Buying Ex Police Cars?

Had a couple from auctions in the past. Both were fine mechanically, if perhaps a little tired.

Cosmetically they were less good; hence their cheapness. Dashboards were hacked about and just full of huge holes from all the gear, screw holes were everywhere. One of them needed a dose of re-wiring due to lousy removal of electrical gubbins and also had holes in the roof, ruined trim, an extra mirror on the nearside door. Did I mention it was cheap?

Joe

check the cars themselves. all cars become unique the moment they leave the factory.

best advice is note the reg, and check which force owned it, then pop down the local police garage and have a word with one of the mechanics, they will hopefully tell you wether its had smash replacement engines etc. sometime the best ones are the ones that been pranged a few times. where as a patrol car may have never seen the garage because the officer never reports any faults.

In that case i shouldn't bother, unless they are a specific spec your after i,e manual rather than auto as in usual civvy spec etc. They will have led a harder life than normal. I had a mk2 granada once that was ex-police, it was one of the best cars ive ever owned but it was cheaper than the going rate at the time, later i looked over a mk3 Granada but ran a mile because it had soooooo many bodged panel repairs!!!!!

I wouldn't buy one of our old cars - if you knew half of what happens inside one you wouldn't either. And knowing how they've been driven, where they've been driven and the fact that they're on the go almost 24hrs a day it wouldn't be something I'd consider

I would say go and look at it like any other car. Yes they may live a harder life etc. but they are maintained very well, and if you search well, you can choose a good car.

When I was looking for a replacement car after selling the Porsche (I.E, a car that was less than 5 years old (Job doesn't allow for an older car from when it's first used), almost every car I looked at was a wreck (I was looking at Pug 407s and Mondeos). Things like knackered injectors, battered bodywork, all for £3-4.5k in the examples I looked at.

The car I eventually settled on was an ex-SOCA (Serious Organised Crimes Authority). Yes, the wiring for the headlamps I've had to tidy but has it been unreliable and rubbish? Far from it. It's taken me to Europe and back twice and has clocked up 20k within 6 months very well. Did I mention that it came with a new clutch/lower arms/suspension too, so it even drives very well for it's age (better than the other wrecks I saw in the price range).

My dad's car (a year older) came with a full service history, 1 owner and was HPi clear and it was seen to be in great condition. Over the same mileage it covered, it took a new engine, and since then we've been chasing other people's bodges which weren't visible at the time (and to most people wouldn't be).

What I am getting at is forget devaluing it because it's a cop car etc. If it's half decent just go for it. Hell, on the last 'Ring trip I did, my 205 did 1.5k miles without a hitch (did I mention that it has a 'knackered mileage' of 170k?), and my mate's Volvo C70 T5 which are renowned for their solidity melted its wiring loom just at it got there...

I looked at few few ex police cars a East Coast Salvage a few months back, There was a ex-police Focus ST170 Estate there in Silver, The bumpers had holes cut in them for lights, all the tires bald, Interior and dash was damaged, torn and cut up and it had evidents of old badly made repairs.

I guess you'd need to be very fussy when buying them and only get the best.

There's a bloke on ebay knocking cheap police cars. shop.ebay.co.uk/expolicecar/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25

His site is here as well www.expolicecar.co.uk/

Ex police stuff can be hit or miss dependant on what it was used for and who was the main drivers etc..

if they were a standard patrol car will have holes cut in dash, plenty of holes cut in the roof.... will have more if it was a traffic car or armed response

all additons to the electrics are put in on seperate looms so no problems there

The servicing is generally every 3000miles and no expense is spared, and as for then not having MOT's carried out the service scheldules and requirements are far stricter than an MOT...and you should be able to get a copy of the service history

Best thing is to take the car on it own merits

I've got a 2000 W-reg 4.0 V8 Discovery 2. I'm 99.9% sure it's an ex-police dog vehicle. Owned it for just over a year. 74,000 miles, full history, never seen a bodyshop, seat covers from new, seats are genuinely perfect.
There are 4 holes in the boot floor, presumably for a dog cage, 6 tiny holes in the dash and centre console, and the cubby box has been cut out a little to fit the radio. Oh, and 3 small holes in the roof that are perfectly sealed with grommets. It is a beauty! I'm in the Discovery Owners Club and it always gets favourable comments.