Sometimes, good enough is more than a person needs. Why bother moving up to a Mercury or Lincoln if all you need is the nicest car offered by Ford? This 1989 Ford LTD Crown Victoria can be found posted here on craigslist in Wickliffe, Ohio, and the seller is asking what seems like a very reasonable $4,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Pat L. for sending in this tip!
FoMoCo offered several levels of full-sized luxury-oriented cars in this era, but for a lot of owners, a luxury Ford was more than good enough. There was no need for a Mercury or, gasp, a Lincoln. There are, after all, a lot of practical people out there and they buy cars, too. Not everyone wants the best of the best, the most luxury for luxury’s sake when a top-notch Ford will do. The seller has provided a lot of nice photos, well done! They even included several underside photos. They say that this car has never experienced a grain of road salt and it sure looks rock-solid.
This car looks fantastic to me if a bit plain vanilla. That isn’t a bad thing at all, vanilla is the most popular ice cream flavor and understated luxury is a real thing. Not every luxury vehicle has to have 22s and pitch-black tinted windows. I would for sure get some nice white wall tires for it, blackwall tires don’t give it the understated elegance that it would otherwise have. The trunk is huge as expected and it looks pretty clean inside. I’d still drag out the carpet cleaning machine to hit the trunk carpet and interior upholstery and carpets.
Understated indeed, no power seats, power windows, or power locks on the top luxury model for Ford! I’m surprised that there aren’t at least power windows and it was available, just not standard on the base Crown Vic, which this is. Everything inside looks great to me, other than the cracking on the top of the dash by the perforated speaker holes. Those are usually an issue after a few decades with the sun beating on top of the dash. This car has just under 79,000 miles, works like a charm, has had only two owners (both brothers), and has never seen a winter. I’ll take a crack in the dash every time.
The engine is Ford’s 5.0-liter (302-cu.in.) OHV V8, which had 150 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque. It sends power to the rear wheels via a four-speed automatic transmission. The seller says that it works great and his late father was the second owner, having inherited the car from the original owner, his dad’s brother in California. So, a two-owner, rust-free car in outstanding condition for $4,500? Yes, please. Any thoughts on this Crown Vic?
Great buy in todays market that would feel plenty powerful w that torquey 302, and easily get 24mpg highway. More personality and character than todays jellybeans. Yet still understated indeed. Blackwalls are perfect for it. Would love to own this.
Total bargain. That 5.0 makes plenty of torque to move it around effortlessly. Itll still get near 25mpg highway. In a world where used trucks and vans with 200k miles are bringing $15K on marketplace, this strikes me as the deal of the century. Bulletproof too. And before OBD2
Had a 91 that i bought in 2001 for a grand, had 165000 km’s. Base model had a/c, power windows and mirrors but manual locks and seats. Aside from regular maintenance the only thing i ever did was add the factory dual exhaust. I traded for a 95 Grand Marquis in 2006 when i reached about 260000 km’s and discovered that the frame was cracking around the control.arms. to this day i still miss that car
I agree Scotty, a solid car at a reasonable price. Indeed it is “vanilla”, I’d go for the whitewalls to give it a bit of character. Via their common use in fleets they developed a well-deserved reputation for durability, so plenty of miles left in this one.
I agree. Blackwalls just dont seem right. This looks like it is in amazing condition and the 302 will run forever. Hope it goes to a good home.
Looks like a great cruiser and thankfully it hasn’t been attacked by the Ohio salt.
Almost looks a fleet type vehicle, but a vinyl roof ? Or cop car 🚔 / govt agent ghost car with the blackwalls and full wheel covers.
The rear pic looking out over the roof makes it clear there’s no vinyl top. Ford must’ve included all the chrome moldings anyway.
Where is this car located?
Wickliffe, Ohio right now but, according to the post, it started out as a California car.
I forgot to mention that Wickliffe is a Cleveland suburb so it’s basically in Northeast Ohio.
Thanks. I live in VA. Where do I ask general questions on this site, like this.
Met a guy who has a ’64 Corvair. He said the ethanol in gas is eatting up his rubber hoses inside. Is gas something to consider when buying a car from the 70s?
Bargain of the week for sure. Bullet-proof drivetrain, excellent rust-free condition and plenty of parts available for it. Love to have this for a 3-season daily driver.
These LTD/CrownVics are good, solid cars. Their only downfall are the Transmission kickdown cable clips which can fail and you can burnout the overdrive real quick. These cars aren’t flashy, but are comfortable and cheap to maintain.
This is the last year of the Non airbag crown vics, as they redesigned the dash and put airbags in them.
Happened on my 91, i managed to tie the cable back with tie raps and toasted fingers and limped home gently. Call up Ford to be told sorry discontinued but please come and see our new 2004’s. Scrouged two recycling yards and managed to get 5 of them for 10. bucks so always had spares
The cadillac Hood ornament is kind of strange.
Good eye, Don! I saw that and forgot to mention it, nice catch!
You’re all going to hate this.
If it was cheaper, I’d buy it for a winter car.
RWD
No bombs in the dash or steering wheel.
Sealed bum headlamps give me lots of options.
I’m pondering a Volvo Amazon for this next winter.
And maybe no ABS or it can be turned off.
+4 good snow tires.
My Stepfather paid around $4500 for an 88 just like this with power windows and locks, This was back in 1994. Nice riding car and it had about 13x,xxx miles on it. After a few months he left work one day and walked up to the car to find the windows blacked out. He opened the door and the steering wheel was melted to the seat. The drivers half of the dash caught fire while it was parked! The odometer also melted and the insurance adjuster wrote the car up with only 3x,xxx mikes and the paid a claim over $7k to total it. He replaced it with an 89 Grand Marquis that felt substantially nicer, close to a Lincoln. It wasn’t too long after this that Ford’s big ignition switch recall was announced. We figure that was the culprit.
Lovely looking car. I love the front end of this year.
Nice car at a decent price. I think it’s perfect just the way it is. This car should go to some one that’s going to enjoy it and take care of it. I don’t want to hurt any feelings but please don’t buy it for a beater. The only thing questionable is in the engine picture the brake fluid looks dirty. I think if I was going to buy it I would want to see any maintenance records the owner has. If purchased as soon as I got it home I would change all the fluids just my opinion. Do love it GLWTS
Oh yeah loose the Cadillac good ornament anything gm on a Ford is just plain wrong.
My dad had a 1989 Crown Victoria that he bought from a county auction. It was an ex-fire cheifs car and more highly optioned than this one. He paid $600 for it as a non-runner. After a new battery and a few tests in my little shop, I figured out that the alternator was bad so, dad ended up with a very nice car that lasted him another 100K+ miles for under $1000. The only repair, other than normal maintenance, were new ball joints and tie rod ends (which I consider “normal” over time too). If he hadn’t passed away in 2008, he’d probably still be driving it today. There’s a good reason that these were the preferred vehicles for many municipalities and law enforcement agencies for so many years.
Supercharge it and leave it alone. Sleeper!
The seller has deleted the ad, which one of you grabbed this beauty?