The Accord is out due to reliability issues. So the hunt continues.

[YSSMAN]

Looks like the Crown Vic P71 is going to be the winning canidate. I should know by Wed. if I get one.

I may go drive one just for the hell of it this week (if I have enough time), there are a couple used Michigan State cruisers for sale around here. I don't think I could afford the gas in the long-run, but it would be bad-ass to have that blue color with the push bars!

 

[JCE]

I may go drive one just for the hell of it this week (if I have enough time), there are a couple used Michigan State cruisers for sale around here. I don't think I could afford the gas in the long-run, but it would be bad-ass to have that blue color with the push bars!

According to Ford the city rating for a P71 is 15mpg (or 16?) and the highway is 24mpg. If you drive is slow (yea right) you could maintain a 19-22mpg average. Oh, and they are cheaper than your dollar requirement by alot, they are cheap to run and insure, look cool as ****, and would do quite well in a crash assuming the gas tank *cough* issue was fix by a Ford dealer.

2003+ models came with traction control so it should behave better than a RWD car without one. Snow or ice...I have NO clue.

 

[YSSMAN]

When I had the (similar) Town Car in Miami last summer we ended up averaging about 20 MPG overall with a lot of city driving... Not too bad. I'd expect the P71 to be a little bit better, but yeah, I too would be looking for the 2003+ model if I were to get one. Something about those blacked-out grilles make me rather happy.

 

[JCE]

When I had the (similar) Town Car in Miami last summer we ended up averaging about 20 MPG overall with a lot of city driving... Not too bad. I'd expect the P71 to be a little bit better, but yeah, I too would be looking for the 2003+ model if I were to get one. Something about those blacked-out grilles make me rather happy.

You could get a blacked out grille in 1999-2002 it just wasn't the same grille. If you got a P71 and I got one we could form some sort-of "club" or something. And then change our titles here at GTP to "GTP's Official Thread Enforcement" or something thereof.

*edit* Keep in mind that the suspension was upgraded in 2002 (?) or 2003 which changed the way the steel wheels were designed. They were "shallow" versus the "deep dish" style.

Old

New

 

[YSSMAN]

If I'm getting one, I'm shooting for this:

I just love that color too damn much... But it will go to my brother before I consider getting one, I think.

 

[JCE]

Wow, with some Marauder rims, Marauder spoiler, Mustang GT/Marauder exhaust, and spotlights that would be one seriously sexy ride.

 

[YSSMAN]

TJ (my brother) and I have been thinking about keeping it blue, keep the back wheels on it (I love black steelies with the chrome caps), and then putting some kind of livery on it to make it look like an "undercover" car, but certainly be well within the limits of the law. Better yet, find a way to hook some kind of secondary lights in the grille and I'm sure people would be convinced that its a Police Car. A dual exhaust is mandatory I think, as would be a Ford Racing intake and some kind of minor re flash of the ECU. The goal would be a rather usable 280-300 BHP at the crank, not a difficult goal to achieve.

You see that blue, no matter what it is, and people automatically slow down. Only the State Police have them in that color...

 

[JCE]

TJ (my brother) and I have been thinking about keeping it blue, keep the back wheels on it (I love black steelies with the chrome caps), and then putting some kind of livery on it to make it look like an "undercover" car, but certainly be well within the limits of the law. Better yet, find a way to hook some kind of secondary lights in the grille and I'm sure people would be convinced that its a Police Car. A dual exhaust is mandatory I think, as would be a Ford Racing intake and some kind of minor re flash of the ECU. The goal would be a rather usable 280-300 BHP at the crank, not a difficult goal to achieve.

You see that blue, no matter what it is, and people automatically slow down. Only the State Police have them in that color...

You sneaky dog. Remember let me know if/when you want me to provide you the link for said legal-to-obtain law enforcement equipment for the P71.

 

[Boz Mon]

my dad had a full light rack sitting in the garage awhile back. It even had the speakers on it. I think he ended up giving it away because it was in the way of everything.

 

[buickgnx88]

TJ (my brother) and I have been thinking about keeping it blue, keep the back wheels on it (I love black steelies with the chrome caps), and then putting some kind of livery on it to make it look like an "undercover" car, but certainly be well within the limits of the law. Better yet, find a way to hook some kind of secondary lights in the grille and I'm sure people would be convinced that its a Police Car. A dual exhaust is mandatory I think, as would be a Ford Racing intake and some kind of minor re flash of the ECU. The goal would be a rather usable 280-300 BHP at the crank, not a difficult goal to achieve.

You see that blue, no matter what it is, and people automatically slow down. Only the State Police have them in that color...

You should put a sticker on the side that says "Polease"! I'm sure it's easy to find some sort of lights to put in the grille, such as from JCWhitney. As far as exhaust goes, I'd suggest Flowmaster mufflers with the exhaust exiting in front of the rear wheels. Oh, wheel-wise try and get some of the older "deep dish" steelies that JCE showed, those look much cooler especially if you throw on some trim rings.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

The problem with that... The wheels would stick out about 3" from the fender lips. (With the deep dish rims, that is)

Flowmasters are overrated.

And yes, the blue is perfect for Michigan. Just a P71 Vicky of any sort makes people slow down... And depart from the lane. A BLUE P71 Vicky... Traffic? What traffic?

 

[JCE]

The problem with that... The wheels would stick out about 3" from the fender lips. (With the deep dish rims, that is)

Flowmasters are overrated.

Quite correct on the rims. The offsets changed so the old style deep dish steelies won't look right. You could just spray the new style shallow steelies as black as possible and then get the chrome center cap...it will still look mean.

And I agree on flowmaster, highly overrated. Borla, SLP, and generally anyhing for a Mustang GT that isn't flowmaster would do quite nicely.

 

[buickgnx88]

Well I like the sound of the Flowmaster, so I guess that's just me. Wheel wise you could have the deep-dishers and just throw on some fender flares!

 

[neanderthal]

if you can afford 10k more
get this

i think i just nutted

20k for that old dump?

you obviously have no clue.
but thats ok.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

I feel bad for forza2.0...

I'd nab that car in half a heartbeat if I had the cash.

(About the Benz posted)

ADDIT: On second thought... I'd sell every last vestige of the interior too. It looks cheap. Not befitting a Benz (but that's the way I feel with most Benz interiors).

 

[JCE]

My question is what makes that Merc so damned expensive?

 

[High-Test]

My question is what makes that Merc so damned expensive?

a.) It was assembled by Porsche
b.) it has different fenders than the others, and a beefier, sportier suspension.
c.) Big, honkin V8 under the hood.
d.) demand
e.) It's fast
f.) It's pretty
g.) It's the longer lasting saloon rocketship...


You can probably get them down on the price. 19,995 seems like a lot for what it is. (Wait.. it's a 500E. Has quality finally come into the pricing picture?)

 

[JCE]

*crowd yelling* How fast is it?

 

[Tornado]

Gets to 60 in about 6.3. Goes through the quarter in 14 and a half. Puts a smile on your face as soon as you get in it.


That being said, I would go for a Crown Vic Interceptor. Then find some method of forced induction that will fit.

 

[High-Test]

For an idea, you could get a 500E for anywhere between 8,000 to 20,000. 20,000 at most, I think.

 

[JCE]

Gets to 60 in about 6.3. Goes through the quarter in 14 and a half. Puts a smile on your face as soon as you get in it.


That being said, I would go for a Crown Vic Interceptor. Then find some method of forced induction that will fit.

That's pretty quick by even today's standards...that thing must of been one hell of an animal back then. I still would prefer an SL if I was going to get a Merc from that age.

Forced induction you say? How about this...

FYI, for those who are not in the know that is an Eaton M112 supercharger from a 2003-2004 Mustang Cobra.

For an idea, you could get a 500E for anywhere between 8,000 to 20,000. 20,000 at most, I think.

I can't justify spending that much money on something where the parts alone are worth more than the car. I love Mercs, but not so much as to want to REPAIR one at anytime while making payments on it.

 

[Tornado]

Forced induction you say? How about this...

Not necessarily that much. Just enough to make the car relevant.

 

[JCE]

Not necessarily that much. Just enough to make the car relevant.

Ideas that don't involve centrifugal force superchargers? I'm listening.

 

[JCE]

Is it ok to buy a 1987 Ford Thunderbird w/114k miles that has a small oil leak for $800? I'm talking with a guy right now who's selling one. Its black too!

Help me resist the urge to buy another project.

*edit*
Oh, and I'm contemplating on waiting another 2 weeks to get another paycheck in the bank before making a decision. I'm really getting second thoughts about having a car payment. I need to find a solution that is the most economical while maintaining my current lifestyle. I'm almost tempted to get some $2,500 Honda Civic or something there abouts to get me around in that won't have a high monthly payment.

As you can see, I'm getting slightly uneasy at my choices here. ... I'm going to see if I can find something cheaper. I really don't know what to do. I don't want to wait a damn year or more to get a second car paid off before I can start buying things for my Camaro. I'm ALMOST tempted to save up for the engine rebuild and get someone to take me to work for a week while the current engine is rebuilt. Rebuilding the 305 wouldn't take much money--and as a bonus I can still drive it until I get some real money in the bank.

*edit*
Ack, didn't see my post time on my previous post. Whoops...technically counts as a double post?

 

[neanderthal]

get the cheap car. the honda civic is calling you.

invest your money. play with your camaro.

or get the 500E. lol

 

[JCE]

I've found quite a few cars that were 3 or 4 catagories below what I normally would accept--which includes a regular Civic. Most likely I'm going to wait two weeks and see what I can come up with then. I'm fairly certain my Camaro will last that long. If I get the call within 3 days saying I have a bright shiney P71 or Prelude for me to pickup I'm still going to do it. If I don't hear anything by Sunday I'm waiting 2 more weeks.

 

[JCE]

Thoughts on this? I think I want to go take a look at it tomorrow.

http://www.autotrader.com/dealers/i...type=make_modelASC&pager.offset=25&cardist=25

*edit 2*
They also have one of these:

http://www.autotrader.com/dealers/i...type=make_modelASC&pager.offset=25&cardist=25

*edit*

Tomorrow I'm going to go hunting at other dealerships for something else--it seems pretty clear that the one I've been dealing with can't find me anything. So far here is my revised hunting list for cars from 1990-2002:

Honda Civic
Honda Accord
Honda Prelude
Acura Integra
Acura TL/CL/RL
Nissan Maxima
Nissan Altima
Nissan 300ZX
Nissan Sentra
Mercury Cougar (V6 prefered)
Mercury Cougar XR7 [Thunderbird clone)
Ford Mustang
Ford Contour (V6 only)
Ford Crown Victoria
Ford Thunderbird (4.6L V8 only)
Ford F150
Ford Ranger
Lincoln Town Car (last generation)
Toyota Celica (any)
Toyota Camry (V6 only)
Cadillac Catera (less than 120k miles)
Cadillac SLS/STS
Pontiac Bonneville SSE
Buick Regal GS (supercharged)
Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
Mazda Protege

 

[YSSMAN]

I assume it has the 1.8T, correct?

Its a bit iffy, particularly being a 1999 model. The mileage seems pretty low, so thats a good thing, and in general the Passat was screwed together much better than the Golf/Jetta siblings (couldn't be that whole Built in Europe thing?)... But its still a bit of a so-so choice.

Give it a good look-over, maybe give it a drive and see how you like it. I think the big thing is that you need to know what you're getting into, but if you like it (and I think you will), you'll be hooked on Volkswagens forever.

 

[JCE]

I really like those Passat estates--infact I like them MORE than the saloon. Honestly, I saw the low price and low mileage and thought to myself..."hmmmm".

 

[YSSMAN]

They're really good-looking cars, and really do a good job with the ride/handling balance that VW is usually known for.

That '01 GLS VR6 you have there isn't too bad of a car either. Generally speaking, the VR6 holds together pretty well as I recall, but you may want to double-check what people are saying with the online interwebs. The GLS is going to have the sportier suspension with more standard equipment, and its usually my package of choice outside of the Wolfsburg (well, that really is just adding more standard equipment).

...And like I noted in my thread on the Acuras, the TL/CL is known for having really problematic transmissions, so I'd likely steer completely clear of that...

Come to the dark side. You know you want a Volkswagen...

Then you can me cool like me (probably) and Doug. And I know we all want to be cool like Doug!