When I had originally posted, I did not have the chance to take the Crown Victoria out for a test drive, nor did the owner get much of a look at my truck. So I called him back Saturday and we met up Sunday night. Sunday afternoon my wife and I went over (he had said he'd be home all day, but wasn't), so I had a real good chance to look the car over meticulously. No leaks, bit of surface rust on both frame rails, the floor was just like new, only one small spot in the trunk. The paint was in great condition, considering the age. The car is tan in color, so it is hard to notice any fading. There are only two small touch ups on the rear door that I could find.
So I called him again later that night and went back over in the evening. I left the keys in my truck and he gave me the keys to the Crown Vic for a test drive. Started fine, shifted smoothly, I noticed the A/C was working, but not quite as cold as you would expect. This guy lives on the top of a small mountain, so I had a real good chance to test the brakes on the way down. Brakes were good, steering was nice and tight and it tracked straight. The suspension felt smooth, and I had also given it a four corner bounce that afternoon, and the suspension worked well.
The only two things I noticed on the way back to his house were, 1) the CEL was on, and 2) the rear passenger power window was not working, from either switch, front or rear. All other power options and equipment worked great, including the power seat. Other than that, I was very impressed with it. Once he returned from his test drive with my truck, I asked him if he knew why the CEL was on, he said he didn't know, but he has only owned this car a few months and never drove it the whole time. As a side note, when he bought it from the auction, he drove it at least 40 to 50 kms on the highway and never mentioned anything about problems. The other thing that I didn't notice that he told me about, was the fuel line was leaking and spraying onto the frame in the back. He said he was going to fix this himself, whether we traded or not.
Now as far as my truck, which he plans to use as a work truck, he did have a few small concerns. His first and biggest concern was the clutch, he thought it may be gettting worn out because of how the pedal felt, and the whining of the transmission, which I have come to believe is a Mazda transmission trait. I told him that the transmission had been rebuilt 4 years ago and that while it was out, the mechanic working on it told me the clutch was in good condition, and there was no need to replace it. I also told him that the pedal likely felt funny because this is a hydraulic and not a cable clutch. He agreed that I was probably right. Aside from that, since the tranny was rebuilt, I have only put 50,000 kms on the truck, so I don't believe that the clutch is wore as much as he thought. His second concern was he thought that the truck was vibrating a bit. I told him that it does because I think I have only had the summer tires/wheels balanced twice since I put new tires on it 4 years ago. But it is also due for new tires, so this was not a big concern. The front end is tight, the only thing I have replaced is the pitman arm.
So after we both nitpicked each others vehicles, we both agreed that it was still a fair trade and he told me to give him a few days to decide. I said that was fine and now I am just waiting for him to call me and let me know. I've checked a few prices concerning the rear window, doesn't look too expensive to fix, and while I was at it, checked the KBB values of each vehicle. Considering his car is in better shape than my truck body wise, I think they are both evenly valued. Similar mileage as well, plus both vehicles are inspected for at least 9-10 months.
We'll see how it goes. Hopefully I'll have a new vehicle to post about at the end of the week :-) Sharky