1988 Crown Vic

Hey all,

I posted a couple of weeks ago about needing a car for work. Well, a co-worker of mine told me her brother was selling a car and asked if I would be interested. Since I was about ready to purchase a donkey for transportation I said yeah. So the hubs and I went to look at the car.

Her brother had an '88 Ford Crown Victoria for sale for $1200.00. He said it was in good shape, 151,000 miles, transmission replaced 5 yrs ago right around 100,000 miles, engine good, minor oil leak, obvious cosmetic problems, a little rust hear and there, dent in the side, no locks on the drive side door, heat works, AC he said he wasn't sure about because he didn't use it. We drove it, ride was smooth but as I said before we don't know a lot about cars which is why we got burned bad on the Bonneville.

Anyway my question is what should I be looking out for with the Crown Vic? What sort of concerns are there especially in a car older than my kids. Right now I must say the ride is really smooth. If I had the cash I'd restore it because it is in great condition for it's age. I need to give the car a name... Umm... something will come to me. Vicky is way to obvious plus the car needs a really cool old school name.

Okay, like any suggestions as to what I should be looking out for. What can I do to keep it running as long as possible...

Also, any suggestions on what to do with the Bonneville. Could it be worth more sold for parts? Anyone interested? We need to get rid of it and recoup some of the money from buying The Vic. We put a couple thousand into the Bonneville but like I said it needs a transmission and we couldn't afford what mechanics were telling us it would cost. With the trans it should be a pretty reliable car.

Hey Thanks, ART

Iv'e owned an 88 Crown Vic and sold it at 160,000 miles and never had any major problems but if it were me I would have brought an experienced mechanic to check it first before getting it. Good luck and I hope you get many troublefree miles.