mcflyguy24

Does anyone on here have any experience with these cars? I've noticed a lot of Crown Vic interceptors going for pretty cheap with relatively low miles. Are they reliable cars? I kinda want something that I can use for a daily commuter until I save for a nicer ride. My 2nd gen TL is prob about to shit out it's 2nd tranny and I doubt Acura is gonna cover it this time around at 110k and several years out of warranty.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

My friends father had a P71 and from what I could tell it seemed pretty bulletproof.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

civic, where the fawk do you get these avi's from

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Ill never tell!

Costco

More importantly, what was the name of the chick in your previous avatar again?

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

No one knew

Sorry for going offtopic mcfly.

ttribe

Back to the OP - my opinion: don't buy a former interceptor. I know quite a few police officers; those cars are not treated well.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Obviously they arent treated well by the officers, but they are maintained well since they generally see quite a bit of miles and need to last.

ttribe

I don't know...that's a pretty broad statement given the variation in practices across departments. IMO, it's still a crap shoot. But, my guess is only somewhat educated on this; I could be off base.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

True, I guess with any used car, especially a fleet vehicle, it could go either way.

From what I gather, Crown Vics are easy and cheap to fix if something goes wrong. Just make sure you get one that has had the fuel tank issue addressed.

ttribe

I think that's a fair statement.

Oh, and make sure it still has the cool spotlight attached at the driver's side window. How can you not like that tool for all types of misbehavior?

stogie1020

I beat the SHIT out of my squad cars... NO WAY I would want to buy one for a DD...

I mean, I beat the SHIT out of them.


The Chevy held up better than the Fords, but still...

Costco

No real experience or info with them.... but all I know is they've got some huge ass trunks. Same with Caprices.

charliemike

There has to be a better option out there for $4-5k for you than a PI that gets 15mpg, has had the roughest 100k miles I can think of for a car, and has a propensity to catch fire in severe rear-end collisions.

MTEAZY

My friend has one of those. A nice benefit is that everyone clears out of the way to let you pass.

stogie1020

If you do, check EVERYTHING!

Motor mounts, suspension, brakes (pads and rotors), tranny, you name it.

Our shop guys would look at me like "how the eff did you do that?" sometimes when I brought the things in for service...

Costco

Yeh..... I've seen PIs hop islands at intersections before. I'm not talking gingerly and carefully either. As in, I didn't see it at first.... I HEARD it, which is what got my attention.

stogie1020

I turned rotors blue, vulcanized rubber from blowouts into the trunk compartment, did J-turns all the time (legit practice maneuvers), drove on roads at full speed that make the Baja 500 look like nurburgring, put them into park while going 15 mph, etc...

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

My dad was a CHP and taught me the j hook maneuver on a chevy trailblazer...needless to say, we flipped it that day.

stogie1020

I used to do it in a 95 Caprice that sat super low to the ground... I loved that car.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

PortlandRL

For some reason, it's virtually impossible for me to envision you driving like this.

stogie1020

The car was a tool, that was it. I could use up the tool as long as it let me do my job.


I had to bribe a few service advisers to keep from getting written up. Brakes were an issue for me.

In my defense, the crown vics came with these awful wheel covers that didn't vent ANY heat, so my pads suffered. A lot.

wackjum

Not to mention the backseat probably smells like urine/sweat/despair.

Pretty poor choice as a commuter. They get bad mileage.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Yeah....my dad didnt account the truck being top heavy

PortlandRL

Around here, cops hang onto the cars until 80K and then sell them. A large number end up in the hands of cabbies who then proceed to beat them up even more but honestly, I think it's a testament to the toughness of the Crown Vic.

80,000 miles of police service (the hardest environment I can imagine) followed by 200,000 miles of taxi service (second hardest) will take the mickey out of any car.

crazyasiantl

iTrader: (7)

+1

stogie1020

True that Portland...


Justinspace, couldn't imaging doing it in a high profile car like that...

stogie1020

On one occasion that resulted in a day off... I left 178 feet of skid on a dry road before taking the rear end off of a lovely old woman's corsica.

Apparently the ABS light was on in my car, but I had taped a picture of a bad guy I was looking for over it and hadn't noticed...


She turned left in front of me as I was racing to help a buddy out who was in bad trouble but didn't realize it yet.

My fault, no light/siren.

PortlandRL

I did some seriously dumb shit with my old Santa Fe including a couple of 180-degree handbrake turns. The fact I didn't roll it astonishes me.

Thankfully the new one has a foot-activated parking brake and I've grown past that sort of thing. Now I just disable the traction control and smoke 'em through first gear.

PortlandRL

I gotta hear some of these stories next time you're in town.

stogie1020

If you know anything about coefficients of friction on a dry road, 178 feet means something... And they were generous with the CF.

stogie1020

Uh oh. Terry is here to kick my ass for not taking better care of cars!

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

We did it in a school parking lot during the weekend.
As I was hanging upside down, by my seat belt, all I could think was if my contacts were all right.
Being the honest young gentleman I was, I outed my dad to the police.

stogie1020

I never flipped. I can say that much.

SuperTrooper169

iTrader: (2)

I convinced my friend to neutral drop his parents' Taurus one time. Snapped the axle immediately. It was awesome.

pttl

Valet school.

teranfon

I..........am...........aghast.

So much abuse.............

Police Crown Vics? Other than personally experiencing the nice ride and rear seat legroom on a couple occasions, I don't have too much experience with them.

A friend, however, sees a number of them through his tire/repair shop. For the most part these are all taxicabs, starting life out as interceptors before being used for more "civilian" duty. It's not uncommon to see them with 500 000 kilometers on the clock. Apparently, they're nearly unbreakable. Even after all those miles and experiencing extreme Canadian winters, they seem to go and go.

mcflyguy24

This is all I'm looking for in this car if I go with one. Nearly unbreakable. It is just to use until I've saved for a decent down payment on a better car. It will def have to get checked out by a mechanic though for signs of wear on the things stogie mentioned.

It's Clutch

iTrader: (6)

Charger interceptor all the way.

A bud's PI. (not a cop. Legalized the strobes.)