Curse you search engine P71 info needed

Sorry for rehashing what has to be the 2nd most discussed topic behind "should I buy a Miata" but the search engine gives me all the posts by user P71.

So for the Saints 2 Sinners rally next year I need a decent enough car to make the trip, in comfort and reliability but still kinda cheap because this business ain't makin money yet :)

Police auction P71 seems like a great idea with the added bonus I should have 0 trouble selling a P71 in Vegas quickly so I can fly home.

Local auction has 4 up on the block right now, 2 -01s, an 04 and an 05. I seem to recall the later models are the ones to shoot for but is there a valid reason to stay away from the 01s? Essentially aside from some shakedown runs it will need to travel in relative comfort from NJ to Vegas where it will be sold to the first person ready to slap a set of 24s on it.

Advice?

Yeah, buy the first one that you feel you can recoup the money on for your flight back.

There's not enough issues to care about really if you're just gonna dump it so quickly.

01+ is what you want engine-wise (Power Improved unit), and 03+ is what you want chassis-wise (rack & pinion, bigger brakes, new frame, revised suspension). I owned an 01, and loved it, but if I ever bought again the improvements to the 03+ make it a no-brainer. Buy the 04 or the 05.

The later ones have a little more power and revised suspension among other things. Things to consider if you are buying to keep for a while..might not matter for the short time you plan to keep it. I would think all would be more or less the same for reliability.

Fwiw I loved my 99 with its "weak" engine and all. I still have dirty thoughts about a 03+ town car for a dd.

Parts are a lot more common and cheaper for the 03-11's. The 01-02 share some stuff with the 98-01's, but have some unique parts as well. The 03-11's were pretty much all identical, and made in the highest quantities, so you get a lot more availability there (plus being slightly newer and easier to find).

Just FYI. For your needs the 01's are probably fine. Just buy the cheapest one.

Excellent, thanks all. In a perfect world I'd keep it around as a dedicated rally marshal car (not fully ruling that out) but driving out and back kills a boatload of vacation time from work. Might just store it in Vegas and fly out for a long weekend to drive it back if I fall in love.

Aiming for the 05, its an ex K9 unit so I feel drawn to the dog hair

Around here the 2003 and 2004 models seem to go for around $2000 at state auction. What are they fetching there?

dculberson wrote: Around here the 2003 and 2004 models seem to go for around $2000 at state auction. What are they fetching there?

Wont know till the auction ends but they are all considerably lower than that at the moment. SWMBO has already authorized the purchase of multiples if I can snag them for $1000 or less at auction

Since I haven't kept track of your venture (sorry, got a business of my own to keep up with now), might a "spec car" along the lines of "any ex-cop car" make things more interesting? Could also help justify driving such a comparatively luxurious vehicle on said trip if you sponsor a theme.

At least at the one auction I have been to they tend to go for more than that unless they've got obvious problems. If you can get them for that you should!!

The park service cars go for less than the highway patrol cars, but looking at their budget explains why. They don't have the money to replace their cars as often as the patrol. 200k+ miles is common on 2004 and 2005 cars. They've been run through the mill. The highway patrol and K9 units are about half that mileage and led much more cushy lives.

Edit for clarification: "one auction" means "State of Ohio Surplus," I've been to it a ton of times but not to any other police surplus auctions.

Junkyard_Dog wrote: Since I haven't kept track of your venture (sorry, got a business of my own to keep up with now), might a "spec car" along the lines of "any ex-cop car" make things more interesting? Could also help justify driving such a comparatively luxurious vehicle on said trip if you sponsor a theme.

Spec car was tried once on BABE. One person joined the class :( People just want to be unique and do their own thing. Spec theme or a more open spec (ie. Stationwagon or american iron) seems to work well but getting more specific with it hasn't gone well in the past. Although for a 5 day drive through the desert in July I think ex cop cars are perfect :) I'll let others choose their own torture. As far as it being semi luxurious and not so much banger, I'm running the show, I have to make it on time every night :)

dculberson wrote: The park service cars go for less than the highway patrol cars, but looking at their budget explains why. They don't have the money to replace their cars as often as the patrol. 200k+ miles is common on 2004 and 2005 cars. They've been run through the mill. The highway patrol and K9 units are about half that mileage and led much more cushy lives.

Most of these seem to be just over 100k with one just under (the 2004 I think) I'll take my best shot at them, might end up with nothing, might end up with 2. More than 2 and Im screwed!

failboat wrote: The later ones have a little more power and revised suspension among other things. Things to consider if you are buying to keep for a while..might not matter for the short time you plan to keep it. I would think all would be more or less the same for reliability. Fwiw I loved my 99 with its "weak" engine and all. I still have dirty thoughts about a 03+ town car for a dd.

What he said. Loved my 99 P71.

actually mine wasnt even a P71, it was an M73 (or 74?) I believe. Grand Marquis GS. So even less power with the single exhaust and extra boaty suspension. It was still a great car.

I always wanted to collect all the P71 suspension bits to upgrade it and put M71 SPEC on the license plates. Never got around to it so it wore the FA1L plates with pride

In reply to failboat:

71 = police
72 = fleet
73 = base
74 = higher end options
... me thinks

meh, auctions ended today. Generally good deals all around but since I have some time to shop I was being cheap and got sniped in the last seconds, all the same buyer so I'm guessing dealer with deep pockets.

The 01s went around $1300 each

The 04 I got sniped at $1750

The 05 beat me out at $2600

The hunt continues....there's enough cheap Crown Vics on the local CL at any time that if I havent found something ideal by the time S2S comes up I know I can grab something. But if winter turns out to be the mess they are calling for then I wouldnt mind putting the Abarth in the garage and having a CV to plow through the snow with either.

An '01 for $1300 doesn't sound bad.

MHO, given your intention to sell it when you get to Vegas - the cheapest one you can get, which should give you the most leeway profit room when it comes to selling it quickly. The attributes of particular years matter to us more than your average car buyer, who will be interested in price first and everything else a distant second.

There is a small lot in Bala Cynwyd that specializes in P71s that I came across not too long ago... you can probably find his listings on Philly CL.

Not sure if he has anything super cheap, but last time I was there he had plenty of very clean detective cars.

tb wrote: There is a small lot in Bala Cynwyd that specializes in P71s that I came across not too long ago... you can probably find his listings on Philly CL. Not sure if he has anything super cheap, but last time I was there he had plenty of very clean detective cars.

Yeah, I think I know the one you are talking about, poked around there alot when I was buying caprices but by the time he got a cop package wagon I had already bought a civvy model.

Ooo... Just had a thought - when you get to Vegas, try selling on Pawn Stars, making sure you've got some decals on it... maybe some free tv exposure??

Ian F wrote: Ooo... Just had a thought - when you get to Vegas, try selling on Pawn Stars, making sure you've got some decals on it... maybe some free tv exposure??

Oh it will be fully stickered up :) Hell if anyone wants to donate a car I'll sticker it up with your advertising too (or if you just want to sponsor the car for the event) [/shameless money grab]

Found a 2000 CV with 140k, looks good, that I can probably pick up for $1000 locally. May go see that tonite. I don't think its a P71 but just for giggles where are those codes on the car so I can check what it is?

N Sperlo wrote: In reply to failboat: 71 = police 72 = fleet 73 = base 74 = higher end options ... me thinks

i am pretty sure sperlo is correct here. look at the vin and find the P## to figure out what it is. (or M## if you look at a grand marquis)

fleet use would be like taxicabs and the like. the 73 and 74 are civilian models.

Maybe I can convince my neighbor to pull that 1973 LTD Interceptor out of his garage. I don't think it will get quite the mileage you're looking for, though.

failboat wrote:

N Sperlo wrote: In reply to failboat: 71 = police 72 = fleet 73 = base 74 = higher end options ... me thinks

i am pretty sure sperlo is correct here. look at the vin and find the P## to figure out what it is. (or M## if you look at a grand marquis) fleet use would be like taxicabs and the like. the 73 and 74 are civilian models.

Ahh, ok, its part of the VIN, that makes sense then. I was thinking it was an RPO code like on the GMs.

Well the 2000 I looked at was so so. 2nd owner, got it from his grandfather so one family car. But the front end was sloppy and the tires had paid the price. The A/C was inop which is a requirement for something I'm driving through the southwest in July. Overall a fine car for the price (asking 1200, 1000 would take it, in another week 800 will probably grab it) Motor and trans were solid and interior was ok. I'd just rather spend a few more bux and not have to wrench. And it was not a P71

Going to look at a 2000 P71 detectives car this week. Very clean looking, 181k on the clock, asking 1700, gonna see how close to 1k I can get it if everything else pans out.

Nice thing about shopping CVs, theres a crapload of them out there, no need to rush into a deal.