Discussion
4rephill said:
Ex CID cars might be a bit different though!
I wouldn't bet on it. Many are effectively pool cars that are used as plain clothes and unmarked cars overnight, or when the keys are available. They don't lead a sheltered life. They're usually crap too; dreadful things like 1.3 CDTi Corsas when the basic panda car is a 1.6 or 1.7 diesel Astra, for instance. My local force has also just replaced the neighbourhood fleet with some dreadful 1.3 CDTi Corsas on the basis that they didn't need the power of the faster Astras which are used for response work. Although I expect they'll live the same hard lives for about 15 hours of every day.I went to Swindon police HQ a few years back & got a tour of the place, including the canteen & the vehicle workshop around the back. I've no idea if it still exists (was 14-odd years ago....), but the place was spotless. They had in-house tyre fitting, servicing, maintenance. I saw a few Volvos with their bonnets open - even the engines looked polished! I'm guessing that following all the recent budget cuts, things have probably gone downhill since....
Biker 1 said:
I went to Swindon police HQ a few years back & got a tour of the place, including the canteen & the vehicle workshop around the back. I've no idea if it still exists (was 14-odd years ago....), but the place was spotless. They had in-house tyre fitting, servicing, maintenance. I saw a few Volvos with their bonnets open - even the engines looked polished! I'm guessing that following all the recent budget cuts, things have probably gone downhill since....
Still the case with my force - all work done in house - spotless workshops. We have our own transporter to pick up breakdowns. Fairly new vehicle fleet across the board to bootI have had 2 police cars an Astra and a Omega, both bought at the auctions in Scotland where I was working at the time, both great cars and used for years without major problems.
Filthy inside and under the bonnet having 100k miles on the clock, but when cleaned up were reliable, OK the dash board had a load of small holes in it and the drivers seat had a hole in it where the personal radios hit it each time the driver got in, but that is reflected in the price.
Filthy inside and under the bonnet having 100k miles on the clock, but when cleaned up were reliable, OK the dash board had a load of small holes in it and the drivers seat had a hole in it where the personal radios hit it each time the driver got in, but that is reflected in the price.
Nowadays the cars are running passed 170k due to cuts, if you could find one cheap enough and aren't bothered by the poverty spec, then fill your boots.
Just remember the traffic cars will have been thrashed, crashed and generally abused inside by all sorts of people.
Unless it was a few grand cheaper than market value and it was a workhorse, I wouldn't touch one
Just remember the traffic cars will have been thrashed, crashed and generally abused inside by all sorts of people.
Unless it was a few grand cheaper than market value and it was a workhorse, I wouldn't touch one
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