One of my bucket list cars to own has always been some sort of ex-government vehicle with a police package, a desire that dates back to at least 40 years ago when our hometown law enforcement precinct used to auction their retired cruisers, which sometimes went for as little as a thousand dollars or less. But lots of those cars were used hard and truly at their end-of-life stage, although this 2009 Ford Crown Victoria here on eBay seems to be just the opposite. The Vic is located in Corning, New York, with understandably lots of interest already which has driven the price up to $11,600 so far, still not enough for a sale as the reserve hasn’t yet been reached.
The seller says this one served in the SAP (Special Access Program) unit, an FBI division dealing with highly classified to top secret information, so it’s unknown who or what’s been riding around inside here. But the occupants seemed to treat the fabric with care, as even after 15 years and 73k miles of use the interior is still in very nice shape, and it’s pretty cool how Ford provided additional lighting for their police sedans.
The black paint outside is said to still be the original finish, which is also looking nicely preserved especially on a vehicle you wouldn’t necessarily think would receive exceptional care. The seller does point out that the exterior will show some minor scratches and imperfections but also assures us it’s been detailed, and I’m not spotting any blemishes serious enough that make me want to do anything but continue to preserve the Crown Vic just like it is.
Under the hood, the 4.6 liter V8 is very clean looking in the bay and it’s gotten a fresh oil change plus new pulleys for the front components, with the engine idle meter showing fewer than 200 hours spent just sitting. The seller also mentions that no leaks are coming from the engine or transmission, no strange noises are present, and that this car needs nothing.
Another option this one is equipped with that’s stated as quite rare is the engine block immersion heater, a $35 accessory back in 2009 that when plugged in during cold weather keeps the oil at an optimum temperature. Brand new, this Police Interceptor would have cost under $30,000, and I’m curious 15 years later where the price will end up when the gavel drops. Any ideas?
“Special Access Program”,( whistles) sounds like a violation of some rights, I can see it now, “what’s going on here?” “Special Access Program”,,,this, is the ubiquitous police car. Every dept. had them. From state patrol to security, and eventually, became taxicabs. Luckily, I never dealt with “Special Access”, so never saw a cruiser this nice. I think no criminal ever sat in these seats, that’s what a black and white was for. No sir, this car made many trips to Winchells Donuts and sat outside a courthouse, but saw very little actual police duty. Police cars are without question, the best that came off the line. They had to be, and where you can take advantage of that here. Just don’t try and be a LEO “wannabe”, as nobody uses these anymore and the crooks know that.
SAP actually means Street Appearance Package. They simply put all the chrome back on the grill and door handles compared to a standard P71 Interceptor. Note the chrome on the back under the tail lights, that panel is black on non-SAP cars. I have a 2008 model I got from DHS.
The LA County Sheriff’s Dept. bought 600 of them in 2011 as they heard they were ending production. Well over 400 of them are in service. I’m sure there are other agencies.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/articles/hundreds-of-ford-crown-victoria-police-cars-still-in-service-13-years-later/
San Francisco is still using them as well. They are really beat up, and when you see them it feels like there is a prank ( or movie) happening as it is hard to imagine any serious policing could be done is such dilapidated cars.
Cool car. No, let’s say… really cool car.
Reminds me of a story:
A friend was a sheriff’s department dispatcher for a rural county in East Texas. He happened to be working on February 1, 2003, when space shuttle Columbia disintegrated and began raining parts onto his county. He told some crazy stories about how he dealt with the barrage of calls, handling issues he never envisioned would fall into his lap.
One story was that it didn’t take long for “those in higher authority” to enter the situation. And that “tall, rugged, handsome guys in black suits” from Houston soon appeared at his office and politely but firmly told him they were taking over, and to give them all the info on all the calls he had fielded. “Those FBI guys driving the black Crown Vics.”
Based on this story this car’s pedigree is probably legit.
Would like to have one of these,or a Grand Marquis,
but the prices only seem to be rising for a decent example.
how long b4 it blows the sparkplugs out of the heads ?
A while. This issue was addressed by 2009 IIRC
That wasn’t a problem with the 4.6 unless someone didn’t install the spark plugs correctly when changing or removing.
Correct That problem was with the 5.4 liters i believe from around 2003 to 2007 or so.
My 2000 Crown had well over 100,000 miles on it when we traded it in, and the sparkplugs were still present. Thanks
That’s was an issue with the 5.4 Triton 3 valve engines.
Cannot beat the heavy duty … everything.
My 1st car was a 1967 Ford police interceptor, white with 428 and dog dish hu caps that I bought for $300. in 1977.
Still have the registration, and best car I ever owned. Took me from Louisville to college in Eastern KY.
Open filter element, rubber floor lined, autolite 4 barrel, factory aluminum intake…and spotlight. Passing gear was impressive and with 2.8:1 rear it loafed on hwy.
I did get a Marti Report with VIN off the registration recently. #7U50P168200.
Dad was an engineer on the LTD line and used to take these around the Dearborn Ford track and said they could do 140 mph until there no more gas.
Maybe this police cruiser can be a great memory for someone.
I remember my ’75 Ford Police Interceptor-two speedometers and a remote refueling device to get motorists who ran out of gas, going again. Surprising, since that 460 used its share of gas too.
These ford panther platform cars are tough! Never had any intake manifold issues. Transmission or plug problems. Own an 07 P71 daily driver. and an o5 Mercury G.M..
I had an 09 around 120,000 on odometer, hr’s I can’t remember…great car ..till it blew #5 plug…luckily it was just a couple blocks from my home
I have had 3 crown vic cop cars, a 90,96 and currently have an 08. The 08 is my least favorite of the 3, ride is very stiff and it only gets about 18 mpg and that is driving it easy. The 96 would get 20 mpg running 90 plus on the back roads. I didn’t have the intestinal fortitude to hold the throttle down from a standing start and hold it for 30 seconds, I could only hold it for 20 or so, its a miracle that I survived that one, it was my favorite one, the 90 was a good one but I was surprised to find that it was carberated, ford didn’t have a FI unit to clear the hood of the 5.8
This appears to be the latest offering from the guy that has a lot of these cars – all in very good condition. I think some have been written up here already on BF and there’s at least one YT video out there where he goes through his collection with a guy. Needless to say, he has A LOT of them and they all appear to be in fantastic condition. The prices really aren’t too bad either. Someday we’ll be kicking ourselves for not getting a nice one when we still could.
My late nephew had one of these, a
2000 model I think. It was a well used Polk County (Florida) sheriff’s
car but he was very proud of it and
began to fix it up as his finances allowed. A few times, I’d go with him
and my ex BIL to Old Town in Kissimmee for the Friday and Saturday night cruises there. Dunno
how he did it, but he talked his Mom
into riding in the backseat of that car
two New years eves ago on a cruise
with him. Sadly, that would be the last cruise that he and his car would
make together as he would pass away suddenly from a massive heart
attack in 2022, three weeks after the
cruise. He’d put in his light bars, turn
them on, and play the Cops theme
song while he cruised. That Crown
Vic brought him a lot of pleasure and
good times before he left us. RIP
Andrew, we all miss you.
Very likely the nicest P71 available anywhere.
I too had the bug to buy a police interceptor, a 2006 Crown Vic. It’s a great car!! Tons of power and heavy duty. I use it for everything including farm duty. The only thing I can fault it for was the way the paint literally would fly off of the hood and over the windshield at highway speeds. I repainted it with flames and now I call it my prowler like they did on the movie Fargo!
Agents Mulder and Scullys car?
The only thing that separates these from the much pricier Mercury Marauder is the bench seat and column shift. The Marauder got bucket seats, with a console, auxiliary gages and a floor shifter. Mechanically, they were otherwise identical. Allegedly, Ford also sold a Crown Victoria Sport, with the same interior as the Marauder, but I’ve never seen one, either in pictures or in person. Given this car’s civilian demographic, somewhere between retired and deceased, I’m not surprised, but I’d love to see pictures of a Crown Vic Sport, just to see if they actually built one!
I have a 03 CV LS Sport and there is a difference in the engine in that the Marauder got the twin cam Mustang Cobra engine but I think everything else, including the protruding exhaust tips are the same as the Merc, at least on my car.
Karl
Got any pictures of your car? I’ve never seen one!
@Robert Atkinson I do have pictures but can’t post them on this site.
Not the case, sorry…and Crown Vic LX Sports did not have the same exhaust tips. They had standard Crown Victoria tailpipes.
Marauder had a different engine
Mechanically, there were a TON of differences. A Marauder had a 302-horsepower, 32-valve 4.6 in it that was more powerful and faster than the 224 (early) to 250-horsepower (later Police Interceptors) 16-valve standard 4.6 that ALL of the the other Crown Vics and Grand Marquis’ came equipped with.
These are great cars as are the trucks and vans. I have a 2009 that still wears all of its markings and equipment right down to the Spike strip mounted under the trunk. It was a prop and is ofcourse not driven. It would draw a bit of attention being marked for a place 800 miles from where it was. I have thought about a Lincoln in these years as they are just as nice. My 5.4 E250 currently is at 553,000 and runs superb with no issues. Even the dual ac works great. I like cars and you can’t beat a Ford in this era. I my Crown Victoria has 190,000 on and is quiet as a mouse. These are disappearing quick as the metal muncher has a voracious appetite for them now. Get one and care for it and you will grow old with it.
If this seller has documentation to back up his claims regarding the FBI, I would be bidding on this right now. These really are tough as nails, and that’s why they were in demand for such a long time. Just needs a Marti Report to go with that window sticker and the documentation I was mentioning.
It was an FBI car, just look at the title history…I bought and sold thousands of these. I know. Let’s be real though, we all know that you will not be bidding on it, regardless of the fact that it was an FBI car.
Oh, by the way, the photo of the title that clearly shows the FBI as the previous owner is in the listing on eBay, along with all of the other documentation that you have requested…so you should start bidding!!! LOL!!!
(we won’t hold our breath)
Ok, we get it. No need to pile on. This is a friendly site and you’re obviously new here.
you’re right my friend…i won’t bid on it just because my wife told me not to! LOL
Read the ebay ad… hyperlink in the writeup, start bidding!
someone better get this before Cletus sees it!
I personally drove a CV sport as a taxi cab and also owned a 2007 P71 police package . The bucket seats were uncomfortable, the split bench with arm rest were nicer to drive . The floor shifter in the sport , I could never get use to liked the column shifter better .
So you wouldn’t like a Mercury Marauder, either, I guess?
Didn’t Ford make a GT version of this similar to the merc marauder?
That’s the Crown Victoria Sport we have been discussing in previous posts. Similar, but not identical to the Marauder, it had bucket seats and a console with a floor shifter like the Marauder, but with a less powerful engine. Unlike the Marauder, the CV Sport wasn’t well publicized. It was a trim level on the base CV, but from what I have been able to find out, not many were ordered with that particular option, and it is quite rare.
What I have read, about 10% of the total number of CV output were Sports.
To the BF writer that did this story…you are really making yourself look bad. What a made-up story. Seriously? You said:
“The seller says this one served in the SAP (Special Access Program) unit, an FBI division dealing with highly classified to top secret information, so it’s unknown who or what’s been riding around inside here.”
The seller said NOTHING like this, whatsoever in his listing. The car is a “Street Appearance Package”…it’s an OPTION on a Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. Wow, you have taken BS to an entirely new level.
Maybe you should write for Barnfinds and share all your expertise with us?
I have a ton of expertise when it comes to these cars…entirely too much, to be honest with you. I could write for Barn Finds and, probably fare pretty well with it. At the very least, I would not make fake stories up about things that I had no knowledge of.
Obviously not making many new friends here. Maybe a less confrontational approach would be better? Barnfinds is really not that “kind” of site…
Well, I prefer to refer to it as “realistic” but, please, accept my apology if I have hurt your feelings.
Whoa Michael tone it down I am sure it was a honest mistake by the writer no need to get panties in a wad
You are obviously and expert on these while these writers write about hundreds of different makes and models sometimes research goes awry
In any case it’s a beautiful car my old room mate was an FBI agent and drove one like this for a while. Drove an 83 or 84 firebird for a time when working under cover in NYC
RMac, welcome to Barnfinds.
Sorry to come off as confrontational…but that was purely fabricated and was nowhere in the seller’s listing. As a “journalist”, the writer should not take creative license to embellish the story. Especially when it could affect someone’s decision to buy a vehicle.
Although the sticker price on this was $29,610, the actually purchase price by the government was closer to $19,000 to $20,000.I spent almost 40 years in the automobile business, at least 30 of those handling the city, county, and state bids. All the domestic manufactures offered “bid assistance”……think of it as a huge rebate to government agencies .A dealer would calculate his net cost, add a profit(usually pretty small because of the competitiveness) and then deduct the large bid assistance. However, the federal government is the only entity that the manufacturers sell direct through their fleet sales department. Vehicles are then shipped to a dealer in the area designated and are paid a token sum to prep, clean, and get ready for the agency to pick up.
A young friend L-O-V-E-S Police Interceptor Crown Vics, and has owned a number of them over the past decade. So anytime one pops up, I share with him the listing. This time I did a deeper drive y’all may find interesting to read as well. Lots of details I never knew, but have investigated for the aftermarket. https://xr793.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/2009-Ford-Police-Interceptor.pdf