Finally joined the Panther club

[G-MAN]

I picked this up last week for $3500. It's a 2004 Crown Vic, one owner and extremely well-maintained. 140,000 miles and runs like a top. Solid as a rock with no squeaks or rattles in it anywhere. Flashlight down the oil fill shows bright aluminum only; no sludge or varnish.

 

[Mr Nice]

Wow, very nice condition.

 

[Rolla07]

Id love to have one like that but the gas prices up here say NO! 1.40 per liter.. approx 5.50 a gallon. But looks very nice! Enjoy it!

 

[eljefino]

Post a video of you doing a brakestand!

 

[Nick1994]

You can tell it was babied, that's a clean 140k miles!

 

[evanautumn]

Looks nice man! SC car, no rust...will last you a long time.

change the trans fluid and filter w/ mercon v if it hasn't been done would be my one piece of advice.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Does it have the upgraded suspension or the base wallow-city?

 

[synthetic_crazy]

Beautiful, beautiful car! You will see 350,000 miles easy in that car. I love my Crown Vic; they are the greatest cars ever built. Very safe, good gas mileage considering it is a V-8, and easy to maintain.

What oil/filter combination are you planning on using?

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Does it have the upgraded suspension or the base wallow-city?


Looks like a base Crown Vic.

Congrats on buying the correct year!

 

[abycat]

Nice score. I would be happy with paying that price. They do get pretty good had mileage for a v8. I thought you could get bolt on superchargers for those. Would make a cool sleeper / fast people mover.

 

[G-MAN]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Does it have the upgraded suspension or the base wallow-city?


This is a base model with standard suspension. It's okay for my purposes. Keep in mind that Ford completely re-designed the frame and suspension of the Panther for the 2003 model year. The result was that the standard suspension was almost as good at body control and handling as the previous "handling" suspension packages.

Originally Posted By: evanautumn
change the trans fluid and filter w/ mercon v if it hasn't been done would be my one piece of advice.


Fluid shows bright pink on a clean rag and smells relatively fresh so I'm going to leave it alone. It's obviously been changed recently and the transmission shifts fine.

Originally Posted By: synthetic_crazy
What oil/filter combination are you planning on using?


The dealer changed the oil, so I dumped in a bottle of Auto-RX and I'll run that for 3000 miles. Then I plan to use Maxlife 5w20 with a Purolator filter.

Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
Congrats on buying the correct year!


Yes, I would only want a 2003 or up because of the suspension/frame re-design mentioned above.

 

[jimbrewer]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
You can tell it was babied, that's a clean 140k miles!

Yep, its obvious. That's one small advantage of buying a higher mileage car. It's harder to fake good condition with a good detail and a little razzmatazz.

 

[andrewg]

Nice car....used to own one myself.

The base suspension is great for such a large and heavy car....no need for any "upgrades".

MPG's are actually not bad for a V-8 either.

Beware the uninformed detractors. I used to have people make some of the oddest comments about my panther.

 

[G-MAN]

Coolant is nice and clean, so I don't have to worry about that for a while. Brakes seem okay, but I'm going to have them checked. I had the dealer put the car up on the lift so I could inspect the underside before I bought it. No leaks anywhere except for some seepage around the rear diff cover. No rust anywhere. Even the original exhaust system looks great--which is really extraordinary. Thirty years ago the idea of an American car going 140,000 miles and still having its original exhaust system from the engine to the tailpipe was unheard of. (Actually, thirty years ago, the idea of buying an American car with 140,000 miles on it and still expecting to get several years and another 140,000 miles out of it would have gotten a good laugh.)

Other than having the brakes checked, the only other planned maintenance for right now is to have the rear diff oil changed and fresh spark plugs installed.

 

[spasm3]

I'm kinda wanting one of those. Nice car!

Btw , how did they get the nickname panther ?

 

[Kuato]

Nice! I have owned a couple. You shoukd see another 140k easy (and like mentioned, 350k with maintenance).

All at 25 mpg highway....in comfort!

 

[G-MAN]

Originally Posted By: spasm3
I'm kinda wanting one of those. Nice car!

Btw , how did they get the nickname panther ?


"Panther" was Ford's internal code name for the platform the Crown Vic, Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car are built on.

Ford Panther Platform

 

[BISCUT]

First time I've seen one without a plastic rear seat and no bars on the rear windows! They last and last and last. Enjoy it!

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: G-MAN
Thirty years ago the idea of an American car going 140,000 miles and still having its original exhaust system from the engine to the tailpipe was unheard of. (Actually, thirty years ago, the idea of buying an American car with 140,000 miles on it and still expecting to get several years and another 140,000 miles out of it would have gotten a good laugh.)


That goes for any car 30 years ago.

You got a heck of a lot of car there for $3500. You did well!

 

[G-MAN]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: G-MAN
Thirty years ago the idea of an American car going 140,000 miles and still having its original exhaust system from the engine to the tailpipe was unheard of. (Actually, thirty years ago, the idea of buying an American car with 140,000 miles on it and still expecting to get several years and another 140,000 miles out of it would have gotten a good laugh.)


That goes for any car 30 years ago.

You got a heck of a lot of car there for $3500. You did well!


I disagree. Thirty years ago I would have had no problem buying a well-maintained 240D or 300D Benz with 140,000 miles on it, fully expecting to get at least another 140,000 reliable miles with no problem.

Regarding the $3500 price: You can probably see the "No Haggle Price" sign in the windshield. You'd be surprised how quickly that "no haggle" policy goes out the window when you open your check book and tell them exactly what you're prepared to write a check for--or walk.