[This message has been edited by ls3mach (edited 11-28-2021).]

quote Originally posted by ls3mach: I'd love a Town Car (or that entire platform), but that puts me in no better situation than just driving the Escape. Probably worse fuel and repairs honestly due to age differences. Plus not cheap to buy or modified. Almost always poorly too. Ghetto rims. Stupid radio. Bad flashy paint.

I have one of these... a 2002 Ford Crown Victoria LX-P74

I've modified it some, but only basic modifications such as the Grand Marquis Limited Sport Edition dual exhaust (free-flowing like the police exhaust, but quiet like grandpa exhaust). I installed the air box from the Mercury Marauder, and the air intake tube from the 2004 Police Interceptor, the larger throttle body from the 2004 Interceptor, and a computer re-flash for fuel, timing, and shifting.

With normal driving, the car is super quiet, and just coasts along with a very low exhaust note that you cannot hear inside the car. But anything over 2/3rd throttle and the line pressure changes.


Everything else is totally stock... and the car has about 40 some odd thousand miles on it... which is mostly from me moving so many times and taking the car with me. It basically just sits in the garage all the time.

I did upgrade the brakes, but only because they needed to be serviced from sitting so long, so I went with cross-drilled and slotted rotors all around.


I still have the 2.73:1 final drive "Unlimited Slip" differential. On highway road-trips, I average about 28-29 miles to the gallon so long as I stay between 65-70 miles an hour in cruise. I have the basic 16" allow wheels (not the hub-caps, but the aluminum / magnesium wheels).


Overall, it's a super nice car, really reminiscent of the kind of cars that used to roam the streets back in the day.


Again, I almost never drive it, but if you can find one in a condition like this, they are really good cars.

Parts are INSANELY cheap, I mean super dirt cheap.

The transmissions and engines are rock solid, and there's no "common problems" with them either.


The only thing mine does not have is the powered sunroof, which was offered that year, but it was a "custom" modification where the factory sent it down the street about 30 miles to get modified.











EDIT to say, if you can find one from an old person, like a Grand Marquis or a civilian Crown Victoria (pre-2005), then you can usually get a great deal on them, and it should last forever if all you're doing is just doing a daily grind. It's the only car that I'm aware of that successfully has been crash-test rated to 75mph front and back. You can beat the piss out of it in day to day traffic and it'll take it and not leave you stranded.

They are floaty, like a yacht, so not awesome if you want something that handles curves... but again, if all you're looking for is a beater that you can get to work with, that's super cheap... it's a good option. Just keep your foot out of it, and you should be fine.

[This message has been edited by 82-T/A [At Work] (edited 11-28-2021).]