Ex police dog vans?

pondering_2

Hi

I need a car for travelling to work every day. I currently drive an estate with a crash proof dog cage in the boot, as my dog comes on the motorway with me every day and tbh im a little obsessive.

I was just wondering what peoples thoughts were on ex police dog vans? Obviosuly I wouldnt want an ex police car coz of the way they are driven and the thought of what may have been in the back, but a 2 seater van fully fitted out with dog cages sounds amazing to me, esp as they seem to be same mileage and price as normal vans within my budget.

Has anyone got any experince with this? And how the insurance companies treat them?

Thanks guys!

paddedjohn

any ex police vehicle would normally be in good condition as they are serviced regularly and generally well looked after however i would have thought that all the extras ie dog guards and cages would be stripped out prior to any sale.

Weird_Nev

Never, ever, EVER buy an ex police vehicle.
Dog vans are no exception: They do more miles an harder miles than other response vehciles as they fly from pillar to post, heavily laden with a cage and rabid alsatians.

The myth about the maintenence of police vehicles is just that, a myth from the good old days 30 years ago when police had skilled mechanics on site to maintain the fleet. Nowadays, cars get serviced at normal incidents despie their harsh use conditions, an on a normal fleet contract so no special care applied. Things only get fixed when they break and even then only sometimes. They are literally thrashed ,mercilessly, around the clock. I've driven police cars with 40k on them that feel like 100+k mile examples. Suspension ,clutches, brakes ,wheelbearings, body panels, subframes, bushes ,steering racks ,powersteering pumps all take the punishment of police use.

Never, ever, ever buy an ex police vehicle.

brokenant

I would have thought the dog vans would be the least ragged vehicles in the forces garage.

rev_henry

paddedjohn wrote: »

any ex police vehicle would normally be in good condition as they are serviced regularly and generally well looked after however i would have thought that all the extras ie dog guards and cages would be stripped out prior to any sale.

Not the ones I've seen when idly browsing ebay. The dog equipment seems to be integral to the van. Ones I've seen have 2 big, air conditioned cages in the back.

I wonder if any have that function that some newer dog vans have whereby they press a button to open the boot and let the dogs out without even getting out of the car. If you had well trained dogs and were extremely lazy you could walk them without getting out the car.

Weird_Nev

brokenant wrote: »

I would have thought the dog vans would be the least ragged vehicles in the forces garage.

There will be one or two dog vans on a force at any one time. They will cover the entire force area, and be required almost everywhere at once. They continually do long blue light runs, and are driven hard.

Seriously, drive an ex police vehicle and tell me it's a great buy - The police only sell them once they have reached the very end of serviceable life. They take ALL the value out of their cars. Ours go at about 5 years/80k miles, but should be scrapped much earlier IMHO. THey're ruined by then.

Radsteral

the one my mate bought , it did smell doggy
it was a turneo one with 5 seats , and dog cage on back, lots of extras and spotless except from the smell
He paid 30 quid to car wash and all fine though i still tape the p out of his van whenever we met
like anything, will be the good one and the bad one mate ..look around

i bought a medioum whell base sprinter from the london buses emergency fleet petrol /lpg
spotles, very little miles, more extras than my wifes car and yes, it had the emergency lights to use... great for a plasterer to turn up for a job or a quote at the front of someones house

Trebor16

Weird_Nev wrote: »

There will be one or two dog vans on a force at any one time. They will cover the entire force area, and be required almost everywhere at once. They continually do long blue light runs, and are driven hard.

I am not so sure they are thrown around in the same way as response vehicles because of the dog in the back. The dog would get a rough ride and I suspect the handlers are a bit steadier to ensure the dogs are not hurt.

pitkin2020

Weird_Nev wrote: »

Never, ever, EVER buy an ex police vehicle.
Dog vans are no exception: They do more miles an harder miles than other response vehciles as they fly from pillar to post, heavily laden with a cage and rabid alsatians.

The myth about the maintenence of police vehicles is just that, a myth from the good old days 30 years ago when police had skilled mechanics on site to maintain the fleet. Nowadays, cars get serviced at normal incidents despie their harsh use conditions, an on a normal fleet contract so no special care applied. Things only get fixed when they break and even then only sometimes. They are literally thrashed ,mercilessly, around the clock. I've driven police cars with 40k on them that feel like 100+k mile examples. Suspension ,clutches, brakes ,wheelbearings, body panels, subframes, bushes ,steering racks ,powersteering pumps all take the punishment of police use.

Never, ever, ever buy an ex police vehicle.

UTTER RUBBISH. Police vehicle servicing is either made up from their own in house team or its returned to the dealers. Service schedules are maintained and done on time. As for other things your correct in they only get fixed when they break, but then so does nearly every other car on the road unless your physic.

I know for a fact that our local police have their own garage which they use for minor day to day repairs, EVERY OTHER REPAIR/SERVICE goes back to the dealer. The dealers have no interest in repairing anything on these cars they will ONLY replace. Several volvos have had dash failures where bulbs are no longer showing, no attempt to repair compete new dashboard. Volvo computer said new dash so thats why they got, no messing trying to diagnose and actually repair.

Like buying any car some are lemons some are good you just need to find the good ones. I have had 2 ex police vehicles, a car and a van and both have been superb. The car was pretty much new as nearly everything had been replaced on it over the 7 months prior to sale.

worried_jim

Weird_Nev wrote: »

Dog vans are no exception: They do more miles an harder miles than other response vehciles as they fly from pillar to post, heavily laden with a cage and rabid alsatians.

"rabid alsatians" Made my morning! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

krlyr

I considered it but several people warned me off - considering the dog units are often needed as a scene fast, to help with riots or scent out an escapee, they can be driven hard.