Coffin Carrier: 1997 Lincoln Town Car Hearse 55K – SOLD!
(To stop the slideshow and expand the pictures, click on the current photograph below)
July 18, 2023, Update – We confirmed the seller of this “Classifind” deleted their listing, so we’re now able to call this one “SOLD!” While this one got away, please reach out either by email or call us directly if you’d like to be informed when we come across something similar.
July 6, 2023 Update – After trying two months with no sale at $8,95o, the seller of this 55K-mile 1997 Lincoln Hearse we’ve been tracking since February lowered their asking price by another one thousand dollars in their latest Craigslist ad. That’s a substantial drop from the original ask of $14,950 over the winter.
June 13, 2023 Update – The private seller of this low-mileage ’97 Lincoln Hearse we’ve been tracking since February replaced their ninth listing with their tenth Craigslist ad. The already reduced price of $8,950 is quite a drop from the original ask of $14,950.
June 13, 2023 Update – The private seller of this low-mileage ’97 Lincoln Hearse we’ve been tracking since February replaced their eighth listing with their ninth Craigslist ad. The already reduced price of $8,950 is quite a drop from the original ask of $14,950.
May 24, 2023 Update – The private seller of this low-mileage ’97 Lincoln Hearse we’ve been tracking since February replaced their fifth ad is as many months with their sixth Craigslist ad. The already reduced price of $8,950 is quite a drop from the original ask of $14,950.
May 9, 2023 Update – The private seller of this 1997 Lincoln Hearse we’ve been tracking the sale of since February replaced their expiring Craigslist with a fresh listing. While the pictures and description remained the same, they decided to lower their asking price even further to $8,950. That’s nearly a fifty percent drop from the original ask of $14,950 in February.
April 14, 2023 Update – The seller replaced their ten-day-old Craigslist ad with a fresh listing. While the pictures and description remain the same, the seller deducted another $500 to land at $9,450. That’s a price drop of $5,500 from the original $14,950 ask.
April 4, 2023 Update – The seller replaced their expiring Craigslist ad with a fresh listing. The pictures, description, and already reduced asking price remain the same.
March 7, 2023 Update – The seller decided to replace their last Craigslist ad with a fresh listing in which they lowered their asking price by a whopping $5,000 down to $9,950. We predict that other than the location perhaps hampering would-be-buyers, it will now sell quickly.
February 23, 2023 Update – The private seller replaced their expiring listing with a fresh Craigslist ad. The description, pictures and $14,950 asking price remain the same.
Like it or not, the last car ride for many of us will be in the back of a special station wagon, otherwise known as a hearse. The vast majority of hearses we come across for sale are black Cadillacs. Imagine our surprise when we happened upon this white 1997 Lincoln Town Car Hearse for sale, last listed in July 2023 on Craigslist in Billings, Montana. The seller reports their Lincoln Hearse has just under 55K miles on their one-owner example. You’ll need to confirm with them whether they are, in fact, the original owner or if this is a “jump title” (i.e., the seller bought it from the original owner but has not registered the car in their name) situation.
Last offered for $7,950 (the original ask was $14,950), Classic.com, the analytics and search engine for the collector car market, confirms the ask is slightly below the one-year rolling average of this guide’s summary for second-generation Lincoln Town Cars produced between 1990 and 1997. By clicking on the green dots in the graph below, you can navigate to each comparable car sold as a way to help you evaluate the price of the Hearse featured here:
In 1981, Lincoln separated the “Town Car” brand from the “Continental” when the company launched a front-wheel-drive sedan model of the latter. From that point through 2011, the “Town Car” brand, originally derived from a limousine body style, denoted Lincoln’s traditional, body-on-frame, rear-wheel-drive, full-size sedan. Produced across three generations for thirty model years, Lincoln marketed the Town Car directly against luxury sedans from Cadillac and Chrysler.
After ten years on the market relatively unchanged, Lincoln gave the Town Car an extensive redesign inside and out for the 1990 model year. To bring a new generation of buyers to the Lincoln brand, the Town Car adopted a far more contemporary image, bringing it in line with the Continental and Mark VII. In addition, the Town Car adopted a new range of safety and luxury features. It would mark the debut of a powertrain that would see usage in various Ford Motor Company vehicles. The Town Car was named the 1990 Motor Trend Car of the Year.
The Town Car’s redesign gave the model a significant sales boost in 1990, helping Lincoln achieve record sales that year. The second-generation Town Car became one of the best-selling full-size U.S. luxury sedans. However, Town Car sales quickly declined after launch and would drop below 100,000 in 1995 for the first time in over ten years. This decline mirrored what had been happening in the luxury car market as buyers’ tastes shifted more towards nimbler, performance-oriented models and, eventually, SUVs. While consumer interest in the Town Car waned, the brand enjoyed immense success in the “Black Car,” Limousine, and Funeral industries. Following the discontinuation of the Cadillac Fleetwood by General Motors after 1996, the Lincoln Town Car became the longest-length regular-production sedan sold in the United States.
The MotorWeek Retro Review YouTube Channel provides this look back at when the second-generation, Panther-Platform-based Lincoln Town Car launched in 1990:
With only 54K original miles, if you know anything about this generation of Panther-platform Lincolns, this car is barely broken in. When parts are needed, they are relatively inexpensive and easy to find. We wonder whether the next caretaker will continue to use it for its intended purpose or will convert it for some other use.
If you are serious about buying this Lincoln Hearse, you can start the conversation by calling the seller before 8:00 PM local time using the number provided in their Craigslist ad. When you connect, please remember to mention you saw their low-mileage converted Town Car featured here on GuysWithRides.com. Good luck with the purchase!
Here’s the seller’s description:
Leather, loaded. Fully functional as built. Krystal Coach, Brea California. factory build.
Fresh out of service. Has always been in Heated storage. Maintained to perfection. this Hearse saw long-distance highway use as well. Use for hauling, Convert to camper, or can be put right back into service. A new one now is $140K plus. It is ready to go to work back in a small private funeral home or???
Needs nothing and everything works as it should. 4.6 V-8, Auto. Absolutely mint condition. make an offer, or some trades will be considered. Drives as new and makes 28+MPG @82 MPH. Currently using as a daily driver for work and travel.“
Show or go: What would you do with this 1997 Lincoln Town Car Hearse for sale? Please comment below and let us know!
Around 1995 I bought a 1990 Mercury Grand Marquis LS Colony Park from a funeral director. Deep tinted windows and ICE-COLD A/C. It wasn’t a hearse; it was the car that picked up the bodies to take to the Funeral Home. I sold it around 2005 but man do I REALLY miss that car.