ex police cars - good second hand buys?
Discussion
Evening,
I was speaking to an independent roadside assistance guy (similar to AA), and he was saying that the police cars get serviced pretty well are can make great cars.
I've done a little digging and it seems a little mixed in terms of thoughts. Some say the interiors are horrible (think of the passengers) and some say they are really well maintained.
Other say they are modded so hard they are like goats on steroids, so can be tricky for xyz reasons.
The one thing that appeals to me, is some say the V70s are only used for motorway patrols e.g. the guys who do 60mph and seemingly don't do much else.
This makes me think that these might be quite a good buy, even if very high mileage!?
I don't think I would go to an auction, but instead try and buy one through a trader of some kind, as I believe they would have already done the paper work + modest cosmetic changes.
Either way I'm looking at a family car e.g. ford focus... I believe these are used for high speed stuff though, so not really sure about that.
Thoughts welcome.
T
I was speaking to an independent roadside assistance guy (similar to AA), and he was saying that the police cars get serviced pretty well are can make great cars.
I've done a little digging and it seems a little mixed in terms of thoughts. Some say the interiors are horrible (think of the passengers) and some say they are really well maintained.
Other say they are modded so hard they are like goats on steroids, so can be tricky for xyz reasons.
The one thing that appeals to me, is some say the V70s are only used for motorway patrols e.g. the guys who do 60mph and seemingly don't do much else.
This makes me think that these might be quite a good buy, even if very high mileage!?
I don't think I would go to an auction, but instead try and buy one through a trader of some kind, as I believe they would have already done the paper work + modest cosmetic changes.
Either way I'm looking at a family car e.g. ford focus... I believe these are used for high speed stuff though, so not really sure about that.
Thoughts welcome.
T
DickP said:
I would not associate a Ford Focus with high speed work, more like as a local panda car or dog unit. High speed stuff would be more for the BMW, Skoda, Volvo etc. fleet of bigger and much more powerful cars.
Ok interesting.Are there any rules / things to look out for.
How about something like a Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi Edge (s/s) 5dr?
Not the one I bought in 1980. It was a Ford Escort estate ex police dog car and amongst other things had two brown stains on the roof lining in the back where the previous occupants heads must have rubbed. There were many other problems not helped by my formative years of inept amateur mechanics.
Ive done building maintenance work at police stations.
Everytime i have entered the car park a few of the cars have the engines running with no one in them.
When i asked why they basically said most of the cars are run 24/7 and no point switching the engine off, so engine is running 24/7 all the time with next to no break.
Hence they are particular about servicing.
Best thing imo is to buy a model that the police use/have used but don't buy one of there cars.
Everytime i have entered the car park a few of the cars have the engines running with no one in them.
When i asked why they basically said most of the cars are run 24/7 and no point switching the engine off, so engine is running 24/7 all the time with next to no break.
Hence they are particular about servicing.
Best thing imo is to buy a model that the police use/have used but don't buy one of there cars.
slightly different but similar... Ambulances, specifically response cars that I have driven (mostly skoda scouts, zafira sri and volvo V70).
Positives
All serviced regularly. often by main dealers now whilst in warranty.
Passenger seat rarely or never sat in.
Uprated suspension (Skoda's at least),
can be bought cheaply.
Negatives
driven by a lot of different people, so often have broken seat adjusters and worn in different places
seats suffer from people getting in and out constantly with loads of gear on their belts, bolsters often torn!
lots of weird holes, some useful, some less so (safe behind seats is good, 3/4 window replaced with charging point less so!)
been driven hard, often from cold by people who dont have to pay to maintain them!
repairs done in house so may have unreported crash damage or more obvious zip tie stitches!
interior damage from loose kit usually a smashed up tailgate and rear door cards.
I understand the dog conversions can be good value if you want a vehicle for dogs, but Id not fancy an ambulance service vehicle any time soon!
Positives
All serviced regularly. often by main dealers now whilst in warranty.
Passenger seat rarely or never sat in.
Uprated suspension (Skoda's at least),
can be bought cheaply.
Negatives
driven by a lot of different people, so often have broken seat adjusters and worn in different places
seats suffer from people getting in and out constantly with loads of gear on their belts, bolsters often torn!
lots of weird holes, some useful, some less so (safe behind seats is good, 3/4 window replaced with charging point less so!)
been driven hard, often from cold by people who dont have to pay to maintain them!
repairs done in house so may have unreported crash damage or more obvious zip tie stitches!
interior damage from loose kit usually a smashed up tailgate and rear door cards.
I understand the dog conversions can be good value if you want a vehicle for dogs, but Id not fancy an ambulance service vehicle any time soon!
Served my apprenticeship in police workshops, from experience don’t do it. Abused from the moment they arrive till they leave. When they are converted holes are drilled all over and wiring spliced into. You’ll struggle to find one that hasn’t had at least one crash at some point.
Short version AVOID.
Short version AVOID.
I have a fair bit of experience in this area
Yes they are generally serviced regularly but they do lead a hard life. General patrol cars and vans Both marked and unmarked i.e focus and Astra type are on the road almost constantly and get driven hard a lot of the time by lots of different drivers. They get bumped over kerbs and taken down tracks you would never take your personal car. They also spend a fair amount of time parked up with engine running to protect crime scene. Also because they are in high demand (most places don't have enough cars) cops are reluctant to put them into the garage. So faults or noises are often ignored for weeks till it becomes totally undrivab!e. Lol and water etc are rarely checked or topped up. Repairs are often bodged up because the garage are under pressure to get cars back out to the frontline.
Traffic cars are looked after better by the drivers ,usually put in to the garage promptly because they work at higher speeds, more likely to be in pursuits and generally take pride in their cars. But they still have a fairly hard life and will spend ages idling at accidents.
The best cars to buy are ex driving school cars which are always pampered or specialist vehicles i.e crash investigation, scenes of crime vans, unusually specced stuff. Normally plenty of cops keep their eyes out for these good ones going to auction.
Loads of sellers advertise cars as ex senior officers car, ex surveillance unit, ex community car but that is usually a lot of rubbish.
Unless I knew where the car came from and how it had been used
I would only buy one as a cheap runabout but only well below average market price
Yes they are generally serviced regularly but they do lead a hard life. General patrol cars and vans Both marked and unmarked i.e focus and Astra type are on the road almost constantly and get driven hard a lot of the time by lots of different drivers. They get bumped over kerbs and taken down tracks you would never take your personal car. They also spend a fair amount of time parked up with engine running to protect crime scene. Also because they are in high demand (most places don't have enough cars) cops are reluctant to put them into the garage. So faults or noises are often ignored for weeks till it becomes totally undrivab!e. Lol and water etc are rarely checked or topped up. Repairs are often bodged up because the garage are under pressure to get cars back out to the frontline.
Traffic cars are looked after better by the drivers ,usually put in to the garage promptly because they work at higher speeds, more likely to be in pursuits and generally take pride in their cars. But they still have a fairly hard life and will spend ages idling at accidents.
The best cars to buy are ex driving school cars which are always pampered or specialist vehicles i.e crash investigation, scenes of crime vans, unusually specced stuff. Normally plenty of cops keep their eyes out for these good ones going to auction.
Loads of sellers advertise cars as ex senior officers car, ex surveillance unit, ex community car but that is usually a lot of rubbish.
Unless I knew where the car came from and how it had been used
I would only buy one as a cheap runabout but only well below average market price
theog87 said:
So you thinking V70s, bmw 330d?
Any other recommendations?
Just trying to figure out which ones to look for
I moved to the States back in 2000 so I'm thinking Vauxhall Senator, Ford Scorpio and Volvo 850 Any other recommendations?
Just trying to figure out which ones to look for
I think that BMW's and Volvo's are a good bet. Probably have high miles but on smooth roads and without much idling.
Edited by alabbasi on Tuesday 26th February 05:03
alabbasi said:
I moved to the States back in 2000 so I'm thinking Vauxhall Senator, Ford Scorpio and Volvo 850
I think that BMW's and Volvo's are a good bet. Probably have high miles but on smooth roads and without much idling.
Please tell us where the smooth roads are....I think that BMW's and Volvo's are a good bet. Probably have high miles but on smooth roads and without much idling.
Edited by alabbasi on Tuesday 26th February 05:03
My mate is in the police said he would never buy a second hand police car. They get abused from cold. Yes motorway ones are probably better but they still sit by the side of the motorway with the engine off then go for it when required.
1 owner but how many drivers?
That’s the thought he told me to go in with if I wanted one.
1 owner but how many drivers?
That’s the thought he told me to go in with if I wanted one.
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