Vehicle purchase thoughts: need some other than IDI vehicle advice

[lotzagoodstuff]

I know this might not belong in this forum, so if the moderator(s) need to move this, please go ahead. It's just my personal opinion that all (ok most) of the talent is down here in the basement.

So my sister over in Phoenix needs a new ride. I got her a super nice 2002 Intrepid that was a friend's former company car. I don't know if any of you know the integrated water pump issues with those cars, but the bottom line is that the water pump is bad, it's a giant mess to change ($2K at dealer, no I'm not making this up, do a couple of searches, many believe you are better just pulling the engine), so she needs a new ride.

I am a giant fan of low mileage older cars. I am also a fan of rear wheel drive, simple, easy to work on junk as the Intrepid is a perfect example of front wheel drive junk that's simply not made to be worked on. That being said, I have three cars that I am thinking about getting her:

1) Mercury Grand Marquis/Ford Crown Victoria
2) Dodge Magnum
3) Ford Ranger

I love the Grand Marquis/Crown Vics because there are lots of them around and older folks tend to not drive them much. I am thinking about looking really hard for a 60K mile 10ish year old version as they are around if you look hard and can be had for $4-5000.The second two are simply more practical, as you can put lots of stuff in them, but most likely lots more money as well.

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to get some thoughts from the largest vehicle brain pool I know.

As always, thanks for the input, and make it a great day.

R. J.

 

[BlueBreadTruck]

IMO the crown vic is a great car. TONS of room under the hood, inside and the trunk. They have a frame, and a 4-link rear solid axle with a watts link. they handle pretty well if it wasent for the very soft spring rate...however they ride like a dream.

 

[towcat]

the Dodge Magnum is a disguised MBZ without all the frills but still has the pricetag when parts goes south.
the GM/crown vic is a good choice. if they are on a budget, the decent ex cop crown vics can be had for 3k really nice ones can be had for 6k.
the ranger is going to be either a great little truck or one that eats you out of house and home.
just my .02

 

[FordGuy100]

Crown Vic's are awesome, I've always wanted to buy an ex-police cruiser.

 

[Dsl_Dog_Treat]

Crown Vic's are awesome, I've always wanted to buy an ex-police cruiser.

And it's got a cop motor and cop tires and........

My vote is for the vicky too.

For the most part, the cruisers are maintained well, just the suspension seems to get neglected around these parts.

 

[FordGuy100]

And it's got a cop motor and cop tires and........

My vote is for the vicky too.

For the most part, the cruisers are maintained well, just the suspension seems to get neglected around these parts.

The coolest police cruiser to own would be the model they used in Blues Brothers. Early-Mid 70's Dodge with a 440

 

[BioFarmer93]

Are those the only choices?

1) Mercury Grand Marquis/Ford Crown Victoria
2) Dodge Magnum
3) Ford Ranger

You DO love your sister, right?

The MGM & Crown Vic are big land yacht gas hogs, and if the Crown Vic is ex-police then it's a pretty good bet that the maintenance was the minimum necessary to keep it on the road- I know, there are always exceptions to this and perhaps you'll get lucky... I'll keep my fingers crossed for yall.

2) Dodge Magnum IT'S A DODGE!! What are you thinking?
What incredible garbage (My perspective only, YMMV) There has never been one owned by any member of my family that was anything except a gaping money pit filled with problems- and this covers a three decade span.

3) Ford Ranger- I'll have to go with towcat on this one. I bought a base model new in '87 and as long as the ex-wife and I were together it was a terrific little truck (read proper maitenance) very soon after it turned into a rolling set of repairs (she got custody of 'lil Red).

What I'm about to say next will probably get me banned from OB for life, but dammit, common sense is more important than brand loyalty and if you buy it used then you're NOT supporting a foriegn economy... Buy her a ten year old Accord or an AWD Subaru, then neither one of you will have problems.

I love my big old smelly noisy slow Ford, and have dreamed of the day when I could finally get just the one I have now, but I put my wife in a Honda, and my mom in a Subaru (after a money pit Taurus wagon and a POS money pit Intrepid) and they both LOVE their cars. The KISS principle is a dynamic thing and works differently depending on who it is applied to.

Apologies if this response seems to have taken on a rant-like tone torwards the end here..

 

[RyanDamo]

get the crown vic an drop a 4bt cummins in it

 

[Agnem]

Seems to me the only two choices are the crown vic or the ranger, but that's an odd matchup, at totally opposite ends of the "what are you looking for" spectrum. I've had 3 Ford Rangers and loved them all. An 83' and 86' and a 99'. The 83 got totalled, as did the 99, so that's why they were short lived. The 86' I drove to the moon and back plus some. 286,000 miles on that tractor tough 2.3L EFI motor. Retired at age 17 due to cancer. It still ran like a top and I hated to get rid of it. Some oil changes went over 10K on that motor, not that I'm proud of that, but I litterally made my living with that truck, and ran the snot out of it. There was never enough time for proper servicing. I changed the spark plugs twice in it, and the timing belt 4 times (all preventative). The reliability of the Crown Vic is obviously well documented in all the law enforcement outfits that chose it. So do you want utilility, or comfort? The Ranger can tow a decent size load if that matters to you any, and the CV is not available in 4X4 which may be a consideration.

 

[Worstenemy453]

I wouldnt get a Ex-police car. If the miles are decent some people are like, hot damn. But think of all the idleing time they have on them. I wouldnt want that.

That said, id go with a FoMoCo product. Period. OR something Foreign. Im partial to toyota and mazda.

 

[Compu Doc]

The coolest police cruiser to own would be the model they used in Blues Brothers. Early-Mid 70's Dodge with a 440

I'm not sure if it is still their or not but our local Police station had one on display out on the front lawn when I drove by last week. Seeing it was a blast from the past.

In the 80's for a short period of time they were then using the Dodge Aries K Car for a police cruiser

If it were me I would be looking at the Crown Vic also.

 

[BigNick]

I'd mention to her a Subaru, or honda/toyota.... hard say this, especially around here, but your 4 cyl camry's and subaru's will outlive most of the trucks we drive here, nevermind that maintenance costs and fuel bills would be half of what either one of those other vehicles will give you.

However, to repeat those above me, how well your sister maintains it is just as important as the people who owned it before you maintained it, if not more important.

 

[The Warden]

I'm not a fan of gas engines in ANYTHING but I must admit that I've developed a respect for the Panther chassis (Crown Vic/Grand Marquis/Town Car) over the last 4 years that I've been driving them on a daily basis. I think in recent years, Ford realized that most of them were going to fleet sales and began designing them to match that, with private sales simply an added bonus (and note that, while you can still buy one from a Ford dealer, you have to go through their fleet manager to do it).

My general experience has been that they can handle an incredible amount of abuse and still run, and if maintained reasonably properly, they'll stay comfortable and go for a long time. If nothing else, look at all the Crown Vic taxicabs out there...the drivers are NOT nice to those cars and who knows what the mileage is, but they just keep on ticking!! I think fuel efficiency depends on how the car's driven...if you're driving in-town and have a heavy foot, fuel mileage is going to suck (15 to 17 mpg would be my estimate), but I've also reached the 30 mpg mark on a freeway run at 65 mph. In mixed driving, I personally average 23 to 24 mpg.

FWIW, my boss generally sells cars at either 3 or 4 years of age...OTOH, by that point the car's between 275 and 300K miles He also cites that maintenance costs are FAR less on a Town Car as compared to a FWD Cadillac, and he's stated that that's the primary reason he runs them. I have no idea what the limo industry will start using after the Panther's retired next September...

But, yeah, in short, if I had to own a gas-powered vehicle, a Panther would be at the top of my list. But, I'd rather stick with my oilburners

Just my $.02...

 

[Silver Burner]

It's surprising to hear everyone bashing the Magnum big time. The only one that has much of anything Mercedes in it is the RT and SRT8. Now granted I wouldn't want a V6 one, but the RT Hemi's have a Mercedes 5-spd auto that is designed to handle over 500 HP and that much torque. They are nearly bulletproof. I know some guys that have nearly 200K on the stock tranny on a modified Hemi with never an issue. The Hemi itself is an old-school pushrod motor with some fancy EFI and the cylinder-deactivation being the only extras. I sheet you not, I get 25 MPG on the highway with mine. About 16 or so in the city depending on how heavy my foot is.
I'm here to tell you guys right now that the Dodge Magnum is no typical Dodge car. They are fast beasts that will run 200K plus with no major problems. And they're super easy to work on. They respond well to modification and almost no one loses a tranny out of one. It may be a Dodge, but it might as well have a cummins under the hood. It's bulletproof.

 

[Brimmstone]

Intrepids aren't that big of a problem to work on. I used to knock them out in about 6 hours at the shop. Biggest headache was the timing chain. I'd tackle on in a split second again.