Summary:
Great American car, V8 power, safe, great road trip car
Faults:
The tranny didn't shift into over drive well, so my dad and I changed the fluid and filter. That was a bad idea!!! The darn thing wouldn't shift past second gear after that (it was a 4spd with over drive).
When jacking it up to take the tranny out for a service, the frame broke. This is due to not being under coated when it was new; a car just doesn't last 14 years in New York without being under coated.
General Comments:
I got this car for free. She had about 90K miles on it when I got her.
The 5.0L engine ran great, the ride was super, and when I waxed the paint, she really looked great. It was metallic silver.
The person that owned the Crown Victoria before me said that she never had much trouble with it, but sadly by the time I got the car, it had been exposed to 14 or 15 salty central NY winters. The body didn't rust much at all, but the frame was like aluminum foil in spots, and in other spots, the frame just wasn't there (not kidding).
If you can find one of these 80's or early 90's cars, that has a southern history, then get it. But you have to expect one main thing to be replaced in the car at or before 100k. And that is the electronically controlled 4 speed tranny. If the stock tranny doesn't hold up, then I would recommend using a Mustang tranny for a replacement.
I also had a 89 Grand Marque (same thing as a Crown Vic), but the guy that sold it to me was very dishonest!! The tranny stopped shifting past 2nd gear on my way home with it.
I drove the car for about 1 month, had tranny trouble, the frame broke, and had to sell the engine to a kid for his Ford Mustang.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 9th November, 2004
17th Mar 2005, 20:25
I said that a mustang trans would be a good replacement for the 4spd. what I meant is the 5spd stick shift trans from the mustang, I know of 1 older Vic with a mustang stick shift trans in it.
7th Sep 2005, 09:10
I just inherited my grandma's '89 LTD Crown Victoria LX. It literally was driven by a little old lady, it was kept in the garage and the oil was changed every 3 months even though she only put 5k miles on it per year, the tires were rotated annually and it had a tune up annually. She looks and drives and rides like new! The only thing is that she is on her 3rd tranny. If this one goes I will look into replacing it with the mustang one.
The only physical problem is that the last 6 months she sat in my dad's side yard in Florida. 6 months of Florida sun, sand, and salt faded her horribly (maroon faded to a dull red). But thanks to Maguire's car products it brought the vinyl top and the paint and the dash back to her showroom shine!!!