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Crown Vic Police Interceptor- What do you think about them?

#61
I think its copcarsonline or something. theres a local guy who specializes inused police cars. You can specify you want a "take home" car. thats not a regular po-po car, its the daily driver for some suit. so those fair much better in maintenance.
They are even selling now the chargers..those are uglay nasty..but you cant see anything out the back window...ask a cop. Also police issue 4x4's they'll have.

and if you ever need to...go to u-pull-it for parts on the cheap. CVPI's..its a love hate with the whale's / Panthers..but in the end..you get a car a concervative AND a democrat will like!
 
#62
I would look elsewhere.
A Police Interceptor unit will surely be very abused.
Yes it has a V8 but its a weak V8, and the car is very heavy.
Rear wheel drive - albeit fun in the snow in empty parking lots - is terrible for winter driving.
Just my 2 cents.
 
#63
FWIW, gas just went UP 10 cents a gallon here yesterday. And this at a time when the summer vacation season is well over and gas prices usually start coming down significantly (at least in this area). So that's not a good sign.

You might want to reconsider and go with something more economical. I would plan on gas going back to $3 a gallon much more than it ever dropping back down to $2. There's too many people in high places who don't want gas to ever be "cheap" again.
 
#64
chicago_mike said:
I think its copcarsonline or something. theres a local guy who specializes inused police cars. You can specify you want a "take home" car. thats not a regular po-po car, its the daily driver for some suit. so those fair much better in maintenance.
They are even selling now the chargers..those are uglay nasty..but you cant see anything out the back window...ask a cop. Also police issue 4x4's they'll have.

and if you ever need to...go to u-pull-it for parts on the cheap. CVPI's..its a love hate with the whale's / Panthers..but in the end..you get a car a concervative AND a democrat will like!
Click to expand...

I saw those police chargers, man that would be sweet. If I remember correctly, they have srt8's. My sister's boyfriend has an srt4, atleast I think thats what it is. Its got a hemi, but the smaller one that you can get. That car is such a beast, so much horsepower. I think I would kill myself with a car that powerful, not sure if I trust myself. Anyway, they are 10 grand, which is out of my price range, but god would I love one of those.
 
#65
greekorican said:
I saw those police chargers, man that would be sweet. If I remember correctly, they have srt8's. My sister's boyfriend has an srt4, atleast I think thats what it is. Its got a hemi, but the smaller one that you can get. That car is such a beast, so much horsepower. I think I would kill myself with a car that powerful, not sure if I trust myself. Anyway, they are 10 grand, which is out of my price range, but god would I love one of those.
Click to expand...

The SRT4 is very fast for what you pay, but the engine is as the name implies: a four banger (turbocharched).

SRT8 is indeed a hemi, but not all of the Dodge cop cars are hemis - that would be a waste of money, since it costs more and you get less mileage. As far as I know, most Dodge Charger cop cars are the 6 cylinder version (which isn't really slow either, 250hp).
 
#66
greekorican said:
I've also heard that cops abuse the cars really bad. My friends got a ride home from a cop once (out after curfew), and the cops were speeding up before they went over speed bumps. Then the cops turned around and said "We don't really have to be careful with these cars. We don't pay for them, you (taxpayers) do." That makes me a bit concerned

....
Click to expand...

Concerned over the shape of ex-police cars, or that your local fuzz doesn't pay any taxes?
 
#67
conundrum said:
Concerned over the shape of ex-police cars, or that your local fuzz doesn't pay any taxes?
Click to expand...

The shape of the cars, because like those cops said, they don't have to pay to get that car fixed, so they tend to abuse them more.

Ericman197 said:
The SRT4 is very fast for what you pay, but the engine is as the name implies: a four banger (turbocharched).

SRT8 is indeed a hemi, but not all of the Dodge cop cars are hemis - that would be a waste of money, since it costs more and you get less mileage. As far as I know, most Dodge Charger cop cars are the 6 cylinder version (which isn't really slow either, 250hp).
Click to expand...

Guess it was an SRT8 then. Its got a 5.7L Hemi V8, 350 something horsepower. This is one mean sounding piece of machinery. My sister's boyfriend did say that it wasn't top of the line though, there is a bigger hemi that you can get with it, that gives you 425 hp. God is that a nice car...
 
#68
Ericman197 said:
The SRT4 is very fast for what you pay, but the engine is as the name implies: a four banger (turbocharched).

SRT8 is indeed a hemi, but not all of the Dodge cop cars are hemis - that would be a waste of money, since it costs more and you get less mileage. As far as I know, most Dodge Charger cop cars are the 6 cylinder version (which isn't really slow either, 250hp).
Click to expand...

The Charger (and Magnum when they made them) Police Editions came either with the 3.5L 250HP V6 or the 5.7L Hemi V8.

How sweet would it be if they made a Challenger Police Interceptor?!! They used to have Mustangs and Camaros! It could happen.
 
#71
get a mid 80's to early 90s bmw 3 or 5 series... you wont regret it... trust me... just as fast as the vics, a lot smaller (see: easier to park and drive in the city) and they are great in snow with even cheap snow tires. i have an 87 535i for my winter car and its an absolute joy to drive.


and did i mention most of them are under $1k and very reliable (mine has over 200k on it and still running strong)
 
#73
SchecterC4 said:
There's a police station around the corner from my house and the street I live on is one of the main thoroughfare for the immediate area and cops LOVE to speed down this street at all hours of the night. It's not uncommon for one to be going down the street at 50-60 mph in a 25 zone. :scowl:

As for the Crown Vic, I personally wouldn't buy one if I lived in a place that actually has weather. Have you considered an older Subaru or Volvo? An older Impreza or a Invalid Link Removed maybe? The Subaru's have all wheel drive, some of them are turbocharged so it'll have a decent amount of power and they last quite a long time. The Volvo's are absolutely fantastic for winters with heated seats, front wheel drive and a solid 200 horsepower with a 5 cylinder engine. Won't eat gas and you can get around in style and not freeze your butt off. ;)
Click to expand...

As an owner of a Volvo S70, I can tell you mine is not great in snow.
I will probably need to get all season or snow tires this
year to address that. Mine is a 98 with 225,000 miles. The
parts tend to get expensive as they are imported.

OTOH, it consistently delivers 26 mpg, is 5 cylinder Turbo
stick shift 5 speed. T-5 version. The car is a absolute
pleasure to drive. Also, I can get a 4x10 cab, my amp
and a bass or two and and SKB rack in the back seat,
no problem. Plenty of power and a very safe car in terms
of construction and internal posts/cage construction.
With the right tires you would be all set.

No, mine is not for sale. I'm running that sucker to 300 at
least.

Oh yeah, the heated seats are the cat's pajama's in winter,
also has heated mirrors.
 
#75
Just out of curiousity, how much would it cost to convert a crown vic to a manual 5 speed? I've heard that the transmissions get beat to death, so I'm just thinking if we score one cheap that needs a new tranny, I could make it a 5 speed. It'd be cheaper than an automatic, and I am just dying to learn to drive a stick. Just an idea, I don't want to hear about what a stupid idea this is, I just wanna know how much it would cost me.
 
#77
greekorican said:
Just out of curiousity, how much would it cost to convert a crown vic to a manual 5 speed? I've heard that the transmissions get beat to death, so I'm just thinking if we score one cheap that needs a new tranny, I could make it a 5 speed. It'd be cheaper than an automatic, and I am just dying to learn to drive a stick. Just an idea, I don't want to hear about what a stupid idea this is, I just wanna know how much it would cost me.
Click to expand...

Don't even think about it. Much faster and cheaper to go to a wrecking yard and buy a used automatic. You can swap trannies in a day.

Changing an auto to a stick is a job for an experienced mechanic with some time on their hands.

Stinsok said:
The trend here is to buy an ex cop crown vic and put dubs on it. These guys put 4000.00 worth of rims and tires on a 1000.00 POS. Hey, it uses a quart of oil every 500 miles but I'm rollin' on "24's."
Click to expand...

That would be the cover illustration for the hit new book: "You Might be a Moron If", correct?
 
#78
We've done some looking around, but cars are so damn expensive. We have to look for something cheaper. We are gonna go check out this one dealership that sells only used police cars.

I'm looking at either an Impala, P71, or maybe even a tahoe. You just can't beat the price. I'm on their website, and I see a 2004 P71 with 120k on it for $2500, and several similar ones for the same price. On the higher end there are some 07's with 80k miles on them for $6500. The Impala's are similarly priced as well. The Tahoes, on the other hand, are a bit pricey. They even have a few other cars. I think this is definitely worth looking into, I'm sure if we go in and test drive a few, we can find one thats decent, and at a price we can actually afford.

So, should I go with an Impala or a P71? I know that P71's are specifically made as a fleet vehicle, I'm a bit concerned that Impala's aren't built to last quite as well as a Crown Vic. Either way, they both look like solid cars. It might just come down to which I like better in the test drive. What do you think?

I also saw an f150 for sale. I don't think that this truck could have been a patrol car, that would be impractical. Might be worth checking out, I doubt it was driven quite as hard as one of the patrol cars.

What should I keep my eye out for while I'm test driving it/looking under the hood? I'm no mechanic, I know a decent amount about cars, its an obsession of mine lately. I've heard that the transmissions often have problems. How do I recognize a bad transmission? Can you hear it when the gears shift? Banging when you put it into gear? I've also heard the engine oil cooler leaks oil alot of times. Any other problems I should be looking for? Ideally, I'd like to have a mechanic check it out before we buy anything.
 
#79
Howlin' Hanson said:
Also keep in mind that if it was a patrol car, there will be a lot more engine wear than the odometer mileage would indicate, because police officers never turn off the engine. They keep them idling, so they can respond to calls quickly. Or to keep the air conditioning running.
Click to expand...

Actually, that is not true. Start up is the worst condition for an engine. If you could afford to leave your car running all the time, it would last a million miles.
 

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