A few days ago I posted in Solo2driver’s Crown Vic thread that my Mom might trade off her beloved ‘94 Mercury Grand Marquis & get a “new” 2008 Crown Victoria. Well, on Mon. 9/29 she began the process in earnest, and on Tues. 9/30 I got to drive it home for her. Mileage at drive-off: 10,138.1.
It’s her first choice of color, a nice deep maroon or burgundy that she calls “wine colored”, has a little metal flake that disappears in the shade but shows nicely in sunlight. The only other Ford-certified listing, in this color, within a long way was a Grand Marquis that was twice as old, with triple the mileage, for ~$1000 more. BTW, Ford-Certified means it gets the remainder of the factory 3yr/36,000 mi bumper-bumper warranty, plus 6yr/100,000 mi power train, nice coverage for a used car.
This car has some extras she really likes- a CD/Cassette stereo (she has lots of cassettes as well as Cds), and Automatic Climate Control AC/heater, where you choose your desired interior temp & it does the rest. Her ‘90 Taurus had that feature, she really liked the automatic AC & was delighted to discover it on the Crown Victoria.
I was really impressed with how the car was serviced out- the dipstick says the salesman was right about a just-done oil change, the air filter is brand new, all fluids are at correct level, engine bay looks new. And even all 4 Michelin tires were inflated to *exactly* the correct pressure- heck, the best tire shops never get that right, in my experience. Tires are 225/60/16, on factory 9-spoke alloy wheels. Mom doesn’t even miss her whitewalls!
It drives & rides beautifully, far superior to the old Mercury’s best days ever- even when it had the Pirelli 400s on it. And the old Merc’s best days were some time ago. Seats are leather & power of course, and very comfortable.
I’ve driven it a little over 100 miles so far, and really like this car. Maybe I’m just getting old, but comfort, accurate steering, good ride, and a healthy engine that doesn’t even seem to notice the air-conditioner all seem like *very* good things to me. In fact, if I were in the market for a car, I’d look long & hard at a Ford Certified Crown Vic. I mean- 1 yr old, 10K mi, solid, comfortable, strong, nice, & sold for just under half of new sticker price. YMMV, but I really like this car. OK, now for pix.
Here’s Cookie the Spoiled Rotten Wonder Dog in the Mercury. Yup, it still cleaned up nicely (was actually pretty dirty there!), but had a new list of problem$ building up. You can see the “new” Ford right behind it.
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And here’s the Ford in deep shade at a little park in Hughes Springs, TX. (no relation! Cookie *loves* that park. )
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It’s her first choice of color, a nice deep maroon or burgundy that she calls “wine colored”, has a little metal flake that disappears in the shade but shows nicely in sunlight. The only other Ford-certified listing, in this color, within a long way was a Grand Marquis that was twice as old, with triple the mileage, for ~$1000 more. BTW, Ford-Certified means it gets the remainder of the factory 3yr/36,000 mi bumper-bumper warranty, plus 6yr/100,000 mi power train, nice coverage for a used car.
This car has some extras she really likes- a CD/Cassette stereo (she has lots of cassettes as well as Cds), and Automatic Climate Control AC/heater, where you choose your desired interior temp & it does the rest. Her ‘90 Taurus had that feature, she really liked the automatic AC & was delighted to discover it on the Crown Victoria.
I was really impressed with how the car was serviced out- the dipstick says the salesman was right about a just-done oil change, the air filter is brand new, all fluids are at correct level, engine bay looks new. And even all 4 Michelin tires were inflated to *exactly* the correct pressure- heck, the best tire shops never get that right, in my experience. Tires are 225/60/16, on factory 9-spoke alloy wheels. Mom doesn’t even miss her whitewalls!
It drives & rides beautifully, far superior to the old Mercury’s best days ever- even when it had the Pirelli 400s on it. And the old Merc’s best days were some time ago. Seats are leather & power of course, and very comfortable.
I’ve driven it a little over 100 miles so far, and really like this car. Maybe I’m just getting old, but comfort, accurate steering, good ride, and a healthy engine that doesn’t even seem to notice the air-conditioner all seem like *very* good things to me. In fact, if I were in the market for a car, I’d look long & hard at a Ford Certified Crown Vic. I mean- 1 yr old, 10K mi, solid, comfortable, strong, nice, & sold for just under half of new sticker price. YMMV, but I really like this car. OK, now for pix.
Here’s Cookie the Spoiled Rotten Wonder Dog in the Mercury. Yup, it still cleaned up nicely (was actually pretty dirty there!), but had a new list of problem$ building up. You can see the “new” Ford right behind it.
And here’s the Ford in deep shade at a little park in Hughes Springs, TX. (no relation! Cookie *loves* that park. )
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