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2K views 6 replies 2 participants last post by  Nathan in MN 
#1 ·
hey guys, my name is RJ and i just registered with the forum. i am looking to buy a used crown vic p71 as my DD for work, school and the 2 little ones.

i was given the phone number of a guy that buys them, gets them checked out and cleans them up. he has a 1 man car from a local town not too far from me, 2000, white w/ 94k and the price is 3600. not sure if he is firm or not, but i am going to be in touch with him again this weekend and maybe go take a look on monday. (hopefully i can bring like 3200 and we can make a deal if its nice)

he also has a 1998, blue, was a del state police cruiser, one man car with 150k miles for 3000, but that just seems like A LOT of miles...

either way, are there certian things i should look for when checkin the car out? any more common or known issues to check out on these cars? (besides the normal stuff when buying a used car)

if everything works out, i will post an update, i just wanted to introduce myself and get some feedback before i go check the car out.

thanks in advance for your help..
rj
 
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#2 ·
Welcome to the forum!

Crown Vic P71s are very reliable, and there's not very much stuff on the newer ones that goes bad (other than the normal stuff, of course--tires, brakes, etc.). Just look it over like you would any used car, make sure the engine oil isn't milky or sludgy, drive it around, if all seems well, slap your money down and drive away with peace of mind. :)

As far as the '98 with 150,000 miles on it, that is NOT a lot of miles for one of these cars--they will go MUCH further than that. My dad bought a '96 CVPI with 202,000 miles on it and it ran and drove like new (although the rear wheel bearings were getting noisy). Unfortunately, it was totaled in an accident this spring with about 219,000 miles. If it weren't for that, I'm sure it would have gone a lot further. Keep this in mind--the cab companies that buy used CV P71s usually run them to about 350,000 before retiring them. They're an EXTREMELY long lived vehicle, especially if all the regular maintenance is performed on schedule.
 
#3 ·
thanks for the input, i didnt relieze these cars lasted that long....

i think i may be more interested in the 00 anyway, beings its only 600 more for 55000 less mileage..., in either case, if the car checks out, is 3600 a good price for that car with 94k? i was going to see if i could get the guy to take like 3200...

i hope everything works out, will post an update when i have one...

i see a great sounding stereo, some dual exhaust with high flow cats and flowmater delta flow 40 series mufflers and some tint if i bring her home...
 
#4 ·
My dad bought an '01 CVPI with 107k on it for 3800, so 3600 for an '00 with 94k is probably fair. That said, of course if you can talk him down a little, that's a good thing. :)

Btw, check out the interior carefully on it--the worst thing about retired cop cars is usually the fact that the interiors are beat up.
 
#6 ·
hey Nathan in NM,
just an update
i found another one i may be going to look at tomorrow or monday. it was a one man car, non-patrol car. 2000, white, 75k miles, for 3500... i recieved about 6 pics of the car and it looks clean.


also, i know i am getting ahead of myself since i dont even have the car yet but looking into exhaust... i have a guy that will do it for me... i am thinkin, true duals with high flow cats and either flowmaster delta flow 40 series or Max flowmath mufflers... which do you guys think? i guess 2.5" pipeing inless someone suggests somthing else...

thanks guys
rj
 
#7 ·
Don't go with true duals--the H-pipe improves torque, and if one of the exhaust manifolds has a heat riser valve in it (not sure if it does or not on the 4.6 engine), then when that's closed, it prevents exhaust gasses from flowing down that side of the system. If you have an H-pipe, it will allow some of the exhaust gasses from the side without the heat riser to flow into the side that's not getting any exhaust gas from its manifold. If you don't have an H-pipe, nothing comes out that side. Why is this a problem? Well, there's some pretty corrosive stuff that's created as a byproduct of the combustion of gasoline. As long as the pipes get nice and hot, the stuff gets atomized and flows right out. But if the pipes stay cold, the acids and whatnot just sit in the pipes and rot them out, leading to you having to replace the system much sooner.

As far as pipe size, I'm no 4.6 expert, but I believe I read somewhere that you want smaller pipes for that engine (it's not a lot of displacement, so larger diameter=lower exhaust gas velocity=decreased exhaust scavenging effect=decreased power). For real good 4.6 tech, I'd check out Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis, Marauder, and Towncar. They have a lot of good technical info for the newer cars.

For mufflers, just go with whatever you think sounds the best. The majority of the aftermarket mufflers out there these days flow quite well, so the difference will be negligible.
 
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