There are some cars wherein you question the low-mileage claims and others where there is no doubt. This 1990 Ford Crown Victoria LX LTD is a case of the latter, as there’s no denying it is in the sort of condition that can only be associated with a vehicle that has a tick over 10,000 original miles. This is a total grandma-special, a car that was bought when an elderly driver still had a few good years of road-going missions ahead of them before time caught up and the big-body cruiser got parked for extended periods. This Crown Victoria is a well-loved vestige of the Panther platform, and there’s little doubt it’s as nice as the seller describes. Find it here on craigslist with a somewhat heady asking price of $24,500. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Pat L. for the find.
The Panther platform needs little introduction here, as it was a long-lived model family that underpinned some of the most iconic American family sedans ever built. It was almost a slightly sorrowful day when it was finally retired, as many of us considered it like an old friend, having either ridden in a Panther-based car as a child or perhaps beaten the hell out of one as a first car. While many of us make an automatic association with the model for its incredible durability, the Crown Victoria was also a handsome entry into the full-sized sedan market that can still be seen today in EN114 chassis form used by police departments and other first responders around the country.
Now, while the seller’s asking price is ambitious (in my opinion), there’s no doubting that the Crown Victoria is in outstanding condition. The interior is particularly handsome, and I don’t recall seeing too many models like this with a mocha brown leather interior. The dash is in perfect condition with no cracks and the fascia, with its fake-but-attractive woodgrain trim and crystal-clear gauges look as mint as you can get. The carpeting is likewise in excellent shape with no signs of major stains or tears, and the backseat and trunk carpeting are both in similar condition. Truth be told, the backseat looks like it’s never been used.
The engine bay houses an old friend in the form of the 5.0L V8. The detailing under-hood is as you’d expect for a low-mileage car and really does present like new. So, about the asking price: this may very well be one of the best LTD Crown Victorias on the market today, and for the foreseeable future. You quite literally can hop in and drive this car anywhere. That being said, the market for such a vehicle is a bit limited, as casual collectors aren’t going to pony up the cash needed to buy this car and truly seasoned car collectors likely don’t see the need to have this in their collection unless they happen to be a Panther platform enthusiast. So, who would buy it? Would you be a potential buyer for this minty Crown Victoria?
Very nice. A week or so ago we had the zero-mile Grand Marquis, here we have a very low mileage Crown Vic (at essentially the same price). My comment is the same: for someone who really likes these cars, here’s your chance at essentially a new thirty-year-old car, which will serve you well for years.
This one has had recent detailing– the ad mentions paint correction and there is plenty of shine underhood. I guess that is better than not detailing. Plus several maintenance items have been done. I’m guessing it’s at a dealer. I chuckled at a couple notes in the craigslist ad:
— no low-balers (I guess he doesn’t want any farm equipment in trade?)
— if the ad is on, the ‘truck’ is available — cut and paste from another ad?
Good write-up Jeff.
I’ve owned 2 of these, a 79 2 door, pretty much base car with few options, the other was an 84, which Ford left no bells or whistles off of it. For whatever reason, the 79 was pretty much junk, ended up having a cracked block, the 84 was a lot better, excellent road trip car that averaged 24 mpg on the open road. This is a sweet machine, but damn, the price is definitely eye watering! This has to be a dealer, the listing says fairly priced, base on what? Otherwise, very nice!
The more I think about it, I suppose if you were to figure in the mileage, the fact that full size sedans are few and far between, everything else being over bloated SUV’s, at astronomical prices, I guess that maybe the price isn’t that crazy. Though once you start driving it, the value is gonna plummet rapidly.
This car is what I was given to drive as commander of my department’s SWAT Team. Hands down the most comfortable police cruiser I ever drove. I could sit in that padded police bench seat for hours without the least bit of back or butt ache.
Nice, but how do you get that “minty” smell out?
Great platform but price is too high for what it is, but hey bait the hook and see what bites
Definitely a dealer who probably gave the old lady $2,500 for it. Then he sprayed a gallon of tire shine on the engine. This car was obviously detailed. I detail cars and after degreasing engines we spray that garbage every where. Not my choice. The customers love it. Great car in a world of as mentioned way over priced boring SUVs that cost 3 times what this flipper is asking. I would give him $12,000 cash today.
I’ve road in the bake of less fancy crown vices a few to many times.🚔🚓
Ho Lee Chit, $24k for a Crown Vic?
This would clean everyone’s clock at a Radwood show!
A great road car with fairly reasonable gas mileage. I sold my 1990 years ago with 212,000 on the clock with probably another 200,000 to go.
While living in Houston a decade ago my employer would sometimes provide me a ride to the airport in a “black car.” Almost always a Lincoln Town Car. I would make small talk by asking the driver about the car. They typically had 300k-plus miles but looked pretty good (they got good maintenance).
Sorry , i always found these fugly
I ve never been much of a more door lover
So a cheaper used suv would satisfy me
This isn’t a cop car Crown Vic, it’s the LX model. One rung below a Lincoln Town Car.
Again no dual exhaust. Damnit huge missed opportunity to gain 20 hp and other goodies by ticking that value trailer tow pkg. The money these old average vehicles are commanding is shocking.
In 1997 i bought one of these at an auction in Nebraska, an ex patrol car. I was working nights then so i had been up about 24 hours when i first laid eyes on it. Kind of a mistake on my part, i thought the air cleaner looked odd but it didn’t click yet. The car started fine and went into drive and reverse, otherwise it was clean and straight so when it went thru the line i ended up with it for $1700. I drove it home and went to bed. I got up the next day and looked it over good as the brakes were a little soft, thats when i figured out why the air cleaner looked odd the day before, it was carburated. Ford did not have a fuel injection unit that would clear the hood so they put carbs on the 5.8 motors in crown vic cop cars. thats why it had a round air cleaner on it. It was a great car after i got the brakes fixed. Around halloween they had a 16 inches of snow in nebraska, i ended up in a parking lot at work that was unbladed and that car would push snow until it was coming up over the hood, had to back up and get out of the tracks and go again till i got out onto the road, drove that thing 4 years, hit 5 deer with it and finally a tree that killed it, I miss that thing
I had an 89 ex Ohio State Highway Patrol car. 351. Not quick off the line with 2:73 rear end, but topped out about 130. Huge trunk. Great car.
Are those the factory floormats? If so, the color seems off.
Interesting as late as 1990 or 199? you could still get hidden wipers, glass headlites, chromed metal side window frames, chrome bumpers & door mirrors & wheel opening moldings, & a complete color keyed interior! & cornering lights & vinyl roof – all gone today!
I think it is a nice looking car. One small minor detail bothers me though. The Ford emblem is missing from the lower right corner of the airbag. Back in my auto wholesale days this was an indicator that the airbag could have been replaced. For this kind of money you better check this car over carefully. It could be that granny hit something early on and that ended her driving career.
I can tell you right now those “new” tires have way more than 500 miles on them.
Looking at this Crown Vic all that I could think was…Barnaby Jones
Nice Ride, Just Two Doors Too Many
I love it but all the sites I checked it only books out to under $5000 so somebody else can enjoy it I guess, his add said he is open to offers but no low ballers so I guess at $5000 that means me.
Too much wear on the drivers side floor mat and seat for a car with “only” 10K miles. The nylon gears in the odometer on those old Panthers often gave out due to heat, after which the odometer stopped registering even though speedometer continued working. Telltale sign is a trip odometer that never moves from zero after the reset button was pushed–which appears to be the case here. But the bright side is if you are stupid enough to pay anywhere near the ridiculous price this effin flipper thinks he should get for this, you can drive it as much as you want–and it will always have “only” 10K miles on it.
I have a 91 with 16,000 miles . the car is above & beyond mint. I love it ,had many classic cars . Never had one this new, a awesome drive & attention getter. To each his own ,these are coming on the market now because they sold a ton of them. Always the person who owns & has fun with it . Keep your eyes peeled you can probably get one cheaper than the amount this person wants. Good Luck to the seller ,
I’ve been keeping an eye on this car for a with a while. It’s been in at least 2 auctions, with a high bid of $17,000 in the first and a starting bid of $12,000 in the second auction, with no bidders. Additionally, it looks like a Crown Vic that was offered for sale in Georgia for $6990, some time ago. That car was listed with 51,000 plus miles, but none of the listings at the time I saw then included a VIN. Whoever is trying to sell this car Is looking for the moon. It’s a beautiful car, in an uncommon color, but $24,500 is just too much. Also, I ran the VIN listed in the Craigslist ad, and this car “may” have been in a flood due to Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
2000 Grand Marquis for roughly 23,000 Dollars .So I would say this is the best one,Go back several pages to find this ,its Blue & perfectMost of the time when we see full-size cars from FoMoCo like this, we tend to think of them being used pretty heavily. Crown Victorias for police and taxis, Town cars for chauffers and government agencies, etc. The Mercury Grand Marquis isn’t seen as often, but falls in between those two examples in the lineup. It may not be a classic in the normal sense, but it’s certainly unusual – this one is basically a brand-new example, with only 31.4km (19.5) miles on the odometer. This could quite possibly be the lowest-mileage example left, and it’s for sale here online in Napanee, Ontario with an asking price of $29,900 CAD (approximately $23,300 USD).
That’s a nice 110,000 mile car. Back edge of front driver floor mat is wore out. Seat wear for a light person, garage parked.
Quite a while back a buddy’s mom was selling her 90 crown vic. Had I believe 30000 miles on it and she wanted 5k. I thought about it but passed at that time. Now I’m sort of in the market for one of these or the Mercury but it seems like they are getting too pricey.
This one is ok, but the leather is a big turn off to me. These and the Mercs had the absolute softest, most comfortable cloth seats you could buy. I still remember how good these cars smelled when they were new on the showroom floor. At that time I was more into sportier cars thought.
Now at this stage in life I’d love a new grand marquis but there is literally nothing made anymore that even comes close. They simply dont make American luxury cars anymore. How sad.
I do think he is a bit overpriced on this particular car. I’d say 15 to 17 would be fair
Those are not factory floormats.
I imagine grandma or grandpa might have been a bit heavy for the drivers seat to look like that after only 10,000 miles. Does that mean the miles are wrong? Maybe, maybe not. This is a car where you gotta inspect it in person. If there are any service records, that would help.
If original verifiable miles, it is a practically new luxury car for less than $25,000 . Seems like a bargain to me!
@Stevieg
Boys, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. No proof of the mileage on a car, NO believe the miles!
Anyone who maintains such a low-mileage car will keep records to verify those miles.