Hey im new to the forum. Im looking to buy a crown vic from the year 99' and up. I dont know much about them though. Im a bit worried to buy an old cop car becuase i imagine they have lots of wear and tear, even for a low mileage. Am i wrong? Do all the cop cars have the P71 engine? You think i can find one with the strobe lights still in it or do they usually take those out? Im really looking for one like Gino_deals, you got a nice ride man.

 

I have a 2001 Crown Vic from a city police dept. and a 2004 Crown Vic from a university police dept. (I'm starting my own neighborhood police dept. heh-heh). Re: the 2001 CV, I got a terrific buy onit and expected to pay about $1,000 in repairs and still feel good. It had a leak in the rear axle seal ($220); the oil lines to the cooler leaked and were replaced ($235) and the latest is bad ball joints on right side (estimate is for $600 for ball joints& Pitman arm plus labor). There's also a slight leak from transmission (seal). My wife drives it 50 miles a week so I'm going to hold off on ball joints. The city dept. snipped all the wires, including the ones to the horn and left exposed all the wiring inside after the police electronics were removed.

The 04 (see related post) so far has beenvery good. Got a good buy on that also (maybe half of what dealers sell them for). Couple of problems with the 04. Thanks to the other post reply,I'm pretty sure the problem is the gas filter. I'm looking to fix both problems this weekend. The university maintenace people did a tremendous job in removing the police electronics -- can't even tell there was such equipment in there.

Both cars ride very nice; good power, good visibility all around. My 04 got 25 mph on the trip from Iowa to N. Wisconsin. Big back seat for my gear, etc. Huge trunk. It definitely looks like a squad car, tho. For the time being I'm leaving the spotlight on the 04. It's a hoot to watch drivers begin to pass and then have second thoughts. I will take it out soon though for reasons listed below.

I would look for something in the 2001 and on up range and with mileage in the 65,000 to 80,000 range. I crossed my fingers when I bought these on auction. You won't find a police vehicle with less than 60,000. Most depts. do a ehcile rotation of 3-4 years, and most squads are in the 85,000 to 115,000 miles range when they are released for sale. They almost always take out the police stuff and reinstall it on the next squad they buy. I would not even think about putting or leaving on police markings/strobe lights on a vehicle. Any cop would take a very dim view of that, plus nowadays with concern about women being stopped on the highways by fake cops, it's an invite for lots of grief.

Regarding the p71, I don't know.

Check out the Grand Marquis -- I think they are very much alike.

 

The P71 package is pretty standard on all Police vehicles. Almost all Police vehicles are bought on a state bid package and they are all the same. Deno makes some good points in his post. The CV isa good solid car for everyday use. They are like any other car. Proper and scheduled maintenance is a requirement. Good luck with it. There are a lot of sites that sell used vehicles. We use www.publicsurplus.com And have used www.govdeals.com These sites are as is auctions. search your state to see if there are any that are posted for sale. You can also buy the CV Sport and have the same vehicle without the PI engine.