Selling a dead or junk Lincoln

Below: the Leland founding, the Ford years, the Lincolns with the longest NHTSA complaint files, and links to all 16 model pages.

A luxury brand started by a Cadillac founder

The Lincoln Motor Company was founded in August 1917 by Henry Leland and his son Wilfred, according to Wikipedia. Henry Leland had been among the founders of Cadillac. He sold Cadillac to General Motors in 1909 and stayed on as an executive, then left in 1917 after a dispute with GM president William Durant over war production.

Ford Motor Company acquired Lincoln in 1922, and it has been a Ford division ever since. Its headquarters are in Detroit. A few milestones from the same article:

• 1931: the Lincoln Model K replaces the Model L.
• 1956: Ford creates the Continental Division above Lincoln. Its Continental Mark II was meant to follow the 1940-1948 Lincoln Continental.
• 1968-1998: Lincoln brought back the Continental Mark series, beginning with the Mark III. These personal luxury cars stood at the top of the whole Ford range.
• 1989 and 1990: Lincoln's two best US sales years, 200,315 and 231,660. They followed a redesigned Continental for 1988 and a redesigned Town Car for 1990.
• 2017: Lincoln sold 188,383 vehicles worldwide.

Which Lincolns draw the most NHTSA complaints

Owners had filed 14,253 complaints with NHTSA about the 16 Lincolns we cover, counted on October 10, 2026. Seven models hold most of them:

These numbers count reports, not failures, and they are not a reliability rating. Age and sales volume drive them. The Town Car spans 28 EPA model years of a big sedan that sold for decades, so it leads by a wide margin. The Mark VIII stands out for the other reason: 824 complaints from only six model years, more than the MKS (eight years) or the MKT (ten years) drew in longer runs.

At the other end, the newest Lincolns sit low partly because fewer years on the road means fewer chances for owners to file. The Corsair (2020 on) shows 218 and the Nautilus (2019 on) 255. The Blackwood, a pickup sold for the 2002 and 2003 model years, shows just 8.

The MK years and the names that came back

Lincoln's EPA list falls into three naming eras. Through the 1990s it sold named cars: Town Car, Continental, Mark VII, Mark VIII. From the 2006 model year it switched to MK letters, with the MKZ, MKX, MKS, MKT and MKC, and the last of those ended with the 2020 model year. Since 2019 the new models carry words again: Nautilus, Aviator and Corsair. The Aviator name itself first appears in the EPA list for 2003.

That matters when you describe the car. The MKZ alone spans 2006 to 2020, so the model year tells a buyer far more than the letters do.

Selling a Lincoln that no longer runs

An old Lincoln with a dead engine may need repairs bigger than its value. Nobody asks you to strip it, drain it or haul it anywhere. The whole car goes as it sits.

Have these ready when you ask for an offer:

1. Year, model and mileage. For the MK cars, the model letters matter.
2. Does it crank? Will the wheels turn so it can be winched? Note any body damage and anything already pulled off it.
3. Title status. A Lincoln whose title went missing can still be sold in many cases; see selling a junk car with no title.
4. The address where the truck will find it, and whether it is in a closed garage or out on the street.

If the car stopped because it simply wore out, our guide to old or high-mileage cars covers that choice. When it is done, take care of the plates and paperwork.

Rather talk to someone? Call (877) 421-6008.

Every Lincoln model on this site

Each year range runs from a model's earliest EPA entry to its latest; so a range will not show any model years a Lincoln skipped. A Navigator or Aviator listed through 2027 is current; the EPA adds each model year as it is rated.