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Friend has a 98 ford crown victoria ,50thousand miles,clean ,white in color.Not a police car.What kind of gas milage can I expect? What would a good price be ,if I were intrested in bying it?Anybody have any experience with cars?I have several Fords and had good service with them.I now have a ford explorer with ome hundred trirty five thousand miles ,still running good.What do you think,should I leave it alone?

Around 15 average town/highway.
If you need room for passangers more than 1/2 the time, it might pay if cheap. otherwise, it will be a place to throw money through the little screw on cap in the fender.
Great car, wrong era. Cars with the same interior (not trunk) space can get twice the mileage. JimN

25 highway is more what the Ia St Troopers used to tell me when I worked on Fords. The 4.6 is almost indestructable. Just like the 3.0 pushrod engine. About got to do it on purpose to kill one of those. They will hammer and bang after an oil change untill oil pressure builds, then quiet and smooth as can be. The only difference between a cop car and regular is heavy duty cooling with an oil cooler and PCM programming.

City driving in a Crown Vic will get lousy mileage - 15 is probably about as good as it gets. Highway mileage depends on the rear gearing. I had a similar car with 2.73 gears and got 26-28 MPG highway no matter how fast I drove it, if I back it down to 55 it would almost get 30 MPG. There are three sets of gear for the rear - if you have 3.55 gearing then it drops off quite a bit at higher speeds - cruising 75 may be as low 21-22MPG.

On the 1998s you have to be aware of the intake manifold problems. The original manifold on a 1998 is all plastic and IT WILL BREAK - its just a matter of time and it costs about $600-$800 to replace. If it hasn't been replaced you just as will build it into the purchase price. The replacement units are plastic and metal will last a life time. Other than sensors and the intake manifold the 4.6 in those cars runs forever. The transmission is pretty solid too as long as you keep the fluid changed at recommended invervals (40k if I remember correctly).

With only 50K on it $4000-$4800 would be a good price as long as its paint and interior are good. If those are "rough" it could easily be half that price (or less). Those cars take a huge hit on depreciation the first year (lose about 1/3 their value) but tend to hold it pretty well if the car is kept in good condition and miles don't get too high.

In terms of reliability the Crown Vic/Gran Marquis/Town Car are one of the best on the road. There's a reason taxi companies buy the old police cruisers and run them up to 250K- 350K miles.

Dear Ken,
I taught auto-mechanics for 23 years and have been pretty much a General Motors customer. However, my 2001 Crown Victoria is the best car I have ever owned. It gets 25-27 mpg on the highway which is as good as some of the little cars do. It is smooth, quiet, and comfortable.

I have a '95 Lincoln Continental- same engine, I think- 18 mpg around town (and 5 mile commute), 26-28 on the freeway. Great car- I'm keepin' her until last rites are administered.

I had two Thunderbirds, a 95 and a 96 with the same engine and transmission as that Crown Vic and averaged up to 30 mpg on the highway with them, usual highway average was 27-28... In town the mpg would drop to the upper teens, usually around 18 or so.

Good engine, take care of that 4r70w transmission - use Mercon V in it and change it every 25k or less.

For more info on the drivetrain you can check out tccoa.com (v-8 T-birds are basically the same) and there are a few pretty good forums out there specific to the Crown Vic.

The white ones always got the worst mileage ; ) Sorry, can't help ya, but I had to be a smarty-pants. Good luck!

28 to 30 mpg with a crown vic or continental?? If that's true, I get over 45 with a Honda.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/

(quoted from post at 15:01:56 08/18/08) 28 to 30 mpg with a crown vic or continental?? If that's true, I get over 45 with a Honda.

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I got 54 mpg twice with my del Sol, consistently got 43 mpg in town, on the highway, everywhere. And that is an average over 20,000 miles keeping track of EVERY tank of fuel vs. every mile traveled.



It's really quite easy to get 45 mpg with a Honda Civic - you need the 5-speed and the 1.5 liter D15B7 engine. And that is without the hybrid technology, the hybrids will do 45 or better without even trying.

94 Lincoln gets 28 mpg hwy.

I have to disagree with you. Back in the early '60s, Shell Oil ran an ad on TV that showed a light colored Chevy Impala and a dark colored one. The light colored one always ran farther on a gallon of gas. I must have seen that commercial a hundred times, and the white one always won.

I bought a 1964 Chevy Impala two-door hardtop in a maroon color. A buddy bought a white one just because it would get better mileage...we never did prove the theory one way or another.

Stan

I have a 97 Lincoln towncar which I believe is on the same frame as the Crown Victoria with the same engine and transmission. I constantly get 22 MPG in town and 28-30 on the hiway. The only thing that screws up the mileage is my lead footed wife who starts and stops fast. She also will sit with the engine running and talk to her friends for 15 mins or more. The car goes into free wheeling when coasting on the highway. Love it. Will keep it as long as I drive. Henry

(quoted from post at 15:01:56 08/18/08) 28 to 30 mpg with a crown vic or continental?? If that's true, I get over 45 with a Honda.

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I had a '90 Crown Vic with a 302 and had high mileage, 280,000 km or around 175,000 mi. and I'd get 10 kms/litre which'd be about 23 or so miles per American gallon or about 28 miles per imperial gallon. That'd be mainly rural miles. As a dyed in the wool GM guy I was impressed with the economy and the ride.

Hello Henry E NC.
Are you sure you have a lincoln town car?
I had a town car and could not find lincoln any where on the car or my registration. The dash emblem said continental. Maybe they changed the name since i had mine.Just kidding with you.
By the way mine was a 91 towncar and it was the biggest piece of @rap I have ever owned.
You are right about the mileage, the only good thing about the piece of junk, BOUGHT IT NEW!
Guido.