Well, time to car hunt.

we have a car lot here that sells nothing but p71 crown vics and other police package cars....the cream of the crop though. most of his business is police departments that cant afford new cruisers so the cars have to be in great shape. the oldest he has on the lot is 4 yrs old. His prices start at 4k i think. he explained that the crown vic is a better value than the caprice. as the power to weight ratio is better and the vic is easier to work on and moe reliable.

i will tell you scott, that when i was a service advisor at All American Ford, i never in the entire time i worked there, had a vic come in on a tow truck.

 

You know Ian, we had one come in during the 4 years I worked at Corry Ford and it was only on there because the gas station he got gas from had a crack in the tank and water got into it. I loved doing inspections and alignments on the CV's, coz I got to drive them. I also loved when new cars came in on the car carriers, because of the post delivery inspections and preps. IMO the CV lineup is the best that FORD has offered the public in a couple decades.

These are the ones we are interested in looking at, if they are still available at the time we get there.

http://www.chicagomotors.com/InventoryDetail.aspx?InventoryId=86

Though I do not like the seat fabric in this one all that much.
http://www.chicagomotors.com/InventoryDetail.aspx?InventoryId=36

http://www.chicagomotors.com/InventoryDetail.aspx?InventoryId=31

Possibly these once he uploads pics.
http://www.chicagomotors.com/InventoryDetail.aspx?InventoryId=40

http://www.chicagomotors.com/InventoryDetail.aspx?InventoryId=34

 

very nice,

hey i dont think he has a website but here is the number for
mosside motors, (412) 823-3550 (the afforementioned cv dealer...) he may have something in your price range. it is a lot closer to you than chicago. so it is at least worth a call right?

 

Cool, thanks Ian. Though I still wanna go out to Chicago and possibly meet up with Mike if at all possible.

 

Hey...that place that A1 is talking about is a lot closer to you, Blackie. Might want to at least check it out before traveling all the way to Chicago. He might be the same kind of dealer and may have even better cars. May have a web site now too. If it doesn't work out, there's always Chicago. I would definitely call both places and talk to the owners to get a feel. Just tell them what you are looking for, price range and let them know you are a car guy so they won't blow smoke.

 

I will call them, if they have a site I will look it over, but I am not driving down to Pittsburgh without seeing pics of what they have to offer. I would rather shoot myself in the right nut then drive in that town.

 

Blackie....if you call Chicago...be sure to ask about rust. That's the thing I would worry about most with cars from that area. Cop cars probably get washed a lot but that area IS in the salt belt. I would hate to see you travel all that way and find rust buckets. Or, worse, buy one that has hidden areas of rust. Rust is the biggest thing I worry about and look for on a used rig.

 

I know all about rust Mike, I live right in the middle of the salt/rust belt myself. These cars let go in the dog legs, rockers and all 4 wheel wells first. Then there is the front floor pans with the cops getting in and out and not cleaning off their boots/shoes first, why would they care, they don't have to pay for the cars, we do.

I really like this one, they claim it was a one detective car, so 40 different cops didn't get into it and beat the snot out of it. Though they would need to cough up a spare tire, jack and wheel wrench for it.

http://www.chicagomotors.com/InventoryDetail.aspx?InventoryId=86

 

That one you would have to do, at least, the driver's seat.

 

I would replace all the seats. Install power 50/50 leather in the front and matching leather in the rear. There is no pic of the rear seat, but I assume its vinyl. Wish this has a grey interior. But who knows, by the time stuff comes together, he could have a complete different inventory with exactly what I want, 1999+, under 120K miles, Black/Silver, grey/charcoal/black interior, under $3000, no holes in front bumper for push bar if its been removed(wouldn't mind a push bar though) If it had Spotlights I want them still installed, not a car that had them pulled and left cut up interior trim and door posts.

A car just like that blue one in the link above would be ideal for what we want. If its white, I do not really care, I can paint it, even if its 2 colors, just no tan interior, I hate the looks of the CV interior in tan.

 

That Buick is a sharp looking car. If it won't take a lot to fix it, the price is surely right. Could buy it and have plenty left to fix it and $$$$ left. My only concern is where, why and how the control arm separated. If it was a defect, the other side might do the same. If it was due to accident, that is different. Good luck if you get it. Sure is a nice looking car.

 

That is a cool site. I like this one, just because it's different:
http://www.chicagomotors.com/InventoryDetail.aspx?InventoryId=25

 

Great colours if I do say so!

 

My cousin is a lieutenant in a local Jersey police force and they just replaced a few of their Crowns with Magnums. He says the Crowns are so much more comfortable and spacious and the Magnums seem to have more blind spots. On the other hand, he claims the Magnums apparently have an unlimited top end and will go as fast as you could ever want. I don't know that he's ever opened one up yet to see just what the top end is, but he says it's way up there. Blackie, he says the only problem with the Crowns is that their driver's seats do wear out, but then he's got quite a few "oversized" officers on his force, so that may exacerbate the wear situation. I guess it doesn't matter, though, since you'll be replacing them with a leather gut anyway.

 

Retired cop cars are usually a great choice. I had an old '77 Gran Fury that had been a NC State Patrol cruiser. Had the 440 and was a great driver. Got a lot better mileage than my 350 Malibu, too. (Maybe I should drop a 440 in it????) Oh well, they are well maintained and usually don't need much to be dependable. I would love to have a Crown Vic, but have heard a lot about them blowing spark plugs. My neighbor has a Cougar with the 4.6 and has driven over 200,000 trouble-free miles. Never even replaced the fuel pump. Pretty good!