[Chad20]

So I've been considering a black on black Lincoln mkz 2015 optioned at 45,000 MSRP the best features are the panoramic roof, thx 14 speaker surround system , and the fact it's brand new with warranty. I'm currently coming from a 2004 545i with every option black on black 73000 miles. I work for ford and they can get me into an mkz 2 year lease 15,000 miles a year for 300$ a month with 3,000$ down . I read the reviews the 3.7 v6 has a 0-60 time of 6.2 and skid pad of .85g but I'll be saving around 4-6 mpg average . Which will be around 100$ a month gas savings, and around 100-150 a month in car repair savings as well. What does everyone think of the new mkz?

[Das Johnson]

Man, Nothing compares to my 11' 535xi, Its got similar (maybe the same?) suspension to the Rolls Royce Ghost and MPG is surprisingly decent. I'f I were you I'd find a certified, loaded 2012+ 535 for something like 35k - 45k (depends on year). Trust me, you'll love it more than that cheap Lincoln.

[SonicEndeavor]

I'm not a fan of the exterior or interior styling. As you know, it's basically a near-luxury Ford Fusion, but from what I've read it handles quite well.
That said, its an inexpensive two year lease that would allow you to save for your next car or find another use for the money. I would see if they have a zero down lease so you don't have to shell out 3k up front.

[R N M]

Not worth it, if u actually enjoy driving.
Tons of better options.

Interior quality is lacking big time.

Also putting any money down on a lease is a bad idea.

[Chad20]

Originally Posted by Das Johnson

Man, Nothing compares to my 11' 535xi, Its got similar (maybe the same?) suspension to the Rolls Royce Ghost and MPG is surprisingly decent. I'f I were you I'd find a certified, loaded 2012+ 535 for something like 35k - 45k (depends on year). Trust me, you'll love it more than that cheap Lincoln.

I would get a 535i but they are very expensive I'm thinking after my 2 year lease is up I will buy an f10 550i dhp !

[Chad20]

Originally Posted by SonicEndeavor

I'm not a fan of the exterior or interior styling. As you know, it's basically a near-luxury Ford Fusion, but from what I've read it handles quite well.
That said, its an inexpensive two year lease that would allow you to save for your next car or find another use for the money. I would see if they have a zero down lease so you don't have to shell out 3k up front.

Ya your right i can put zero down but it's a 420$ a month payment with zero for some reason I feel better with payments in the 300s maybe I'll put 1500-2000 down instead and keep the rest aside .

[Chad20]

Originally Posted by R N M

Not worth it, if u actually enjoy driving.
Tons of better options.

Interior quality is lacking big time.

Also putting any money down on a lease is a bad idea.

I drove it I can say it can't maintain the same smoothness at high speeds . Interior is kind of boring but the brand new factor with better mpg is attracting me . Only way I will get one is if it is black on black with black rims ,tint , and have the grill painted black . It looks like a completely different car with a black painted grill!

[SonicEndeavor]

Originally Posted by Chad20

Ya your right i can put zero down but it's a 420$ a month payment with zero for some reason I feel better with payments in the 300s maybe I'll put 1500-2000 down instead and keep the rest aside .

Keep the 3k in the bank then use $120 of the 3k to pay the difference each month. You have use of the 3k and come out $120 ahead.

[The Beast]

Originally Posted by SonicEndeavor

Keep the 3k in the bank then use $120 of the 3k to pay the difference each month. You have use of the 3k and come out $120 ahead.

Yeah but something kind of tells me that Chad will use use that $3k on something else...

Are you the same Chad who just recently sought lot's of advice on here to buy that 5 series? I seem to recall most people telling you to buy something that you could afford to run.

[spyroz]

what the hell is Lincoln mkz 2015?

[TJBentley]

Originally Posted by spyroz

what the hell is Lincoln mkz 2015?

👍👍👏👏😂

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by The Beast

Yeah but something kind of tells me that Chad will use use that $3k on something else...

Are you the same Chad who just recently sought lot's of advice on here to buy that 5 series? I seem to recall most people telling you to buy something that you could afford to run.

Yes, it's the same chad. And yes, many people here tried to talk him out of buying a cheapo 10+ year old high mileage E60 545. But after countless posts on the subject, and despite plenty of people telling Chad not to do it, he did anyway. And now he's been back at least twice since buying the 545 only months ago talking about selling it. Good grief.

Chad - sorry, it's impossible to take you seriously. I considered actually responding with some advice, but my past experience shows it's a waste of my time. And no offense, but this board is for F10 5-series discussions. You don't OWN an F10, nor are you looking to BUY an F10... so I'm lost on why you're hanging out here posting about Lincoln MKZs and E60s. If you really want advice on it, find a Lincoln forum and ask the people there as many questions as you like about the MKZ... they're bound to know more than anyone here.

[The Beast]

Originally Posted by ezmaass

Yes, it's the same chad. And yes, many people here tried to talk him out of buying a cheapo 10+ year old high mileage E60 545. But after countless posts on the subject, and despite plenty of people telling Chad not to do it, he did anyway. And now he's been back at least twice since buying the 545 only months ago talking about selling it. Good grief.

Chad - sorry, it's impossible to take you seriously. I considered actually responding with some advice, but my past experience shows it's a waste of my time. And no offense, but this board is for F10 5-series discussions. You don't OWN an F10, nor are you looking to BUY an F10... so I'm lost on why you're hanging out here posting about Lincoln MKZs and E60s. If you really want advice on it, find a Lincoln forum and ask the people there as many questions as you like about the MKZ... they're bound to know more than anyone here.

[Chad20]

Fuck this forum why ask for advice? I can change cars every month if I please . If I want to spend ridiculous money on car changes like that it's my personal choice. Why insult me over it ? I could keep my 545i if I wanted to it's cheap. I'd rather get into a 45,000$ car with warranty. I have went from making 1200$ a month to 4-5k a month in just over a year and have never had more fun and enjoyment in my life until now . All I'm asking for is a car enthusiasts opinion on the Lincoln mkz it's that simple.

[Chad20]

And ya I am considering buying an f10 535i I calculated I drive around 20k miles a year I'm averaging 15mpg in my 545i and in the 535i it would be around 150$ a month savings in gas alone !

[Bimmer5]

Originally Posted by ezmaass

Yes, it's the same chad. And yes, many people here tried to talk him out of buying a cheapo 10+ year old high mileage E60 545. But after countless posts on the subject, and despite plenty of people telling Chad not to do it, he did anyway. And now he's been back at least twice since buying the 545 only months ago talking about selling it. Good grief.

Chad - sorry, it's impossible to take you seriously. I considered actually responding with some advice, but my past experience shows it's a waste of my time. And no offense, but this board is for F10 5-series discussions. You don't OWN an F10, nor are you looking to BUY an F10... so I'm lost on why you're hanging out here posting about Lincoln MKZs and E60s. If you really want advice on it, find a Lincoln forum and ask the people there as many questions as you like about the MKZ... they're bound to know more than anyone here.

[kondor]

I can honestly say that I don't know a single person who owns a Lincoln......can't help you with this one.
Go drive it.....if you like it then lease it.

[noixd]

Chad must of watched the Matthew Mcconaughey video and got hooked!

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by noixd

Chad must of watched the Matthew Mcconaughey video and got hooked!

LOL - if you haven't seen it, check out the skit Jim Carrey does mocking those commercials... too much!

[noixd]

Advertising still works for some people!

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by Chad20

Fuck this forum why ask for advice? I can change cars every month if I please . If I want to spend ridiculous money on car changes like that it's my personal choice. Why insult me over it ? I could keep my 545i if I wanted to it's cheap. I'd rather get into a 45,000$ car with warranty. I have went from making 1200$ a month to 4-5k a month in just over a year and have never had more fun and enjoyment in my life until now . All I'm asking for is a car enthusiasts opinion on the Lincoln mkz it's that simple.

1. You've asked for plenty of advice here and got it. You chose not to follow any of it despite very lengthy discussions, lots of peoples' time, and an overwhelming majority of people giving you advice to avoid your last purchase. If you show that you waste peoples' time, they're going to be less likely to share it with you.

2. "If I want to spend ridiculous money on car changes like that it's my personal choice. Why insult me over it?" - Well, if you do ridiculous things (as you've admitted), you can't blame people for calling you out on it, can you? It's simply a matter of observation at that point. If you don't like being labeled "ridiculous" DON'T do ridiculous things.

So, even though I feel as if I'm wasting precious time on you, I'll entertain this and actually provide you with more advice that you're unlikely to follow.

$4k - $5k per month is $48k - $60k per year. And, as you've said, you've just arrived at that earning level within the last year - up considerably. That's great, and I'm glad you're making financial progress in life. However, you keep picking irrational choices. A 10+ year old 545 wasn't the right choice - as we discussed (at length), the maintenance on this car was going to be far-and-above what you'd afford. And it sounds like you've already wised up to the fact that a V8 guzzles gas, which costs money.

The answer, however, isn't to now buy (or lease) a brand new $45k Lincoln, either! Do you realize the price tag on that car is nearly your entire year's salary? Does that send up any red flags? Alarm bells? Anything whatsoever seem wrong there??

In your situation, as a young guy just trying to get on your feet, you need to make wiser decisions. If you have a higher income now, instead of looking at ways to spend it, look at ways to save and plan for your future.

Are you contributing to a 401k and/or IRA? If not, you should be. You can contribute $17,500/year to a company 401k tax-deferred. That's the FIRST place I'd putting extra cash if you've found yourself suddenly with more income. Next, after you've paid yourself for retirement, you should be setting aside 10% post-tax (minimum) into savings. Assuming you're making $50k/year, live in CA, and contributed the max to a 401k, that would leave you with roughly $2k net per month. $200/mo should be going right into the bank. The first $12k you save should be set aside and left in a high yield savings account (very liquid) as your "emergency fund" - notice it's 6 month's income after taxes. This is in case you lost your job.

After your emergency fund is fully funded, take the monthly savings and put it into different savings accounts with pre-defined goals (e.g. $x for house down-payment, $x for wedding fund, etc). Those savings accounts can be in high yield savings (~0.9% is the best you'll do at the moment) or Certificate of Deposit (CDs) that match the duration you anticipate saving (1 - 3% is likely the best you'll get depending on duration). Meanwhile, you should be building up to the point where you're placing additional savings in a post-tax brokerage account. Invest solely in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) with low expense ratios that track general market indexes. Vanguard offers several - VTI, VOO, and BND will suffice. Don't touch it - just keep putting money in there for the long haul (30+ years). The S&P will likely give you 8 - 10% if you're in it for over 20 years... and when you do the math, compounding at those rates is where real wealth is made... or at the very minimum a secure way to retire one day (no, retirement just doesn't magically happen - and unless you want to slave away and work until the day you literally drop dead, you should be seriously planning for this now).

While you're doing all of the above, and actually building some kind of wealth, your goal is to keep your monthly expenses as low as possible - so you can maximize all of the ABOVE. Your priorities should be shelter, food, healthcare, education, and somewhere lower on the list, transportation (your car). If you anticipate staying where you are for some length of time (greater than 5 years), you should be looking at buying real estate - something modest that gets the job done, in a highly desirable area (read: good schools and business opportunities), and with the lowest possible property taxes. This will keep you from throwing money away on rent in the long term and provide insulation from inflation (rents rise with inflation, of course, and you should expect 2 - 3% per year).

If you don't have the highest level of education you need to succeed in life, you should be spending money on this, as well. It's called investing in yourself. The US is no longer an economic island like it was in the 60's. The global economy means you're competing with people (many with a lower standard of living and willing to work for lesser wages) all around the world. It's no surprise many jobs are outsourcing as equilibrium shifts from high labor cost to low until things "even out." The people will the lowest human capital value (read: least educated, least skills) will be the victims of that process. The same is true of continued automation. So, invest in your education.

And eventually as you work your way through the list of life's priorities (or what they SHOULD be for people who will actually get ahead), you'll get to "transportation" on your list. Financial advisors will tell you that no more than 10% of your net income should go to a car payment. At $50k/year, and after you've fully funded a retirement account, you should be looking at a max of $200/mo on a car. If you think that sounds too low? Well, welcome to the club of people who will find themselves broke and unable to retire down the road. The fact is, people OVERSPEND like crazy - especially here in America - and then act surprised when life catches up with them. $200/mo Chad. Yes, you can get plenty of vehicles for that price, too - may not be what you WANT right now, but it's what you NEED. And quite honestly, I'd go one step further and say, just flat out buy a $3k - $5k junker that's reliable enough for basic transportation and have $0/mo in car bills (aside from gas, insurance, and basic maintenance).

I probably suggested this in the last go-round of your posts on buying the 545, but I'll waste my breadth on it again here. You need to pick up a book called "The Total Money Makeover" by a guy named Dave Ramsey. Read it cover to cover and follow the advice. You may even enjoy it since Dave is a car guy - talks about his love of cars and how they got him into some financial trouble. But at the end of the day, you don't need car advice - you need financial advice, because I see you making irrational (as you called it: ridiculous) decisions that will screw up your life in the long haul. But if you truly think you need car advice, so be it... seek out advice on a Lincoln MKZ, and make your buy decision. Don't say this forum never gave you anything - getting good advice often isn't very difficult (plenty of great & free educational material on the web or local library), but if you fail to follow it that advice is worthless to you.

[Bimmer5]

Originally Posted by ezmaass

1. You've asked for plenty of advice here and got it. You chose not to follow any of it despite very lengthy discussions, lots of peoples' time, and an overwhelming majority of people giving you advice to avoid your last purchase. If you show that you waste peoples' time, they're going to be less likely to share it with you.

2. "If I want to spend ridiculous money on car changes like that it's my personal choice. Why insult me over it?" - Well, if you do ridiculous things (as you've admitted), you can't blame people for calling you out on it, can you? It's simply a matter of observation at that point. If you don't like being labeled "ridiculous" DON'T do ridiculous things.

So, even though I feel as if I'm wasting precious time on you, I'll entertain this and actually provide you with more advice that you're unlikely to follow.

$4k - $5k per month is $48k - $60k per year. And, as you've said, you've just arrived at that earning level within the last year - up considerably. That's great, and I'm glad you're making financial progress in life. However, you keep picking irrational choices. A 10+ year old 545 wasn't the right choice - as we discussed (at length), the maintenance on this car was going to be far-and-above what you'd afford. And it sounds like you've already wised up to the fact that a V8 guzzles gas, which costs money.

The answer, however, isn't to now buy (or lease) a brand new $45k Lincoln, either! Do you realize the price tag on that car is nearly your entire year's salary? Does that send up any red flags? Alarm bells? Anything whatsoever seem wrong there??

In your situation, as a young guy just trying to get on your feet, you need to make wiser decisions. If you have a higher income now, instead of looking at ways to spend it, look at ways to save and plan for your future.

Are you contributing to a 401k and/or IRA? If not, you should be. You can contribute $17,500/year to a company 401k tax-deferred. That's the FIRST place I'd putting extra cash if you've found yourself suddenly with more income. Next, after you've paid yourself for retirement, you should be setting aside 10% post-tax (minimum) into savings. Assuming you're making $50k/year, live in CA, and contributed the max to a 401k, that would leave you with roughly $2k net per month. $200/mo should be going right into the bank. The first $12k you save should be set aside and left in a high yield savings account (very liquid) as your "emergency fund" - notice it's 6 month's income after taxes. This is in case you lost your job.

After your emergency fund is fully funded, take the monthly savings and put it into different savings accounts with pre-defined goals (e.g. $x for house down-payment, $x for wedding fund, etc). Those savings accounts can be in high yield savings (~0.9% is the best you'll do at the moment) or Certificate of Deposit (CDs) that match the duration you anticipate saving (1 - 3% is likely the best you'll get depending on duration). Meanwhile, you should be building up to the point where you're placing additional savings in a post-tax brokerage account. Invest solely in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) with low expense ratios that track general market indexes. Vanguard offers several - VTI, VOO, and BND will suffice. Don't touch it - just keep putting money in there for the long haul (30+ years). The S&P will likely give you 8 - 10% if you're in it for over 20 years... and when you do the math, compounding at those rates is where real wealth is made... or at the very minimum a secure way to retire one day (no, retirement just doesn't magically happen - and unless you want to slave away and work until the day you literally drop dead, you should be seriously planning for this now).

While you're doing all of the above, and actually building some kind of wealth, your goal is to keep your monthly expenses as low as possible - so you can maximize all of the ABOVE. Your priorities should be shelter, food, healthcare, education, and somewhere lower on the list, transportation (your car). If you anticipate staying where you are for some length of time (greater than 5 years), you should be looking at buying real estate - something modest that gets the job done, in a highly desirable area (read: good schools and business opportunities), and with the lowest possible property taxes. This will keep you from throwing money away on rent in the long term and provide insulation from inflation (rents rise with inflation, of course, and you should expect 2 - 3% per year).

If you don't have the highest level of education you need to succeed in life, you should be spending money on this, as well. It's called investing in yourself. The US is no longer an economic island like it was in the 60's. The global economy means you're competing with people (many with a lower standard of living and willing to work for lesser wages) all around the world. It's no surprise many jobs are outsourcing as equilibrium shifts from high labor cost to low until things "even out." The people will the lowest human capital value (read: least educated, least skills) will be the victims of that process. The same is true of continued automation. So, invest in your education.

And eventually as you work your way through the list of life's priorities (or what they SHOULD be for people who will actually get ahead), you'll get to "transportation" on your list. Financial advisors will tell you that no more than 10% of your net income should go to a car payment. At $50k/year, and after you've fully funded a retirement account, you should be looking at a max of $200/mo on a car. If you think that sounds too low? Well, welcome to the club of people who will find themselves broke and unable to retire down the road. The fact is, people OVERSPEND like crazy - especially here in America - and then act surprised when life catches up with them. $200/mo Chad. Yes, you can get plenty of vehicles for that price, too - may not be what you WANT right now, but it's what you NEED. And quite honestly, I'd go one step further and say, just flat out buy a $3k - $5k junker that's reliable enough for basic transportation and have $0/mo in car bills (aside from gas, insurance, and basic maintenance).

I probably suggested this in the last go-round of your posts on buying the 545, but I'll waste my breadth on it again here. You need to pick up a book called "The Total Money Makeover" by a guy named Dave Ramsey. Read it cover to cover and follow the advice. You may even enjoy it since Dave is a car guy - talks about his love of cars and how they got him into some financial trouble. But at the end of the day, you don't need car advice - you need financial advice, because I see you making irrational (as you called it: ridiculous) decisions that will screw up your life in the long haul. But if you truly think you need car advice, so be it... seek out advice on a Lincoln MKZ, and make your buy decision. Don't say this forum never gave you anything - getting good advice often isn't very difficult (plenty of great & free educational material on the web or local library), but if you fail to follow it that advice is worthless to you.

Very good advice given here, unfortunately chances are he will not use any of it. You certainly made the effort and he should listen to you but as they say you can not help someone who does not want to help themselves. It's tough but some people have to feel before they learn.