Buying an ex Police Car: good idea?
Discussion
bsmithmilne on here has an ex cop car octy vrs, its not been altered performance wise, i know this because mine has and its not as quick as mine, (although skoda is known to of offered a performance upgrade to the ecu to some forces who bought them, the mod was the same one that skoda did to the octy that Autocar tested when the VRS was first released and set a timed 0-60 of 6.9s which is something that it cant do in standard trim)... As for the condition of the car id say its not too shabby, needs odds and sods doing but nothing expensive, (bits of trim replacing etc) seems like a reliable motor to me, its been in a couple of shunts by the look of the panel gaps on the rear bumper and the scuffing on the inside wheelarch where the tyre has touched the inside of the liner but its been repaired to such a high standard unless you crawled all over it with a fine tooth comb you'd never tell. Ive seen much worse condition octys than his for sale at 3k more!...ill point him this way so you can hear from the man himself
Edited by Mark.H on Tuesday 5th August 14:34
Edited by Mark.H on Tuesday 5th August 14:36
As long as people's expectations aren't too high, buying ex-plod might be OK if cheap. But don't believe all the flannel in the ads about being maintained regardless of cost, extra performance etc. as most of it is BS. They are cheap for a reason, and obviously worth a lot less when it comes to selling.
I Know one of the guys in the local BIB garage and he wouldn't buy most of what goes to auction. He did recommend some Vans that had been used for visits with no Blues and were still low mileage. Mostly though He does like to tell of how the Manufacturers like to ask how they have managed to break it either in the (short) time they have had it or how they've broken that bit.
How's this for an ex-police car?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/EX-POLICE-MORRIS-MINOR_W0QQi...
Not quite the Skoda VRs I was thinking of I know, but would be quite a laugh
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/EX-POLICE-MORRIS-MINOR_W0QQi...
Not quite the Skoda VRs I was thinking of I know, but would be quite a laugh
Thanks Mark
Yep mine is an ex cop car done 70k when i got it and like mark said a few things to replace, needed a near sunvisor mirror had smashed on passenger and new ashtray, out side all i need to do is re paint the calipers then good as new, I got a good one needed a good clean and wax but been no bother so far
ETA
got a full service history with her aswell
Yep mine is an ex cop car done 70k when i got it and like mark said a few things to replace, needed a near sunvisor mirror had smashed on passenger and new ashtray, out side all i need to do is re paint the calipers then good as new, I got a good one needed a good clean and wax but been no bother so far
ETA
got a full service history with her aswell
Edited by Bsmithmilne on Tuesday 5th August 16:03
This depends on where the car comes from.
The MET lease their Astras and Merc Vans, do not own them and the log book shows Lex iirc. That could come as a shock at the auctions. Merc actually tried to buy their way out of the servicing agreement when they found out the abuse these vans were put through.
I was rear ended in an Astra by a lorry, total wreck, it was put back on the road. Never drove it again though. Saw a Metro parked up a tree at 50mph, that was also rebuilt.
The Vectras when they weren't broke were looked after OK, but we brought ones that failed quality control. Normally panel fit or paint.
As for uprating, the Astras got a rear strut brace to strengthen the back end under the kit and to give a partition to protect the computer uplink gear. Everything else was standard. Oh, we used to stick a screwdriver through the speaker for the front park control beep on the 5 series as it was constantly on on a run through central London.
Would I touch a MET car, no way, you would have no way of knowing where it had been, what had been in it and how it had been looked after.
Now Essex had a couple of WRX's that they completely wrapped in cotton wool........................
The MET lease their Astras and Merc Vans, do not own them and the log book shows Lex iirc. That could come as a shock at the auctions. Merc actually tried to buy their way out of the servicing agreement when they found out the abuse these vans were put through.
I was rear ended in an Astra by a lorry, total wreck, it was put back on the road. Never drove it again though. Saw a Metro parked up a tree at 50mph, that was also rebuilt.
The Vectras when they weren't broke were looked after OK, but we brought ones that failed quality control. Normally panel fit or paint.
As for uprating, the Astras got a rear strut brace to strengthen the back end under the kit and to give a partition to protect the computer uplink gear. Everything else was standard. Oh, we used to stick a screwdriver through the speaker for the front park control beep on the 5 series as it was constantly on on a run through central London.
Would I touch a MET car, no way, you would have no way of knowing where it had been, what had been in it and how it had been looked after.
Now Essex had a couple of WRX's that they completely wrapped in cotton wool........................
I'm switching on my 'repeat' mode. I drive Motorway Cars. They aren't modified to increase performance, they don't have fairy dust sprinkled on them and they aren't serviced to death.
The ARE used to within an inch of their lives. The 07/57 Volvos we have at the moment are proving very unreliable. When they reach the end of their lives they are utterly worn out.
We are about to send off a 56 reg Volvo T5 to auction. Its starts ok, ticks over ok, but dies within a few miles. It's not being repaired. Someone is going to be unlucky.
The Divisional Traffic cars I used to drive (Vectra, Skodas, Mondeo St220) get it even worse. What may seem like a bargain, could prove very expensive.
The ARE used to within an inch of their lives. The 07/57 Volvos we have at the moment are proving very unreliable. When they reach the end of their lives they are utterly worn out.
We are about to send off a 56 reg Volvo T5 to auction. Its starts ok, ticks over ok, but dies within a few miles. It's not being repaired. Someone is going to be unlucky.
The Divisional Traffic cars I used to drive (Vectra, Skodas, Mondeo St220) get it even worse. What may seem like a bargain, could prove very expensive.
Recently bought an ex-Plod Omega for some 'ring hoonage.
'96 3.0l V6, manual, LSD, PAS, ABS, TC, leccy windows, mirrors, seats, trip computer etc. 80k full service schedule (or at least, full schedule of recorded faults - assumed that they were actually fixed) - £460.
First year was used as a patrol car - 60k - spent the next 10 years as a skid-pan instruction car - hence the low mileage.
Faults - needed a pair of rear shocks (£70 for Bilsteins) and a service - so oil, oil filter, coolant, air filter, petrol filter, couple of bulbs and a new battery. Got new discs and pads to go on. Fitted some Toyos Proxies on the standard steelies - so 205/50/15's. Cam cover gaskets need replacing and could do with a new front wheel bearing (was fine before a weekend of pushing it around Adenau Forst....) but nothing really that you wouldn't expect from a 12 year old Omega. Interior is in very good nick, although base spec (it's logged as an Elite Automatic) rear looks like it's never been sat in. All in I reckon it's cost us a grand (including tax, insurance, parking permit etc) and that's between two of us. Quite chuffed really - makes a nice growl, is comfy, slides round the track nicely and does 150mph on the autobahn. It's not exactly er, frugal - well, not how I drive it anyway!
Something to bare in mind when buying an ex-plod car is the tax. If it's still registered with plod, it will have a POLICE tax code. You will NOT be able to get tax with the car until this is changed to civilian (or whatever it is) - I had to go to a DVLA office to get tax otherwise it would have meant waiting weeks for the new registration docs to come through the post.
Re:mods - it's got a bigger alternator and it had a heavy duty battery.
'96 3.0l V6, manual, LSD, PAS, ABS, TC, leccy windows, mirrors, seats, trip computer etc. 80k full service schedule (or at least, full schedule of recorded faults - assumed that they were actually fixed) - £460.
First year was used as a patrol car - 60k - spent the next 10 years as a skid-pan instruction car - hence the low mileage.
Faults - needed a pair of rear shocks (£70 for Bilsteins) and a service - so oil, oil filter, coolant, air filter, petrol filter, couple of bulbs and a new battery. Got new discs and pads to go on. Fitted some Toyos Proxies on the standard steelies - so 205/50/15's. Cam cover gaskets need replacing and could do with a new front wheel bearing (was fine before a weekend of pushing it around Adenau Forst....) but nothing really that you wouldn't expect from a 12 year old Omega. Interior is in very good nick, although base spec (it's logged as an Elite Automatic) rear looks like it's never been sat in. All in I reckon it's cost us a grand (including tax, insurance, parking permit etc) and that's between two of us. Quite chuffed really - makes a nice growl, is comfy, slides round the track nicely and does 150mph on the autobahn. It's not exactly er, frugal - well, not how I drive it anyway!
Something to bare in mind when buying an ex-plod car is the tax. If it's still registered with plod, it will have a POLICE tax code. You will NOT be able to get tax with the car until this is changed to civilian (or whatever it is) - I had to go to a DVLA office to get tax otherwise it would have meant waiting weeks for the new registration docs to come through the post.
Re:mods - it's got a bigger alternator and it had a heavy duty battery.
Edited by TEKNOPUG on Tuesday 5th August 17:19
dpbird90 said:
Not quite the Skoda VRs I was thinking of
If you really fancy the Octavia, do yourself a favour and avoid anything plod has had their hands on.The front bumper does not like speed bumps and neither does the sump (sits rather low). Now for normal use neither are an issue as you can slow down, but Plod can't...
If you're not bothered by a few miles then find a privately owned one that's got a full history. There are plenty out there.
Six Fiend said:
Would you say Police driver training school car is a better bet? Not so much gear and not up and down the kerbs...
The driving school cars are usually in much better nick and doubt suffer the abuse normal cars get. They don't have the internal kit either, so the interiors are in much better condition.Battenburg Bob said:
The ARE used to within an inch of their lives. The 07/57 Volvos we have at the moment are proving very unreliable.
There's a suprise. Let me guess, head gaskets are in their among some of their more typical faults.I dont know HOW Volvo got their upmarket image....esp here in the USA.
sleep envy said:
Battenburg Bob said:
The ARE used to within an inch of their lives. The 07/57 Volvos we have at the moment are proving very unreliable. When they reach the end of their lives they are utterly worn out.
at what point do they become ready for replacement?Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff