newlinux

A few pics of the new MKZ...

Well, I've driven it a little bit. It is fun to drive. The torque catches me by surprise sometimes. I'm nowhere near the expert driver many of you seem to be (I've never been to a track), but for everyday driving this thing will be great. I do notice here and there sometimes where the shifting seems uneven (a little slow to give power, and then sometimes the power just jumps). But I'm still breaking it in, and my previous cadillac was worse in that department. Getting familiar with all the options and features has been fun too. The sound system is pretty good, but not great. Could do a little better with low end bass. But this is coming from a guy who has often had elaborate custom built audio systems in my previous cars. It's good enough that I probably won't do anything with the audio system in this car. On another note, while I was waiting on the dealer to get things going while picking up my car I was chatting with a new sales guy at the dealership. When he found out I was the one getting my MKZ he said "Oh yeah, isn't that the one the order got screwed up on or something?" I told him I wouldn't know - I didn't get that information, it just took 5 months for me to get my car. He then was quiet. So yeah, I think something went wrong with my order in the beginning. they just didn't want to come clean. You know, honestly, I've looked at seemingly millions of pictures of this car. I've driven a few. It still looks better than I thought in person - in my garage where I can really appreciate it.

Well, After some more miscommunication and delays I picked up my car today. Love the vineyard interior. The chroma cabernet red exterior is a nice color, but I thought it would be a bit more glossy. Didn't have much time to play with the car and learn the ins and outs, but it was a nice drive home. Looking forward to driving it more!

After the long wait, the light is at the end of the tunnel. Spoke with dealer and supposedly my car is built and expected to arrive between 12/22-12/30. So it might be a Christmas present!

Yes they'll have to go shorter - which is what concerns me. With the caddy I have currently have 20s, and I honestly haven't noticed much difference from the stock 19s I had on the car (I switched out after month of having the stock wheels). But I'd chatted with others on that car who went to 20s and they all said the ride quality wasn't much different so I was pretty confident with that. But with the caddy I believe the 19s were 245/45 tires and I believe my the 20s 245/40 tires. So the equivalent 20s tire for the Lincoln would be thinner than the ones on my Caddy. I've been leaning towards restricting myself to 19s and I think that is what I will aim to do. Thanks for making me look at the numbers.

Yes, I will certainly do proper plus one sizing and keep the overall circumference the same. I'm more interested in affects on ride quality. Doing this on my current cadillac didn't change ride comfort noticeably. On my infiniti it did, however.

Sometime soon I'm going to be getting my 2017 MKZ 3.0T with drivers package. I love the look of the car, except the rims are not really my taste, so I'll be replacing those shortly after getting the car. I'm curious if anyone has put 20" rims on the 2017 and if so, how much did it affect ride quality (I know the tires have an affect on this as well). Any opinions or experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Yes, I've talked with the sales manager about it, and there was a promise to do better and to give me a weekly update at a minimum, which hasn't happened. I don't think a different salesperson will really help at this point. Now that I have a VIN it is easier to keep tabs on the car and get information on my own.

Well, I emailed the dealer for an update on build date, VIN #, and window sticker. He simply replied with a VIN #. Which is the VIN # that is on the web site. So that's my car! Still poor communication that I had to ask. No update on delivery, build or anything. And he didn't even send the window sticker, which I know is available.

I sure hope it is mine. Who knows. Your dealer seems to do a much better job than mine. For all I know maybe they didn't order it right and that's why it has taken so long... But the way I see it, even if this isn't my car, it should be my car :). I got the Black label Chroma Cabernet Red exterior with the merlot interior. These don't seem to be popular options - which make me think even more that this is mine. I will talk to the dealer today or tomorrow and I should know for sure...

I don't see anything saying special order, but I have some confidence this is my car. This dealership doesn't get that many MKZs cars (including this one, they only have 6). It better be mine! Maybe this is the treatment I get when from a Lincoln dealership that is also a Ford dealership :). Although they are a Black Label dealership... At this point I feel anything but special :)

Well, I went to the dealer's web site yesterdat and a new car showed up, which looks like it is my car (its dealer ordered, not in stock yet). There is a VIN # and a window sticker, and it looks to be the exact options I ordered. So I'm assuming this is my car. Not that I've heard from the dealer at all... So there is hope that it actually is being built soon and will be here by the end of the year...

Yes, that's why I'm skeptical of that buuld date. I think they were worried I was going to walk away and just gave me a date that they thought might happen. To me that woukd explain why the concierge was unaware of the date...

10+ weeks and I finally have some progress - if it is to believed. After I applied some pressure and talked of walking away the sales guy told me I have a build week of 11/28 and he'll have more detail for me then. Still no VIN or window sticker though. And the concierge seemed unaware of that build date... Meanwhile, I went to a car show last weekend, and Lincoln was there. Sat in a couple of MKZs. Still the car I want so I'll keep waiting for now...

2017 MKZ vs 2016 Infiniti q50 Red sport 400 http://www.autotrader.ca/expert/20161114/comparison-test-2016-infiniti-q50-vs-2017-lincoln-mkz/

New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/latest-reviews/ratings-review-2017-lincoln-mkz-article-1.2855302

Touched based with the Lincoln Concierge again today. They said their systems were down and couldn't check on the order status and that they would email me later. That's the second time that's happened. Then I received an email: "It was my pleasure chatting with you today regarding your 2017 Lincoln MKZ Black Label. After further review and also speaking with the selling Dealership we were able to see that your vehicle is moving right along as it should be. I do apologize that at this present time I do not have an estimated time frame for delivery, but what I’d like to do is to continue to monitor the progress of your vehicle and I am happy to provide you with any updates at least every two weeks until you’ve taken possession of your vehicle." That's pretty much exemplifies the answers I get from the dealer and concierge. So I agree with Myron. It is about communication and clarity. I'm pretty sure 8+ weeks after deposit and order with no VIN # isn't moving along as it should be :).

Well, at least I hear someone else confirm what the dealer told me about the temporary shortage in 3.0s. :) I hope your experience is much better than mine. Maybe they are just trying to make it a Christmas present for me. :) I feel it is ridiculous too, but there seems little more I can do.

Thanks. I keep this in mind. As long as this is the car I want I will wait... but will re-evaluate from time to time. Cars are changing fast and new models are coming from time to time. The car I would have bought a year ago when i first contemplated buying a car is different than what I chose now. I'm going to an autoshow in a couple of weeks - who knows what that might do to me.

I contact with the sales guy, sales manager, and lincoln concierge at least once every week. The story of why I don't have a VIN just keeps evolving. Currently it is "a delay" in getting 3.0T black label's built. But it is always some variation of delays due to the production of the options I picked. The concierge has been more communicative, but given less detail. They basically just keep telling me the order has been received and keep giving me the same timeline. I've been considering the canceling thing. I don't so much blame the people at the dealership. I just think this dealership is relatively small and doesn't get many cars. I don't have any other choices, locally, however.

I did pay with a credit card, and I don't think it said it was non-refundable. I'm just trying to plan ahead since I don't have anything like an ETA. I made this car decision 8 weeks ago. If this takes a couple months more, I may reconsider as there actually may be other cars I was interested in on the market that weren't when I made this choice. As of now, however, after doing a re-evaluation of cars, I've still decided this is the car I want. I was considering paying more and looking at other cars, but I'm not quite there yet. No car out there was exactly what I wanted (I am picky, as I keep cars a while), but at the price ceiling I set this was the closest.

I hear you. Just worried that I haven't even got a VIN yet, nor can the dealer even estimate when I will get one. In the past with every car I've bought I've been able to find one with just the options I wanted already built - so I understand wanting something particular. But I've also never bought this early in the model year, nor a "Black Label" which I think is complicating things because I have less dealers to choose from.

Congrats JHVJXN! Still waiting on mine. Not even a VIN yet. 8+ weeks in. Not looking good. I think I'm on the Myron timeline (5 months). What do you guys think are the chances I can get my deposit back? :)

I'm not blaming the dealer. Just wish they could be more accurate with timelines and communicate better. I found an mkz exactly as I ordered it on a lot in a different state. My dealer says that dealer isn't willing to trade or work with them. So after that I emailed the out of state dealer. They said they would get it it to me. I would potentially lose my deposit... But I'm considering negotiating with them...

I talked with the sales guy yesterday. Still no VIN, no build date. He told me the Black Label cars take more time - don't know if that is true or not. He said he was working to get it prioritized with the regional manager... Don't know if that really means anything either.