Ex police cars! Fabled bargain, or waste of cash?
Discussion
Throughout my lifetime I've heard the argument to buy a ex police car. High miles, but extremely well looked after. They are supposed to have been serviced far more regular than civilian cars, been lavished with new parts, rumoured to have had more powerful engines that standard. Although the cars have upto 160k on them when they go up for sale, they are "supposed" to be a good buy. I'm thinking of the Volvo T5 & BMW 530's. Is this one of those myths that you hear, in reality they are money pits. I hear story's that the police mechanics aren't any good or trained as we think. I also hear people saying it's all rubbish about them being serviced more, and buy the time they are up for sale they are unreliable. Hence why the police have got shot of them. Has anyone got any experience of buying a ex police car, working as a mechanic for the plod, or any general insight?
)I'm not sure whether this is still the case, or whether it applies to every force, but my dad was a traffic division sergeant up until his retirement 15 years ago.
He's explicitly warned me away from ex trafpol cars. His force only replaced cars at the point where the cost of keeping the car running exceeded the cost of buying a new replacement.
Additionally, most of the cars didn't have a single original panel on them by the time they were disposed. They weren't serviced more frequently than the manufacturer's recommendation, nor were there any mechanical differences except for uprated suspension to carry the weight of all the kit and bigger brakes. In any case, Volvo fitted the 'police' brake setup to all S60s and V70s post-2005 anyway.
He's explicitly warned me away from ex trafpol cars. His force only replaced cars at the point where the cost of keeping the car running exceeded the cost of buying a new replacement.
Additionally, most of the cars didn't have a single original panel on them by the time they were disposed. They weren't serviced more frequently than the manufacturer's recommendation, nor were there any mechanical differences except for uprated suspension to carry the weight of all the kit and bigger brakes. In any case, Volvo fitted the 'police' brake setup to all S60s and V70s post-2005 anyway.
Ran an ex police Omega for a few years (bought very cheap with only 50K on it and ended up keeping/doing up). It was mechanically sound but a lot of trim was worn or broken which I replaced via the scrappy. The servicing and records were very comprehensive with things like brake fluid changed every 6 months.
Bought a what turned out to be an ex police Ford Focus from auction for resale a little while ago. It seemed to have been a station runabout type car.
Was very basic spec - no alloys and solid dark blue paint - but otherwise was mechanically great and no major scuffs / dents.
Theres a local guy near to me deals in ex police stuff and seems to have things like 2.8i passat estates and stuff but they are usually rough and at end of life.
Was very basic spec - no alloys and solid dark blue paint - but otherwise was mechanically great and no major scuffs / dents.
Theres a local guy near to me deals in ex police stuff and seems to have things like 2.8i passat estates and stuff but they are usually rough and at end of life.
We had a an ex-police terrano with 370k on the clock with a service record that filled an a4 folder. it was fine for around 18 months before the thrust bearing started droning away other than that it was fine.
we payed 1200 and sold for 1700 a few years later so all in all not too bad in our case.
we payed 1200 and sold for 1700 a few years later so all in all not too bad in our case.
When I worked at BCA last summer they used to dispose of ex police cars. I have driven a lot of them and they are all knackered. The turbos take a while to kick in and the condition of the vehicles don't leave much to be desired. A lot of them had seen action and as such most of the panels were replaced. They sold for absolute peanuts. Would I ever touch any ? Not a chance in hell. They were on par with how badly the Royal Mail vans were
This sort of topic comes up pretty frequently, but I'll chime in. Most likely no. They've been used as a tool for their lives. If they need to be driven very hard from cold, that happens. Idle for a couple of hours whilst at a scene so the lights and radios can be active? So be it. I would possibly think about a training car, but nothing else. Not to mention the hard lives they lead, they're all the most basic of spec models. But if there's one that hasn't been crashed and looked okay I would take a look. I'm sure the comment on lazy turbos would be very true though.
It's swings and roundabouts. I imagine that Traffic cars don't see that many start/stop cycles. There was a news article about one Police force who in the event of a puncture would change 2 or 4 tyres rather than just the punctured tyre to keep grip levels consistent. The outcry was at the waste of perfectly good tyres.
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