Where to find a cheap, reliable Crown Vic P71?

[Markus Kleis]

Hey ladies and gents...

I need your help!

I have decided that it is time to get a particular piece of jewelry, and rather than dip into my savings, I figured it would be more responsible to sell my car and get something more akin to a beater.

My car is paid for, and I think I can get around 8-9k for it, especially given the immaculate condition and incredible amount of work I have done to it.

That said, I have been shopping Craigslist for early 2000's (2001-2005 tops) Crown Victoria P71 Police Interceptors.

Ideally I want one with an interior in decent shape, and a monochrome exterior paint job (ie not black AND white).

I'm trying to spend between $3,000-4,000.

Any ideas aside from Craigslist, Autotrader and Ebay?

I tried looking into auctions, but it was more confusing than it was helpful.

I also tried to find an enthusiast forum where I could hopefully find a car owned by someone that cares about it... but the only one I found didn't have a classifieds section.

Thanks!

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: Where to find a cheap, reliable Crown Vic P71?

You seem to have it covered. CL, eBay, and Autotrader would have been my suggestions.

I ran a google search for "Crown Victoria P71 Police Interceptor for sale", and this was the first hit: http://www.used-police-cars.com/

$8-9k for a piece of jewelry? That's engagement ring territory, Mark.

Big announcement to follow?

[hacker-pschorr]

Re: Where to find a cheap, reliable Crown Vic P71?

Be sure to buy a white one and never go above 54mph on the interstate.

$8-9k for a piece of jewelry? That's engagement ring territory, Mark.

Big announcement to follow?

+1 - who's the lucky guy?

/it is California......

Oh I'm kidding!!

Unless I'm right....then it's -

Or is that only the military?

I'm having too much fun with smilies....

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Where to find a cheap, reliable Crown Vic P71?

You seem to have it covered. CL, eBay, and Autotrader would have been my suggestions.

I ran a google search for "Crown Victoria P71 Police Interceptor for sale", and this was the first hit: http://www.used-police-cars.com/

$8-9k for a piece of jewelry? That's engagement ring territory, Mark.

Big announcement to follow?

Haha, well I don't plan to spend the full proceeds from the sale on the ring, but whatever it takes

Be sure to buy a white one and never go above 54mph on the interstate.


+1 - who's the lucky guy?

/it is California......

Oh I'm kidding!!

Unless I'm right....then it's -

Or is that only the military?

I'm having too much fun with smilies....

Haha, I do live in California... but I am in San Diego...we're a military town

[CHzo6]

Re: Where to find a cheap, reliable Crown Vic P71?

I think you should just get a loan for the 3-4k and keep the car, you can pay off a 3-4k loan pretty quickly!

[Fly Bye]

Re: Where to find a cheap, reliable Crown Vic P71?


Keep the car mang.




Edit: Nevermind, it's a Ford

[Bill Davidson]

Re: Where to find a cheap, reliable Crown Vic P71?

Mark, I've owned 2 x-police cars (1988 Chevrolet Caprice's). My neighbor is a recently retired mechanic for the RCMP. I suggest you go to the garage where they fix the police cars and find out which auction house they go to when retired. Just ask one of the mechanics at the garage.

Another thing you can do is ask just about any cab driver which auction house they buy them at, and how much they go for. You might have to ask 2-3 cab drivers, because half of them are renting the car vs. owning it.

If you are willing to pay a bit more than the cab drivers at the auction, you'll get a nice one. Typically cab drivers just want the cheapest one because it's going to get repainted in 2 days.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Where to find a cheap, reliable Crown Vic P71?

I think you should just get a loan for the 3-4k and keep the car, you can pay off a 3-4k loan pretty quickly!

I have the cash if I really wanted to...I just don't like going below a certain safety cushion, and I hate loans.

The only debt I have is my home....because, well, that is kind of unavoidable

Mark, I've owned 2 x-police cars (1988 Chevrolet Caprice's). My neighbor is a recently retired mechanic for the RCMP. I suggest you go to the garage where they fix the police cars and find out which auction house they go to when retired. Just ask one of the mechanics at the garage.

Another thing you can do is ask just about any cab driver which auction house they buy them at, and how much they go for. You might have to ask 2-3 cab drivers, because half of them are renting the car vs. owning it.

If you are willing to pay a bit more than the cab drivers at the auction, you'll get a nice one. Typically cab drivers just want the cheapest one because it's going to get repainted in 2 days.

Thanks for the tip! I'll see what I can find out...

[Fly Bye]

Re: Where to find a cheap, reliable Crown Vic P71?

The only debt I have is my home....

Good man

[ali pontiac]

Re: Where to find a cheap, reliable Crown Vic P71?

I hope you find a clean one, i love them.
2003 & up years got better suspension system than 2002 and down.

[hacker-pschorr]

Re: Where to find a cheap, reliable Crown Vic P71?

They see me rollin........

[roushstage2]

Re: Where to find a cheap, reliable Crown Vic P71?

Here was the first one that popped up for me:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Super-Clean-2004-Crown-Victoria-Police-Interceptor-P71-/260648117147?pt=US_Cars_Trucks

Try searching through autotempest.com
It searches 5 different places at once. That's where the above car came from as the first listing on the eBay tab.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Where to find a cheap, reliable Crown Vic P71?

I hope you find a clean one, i love them.
2003 & up years got better suspension system than 2002 and down.

Interesting, I did not know that... good to know, thanks!

Here was the first one that popped up for me:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Super-Clean-2004-Crown-Victoria-Police-Interceptor-P71-/260648117147?pt=US_Cars_Trucks

Try searching through autotempest.com
It searches 5 different places at once. That's where the above car came from as the first listing on the eBay tab.

I saw that one, but I didn't know about autotempest, thanks for the heads-up!

[cnfowler]

Re: Where to find a cheap, reliable Crown Vic P71?

Even though I drive one everyday, I'd love to own one.

If it were me, I'd find out what departments in your area issue take home cars that are permanently assigned to one officer from new until trade. You'll find that when cars are driven by one officer, that officer takes care of it much better than a pool car where it is shuffled around every shift. Then find out where they send their cars when they mile out.

Whatever car you look at, look extremely closely for crash damage. Patrol cars are frequently damaged given the job they are asked to do. Most departments use a low-bid system for work. This usually means they aren't getting repaired/painted at the highest quality place, just the one that submitted the lowest bid.

If you could locate a captain, major, chief, colonel, etc unmarked car, it would probably be in much better shape with easy miles since they are used, for the most part, as a commuter car instead of a patrol car. They are usually unmarked units with no light bars so you won't have to worry about a repainted car and patch work done to repair the holes drilled in the roof and trunklid.

Good luck. Definitely let us know if you end up with one.

Colin

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Where to find a cheap, reliable Crown Vic P71?

Even though I drive one everyday, I'd love to own one.

If it were me, I'd find out what departments in your area issue take home cars that are permanently assigned to one officer from new until trade. You'll find that when cars are driven by one officer, that officer takes care of it much better than a pool car where it is shuffled around every shift. Then find out where they send their cars when they mile out.

Whatever car you look at, look extremely closely for crash damage. Patrol cars are frequently damaged given the job they are asked to do. Most departments use a low-bid system for work. This usually means they aren't getting repaired/painted at the highest quality place, just the one that submitted the lowest bid.

If you could locate a captain, major, chief, colonel, etc unmarked car, it would probably be in much better shape with easy miles since they are used, for the most part, as a commuter car instead of a patrol car. They are usually unmarked units with no light bars so you won't have to worry about a repainted car and patch work done to repair the holes drilled in the roof and trunklid.

Good luck. Definitely let us know if you end up with one.

Colin

Thanks a bunch for the inside scoop Colin!

I actually test drove a Vic today, but it was an LX civilian model. It was fairly nice and only had 67k miles, but I noticed some oddities in a fender and the way one door fit on the same side. The owner then tells me he bought it in May and had it repainted.

I'm thinking it was painted to hide damage, considering it is an '03 with 67k miles, I see no other reason to paint it so soon.

The real gem to find is the unmarked/detective car etc, as they don't need to be painted and don't have holes everywhere. Problem is finding one at the right price on a tight budget...