Do I want an 04 P71?

With the Suburban still dead & occupying garage space over a month later, and figuring at this point I’ll be looking at $500+ to get it towed to a shop, diagnosed & fixed, I’m contemplating other options. 

I know GRMers love P71s, but I’ve not spent any time with them. What should I look for on an 04 former detective’s car with 125k on it?

I think that's the age range that you want. '03 was when they got the reworked suspension with aluminum bits, and I think '06 was when they got drive-by-wire.

In that same vein, anyone have any insight in P73 vs P71? Found a clean civi but I am not sure if it is worth it for the better interior?

Edit: to answer Pete's question a bit, I have been doing a bunch of research. It seems that 03 is the oldest you probably want, you get the better chassis/suspension, best motor, and best steering. The only real downside seems to be the fuel economy, which depending (on who you ask/what rear end you have) is anywhere from 19 hwy to mid 20's. They are built tough as nails and other than swapping the spark plugs, there doesnt seem to be any issues in terms of maintenance. 

NickD said:

I think that's the age range that you want. '03 was when they got the reworked suspension with aluminum bits, and I think '06 was when they got drive-by-wire.

05 was the start of drive by wire. 03-04 is the sweet spot of reworked suspension, rack and pinion steering, and cable throttle.

In reply to Pete Gossett :

I have never had one.  All I have to contribute is that many cop cars did not come with Cruise Control. Is that important to you? The controls are boldly right in the thumb spots of the steering wheel so it is easily to see in pictures if the car is equipped or not.  

With: 

Without:

In reply to John Welsh :

While it would be a plus, it’s not a deal-breaker, as the Suburban hasn’t had functioning cruise since I’ve owned it(due to inop & NLA ABS module).

Thanks for the input everyone!

Any more for sale? I'm in the market for a P71 from the south. 

In reply to Appleseed :

If you can make the drive, there is a guy here in Detroit that only deals in CVs, not sure where he brings them in from but they are all rust free. 

Apparently I had the year wrong & it’s an 06. So how bad is the DBW on these, and is it easily/cheaply remedied?

In reply to Pete Gossett :

It was fine for daily use. The only time it was an issue for me personally was rally crossing and in deep snow. Not being able to modulate the throttle properly just made sliding not as fun. 

In reply to Pete Gossett :

Like Rico said, it's not terrible, just has the normal DBW things that people complain about which is basically the throttle not always listening to the pedal

Well I’m heading after work tomorrow to check it out. 

I've had three panther platform cars.

My last was a 95 p71, so I have no useful information, other than that I would take another one in a heartbeat!

I own two P71 (2005,2006) and don't any DBW issues, even in the Snow. If Fuel Mileage isn't an issue, Then a P71 will last forever. Watch out for wiring issues on the Police models as most departments seems to rip out the  electronics nowadays. Also, 17 Inch Lincoln wheels makes the car ride smoother.

LarsBrunkhorst said:

In reply to Appleseed :

If you can make the drive, there is a guy here in Detroit that only deals in CVs, not sure where he brings them in from but they are all rust free. 

The bad thing about that is those type of dealers charge about 1.5 time what they picked them up at auction for.

In reply to Pete Gossett :

If it ain't your cup of tea, let me know. I might be interested. Seriously.

In reply to Appleseed :

Will do!

Mine is a 06. The DBW isn't horrible, it's just annoying. Tip in is rather abrupt. The only time it really bothers me is in traffic. It's hard to get a smooth start. I have heard there is a re-flash for the ECU that solves a lot of the DBW complaints but I've never bothered with it. It's primarily my son's car now.

I did have to have the transmission rebuilt though. It has survived  an enormous amount of abuse since I've owned it. Close to 1000 rallycross runs, almost that many autocross runs, and a couple of track days. It finally gave up. The good news is a rebuild was only $1200 and that was with them providing all the labor. 

I came to add that HPTuners supports '06 and later.

In reply to pushrod36 :

I have basically zero knowledge of HPTuners, it can be used to remap the DBW? Are there other benefits too? 

Looking at a couple of 03 and 04 in Little Rock. Higher milage 160,000+ ,but cheap. Sub $900.

I bought it tonight, but won’t get it home until Thursday. The interior is pretty clean, though the cup holder/ash tray cover is missing. Apparently Nola PD disables the air bags & interior lights, so that’ll be a small project for sometime later. The seller has a steering wheel with cruise control he gave me, so I’ll need to get it programmed. The windshield has a crack on the driver’s side, so it’ll eventually need replaced too. 

It runs & drives really nice, has enough power for what it is & seems solid. 

In reply to Pete Gossett :

Funny.  The reason I pointed out the Cruise Control is that '06 F250, Gov't Mule, stripper work truck does not have cruise.  I also blame this as the reason that this summer I was forced into a mandated roadside conversation that resulting in a reduced "roadside plea-bargain" of just a seatbelt ticket.  It should be noted that I still had my seatbelt on when I was handed this seatbelt ticket but it is a whole lot cheaper and less damning than 71/55.

I would like to add a Cruise Wheel to my F250.  I asked one dealership and the counter guy just acted like it was impossible to do.  I more suspected his techs just want more simple, easier book-hour jobs.  

I'd be interested in what you learn. 

Interested to see some pics Pete.

In reply to Billy_Bottle_Caps :

They’re here in the build thread.