A question for US Jalops

"Fred (FreddsterExprs)" (freddsterexprs) 07/13/2014 at 09:57 • Filed to: ford, crown victoria, vic, panther, car buying

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I love the Crown Victoria. I really do. It's everything a typical european beater car isn't: cheap, large, RWD, V8 powered, automatic, reliable (I heard) and good looking (at least that's what I think).

But my question is: how much does a "normal" Crown Vic go for? !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! linked to an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of an immaculate, but rather expensive Interceptor: 5.5k.

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So how much does one have to pay for a Crown Vic in "normal" condition? You know, not one that is about to fall to pieces, but one that could get you around town safely and without worrying about breaking down and get shot.

I never could figure that out properly as imported Crown Vics are surprisingly !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . And should my plans to spend half a year in the US work out, a cheap Panther car to get around town would be just perfect (if it's affordable).

AM3R > Fred (FreddsterExprs) 07/13/2014 at 03:59

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I regularly find them around me for $2500 in drivable condition. The ones near me selling for $5k are the police interceptors with around 75k miles on them.

Alfalfa > Fred (FreddsterExprs) 07/13/2014 at 10:08

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I see a lot around here for 2-3 grand. Although my preference goes to the LTD Crown Vic.

EL_ULY > Fred (FreddsterExprs) 07/13/2014 at 10:19

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people are selling good higher mileage ex fleet Crown Vics for 2000 to 3000. Ones that are really beat up (also ex fleet) but working for 1500 to 1800. Finally, there are non fleet ones that were purchased buy usually older people at a Ford dealer new can be found for 5000 to 8000 but in really good shape (because old people lol) and well equipped instead of a plain ex fleet vehicle. Those though are usually the Crown Victoria's cousin the Gran Marquise or Town Car. In Mexico DF, the typical beater car is a Seat Ibiza, Nissan Tida, VW Gol, but usually some tiny little French thing. Not sure why US Jalops get their panties so wet for a Pug 206 but for the price, give me a clean Crown Victoria, black interceptor wheels, low mileage V8, with air suspension, good brakes, and a fresh set of Michelin tires. They easily can make it into the 400k to 500k+ miles. And yes, parts are really cheap and the car is basic mechanical for repairs.

EL_ULY > Fred (FreddsterExprs) 07/13/2014 at 10:25

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i forgot to mension that plenty are sold here at pubic car auctions for as low as $800 in working order. Makes sense considering parts are cheap.

crowmolly > EL_ULY 07/13/2014 at 10:27

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i forgot to mension that plenty are sold here at pubic car auctions for as low as $800 in working order. Makes sense considering parts are cheap.

I would like to see one of these auctions

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > Fred (FreddsterExprs) 07/13/2014 at 10:28

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You call those surprisingly valuable? You should come down to Portugal, I saw a Grand Marquis for sale here for €30K whose owner claimed the car was worth €50K.

EL_ULY > crowmolly 07/13/2014 at 10:37

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they are a blast. Usually just pick up trucks (duh here in Texas) but the cars is hilarious yet awesome. Crown Vics are common but for a good one you will get competition for purchase.

cnessel27 > EL_ULY 07/13/2014 at 10:40

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A Crow Vic was going to be my first, second vehicle. They are pretty reliable, but hey they where in production from 1978-2011 so I guess they had time to figure it out.

Pixel > crowmolly 07/13/2014 at 10:53

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Careful. The bidding can get hairy.

Fred (FreddsterExprs) > Goshen, formerly Darkcode 07/13/2014 at 11:10

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Yeah, surprisingly as any Panther platform car is said to be the cheap beater car in the US. With these expectations in mind, the asking prices for Crown Vics in Germany are insane.

Nice story, although I wonder who the hell would pay 30k for such a car if imports are rather easy (compared to non-EU times) and when flying to the US, having a nice holiday, buying a Grand Marquis and importing it would be cheaper.

Fred (FreddsterExprs) > Pixel 07/13/2014 at 11:10

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Fred (FreddsterExprs) > EL_ULY 07/13/2014 at 11:11

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800$? That's awesome. Thanks for the info.

blacktruck18 > Fred (FreddsterExprs) 07/13/2014 at 11:44

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Where will you be staying in the states?

Fred (FreddsterExprs) > blacktruck18 07/13/2014 at 12:00

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L.A. Fingers crossed that the University accepts my application.

blacktruck18 > Fred (FreddsterExprs) 07/13/2014 at 12:19

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I googled "L.A. public auto auctions" and found this

http://www.100auctionsites.com/los-angeles-au…

Good luck with your quest.

E92M3 > Fred (FreddsterExprs) 07/13/2014 at 12:41

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You can get ex cop versions with less than 90k miles for $2000. They will have holes drilled in the dash from police equipment. Possibly holes in the roof plugged or taped over from the lights. Public owned cars go for more for obvious reasons. I personally don't get the infatuation with police fleet vehicles. There's TONS of current ge chargers in my area. You never know if they are police or not until they pass you. I think it's kind of creepy to want to impersonate the police. I guess the plus is people move over for you if you're behind them.

Viggen > Fred (FreddsterExprs) 07/13/2014 at 12:51

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I payed $2200 for my Interceptor. It had 101,000 miles on it and ran strong. It had issues, but those came more from me treating the car poorly. I was pretty rough on it. Feel kinda bad looking back at it.

It was a fun car, but I really payed for it at the gas pumps.

ranwhenparked > Fred (FreddsterExprs) 07/13/2014 at 13:12

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It depends what sort you're looking for- one that was sold new as a civilian car (either to elderly customers or a rental car fleet) or one that was sold as a police car. The civilian models are likely to be found in much better condition, with much lower miles with good maintenance histories, so you'll pay more for that. The ex-police cars are the real bargain basement deals.

A 2010/2011 LX model with very low mileage can still be $10,000+ plus, but a 10 year old ex-police car can be as little as $2,000-$3,000.

Back in 2010, I was able to get a 2009 Grand Marquis with 12,000 miles for $16,000, which was a decent deal, as the window sticker in the glove compartment showed its original price at just over $30k. Of course, there have been 4 additional years of depreciation since then, and these things have never really been known for holding value.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Fred (FreddsterExprs) 07/13/2014 at 14:20

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Reliable? YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT! it's the most reliable car I had ever owned. I had bought a 1999 interceptor in 2005 with 280000km's (175000 miles) and I drove it for 3 years and all I ever needed to do to it is rebuild the alternator 3 days after I got it.I beat the living shit out of the crown vic so more stuff should of broke but nothing ever did.

I have had brand new cars since then that weren't as reliable where something would fail in 10000miles (but covered by warranty).

if you are thinking of getting one get an Interceptor and not a civilian model. everything is heavier duty on the interceptor therefore less likely to fail.

I had paid $3000 in 2005. a pristine one for 5K sounds about right and one like mine if it was still around probably $500

Mercwri > AM3R 07/13/2014 at 14:25

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PIs are worth the extra $$$ if you can find one that was from a smaller LEO (Sheriff ect) or Detective/Supervisor's car. They'll be less beaten and better taken care of.

xxstich666xx > Fred (FreddsterExprs) 07/13/2014 at 15:45

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Anything north of $5000 is a pretty nice Crown Vic. Shoot for a 2003+ model. They have updated suspension and a steering rack instead of the old fashioned recirculating ball power steering. Don't be afraid of high mileage examples unless it's from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts or Pennsylvania. The roads in these states take a beating and in turn so do the cars that drive on them. Anyway just make sure they seem to have been well maintained. These things are dead reliable. Mine is at 192k and it still runs like brand new.

xxstich666xx > Fred (FreddsterExprs) 07/13/2014 at 15:49

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L.A. Crown Vics should be really nice. Nice smooth roads and no snow EVER. They don't rust as it is but now it will even be less likely.

BenLikesCars > Fred (FreddsterExprs) 08/26/2014 at 00:07

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Crown Vics are surprisingly valuable in Germany .

That is quite interesting! Almost makes me want to lease a cargo ship and start a workshop for detailing and sprucing up old Crown Vics...

You can find a lot of them for very very reasonable prices. Them and the Grand Marquises and the Town Cars. All three are on the ancient venerable "Panther" platform. In NYC, service car operators can buy a Town Car used, get 400k-500k miles of service out of them, and then they give that car to a friend for use as a daily driver while they go get another "younger" car.

A friend of the family does this. He buys a Town Car with about 80k miles, takes it to 500k miles or so, and the last person he gave a 500k-mile car to is still driving it and thanking him for the lovely car. His work includes very regular runs to the NYC metropolitan area airports. The Brooklyn Queens Expressway in particular could qualify as a WRC off-road stage, it is mental and breathtaking. (The Van Wyck traffic is usually too slow to punish the car too much, except from of course sitting in traffic.)

These are wonderful cars. After 1998 or so, they got traction control, which means the things can actually be driven in snow without murdering the occupants.

Listen: You can use autotempest.com to get a national craigslist search result compilation, like so, http://autos.searchtempest.com/search?Region=…

As you can see, there are plenty at $4k or so, with some nice ones about $6k and some beaten-up looking ones for under $3k. I guess the LA climate helps with keeping the cars in good shape along with their value retention, because I could swear these things are (or used to be) cheaper here in New Jersey.

Out of sheer OCD I have a couple pictures from sample advertisements as viewable from above link. Note that two of these cars are freaking antiques, identifiable by the absence of anything rounded.