Ford Crown Victoria - Should I buy one?

[Leone Family]

I need a winter beater. I plan to go to a government auction this weekend and buy a Ford Crown Victoria. From what I've seen and read on the internet these cars are supposed to be quite reliable and not so bad on gas compared to other V8s. But my grandfather says otherwise. He says that's the worst idea I've ever come up with at that those cars consume fuel twice as much as my actual car (modified Tuscani V6 2.7). I'm not sure who to believe now, the internet or my grandfather? (who by the way is a professional car evaluator since 30 years)

 

The only reason why I'm looking for a winter beater is because I want to bring my current car to a bodywork school for a complete colour change but they require to keep the cars for the whole winter.

[LeslieFromTheShoIntimacy]

Reliable - yes

 

bad on gas - yes

 

You can get them cheap from the auction. They run forever and are cheap and super easy to maintain. drinks gas like a dually truck — That’s the only real negative. 

 

If you want some more info, PM me

 

 

[Standard Deluxe 59]

1 hour ago, LeslieFromTheShoIntimacy said:

bad on gas - yes

Wrong. I have a dressed up Crown Victoria called a Grand Marquis and usually get 19 MPG with mixed highway and city driving. Long highway trips can get me up to 27 MPG.

 

To answer the original question yes you should get yourself a Crown Victoria. They're some of the most reliable cars out there and commonly rack up well over 250,000 miles on them with regular maintenance. They're also big, comfortable and reasonably quick in a straight line. The only thing you'll wanna look out for are the intake manifolds on 1997-2001 models because the all plastic manifolds tend to start leaking coolant from the thermostat housing and the heater hose outlet. But you can get an OEM manifold kit with the revised manifold that replaces the plastic parts that fail with aluminum parts for about the same price or a little less than an after market manifold. Outside of that though, the Panther platform trio are virtually bulletproof cars that'll last you forever and compared to newer cars are still fairly easy to work on with their large engine bays. 

[Rumblebud]

Believe me, just install a push bar on the front bumper of one of those, and you're good to go.

You'll be sure that people will either get slightly spooked or even keep their driving in check...

 

While you're at it, check this out...

 

[Standard Deluxe 59]

6 hours ago, CanadianMuscle said:

Believe me, just install a push bar on the front bumper of one of those, and you're good to go.

You'll be sure that people will either get slightly spooked or even keep their driving in check...

 

While you're at it, check this out...



 

That car has a 2003-2005 Grand Marquis front clip on it lol.

[LeslieFromTheShoIntimacy]

16 hours ago, Standard Deluxe 59 said:

Wrong. I have a dressed up Crown Victoria called a Grand Marquis and usually get 19 MPG with mixed highway and city driving. Long highway trips can get me up to 27 MPG.

 

To answer the original question yes you should get yourself a Crown Victoria. They're some of the most reliable cars out there and commonly rack up well over 250,000 miles on them with regular maintenance. They're also big, comfortable and reasonably quick in a straight line. The only thing you'll wanna look out for are the intake manifolds on 1997-2001 models because the all plastic manifolds tend to start leaking coolant from the thermostat housing and the heater hose outlet. But you can get an OEM manifold kit with the revised manifold that replaces the plastic parts that fail with aluminum parts for about the same price or a little less than an after market manifold. Outside of that though, the Panther platform trio are virtually bulletproof cars that'll last you forever and compared to newer cars are still fairly easy to work on with their large engine bays. 

 

That sounds about right; I should have mentioned they can do decent on the highway. That’s a Grand Marquis though.  You have 2.73 gears and If he’s talking about a government auction he’s probably going to get a Police Interceptor, which will have a different RAR, probably 3.27 or 3.55.  I do mostly city driving and the best I’ve averaged was about 17mpg at best, 12(!!!)mpg worst. I’ve never gotten 27 on the highway; Most was 24 IIRC. Either way, that’s pretty bad and will be considerably worse if he’s used to driving a 2.7L V6, especially if he lives in the city.

 

Other than that, agreed on the manifold.  The replacement is made for Mustangs but they fit the same. The starters can be a royal pain to replace as well.  Timing chains tend to go out on the super high milage ones as well.  Electrical gremlins may be present on Interceptors from all the cut wiring.  

[universetwisters]

Enjoy having all the cars in front of you drive slow because they think you're a cop

[Standard Deluxe 59]

27 minutes ago, universetwisters said:

Enjoy having all the cars in front of you drive slow because they think you're a cop

Only at night do they do that.

[universetwisters]

2 minutes ago, Standard Deluxe 59 said:

Only at night do they do that.

 

Daytime too, depending on the color people think you're undercover.

I drove a plain white Crown Vic for a week and I couldn't believe how slow I had to go

[Rumblebud]

Even the newer Ford Taurus and Explorers in sight make people slow down to the speed limit.

 

I almost lost my sh*t going like 30 km/h over and spotting one of those, realizing it was just a regular civilian vehicle.

[Cincy32]

Late reply, but YES, buy a Panther platform car. 

 

I've had one (98 CVLX) and currently have another (07 Grand Marquis). They are terrific cars, very comfortable and reliable, both due to their body-on-frame construction (the last cars to ever be made that way). Gas consumption is not bad either; it's very easy to get 27+/- MPG highway and I'm currently averaging just under 21 MPG combined.

 

Also, and this is our little secret, the Panthers keep going up in price steadily. I bought my 07 Grand Marquis in February 2017 with only 29k miles for $5500. Now, I can't find a single Panther under 50k miles that's in good shape for under $8,000. I could honestly sell my Mercury now and make $3,000 after having put on 20k miles.

[Lurch]

I've been around them a decent amount. I'm not a huge fan of the Ford Mod motor, but it does seem to be reliable enough/last a fairly long time. I don't think the fuel economy of them is that bad. Usually better than I get in my 2000 lbs 1.6 cars (apples to oranges though). 

While I do like most of the Police Interceptor upgrades (including the aforementioned shorter geared rear end), take into consideration that those cars that come up at auction have been beat on hard and are usually pretty high mileage. They can also have some electrical issues when all that police equipment is removed before auction. 

[itsallup]

If you can find a grand marquis even better because they are just as luxurious as a town car. I had a 2010 grand marquis with 130k miles. Smoothest ride I ever had in my life.

 

The crown vics are all mostly police interceptors with 200k plus miles, rear seats are made of plastic and the rear doors wont open from the inside but if you want to scare pleople and want to leave it idle a long time it is the car for you.