Used Police Cars- A good choice?

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I have been looking on e-bay at used SUV's and have come across a place that sells retired police vehicles. I was looking for some feedback from anyone in the know on whether this is a good consideration or not. On one hand, they would be well serviced and maintained, and would have the best and heaviest duty of equipment, but on the other hand, they may be ridden hard, which may or may not be a bad thing.
 
Well, you know it will be beat on but the good thing is they are usually cheap and models that can take a lot of abuse.
 
Where'd you hear they get regular service? At the very least, I'd make sure there was a complete service record available before I spent anything on one, and look it over very carefully.

At best, you get a car that is ridden hard and always put away wet...and not just the stuff in the back seat, either. Good maintenance and "Heavy duty" equipment dont compensate for the extra hard usage and subsequent decrease in performance and reliability. Why do you think they're decommissioned in the first place?

I think there are better choices out there.
 
The blood, vomit and poop stains wash right off the seats. Car's probably not been babied while chasing down perps. I'd pass.
 
Originally Posted By: Noey
. . . Why do you think they're decommissioned in the first place?

I think there are better choices out there.


This.

There is no way I would buy a used police vehicle, unless I could inspect it before buying it. The only exception would be, is if all you are looking for is a basic set of wheels, and it were super cheap, and your expectations aren't too high.
 
I take it police departments in the US actually own their vehicles, and run them into the ground? Here, they're leased, and usually go to auction before they hit 100,000km. They still have some new car warranty remaining. As a result, ex-cop cars are usually a decent buy. Not that any of that helps the OP...
 
They're still a decent buy around here, most local cars are in decent shape, not without flaws and obvious side effects from police use. They're also the most rigorously maintained vehicles I see records from for fleet use and they still pull hard and shift correctly after 130k "hard miles". I suspect people are too quick to assume hard driving is actually bad for a car when really that's what it was designed to do so long as its properly maintained.

Good choice??? imo no, for the price you can get a car that gets much better fuel economy and overall comfort, but if you seek a RWD v8 reliable auto rig its very affordable and well off for what you get/pay.
 
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No, only time you would want a cop car is if it was take home/police chief's. Cops rarely take care of there cars. Yes they keep up on maintenance but they also driver over curbs, go threw ditches, and rarely come to a complete stop before throwing it into park.

Also 100k miles on a cop car is a lot more. Cop cars typically stay running 18 hours a day.

Someone will sit in that car while its running 8 hours a day then when they go home someone else will jump in it and do the same things.

They have extremely high hours on the motors. Miles isn't everything.
 
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Originally Posted By: BRZED
The blood, vomit and poop stains wash right off the seats. Car's probably not been babied while chasing down perps. I'd pass.


Not to mention other bodily fluids like snot, urine, pus etc. But hey any disinfectant will kill all that, they don't throw hospitals away after patients do that in there.
 
And if you do get one, get a certification of its use as a law enforcement vehicle in the bizarre event that you are ever stopped and the vehicle searched, especially by a drug dog. There could be residue somewhere in the vehicle that could be used against you. You would do this same thing if ever buying a vehicle at auction that was seized by law enforcement. Just a wise precaution. Ask any lawyer.
 
On a similar note, I bought a car at a police auction. Had it for a couple months. There was a rattle in the headliner. Took it down, and there was a makeshift compartment, with a couple ounces of coke, and a .32 pistol. Yep. You guessed it. Ex drug dealers car
 
Holy cow!! That's true indeed. . hospitals have all kinds of funky stuff in there. And yes they don't shut them down. Prior to any surgery anyone is going to have ask infectious disease doctor about what of the physicians has the most problems with infections performing their surgeries.
 
From the one time I rented a white crown vic from Enterprise, i'd never want to use a cop car again.

On one hand you will always get the right of the way, at stops and merging.

But, that small benefit for the pain that where ever you drive, people will slow up to under the speed limit, and you will get boxed in and that will drive you insane.
 
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I like cheap cars but watched the local auction results and would have to pass.

I can get a cheaper, uglier car from a clueless twit private seller one-on-one than I could at an auction with fifty other sharks in the audience bidding against me. Most of these guys still sing "Free Bird" when they take their monthly showers.

My BIL got a P71 and had to put a transmission in. I'd budget for that; only around $1000 locally, but $1000 on top of whatever you pay.

The benefit I see is if your cars rust out before they wear out, you can get something 3-4 model years old as cheap as a 6-7 year old civilian car due to the mileage.

Or, if you run a fleet of cabs and are used to a particular model. Though I'm seeing caravans and pirusses for taxis a lot now.
 
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Originally Posted By: BRZED
The blood, vomit and poop stains wash right off the seats. Car's probably not been babied while chasing down perps. I'd pass.


Not to mention other bodily fluids like snot, urine, pus etc. But hey any disinfectant will kill all that, they don't throw hospitals away after patients do that in there.


Hospitals also have a dedicated cleaning staff that knows how to clean and disinfect. I suspect that most police departments do not have such staff.
 
We used to buy these cars a long time ago. Look for the supervisory car, not too rare. Some smaller counties also use them for administrative cars for school board higher ups, etc.

Get one of these cars and they won't have much miles or wear....
 
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit

Hospitals also have a dedicated cleaning staff that knows how to clean and disinfect. I suspect that most police departments do not have such staff.



Sometimes they use prisoner "trustees". They at least have the time to be thorough. Christian Slater even did it.
 
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