Is there a specific year crown Victoria p71 that I shouldn't buy?
5 Answers
Fords are good cars but cop cars take a beating. One year is probably as good as another one.
2003 saw some major upgrades to the chassis and suspension. 2005 saw new electronic throttle controls aka "drive by wire," 2006 saw inclusion of engine idle meter and switch to 17" wheels on PIs, 2008-2011 they were strictly fleet cars. Almost every year saw some form of upgrade to transmission controls. In all honesty, the last generation was 1998-2011, and they were all good cars, as long as mileage is not obscene and maintenance was good I wouldn't hesitate to get any of those years - although I would probably want to stick to the most recent year possible.
I wouldn't even consider any P71. They get the crap run out of them. A stock unmolested Crown Vic. or Mercury Gran Marquis is always a better car.
They are all the same give or take. They all have quirks, old ones are cool because the Drive by wire. 08 in my opinion are tuned the best, but older ones are cool because they have the mechanical throttle cables. Honestly it doesnt matter. If you get old P71's youll need a decent mechanic, they have been ran into the ground. I recommend trying to find one that was used as a public works car in a rural area, cleanest P71, and there wasnt even puke on the back seats.
I have a 06 It was a detectives car it had 85 thousand miles when auctioned not had 1 problem with it 129 thousand miles now