Re the Ford “Interceptor” which is the police version of the Crown Victoria, I saw a really cool looking black one in front of me at the dry cleaners the other day. Assuming I can get the engine and suspension package in a civilian legal version, how much would it cost me?
The word “Interceptor” would still be on the civilian version, right?
Do you want it to have lights, decals and a siren? Will your back seat have a cage? Or do you just want a suped up Crown Victoria?
Here’s a pretty one. Pretty cheap too!!
http://www.used-police-cars.com/03-black-police-interceptor.html
Well, what you do is buy the cheapest car you can find and speed along the highways until you get pulled over. Then knock the cop out and trade up.
If that doesn’t float your boat, your best bet is buy a retired police car at a city auction. The police-specific equipment (lights, siren, back doors that can’t open from the inside) will be gone but the engine and suspension should be intact, if heavily used.
I just want a shiny, black souped up Crown Vic with the word “Interceptor” on the back. It’s got to have the big tires and police suspension so it sits squat on the road likea a big ol’ hog. No cage of police specific tool like a shotgun holster necessary.
Wow, there’s actually a website for used police cars? Heck, if I had 14 grand and a burning need for pure muscle, I’d go for that baby myself.
Then you want one of those used deals I linked to. Make sure it was a detectives car so that the back seat will be more “normal”. And shouldn’t have a cage or hard plastic back seat. I don’t believe they pop off the words “Police Interceptor” off the back when they sell used ones to the public. You could call the number from my site above and ask them.
I’m pretty sure that Ford would not sell one directly to you though. Not like it’s illegal or anything. But I bet it’s some kind of company policy that CVPIs only get sold to law enforcement.
In fact, I saw a pretty rich security company driving around in some of these. But the back did not say Police Interceptor so I’m guessing they had to settle with the “cabbie” package.
There’s a Doper who used to have one, and IIRC, according to him, you don’t want one. Seems that every time anything breaks it’s a royal PITA to get the parts which are twice as expensive as normal ones.
I’ve got a friend who’s had several. If you buy them after they’ve been used by a PD, they’re generally very cheap; he got a state police vehicle in perfect condition (an 02, if I recall) for $2500 or so. “Police Interceptor” is the name of the trim, so its not something the police either put on or take off. One good thing about the cars is that since they’re used as fleet vehicles (well, Crown Vics in general are) that there tend to be lots of cheap parts around. Someone else will have to tell you about reliability and all that, I haven’t dealt with one enough to have a good picture of that.
Just saw the previous post re: parts cost; if the parts were specific to the “interceptor” trim (and there isn’t all that much difference; it has a few beefed up components, which I of course can’t remember now) that might be the case. I’m speaking from the northeast here, in a NYC suburb, where crown vics are a dime a dozen, so YMMV.
And you’ll get the extra addes joy of not having anyone ever pass you on the highway. Not that they couldn’t, they just won’t - they’ll think you’re a police officer. It used to happen to me all the time when I drove a police car that had been handed down to me as Planning Director. I’m tooling along the highway and someone would come screaming up behind me only to hit the brakes and fall in behind.
$4,800, if this is indeed an ex-CHP interceptor.
From this site:
I remember reading an article in a car magazine just after they started using these that listed what you’d have to do to upgrade a street-legal Mustang to CHP specs. Back in the 80’s, the price was in the mid-teens, which they admitted was one heck of a price for a sports car that actually had some mojo to it…
Car&Driver magazine recently did a comparison test of a Ford Crown Vic police interceptor, a Pontiac Bonneville V8, and a Chrysler 300 hemi. I read it at the tire dealer, while waiting for my new tires.
The Crown Vic’s price, all copped out, was $30,890.
Hmmm… well that review was dissapointing. If the Iinterceptor is that (relatively) sluggish and sloppy handling, it makes you wonder how the cops keep up with the bad guys.
When I was a young teenager I received friendly police transport from Meeker to Grand Junction, Colorado. I got to sit in the front seat (right next to his shotgun and laptop). Well, these are long windy country roads that no one else really rides on. He drove 90-100 the entire way, going up to 120 briefly and you just kind of feel like your floating in some fairy-tale. Seriously, you can’t feel a thing and the ride is very smooth.
Radio.
A Bonnie with a V8 option? OOOHH! 
Anyways…
Many of the taxicabs that pull into our Porte Cochere are obviously used cop cars, since they still have part of the door panel plastic trim cut half-way away to make room for the Law Enforcement Agency’s logo.
The police Crown Vic behaves in exactly the same way when you floor the gas as any other dual exhaust Crown Vic. It makes the same horsepower, has the same torque rating, and the same transmission.
It behaves slightly differently at non-wide-open-throttle positions due to the primary computer module being programmed more aggressively.
I suspect the civiilian version is speed limited to 106 MPH, while the police package is governed to no more than 130 MPH… which I suspect it would have trouble breaking anyway.
Also, rear end ratio is more aggressive in some versions of the police Crown Vic. You get your choice of 3.27 or 3.55 on the police package.
The biggest difference you’ll notice in the real world is the suspension. The suspension setup on many cruisers is really different than the civilian version. It’s more oriented at maintaining vehicle control, even on uneven surfaces and when being driven in what would be foolhardy fashion were it not for the end users’ needs.
The cooling setup is also likely to be more aggressive than on normal vehicles. Not something you’ll likely need, but it may help prevent breakdowns if you live in Texas.
If you’re interested in this topic, the annual police vehicle reviews conducted by the Michigan State Police may amuse you.
http://www.nlectc.org/testing/vehicles.html
Compare their performance numbers to the performance numbers you get from the civilian versions… usually pretty darned similar.
I see someone else beat me to the Car & Driver cite, but I’ll add that you definitely don’t want a Crown Vic, police-spec or otherwise. The ride might be “very smooth,” but so is a river barge, which is a pretty fair approximation of what you’d be buying. Police cars are designed to be roomy, reasonably comfortable for long periods, rugged and have a bit of grunt to go forward quickly on occasion. Ford doesn’t list a current price for the Crown Victoria Interceptor model, but the base Crown Vic LX Sport is $31,000 USD, so it is reasonable to assume that the price will be north of that. For the same (or less) money, you could get an Acura TL or Nissan Maxima with more horsepower, better fuel economy, dramatically better handling and better build quality.
Unless you just wanna play cop, in which case, knock yourself out.
Didn’t the California Highway Patrol use Mustang interceptors a while back? Those might be nice.
