1989 Ford Crown Victoria LX from North America - Comments

Oil leaks everywhere.

All I can smell is burning oil when driving this car. I used to own a 2000 Interceptor and can say that was the best car I ever owned. This 89 is one of the worst. It dosn't have any power. I can get it over 75. It has no pickup at all. I wouldn't mind the fact that it gets bad gas millage, but it doesn't have any power to show for that. I bought the car because of its size, but now think it may be safer to have a smaller car that can get out of its own way.

First of all, why would you try to compare an 89 Mercury Grand Marquis to a 2000 Police Interceptor. This review is almost completely bogus because they are not even in the same league as eachother. Yes, they are all based on the same platform (Crown Vic, Mercury Grand Marquis, Lincoln Towncar), but you own two completely different models and packages and there is an 11 year technological difference between the two. The 2000 Police Interceptor has a special suspension package, braking system, and the one HUGE difference... A HIGH PERFORMANCE MOTOR!! For the police interceptor model, it came with a high-performance version of the 4.6 liter V8 that I'm not sure, but should put out at least 250hp and over 300lbs of torque.

Now the cheap 89 MGM that you bought only left the factory with 160hp/260trq at best, at least that's what my 87 MGM LS 2 door left the factory with. Plus after 16 years of driving, drivetrain loss, and abuse, there isn't much left to work with. On top of that yours is beat and burning oil (bad sign, could be many different problems), so I'm not surprised that yours is a lot slower than mine. Mine happens to be decently quick, and does 90 mph with ease. (For those old guys out there, I'm a safe driver and I don't drive that fast normally, just trying to prove a point) It has to be the most reliable and comfortable car I have ever driven, and it was worth every penny I paid for it.

My suggestion, stop trying to compare performance to an old luxury car. Be happy or sell it to somebody who will enjoy your old "box style" Mercury Grand Marquis, because its not a sports car, just old style luxury. I drive my 87 daily while I still have my performance cars (guaranteed they would blow the doors off your 2000 PI, got a 11 second 96 Eagle Talon TSI AWD) to enjoy also.

2000 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor 235HP UNK Torque 1989 Crown Victoria 150HP UNK Torque optional 160HP. Will easily run 300,000 miles with proper maintenance.

What is the first commenter ranting about? The reviewer doesn't mention a Mercury. Was this commenter writing after drinking too many cups of coffee? Maybe that, or maybe he just felt compelled to compare a huge old car from the eighties to his turbocharged coupe from 1995. That doesn't make sense, I know, but it appears to be a valid conclusion. I think I'll go over to the Ford Festiva pages and tell them I have a faster car than they do. Then nobody will think I'm a child.

For your information (commenter above), I was just trying to show the differences between a 2000 Police Interceptor and an 1989 Crown Victoria which in no way are similar cars. I wasn't trying to compare my Eagle Talon to his police interceptor, as I only mentioned in ONE sentence in the entire review. I was just trying to show if you need to go fast, buy a fast car. My 1996 Eagle Talon TSI AWD is very fast and runs 11s at the track, but that wasn't the point which you completely missed. The last point was that my talon is not my reliable daily driver. If my talon was so great, I would drive it everyday, but I much rather drive a cheap, comfortable, safer, and reliable car instead.

If you knew anything about these cars, the late 80's Mercury Grand Marquis is the same car as the Crown Victoria, except for trim differences. The only differences between his 89 Crown Victoria is the body trim, slight interior differences, and the fact that he has four doors.

All I have left to say is that I enjoy my Mercury Grand Marquis and I now appreciate the older ford luxury cars. I had my taste of new cars, and there quality for me has left a lot to be desired.

One more thing, I guess I can be a child sometimes. So I guess every single one of my cars is faster and better than yours. What kind of car do you have? Is it a Honda Civic? I guess im going to go rant to the Ford Festiva pages after all, at least they would have some more courtesy.

Going from a 2000 Crown Victoria Poe-Lease Interceptor to an '89, worn-out, basic version of a similar car is like going from riches to rags.

No wonder the reviewer is a bit pissed-off with himself.

To review in 2005 a car made 16 years earlier is a bit of a waste of time.

I was not tiring to compare a 2000 to an 89. All I was saying was the 2000 C.V. the best car I have ever owned. I am not looking for a quarter mile killer. Been there done that. I have had my share of built up Camaro s and Trans Am's. I just would like a decent highway car. The 89 just did not meet my expectations, ignorance on my part. I just got an H.O. upper intake and throttle body for free. When I pull apart the top of the motor to replace all the gaskets I will install that and see what happens.

I would agree the car is very comfortable and has a rather tight suspension (at least compared to my 92 Buick).

I have a 89 Grand Marquis LS 4 door BOAT with all the toppings, and power everything.

Speaking of power, the 5.0 302 V8 EFI is a power house. It may only have 150 HP, but with the dual exhaust I added straight from the headers and the custom air intake, the car is now at about 180HP.

I've owned big cars before - I owned a 91 Olds Custom Crusier, which is one of the biggest cars ever made that's not a limo.

This car flies or did, but I'll get into that later, but this car had more horsepower than any of my big cars I ever owned.

The ride was great and smooth, and the transmission, well it's a Ford, but otherwise I love it, it's my baby.

In the last couple of days, something happened. My thermostat was bad, so all of a sudden my engine light pops on, which in this car is the dummy light, and then I felt a loss of HP.

I pulled over, the car definitely was over heating. Well I gave it a few moments, let it cool down, and it still ran like crap. Next morning, brought it to my father for repairs, runs great, then the next day after he replaced the thermo, now it runs like crap 24/7. What happened, does anyone know what else it could have been?

But otherwise, let me say this car could hit 75 before you knew how fast you were going.

I am the original poster of this review. It is about a year later from when I bought the car. I have since given it a full tune-up and it runs better. Yes I can now get her to highway speed. The car is in no way a powerhouse. I have her running perfect and she still takes awhile to hit 75, still faster then my old 98 v6 Dakota. 150 horses is horrible for a car this size. The biggest oil leak was from the oil pressure-sending unit and I have since replaced it. Every mating surface is seeping oil, but she does not burn any and I only have to add a quart every month and a half. She has been reliable with no major problems. I keep in touch with the original owner so I know she was taken care of garaged most of her life. There isn’t much rust as would be expected. The paint still shines, although the clear coat is pealing in some places. I would change my original reliability mark to an 8 from 4. In my experience a maintained Ford will last a long time. She is a nice highway car as far as comfort goes. Gas mileage still sucks with 17 MPG at 55 MPH, but it could be worse. I did not install the H.O. intake as originally planed, I rather not put the time or money into it other than reg maintenance. There is no way that the last commenter has 180 from a dual exhaust and "air intake". Lets face it, theses cars are almost 20 years old and aren’t even pumping out the original 150. I know you love your car, but face reality. It’s not the same 302 from an 89 mustang, and even those are lacking. Anyone considering one of theses cars make sure you know its history and can work on cars. Don't buy something in poor shape because they are not worth putting the money into. If the car was not maintained from day one it will give you an expensive headache. Make sure part that commonly fail have been replaced such as the transmission (expensive), heater core (hard to reach), radiator (easy fix). There is a recall for the ignition switch and Ford will replace it. It will cause a fire. Headlight switch connector is known to burnout. Unless you know electrical you will pay dearly to fix it. Luckily I had no problem with fixing it myself. Oil leaks are very common on all 302's, so make sure you have someone look at it who can tell you if the leaks are minor or major. Other then that it is reliable and comfortable. Check out crownvic.net to learn more. Good Luck

I had a 1989 Crown Vic police special with a 5.8L variable venturi carb. I bought it with 74,000 in 1992 and sold it with 158,000 in 2006. Shortly after I bought it, I ran it down a hill on the interstate. It topped out at 112. Acceleration was comparable to a friends Grand Marquis 5.0L with fuel injection.

I only sold it because the air conditioning compressor failed, and I didn't want to put any $ into retrofitting. I had another friend who had a 1988 police special 5.8L that went 240,000 without an overhaul.

The only mechanical failure was a massive coolant leak on the intake manifold in subzero weather (Christmas eve 1998).

The only annoying maintenance problem was that you needed to clean the carb every fall.

It got 20 mpg cruising at 60mph on trips. A 12 mile commute averaged 18 mpg summer and 15 mpg winter.