Crown Vic P7B...a good buy?

W

Ws6

Joined
Mar 7, 2008
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6,808
Location
South Central US
I found a P7B car. 2011. It has 126k miles, and 507 idle hours on it, and appears in good shape from photos. Reason for purchase is that this was my first car, albeit a 1993 P71. Im kindof fond of them. It will keep miles off my ev6 GT, which I want to keep long term. I have a 10/120k bumper to bumper on my GT, and without a second car, that will expire in 5 more years due to miles. Also, the flex fuel 4.6L dinosaur in the P7B will be of utility if I need to make any emergency trips to unknown areas etc. I have 50k miles of EV driving now, and while I've not had any issues, I have had potential for issues, and a second car never hurts, regardless.

What should I be inspecting before purchase?

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The best ones to get are the detective ones that didn't have holes drilled in the roof or trunklid for antennae.

Commonish issues with those would be the cooling fan and module, maybe some diff issues if they liked to to e-brake u-turns. That's about the best version of the 4R70/75 made and technically had the J-mod from the factory.

I miss selling parts for those. I think the Sheriff's dept here still has a few.
 
bdcardinal said:
The best ones to get are the detective ones that didn't have holes drilled in the roof or trunklid for antennae.

Commonish issues with those would be the cooling fan and module, maybe some diff issues if they liked to to e-brake u-turns. That's about the best version of the 4R70/75 made and technically had the J-mod from the factory.

I miss selling parts for those. I think the Sheriff's dept here still has a few.
Click to expand...
No clue what it was used for, but no holes.
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What is a P7B? I've heard of the P71 ...

I drove CVPIs for years in LEO service. I also owned a few civilian MGMs as well.
Generally stout cars; especially the drivetrain.

Occasionally you have the infamous vent servo motor fail; requires pulling the dash to replace a $35 part.
I've had a seatbelt retractor fail; that was rare.
As these age, they often get the HVAC accumulator rust issues and that has to be replaced.
At times the door lock and window switches will fail, but replacement parts are cheap and easy to do.
And then there's the whole peeling paint issue; not a question of "if", but "when" ...
 
Last edited:
dnewton3 said:
What is a P7B? I've heard of the P71 ...

I drove CVPIs for years in LEO service. I also owned a few civilian MGMs as well.
Generally stout cars; especially the drivetrain.

Occasionally you have the infamous vent servo motor fail; requires pulling the dash to replace a $35 part.
I've had a seatbelt retractor fail; that was rare.
As these age, they often get the HVAC accumulator rust issues and that has to be replaced.
At times the door lock and window switches will fail, but replacement parts are cheap and easy to do.
Click to expand...
P71 = 2010 and 2011 P7B. Just a name change.
 
Nice that is shows hours too. Does it just show idle, total hours, or both? Didn't know they made these 4.6L Flex Fuel compatible. Does that allow for e15 or up to e85? Looks like a decent car.
 
dnewton3 said:
Occasionally you have the infamous vent servo motor fail; requires pulling the dash to replace a $35 part.
I've had a seatbelt retractor fail; that was rare.
As these age, they often get the HVAC accumulator rust issues and that has to be replaced.
At times the door lock and window switches will fail, but replacement parts are cheap and easy to do.
Click to expand...
The HVAC blend door actuator failure is a very common problem on the Panther platform vehicles. It will cause a constant and irritating clicking sound from the right center dash vent outlet if the heat or A/C is running. While the service manual specifies pulling the entire dash assembly to change the $35 part, I recently replaced one in 2 hours by only pulling back the passenger half of the dash. The video below explains the shortcut process that I used on a Crown Victoria.

 
My opinion is that the fleet versions of these cars are total penalty boxes and no fun to live with on a daily basis. Uncomfortable, noisy, lacking in features. However, it seems that some people actually prefer that. Depends on your expectations.

As far as what to look out for:

HVAC issues, as previously mentioned, are common and no fun to repair on these cars. Especially if the entire HVAC box needs replacement (make sure air flow can switch from defrost, to panel, to floor).
Rusted out AC accumulators.
Obligatory intake manifold leaks.
Timing chain guides.
Spark plug thread damage, even on these later models.
Transmission can be hit-or-miss.
Rear axle bearings/seals.
 
If you want it, go for it. They're good cars, most of the potential issues are relatively easy to fix. At that mileage, hopefully timing chain guides would be a ways off anyways. Parts are pretty cheap as well, so that's a plus.

I sold my '08 last year w/ 192k on it and to be honest I kind of regret it.
 
I would buy it. I owned a 2004 P71 for almost 11 years and have nothing but good things to say about them. The only issues I had with mine were the blend door actuator failing and the receiver dryer rusting out.
 
I bought a 2010 in November of last year, it had 129k on it and it now has 156k with 2890 ish idle hrs. It’s been flawless. I’ve done all the fluids on it, spark plugs, thermostat and serpentine belt & pulleys. The only issue I had was the thermostat that failed. It’ll cruise at 80mph all day with no issue, and I been averaging 22 mpg with it. I put a town car steering wheel in it with the cruise control buttons and had the cruise control enabled and recently put in a 05 explorer center console. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy the one you posted if the price is right.
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I contemplate it, but RWD with my winters... eh... anything is doable, with enough patience & speed.

Looks like a nice find. Good luck.
 
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