My Hobby Car of a Lifetime #18: ’05 Lincoln Navigator — A Millionaire’s Yacht On Wheels

 

I’m sorry, I really wanted to hate these things! I started out that way. Luxury SUVs were a joke in my eyes, an abomination!

These were not real Lincolns, just as the Escalade was not a real Cadillac. They were a slick joke that the manufacturers played on gullible consumers. But just as I had to satisfy my curiosity with my Explorer, I became really curious about these luxury SUVs.

How was it that I started to like the way that the Navigator looked? I always liked the name. So evocative! By the time the ’02 models had arrived. Lincoln had given them a more unique look, less truck-like and more posh. The interiors had been immensely upgraded. They looked less an Expedition in a badly fitted suit. The ’04 model completed the transition. The bodywork was smooth and refined with a slightly bigger grille and smoother integrated bumpers. The interior was now gorgeous, and that was the thing that initially attracted me to them.

New Navigators have absolutely gorgeous interiors. The Black Label series have sumptuous seats as well as laser-etched wood panels. The color coordination and palette of the interior is outstanding. The design of the cabin and instrument panel is really befitting of their top of the line vehicle. One thing that I took away from my Jaguar XJ6 experience was the desire to have a beautiful environment surrounding me on my drives.

 

I had learned that the ’04-’05s were the transition models.  So I started looking on Craigslist, and I started noting Navigators found in the wild.

There is a used car lot in Gilroy that will often write up a fanciful description of some of their featured cars. They had an ’04 Navigator offered that looked to be in good shape. What caught my eye and imagination was when the copywriter described it as “A Millionaire’s Yacht on Wheels!”

I found a green “04 Navigator offered for sale on CL at a used car lot in Sacramento. After attending a car show at the Bering Museum in Danville I decided to drive up and check it out and I arrived near closing time. I found the Navigator, it was green with a tan interior. It looked to be in good shape and I loved the color combination. But the Nav was way in the back of a densely packed lot and wouldn’t be available for a test drive for a couple of days.

Traffic on the way home was terrible as usual, so I had lots of time to think about the Navigator on the drive home. For some reason that big SUV had really caught my imagination, unfortunately, it was sold before I could return.

Back in the “Old Days”, the old saw was that if you had to ask how much a car like this cost, then you probably couldn’t afford it. The same thing is true about the fuel consumption. Well heeled customers who were the target market probably never had much of a concern in those areas. I suppose that the same attitude is present with current buyers; they buy a vehicle to use and enjoy. Sure, it uses more fuel than a Rav 4, but they pay more in property taxes and upkeep on their big suburban house, than the guy with a two bedroom starter home.

 

I didn’t buy this vehicle because I was trying to be a poser with a 17 year old luxury car. I believe that a car should have a value that transcends its current market worth. A Corvette for example, always remains a Corvette, regardless of age. Likewise, the Navigator remains a top of the line luxury conveyance.

I was curious, and it makes more sense to satisfy that curiosity with a vehicle that cost me less than five grand, as opposed to one that cost 100,000 dollars!

I had enjoyed driving my Explorer and wondered if I would feel the same about a Navigator. I had considered the smaller Aviator, which I thought was equally handsome. The Aviator features an engine shared with the Mustang Cobra.

I found one for sale and took it for a test drive. It seemed a bit tight inside, as it was also kind of narrow like my previous Explorer. It also had the same trait when crossing longitudinal road imperfections, where it would suddenly jerk sideways, and toss my head from side to side.

I’d bet that the Navigator rode better and I was right.

It seemed like it would be a good idea to take one out for a test drive before I pursued the matter any further. I didn’t feel right bothering a private seller owner if I wasn’t sure that I was that serious, since I didn’t want to waste their time.

Luckily I found an ’04 for sale at an auto repair shop in Fremont and went to check it out. It was a bit rough around the edges, but started when one of the mechanics jumped the battery. It was pretty dirty and dusty, so they hosed it off so that could see out of the windows! It looked pretty neglected, and I asked them numerous times if the brakes worked okay. I didn’t want to run amok in a vehicle weighing two and a half tons! They assured me that it was fine.

The interior of the ’04 was the updated design, but it was quite dirty and worn in spots. Of course, many of the little trinkets and things had been broken over the years and had never been repaired. But I was more concerned with the driving experience.

I found that the car was easy to steer and maneuver, and its size seemed to shrink as I drove through traffic filled with big pickup trucks and other large SUVs. I returned from the test drive, thanked them, and drove off. I wasn’t looking for another project, I would buy something in much nicer condition.

It was like Pennies from Heaven how my Navigator appeared.

 

 

I found my Navigator on CL, and it was located in Fairfield. It was candy apple red, (actually Ruby Red metallic) with chrome 18 inch wheels and a tan leather interior. It was a highly optioned, two-wheel drive “Ultimate” model with 109,000 miles. It had heated and cooled seats, rear air, a power tailgate and power-retractable running boards.

It also had a dual tailpipe after market exhaust that added a cool look but was as quiet as stock. It had been used for towing, as it had a trailer brake set up. It had a middle bench, eight-passenger seating arrangement, which I prefer. The rear console would preclude a smooth load floor when all seats were folded down.

 

 

It was very clean, well-maintained, and ran perfectly.

I thought that it was very pretty. I’m not kidding you! That’s why I bought it; it was a present to myself for my 68th birthday.

 

Driving my Navigator is easy, it is shorter than my F150 and visibility is very good. The vehicle exudes a great feeling of solidity, it really feels stuck to the road. I guess that there is really something to this “Sanctuary” thing!

Steering is precise; Lincoln went with a new German rack and pinion steering unit. Since it has IRS and air springs, the ride is smooth and well-controlled. Braking is confident and it handles well on secondary roads. The seats are comfortable, it is quiet and just eats up the miles; and it can also carry a lot of passengers and cargo, as it is rated to tow 8,000 lbs.

 

My birthday is in November, and I spent a lot of time driving in the Bay Area during the Atmospheric River, in heavy rain. Then we took a trip to Pismo Beach, where there was more rain. We also spent a long weekend in Windsor. Last year we drove it up to the Oregon coast for our family vacation; we went from the Bay Area to Klamath Falls Oregon where we spent the night. The next day we drove up to Medford on county roads, then we drove west to Newport and on to the coast.

My two-day average on fuel mileage, gassing up in Newport returned 20.5 mpg. I had been keeping my speed down on I-5 to 70 mph, and on the back roads, we were cruising between 55-65 mph. Still, I was very impressed. After a fill up the estimated range was over 500 miles; that sounds pretty impressive until you realize that you just put 28 gallons of gas in the tank!

The trip home was done on I-5 and my speeds were held to 60-65 in the mountains, and 70 mph once we reached California. Gas mileage was 19 mpg, pretty much the same that I’d gotten with my F150.

The key to getting acceptable fuel economy is to keep your speed down on the highway, accelerate reasonably from stops, and anticipate traffic signals and slowdowns. Smooth driving is what’s called for. Make inertia your friend. You will often see these big SUVs and other large trucks being driven at 80+ mph –You know that the driver is paying for that at the pump.

Last summer we were suffering through a terrible heat wave. Temperatures in the South Bay were at 95 degrees. I took my new Navigator out to Fresno, where temps were well over 100 degrees, to check and buy my ’97 Riviera. I had hooked up a tow dolly, which works well when towing FWD vehicles. The Navigator is a better towing rig than my V6 F150, which is only rated at 6,000 lbs. It was unaffected by the 4.500 lbs. load.

There was some oxidation in the clear coat of the front bumper, so I had it repainted shortly after I bought it. Then I touched up some minor nicks, polished the paint on the body, then detailed it inside and out. Earlier this year I had a backup camera installed that was compatible with the aftermarket Pioneer stereo’s screen. I have a Garmin navigation unit that I use in my cars that don’t have a built-in system, which is very convenient.

Almost two years later mileage is up to 114,000 miles and it hasn’t given me any problems. I used it to transport furniture when I towed a large trailer to move my daughter out of the Sacramento area. And I loaded it up for my final Datsun swap meet in the Central Valley town of Manteca.

While I will admit to loving this vehicle, I sometimes do feel a bit extravagant and even a bit wasteful driving around in it by myself. For some reason, I never feel that way driving my F150! Of course, there are more efficient vehicles available, but I bought this as a hobby car. I had considered buying a ’51-’53 Cadillac originally, but the Nav is certainly more fuel efficient and pollutes less than my old ’56 Cadillac or ’66 Riviera.

I find myself looking at later model Navigators for sale on CL and have even gone to the Lincoln dealer to check out the new models. These vehicles are really impressive and equally expensive. I really like the new Aviator; it’s a bit smaller and more fuel efficient than the new Navigator, but not by that much. Neither is that more efficient than my ’05.

 

My odometer is now up to 115,000 miles, but realistically I know that I would probably never wear this vehicle out. My annual mileage won’t be over five or six thousand miles a year. I see these and their Expedition siblings for sale with well over 250,000 miles on them. However, I anticipate that repair and maintenance expenses will be waiting for me around the corner.

A new set of tires will be needed in a year or so, the a/c could use a recharge, and the battery is already a couple of years old, but I plan to keep it in good shape. It won’t fit in the garage but I keep it under a high-quality car cover. Preservation is the name of the game.

Buying this Navigator is similar to what I used to do back in the ’70s; buy old depreciated luxury cars. I get to experience and enjoy them for pennies on the original dollar. Sure, vehicles this old don’t function as status symbols, but impressing people has never been on my agenda. The important thing is to find an example in good cosmetic and mechanical condition. I get lots of compliments on my Lincoln, which even though it is almost twenty years old, still looks pretty sharp. It is an oldie, but it’s also a real goodie. I hope that it treats me well.

All this fun and a 95,000 dollar discount!

 

Related CC reading:

Curbside Classic: 1999 Lincoln Navigator – Give Them What They Want, Pt. 1