Faults:

My intake manifold blew a hole out, resulting in a $750.00 repair job. Replaced it with a "dealer only" reinforced manifold and no problems since. I have had two window motors go out. The factory headlights have yellowed up.

I can't keep my trunk opener cable attached, so I always have trouble getting into it.

The reliability of my Crown Vic has really been outstanding (considering it's a 1997).

The traction control is useless.

General Comments:

A whole lot of good car for your money.

It has pretty good acceleration and the ride is second to none. The seats are very comfortable even after 12 years. Other than two window roller uppers or whatever they are called, all of the small stuff and gadgets are still working.

The sound system is pretty good for original equipment.

The rear view mirror hides traffic from the right side of the vehicle on like off ramps.

This is a nice road car that won't tire you out while driving it. The steering is nice and light and cornering is nice with minimal body roll.

You can't kill the 4.6L v-8. After 12 years my car will sit at idle and drive down the road like the day it was built.

Faults:

Besides routine maintenance repairs, the failure of the nylon intake manifold and a rear swaybar link were the only other repairs. Under hard acceleration, the cross over from each cylinder head can fracture, and it did. I had to fix it myself, I was able to get it back on the road the same day it failed.

From previous experience, the car will need new shocks and springs around 140000-160000 miles. Also, it seems than when one steering or suspension part fails, they are all about ready to go. Not very expensive to replace, but annoying. See how much it costs to repair a BMW 540 with the same mileage. Good luck.

General Comments:

The car is very comfortable to drive, very smooth, very little steering effort is needed at low speeds. I drive a lot for work, 3-5 hours per day, and it usually gets around 18.5 mpg in the city. If I go on a trip, it will get 25-26 mpg. The car has a 2.73:1 open axle, so it's not super fast off the line. It feels very good at high speed and can pass well. Respectable handling for its size, and the suspension is very strong and can take a tremendous amount of abuse without breakage.

I sold my 95 Crown Vic after I bought this one. It had 216000 miles on it. The car ran, stopped, shifted and the A/C still worked. What more can you ask for.