Police Crown Vics?

[VinylxScratches]

What do you guys think about Police Crown Vics?

http://tinyurl.com/y9goh6p

I hear these cars are pretty solid and parts are abundant since it hasn't changed too much over the years.

 

[iGas]

What do you guys think about Police Crown Vics?

http://tinyurl.com/y9goh6p

I hear these cars are pretty solid and parts are abundant since it hasn't changed too much over the years.

They are good cars, but the styling is dated and the overly large size isn't something that you want to take a date in.

 

[cardiac]

But for a decent drive to work car, it's tough to beat them. Very comfortable, about 18-20 mpg if you keep your foot out of it, and parts are cheap.... Had one and it was a ball. Still had the spot light on it and I put a few of my amateur radio antennas on it. Everyone would get out of your way....

Bob

 

[Bignate603]

They're made to be abused. They're pretty reliable.

 

[MDE]

They're made to be abused. They're pretty reliable.

And oftentimes, they are. Make sure you get it checked out before you buy.

 

[VinylxScratches]

They are good cars, but the styling is dated and the overly large size isn't something that you want to take a date in.

I actually like the styling, don't really care if my date doesn't like it, I currently drive a Neon lolz.

 

[Arkaign]

I actually like the styling, don't really care if my date doesn't like it, I currently drive a Neon lolz.

As long as the paint isn't peeling and the interior isn't falling to shit, I bet any prospective date would be pretty happy once inside and on the way. They're pretty comfy rides

 

[brblx]

decent car, but a bit of a barge nowadays.

it's definately going to be abused. get an inspection on it, for sure. i'd be most concerned about poorly repaired collision damage or bent, loose, or otherwise damaged stuff underneath the car. you need it off the ground to get the suspension properly checked out.

 

[MovingTarget]

Id be afraid because of the abuse they often take. Sure, they are built to handle it - but even they have their limits.

Besides...their size helps for the more umm...acrobatic...positions.

 

[CRXican]

I've wanted one for a long time. Will probably have one eventually.

 

[jlee]

We get rid of them after 3 years for a reason. Check it over and be prepared to replace stuff if necessary.

I would never want an ex-cruiser as my personal vehicle, nor would I want to drive one. If you like people doing 5mph under the limit when you're behind them, there you go...

 

[DivideBYZero]

We get rid of them after 3 years for a reason. Check it over and be prepared to replace stuff if necessary.

I would never want an ex-cruiser as my personal vehicle, nor would I want to drive one. If you like people doing 5mph under the limit when you're behind them, there you go...

/Thread

 

[franksta]

They're awesome but it really has to be the kind of car you like. I have an '04 Grand Marquis which is similar. There were suspension changes in '03 and I think that's when they went to a rack and pinion steering system. '05 went to throttle by wire.

Check out CrownVic.net for more than you ever wanted to know.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Those cars give me sea sickness, they drive like a boat imo.

They look like old lady cars too, haha.

 

[CptCrunch]

These cars are definitely abused, and almost picked one up a few years back. I know Ohio Highway Patrol puts 50k a year on their cars. They are definitely abused, and one thing you need to realize is that, while the odometer says 130k, the engine has more like 175-200k on it, because they let the vehicle idle all the time, which puts additional wear and tear on the engine.

 

[angry hampster]

Look for a detective's car. They're usually blue. Typically run a little more expensive, but well worth it because they're not used on patrol duty.

 

[MetalMat]

All I know is that the Crown Vics the engineers used to drive around at the Halliburton site I used to work at had odd isues with them.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

We get rid of them after 3 years for a reason. Check it over and be prepared to replace stuff if necessary.

I would never want an ex-cruiser as my personal vehicle, nor would I want to drive one. If you like people doing 5mph under the limit when you're behind them, there you go...

Most departments get rid of them at 100K miles. 9 times out of 10 Livery companies (Cabs ect.), or security companies buy them and drive the shit out of them.
When I was with the dept we had a 99 the marshall used that had 250K miles on it handled like it was brand new.
The cars may get abused, but they are also well maintained. You can't have a squad car on the street that is going to break down on an officer. It happens, but any dept worth a spit will have a compitent maintanence crew. Around here, a lot of cars that are sold off are prepped for civi use. The molded plastic bench in the back is removed and a new vynl unit is put in, the partition is removed, antenna holes filled, light bars, mounting equipment, wiring and light bulbs are are returned to factory.
One of these days I'll get off my ass and get one. The 5.4L is a drop in swap for these cars, you just need a taller hood. I want to go with a 5.4L supercharged engine in one.

 

[jlee]

Most departments get rid of them at 100K miles. 9 times out of 10 Livery companies (Cabs ect.), or security companies buy them and drive the shit out of them.
When I was with the dept we had a 99 the marshall used that had 250K miles on it handled like it was brand new.
The cars may get abused, but they are also well maintained. You can't have a squad car on the street that is going to break down on an officer. It happens, but any dept worth a spit will have a compitent maintanence crew. Around here, a lot of cars that are sold off are prepped for civi use. The molded plastic bench in the back is removed and a new vynl unit is put in, the partition is removed, antenna holes filled, light bars, mounting equipment, wiring and light bulbs are are returned to factory.
One of these days I'll get off my ass and get one. The 5.4L is a drop in swap for these cars, you just need a taller hood. I want to go with a 5.4L supercharged engine in one.

6-7 years ago, I did a ridealong with a PD down in Florida - the car didn't want to shift out of 2nd gear. One of our '09's broke down three times last week (41k on it) - it's at the dealer now. Maybe we just don't have great luck.

We replace ours every three years, regardless of mileage. It usually works out to be about 100k.

Look for a detective's car. They're usually blue. Typically run a little more expensive, but well worth it because they're not used on patrol duty.

That will depend on the agency - ours have been silver, and now they have a Camry Hybrid...

 

[Gillbot]

Most of those in the PD say they'd never touch them with a 10' pole after they've abused them so personally i'd pass.

 

[jlee]

Most of those in the PD say they'd never touch them with a 10' pole after they've abused them so personally i'd pass.

Seems like a lot of little stuff likes to go wrong...like turn signals not turning off automatically, fuses blowing, heater stops working, etc.

I imagine a lot of the electrical issues are gone when all the extra stuff is removed, though.

 

[LordMorpheus]

I drive a panther chassis ford (1997 Lincoln town car). I love it. I understand why most of my friends make fun of me for it.

The good:
Easy to work on
Parts are cheap
Reliable (never stranded me)
Great value

The bad:
Gas mileage
Solid rear axle (you can tell on rough pavement)
I've had bad luck with the power windows (however, they are easy and usually cheap to fix)

The jobs I've done on the car:
Alternator (put a rebuilt autozone unit in, had to replace it, but have free alts from autozone forever, as they carry a lifetime guarantee that I was assured transfers to replacement parts)
Front upper balljoints, lower balljoints, sway bar end links
Rear air suspension springs
Spark plugs + wires
Front + rear power window gear repair, both sides
Front power window regulators, both sides
lots of new vacuum hoses
cleaned several engine sensors (lean conditions code had me cleaning the MAF, so I just did a small tune up on several of the other easy to get at ones)

I had no experience with working on cars going in, I just knew that I wanted to learn. You can't pick a car that is as simple mechanically that was built in the last 20 years. This is a blessing and a curse - this is the source of the car's great reliability (jlee's experience aside), ease of repair, but it is also the source of the soft handling, relatively low power, dated looks.

I'd buy a used cruiser in a heartbeat, because I know that I like the style of car and that I could keep it on the road without spending a fortune on it.

I wouldn't recommend it to everyone though. Test drive one and make sure you're ok with how the panther chassis cars driver. If you can, take it over some rough pavement.

But hey, all my friends that poke fun at me are always wanting me to drive if someone's going to be in the back, and I think it's a hell of a classy looker:

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Have you ever watched cops? Search youtube for the vid of the kid on the dirtbike that gets away. Hopefully your crown vic wasn't the one yanked off of the RR tracks lol...


Seriously - watch a few episodes to get an idea of what these things generally go through if they're cruisers. I would try to find one that was not used as a patrol vehicle.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Have you ever watched cops? Search youtube for the vid of the kid on the dirtbike that gets away. Hopefully your crown vic wasn't the one yanked off of the RR tracks lol...


Seriously - watch a few episodes to get an idea of what these things generally go through if they're cruisers. I would try to find one that was not used as a patrol vehicle.

So you base your opinion on a TV show that only shows the "exciting stuff". Most of the time the only abuse the cars get is when the driver floors it to catch up to someone. It's not a daily occurence to jump railroad tracks, break down fences, and get into shoot outs*



* Unless it's Detroit.

 

[Gillbot]

Seems like a lot of little stuff likes to go wrong...like turn signals not turning off automatically, fuses blowing, heater stops working, etc.

I imagine a lot of the electrical issues are gone when all the extra stuff is removed, though.

No, they just blanket state that they'd never buy an ex-patrol car or a detective's car. They SEVERELY mistreated them while in service.