep up the good work!!

Grady

[GOldman Classics]

Well said John!

Also, these cars should be compared to today's Bentley's and Rolls Royces instead of Lexus or other "standard" luxury cars. When these cars were new, they were FAR superior than their rival Cadillac

Dan

[GOldman Classics]

"Don't be a cheapskate Lincoln owner. If you want to try to save money, tell us. In the end, you likely are wasting your time and our time."

Dan that is VERY true what you put there. There are many people out there who think that owning a Lincoln is the coolest thing since sliced bread but when it comes to coughing up the doe to pay for parts and service, they think the prices are much too high compared to their 2001 Hondas

Dan

[Quad8track]

I'm just happy there is a place where I can buy parts for my 38 year old Lincoln Town Car. It's not like we can just walk in to the nearest Wal-Mart or Kragen Auto and by an external thermometer for a 1978 Mark V.
Sure I can appreciate a bargain just as any other person but it's always nice to know parts are available when in need.

True story;
About 10 years ago, I took my previous 1977 Lincoln Town Car to an auto shop in San Francisco to have my power steering pump and gearbox replaced. While in the shop, the mechanic accidentally bend back the front left side of bumper while backing out of the garage. It was their fault and they took full responsibility.
None of the local junk yards had an extra bumper so I refereed them to Lincoln Land. They had my bumper shipped across the country within 48 hours and looked like nothing happened once replaced. The repair shop felt really bad about what happen as I had been a loyal customer for 15 years. They were however grateful that I was able to find a resource to correct their mistake in a timely manner. That would really suck waiting for months on end, spending so much time, money an gas driving out to various junk yards in the hopes of finding a replacement bumper in good shape.

I also collect 8track tapes for my enjoyment and I see the same complaints in various Facebook groups. I'm actually glad some of my favorite quadraphonic 8tracks that I like to listen to are going for several hundred dollars now on Ebay. That ensures that the tape goes to a buyer that actually wants the tape and will treasure it. If they were still going for .10 cents like they were in the 1990s, many would end up in the wrong hands and eventually destroyed. Particularly by these young millennials that's never seen an 8track an decide that they may use the tapes as some sort of art project.
I once saw some youngster make a cocktail table and 4 matching chairs made of 8track tapes glued together and encased in an epoxy glue. I saw about 12 8tracks that were rare and totally ruined for him to impress his peers in his college art class. My goodness there were quadraphonic 8tracks of Frank Sinatra, Ike & Tina Turner, Sergio Mendes, Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Moody Blues, Blood Sweet & Tears, Jeff Beck and Quincy Jones. QUADS mind you! Not ordinary stereo tapes but the collectible & rare quad tapes ruined!
The dip$--t thought it would be 'cool' because he found this 8track collection at a local thrift shop for only .10 cents a piece. That is the risk you run when your hobby is so cheap that some may see it as an opportunity to destroy these finds because to them they're cheap & worthless.

Ok my rant is over.

[Forestarius]

Just a quick two cents worth from up here in Canada. There are almost no pick and pull scrapyards here in Quebec and they certainly dont keep anything older than the last ten years. Here it is get em in and crush for scrap metal. The scrap yards here dont let you walk around looking for parts or buy whole cars for parting out. We also dont have wonderful old cars waiting on every second street corner to be rescued and restored and we certainly dont have any of the usual suspects up here to buy parts from. We have to deal with paying your prices, plus the exchange cost and the insane shipping and duties. So before you complain about the cost of something down there try doing it up here for two or three times the cost. I need a left fender for my 79 mark V and saw a nos one on ebay last winter for a couple hundred bucks and then found out the shipping would be 500 bucks. So I still need a fender. You guys have it good and easy.

[George W]

Just think of all the parts that the various vendors and individuals buy, store, catalogue, etc., etc. and never sell. They have to make it worth their while for the parts they do sell. For most it's as much a labor of love as it is a business. I know some hobby people buy up or hoard parts that they really don't need and this makes needed parts much less available for those who may have a real need for a specific part. I've found it better in the long run to simply buy a part that I really need, pay the price and not just buy parts for the sake of having a spare. It also keeps the attic and the garage much less cluttered. It's better to have that money in the bank than to have unneeded parts tying up space and cash. Money in the bank takes up so much less space than parts in the attic. I know a lot of guys, not in the business of selling, just in the business of buying, that bought up parts for years and then pass away. The wife or the family then throws all the "junk" out. Who benefits from that ??

[CaptainDave]

Well said. I am working on a project on one of my non-Lincoln cars right now, and the availability of parts and advice is well worth the money. Something I'm doing on my Lincoln is with parts from one of the Usual Suspects who took the time to post YouTube content on how to install them properly. That's time out of their day, a shift in focus away from their main business,and all to help poor schlubs like me who can barely tell a crescent wrench from a crescent moon. My hat is off to a lot of TUS and to the newer players in the business (thank goodness there are new people entering the field!) who re-create old parts, ferret out NOS and design & fabricate new parts and resto-mod parts. God bless 'em all. If nothing else, they're making this time when so many of us are self-quarantining in our garages bearable!