Limited Maintenance Plan

[shtaka]

Does anyone have experience with Ford/Lincoln's Limited Maintenance Plan? What is it good for?

[bbf2530]

2 hours ago, shtaka said:

Does anyone have experience with Ford/Lincoln's Limited Maintenance Plan? What is it good for?

 

Hi shtaka. My personal opinion: Unless you are driving massive annual mileage with your MKZ, a maintenance plan is not worth it.

 

In normal use, there is essentially no maintenance other than oil changes every 1 year/10,000 miles. So unless you drive 20,000+ miles per year, coolant flushes, transmission fluid flushes, brake jobs, spark plug changes etc. etc. etc...are not due for many years down the road.

 

The average driver (~10,000 miles per year) will get no more than an oil change and new wipers, once a year, out of a maintenance plan. And those are things you can pay for as needed for about $60 a year.

 

So unless you are hard on your car, a maintenance plan is not worth it.

 

On the other hand, with new car costs and complexity looming larger every day, I am a big believer in Extended Service Plans. If an owner is smart an does their online shopping for the LincolnProtect plan that fits their needs.

 

I am sure others will jump in with their own opinions.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[shtaka]

I should have mentioned that I was gifted the plan by the Lincoln Concierge as compensation for some less than stellar service. It apparently covers an oil service, with synthetic oil, every 5000 miles, which, to my mind, is excessive. Especially considering the low miles I put on the car. So I am wondering if there are any better ways to use this plan. 

[bbf2530]

2 hours ago, shtaka said:

I should have mentioned that I was gifted the plan by the Lincoln Concierge as compensation for some less than stellar service. It apparently covers an oil service, with synthetic oil, every 5000 miles, which, to my mind, is excessive. Especially considering the low miles I put on the car. So I am wondering if there are any better ways to use this plan. 

 

Hi shtaka. Yes, it seemed you were asking about purchasing a Maintenance Plan...so all the information certainly helps. ?

 

More information will certainly help here. What exactly does your "Limited Maintenance Plan" cover? The Lincoln Maintenance Plans I am aware of normally cover all scheduled and wear/tear maintenance, such as oil changes, coolant changes, wiper blades, brake jobs etc. Whatever may occur during the life of the Maintenance Plan, for the duration of the plan.

 

However, it sounds as though the one you were given only covers oil changes? Is that true? For how long/how many years? Does it cover anything else? As stated previously, the Lincoln scheduled oil change interval is 1 year/10,000 miles (whichever comes first). Of course, it can certainly does not hurt to change it sooner. But if that is all it covers, all you will get is a few oil changes until it runs out. Therefore...what else does this "Limited Maintenance Plan" cover?

 

Also, check your contract. Lincoln/Ford Maintenance Plan oil changes normally include a Synthetic Blend oil change, not Full Synthetic.

 

And what exactly do you mean by "I am wondering if there are any better ways to use this plan." What better ways? You can only get what the plan offers.  If all it offers is an oil change every 5,000 miles, that is all you can get, unless you can negotiate something else with your Dealership or Lincoln.

 

Please provide the information asked for above and we can try to help.

 

Good luck.

[shtaka]

I am trying to decode the contract which is what prompted my post. It definitely says 5000 mile intervals for 48 months or 60000 miles or 12 service visits. And the synthetic option is not checked off, so I guess that's not included. In the small print it says: "engine oil and filter changes, a multi-point inspection, rotation of tires"

 

And, as you said above, Lincoln recommends 1 year/10,000 miles which is a little inconsistent. Which is why I'm wondering if I'm interpreting its use correctly.

 

Are you saying it may be possible to work out some other usage arrangement with the dealer? 

Edited September 20, 2021 by shtaka
typo correction

[bbf2530]

5 hours ago, shtaka said:

I am trying to decode the contract which is what prompted my post. It definitely says 5000 mile intervals for 48 months or 60000 miles or 12 service visits. And the synthetic option is not checked off, so I guess that's not included. In the small print it says: "engine oil and filter changes, a multi-point inspection, rotation of tires"

 

And, as you said above, Lincoln recommends 1 year/10,000 miles which is a little inconsistent. Which is why I'm wondering if I'm interpreting its use correctly.

 

Are you saying it may be possible to work out some other usage arrangement with the dealer? 

 

Hi shtaka. First...No, I was not saying it may (or may not) "...be possible to work out some other usage arrangement". I have no idea if either the Dealer, or Lincoln, will be willing to renegotiate an already existing "contract".

I was only saying...If you want something different than what the contract states, you would have to negotiate that with the Dealership or Lincoln. But I have no idea how successful that will be.

 

Next...Unless there is more that you forgot to mention, it is not really an actual "Lincoln Maintenance Plan" (which covers all scheduled maintenance/wear and tear items). It is essentially a 4 year contract for what Lincoln/Ford Dealers call "The Works Package". A Synthetic Blend oil and filter change/tire rotation/check and top off fluids/multi-point inspection etc. "The Works Package" is usually available at Lincoln and Ford Dealers for ~$39.95-$49.95. But prices can vary according to Dealer.

 

What you have is simply oil changes/tire rotations for 4 years/60,000 miles/or 12 visits, whichever comes first.

You don't mention anything in the contract about them guaranteeing an oil change every 6 months.

So in your case, if you don't drive much, that could mean you will get as little as 1 oil change/tire rotation per year, totaling 4 oil changes/tire rotations over the course of the 4 year "contract".

 

As an example...according to the contract provisions you stated above: You are entitled to an oil change every 5,000 miles. The Lincoln recommend oil change interval is 1 year/10,000 miles.

Therefore, hypothetically...let's say you drive 4,000 miles per year (just picking a random number): That means you will be entitled to one oil change per year. Unless the contract states you are entitled to an oil change every 6 months, regardless of mileage.

On the other hand, it you drive 12,000 miles per year, you are entitled to an oil change every 5,000 miles. So that will net out to ~two oil changes per year etc.

And according to your contract, they will be Synthetic Blend oil changes, not full synthetic.

 

However, since you state you are not driving much, you will essentially get one oil change per year (according to your mileage, obviously). That is, unless the Dealer or Lincoln allows you to get one every 6 months regardless of mileage. But that is something you will need to discuss and straighten out with them. Plus a waste of oil, if you are really that low mileage annually.

 

And again, this is all based only on the limited information we know so far.

 

Let us know how you make out and good luck.

Edited September 20, 2021 by bbf2530