Looking at a CV! How much should I pay? Help! - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

Miller88 · 07-25-2010, 14:32

I'm looking at a 2000 Crown Vic with 52000 miles on it. Body on it is nice , underneath is nicer for a 10 year old ny state car.

Anyway, it's not too rusty and it's in good shape. With 52000, what would be a reasonable price to pay for it from a dealer.

What should I look for on this thing ... anything in particular besides exploding intake manifolds that I should be worried about?

Oh ... and I'm sure this thing has 2.30:1 or something crazy 80s fuel economy gearing haha.

Some Pictures. I'll start with the rustiest part of the car

jsuthers · 07-25-2010, 14:45

Thats a very nice vic

as for the price I'm not able to give a good estimate (considering I paid $300 for mine - 50k miles later and I still have it

)

I would start by looking on ebay or craigslist on local listings as that should give you a ball park estimate

**Bert** · 07-25-2010, 16:19

I wouldn't know the price but a jsuthers said, check ebay and craigslist. You can also get an idea by going to New Cars, Used Cars, Blue Book Values & Car Prices - Kelley Blue Book and checking. I have a 2000 with 153,000 miles and the original plastic intake manifold.

Miller88 · 07-25-2010, 17:27

Bah KBB ain't lookin good, nor ebay. The dealer has it priced a few hundred above KBB and about what everything else is going for This thing is a real creampuff too ... doesn't look like I'm going to break them much :/

I had intake manifold explosion on my Taurus and they aren't even prone to them! haha.

I'd really like to get this thing for around $5500 or so but ... an almost rust free cheap-ish car ...

**Bert** · 07-25-2010, 17:44

Tell him what you'll pay for it and to call you when he's ready to sell. I've done that numerous times and within a day or 2, they call and say they're ready.

Miller88 · 07-25-2010, 19:17

Thought about doing that but I am walking into this dealer. They don't know me and I don't really have any pull. Plus, it's a somewhat rust free 10 year old car ... don't find that too much.

But with that said, if they can't get me out the door for a certain amount I have no problem doing that. I don't want to pay $8000 for a 10 year old car

**Bert** · 07-25-2010, 19:28

Every time I did it, they didn't know me either. They always want to make it soumd like you'll miss out and when they know there's a chance to sell, especially near the end of the month, they'll most often go for it. Try it, if they don't, you can go back in a week or so and remake the offer again. I sold cars for 9 months so I know how they think.

Miller88 · 07-26-2010, 04:00

Ah being on both ends you know how to do it

Anything in particular I should look for when test driving this car?

I really wanted to check out the axle tag but figured if I did any more crawling underneath the car that I would have the police called.

**Bert** · 07-26-2010, 07:51

Nothing in particular to look for. These cars are pretty well built. Lots of people don't know that and that's why they won't have a crowd looking for one. Especially in your area where they want front wheel drive due to the snow. I get 23 mpg on the road and it was better than that before the ethenol was added to the gas. I bought mine at a police auction and didn't even drive it before I bought it. Just check the coolant oil and trans fluids and see if they look good. That can tell you the care it had. There's a cab company in PA that had a 95 with 630,000 miles and some 98s with over 400,000 miles. You can look at the door sticker and see what axle is in it. Heres the code list. Mine is the 3.55, so my mileage isn't as good as the 2.73 would get.
C8 — 2.73 conventional (non-locker)
58 — 2.73 conventional (non-locker)
AZ — 3.08 conventional (non-locker)
R2 — 3.55 conventional (non-locker)
DK — 3.55 locker

SyracuseP71 · 07-26-2010, 07:58

Used car prices are terrible in NY, especially compared to southern states where the cars are in much better condition. I almost had to drive down to southern PA to find a reasonably priced CV that wasn't rusted to oblivion or in awful shape.