Faults:

A week or two after I bought it, the driver's door wouldn't lock/unlock when pressing the power door lock button. It sounds like the rod came out of the door lock actuator, I can hear it moving around inside the door. I just treat it like an old Volvo or Honda and lock it manually! :^)

General Comments:

I came across this car at a time when I needed something reliable:

I'd taken a job as a pizza delivery driver, and my old BMW convertible, although a great car, had a problem with shutting off every now and then while driving. It stalled out one time during a delivery and it didn't start until like 2 hours later! A dealer friend of mine was selling the Crown Vic on behalf of a relative who was using it as a cab. At first I was like, "I don't know..." because of its appearance and I'm not really into American cars, that is until drove it! All it took was a 5 minute test drive :^). I wasn't expecting the good mid-range power and the firm, sports-car like ride. I was like, "I'll take it!". I got a good deal on it too! It needed tires and the steering wheel is angled to the left while going straight. Also the front brake rotors are warped, I will fix all of that soon since money is getting better. I've driven it for the last 3 months like that LOL. I was thinking to sell it because of my job, since these cars don't seem to get good gas mileage in the city, but at least it doesn't cost that much to fill up. However after reading the reviews here, I think that would be a big mistake!

These P71s really shine on the highway! I drove it to VA Beach almost a week ago, went there and back from about 11pm at night to 6am. What a fun trip, that's the first time I had it on the open road. There's no cruise control, but with an abundance of torque available at the push of your foot, who cares. It cruises effortlessly! I have to pass emissions in August 2015, and after that it's a custom exhaust. The sound of a Ford V8 rocks!

I'm a mechanic (former Lexus tech) and I'm impressed with the engineering of this car, it's very well-rounded. I will look into getting a repair manual for it, because although it's a sleeper, it's definitely a keeper! I would say the only problem that I've encountered with it is when I drive at night, people driving in the cars in front of you tend to get nervous and go very slow. I was told by a sheriff in my town that mine has the colors of a VA state police car, so I see why! :^)

Faults:

When I bought this car, it had been a Lieutenant's unit and had seen very little use for 12 years. As a result, the coolant had never been changed and many greased parts had dried out, so the maintenance problems I've had are not necessarily the result of poor build quality, but careless maintenance by the police department.

In the year and a half I've owned the car, I've replaced:

- All four ball joints (OEM ball joints are not greasable. Dried out and wore quickly, $750 job.)

- Heater core (corroded and ruptured due to 12 year old coolant, $1000 to replace.)

- Brakes all around.

- Tires (12 years old and dry rotted.)

- Horn stopped working unexpectedly.

- Due to improper coolant mixture used by the dealership, the coolant in my lines froze up on a very cold winter day, resulting in a hose popping off and the engine overheating. No problems resulted other than me being stranded.

General Comments:

Overall, I have been pretty happy with this car and would consider it one of my favorites out of 7 different makes I've had.

Other than the issues of neglect the car experienced, I've had no issues with reliability. I bought this car because of its incredibly low mileage, though with cars more than 10 years old I would no longer recommend this practice. The engine is very young in miles by Crown Victoria standards, and with regular full synthetic oil changes I could reasonably expect 300k miles if I keep the car that long.

The interior of the car is somewhat cheap (lots of plastic) and is prone to cracking. The fit and finish is nothing to write home about; lots of rattles and squeaks when driving on rough roads. Seats are pretty comfortable with electric lumbar adjustment and interior space is enormous; you almost need a megaphone to talk to your passenger side.

Power is generous with the 4.6L V8, and I don't think I've ever opened the throttle all the way. Steering is acceptable, though with the 03+ models you will see a marked improvement due to the implementation of rack and pinion steering. Turning radius is fair.

I routinely drive long distances of 500+ miles with this car, and it is comfortable on long road trips. With all season tires I routinely get close to 25MPG highway; not bad for such a big car.

Overall, a good purchase, even though I've had to sink more than half what I paid for the car into repairs already.