Buying ex-police car?

ado

None of our cars are ever disposed of without 130-140000 miles on the clock. Response cars will be ragged by drivers with a wide variety of skill levels from none existent to advances drivers , seats will have been damaged by ASPs and handcuffs, and the cars will have hit numerous speed bumps at speed. I can't think of any of our cars which are disposed of with 60,000 mile son the clock unless they have been used by senior management so I'd advise asking about which department they have come from. Even unmarked cars will have have holes drilled in them for radios and blue light controls.

motorguy

ado wrote: »

I can't think of any of our cars which are disposed of with 60,000 mile son the clock unless they have been used by senior management so I'd advise asking about which department they have come from. Even unmarked cars will have have holes drilled in them for radios and blue light controls.

The focus i mentioned earlier was ex police, had around 70K miles, hadnt holes drilled in it for radios or blue light controls, and being a poverty spec LX, i dont think it was used by senior management.

Presumably there are forces around the country doing things differently / having different requirements than yours?

Warwick_Hunt

motorguy wrote: »

The focus i mentioned earlier was ex police, had around 70K miles, hadnt holes drilled in it for radios or blue light controls, and being a poverty spec LX, i dont think it was used by senior management.

Presumably there are forces around the country doing things differently / having different requirements than yours?

Probably a CID car, how old was it when you bought it and how long ago?

Probably pre the coalition cuts and sold at three years old.

motorguy

Warwick_Hunt wrote: »

Probably a CID car, how old was it when you bought it and how long ago?

Probably pre the coalition cuts and sold at three years old.

It was older than that but agree it could have been a CID car.

Generally more hassle than they're worth though. IMHO

Warwick_Hunt

motorguy wrote: »

It was older than that but agree it could have been a CID car.

Generally more hassle than they're worth though. IMHO

I remember a load of ex police Vauxhall Chevettes going through the local auction.

Richard53

Warwick_Hunt wrote: »

Bikes are a different kettle of fish altogether. The police spec ST1100 was a brilliant bike, however the ST1300 was dangerous. When a cop was killed on one most forces got rid of them. Some got rid of their bikes altogether so there we some good bikes to be had.

Not only was a police rider killed on one, but the instructor who was sent out to try to replicate the incident was thrown off and killed too. I don't think they ever got to the bottom of it, even working closely with Honda, but it was probably the way the extra police kit was loaded. I crossed Germany on mine, fully laden with camping gear, doing long stretches at ~140 mph and it was steady as a rock, so it wasn't just the extra weight.


It certainly wasn't a dangerous bike, but I agree that a lot of forces may have been spooked (or advised by legal teams) into getting rid of perfectly good bikes on the basis of a couple of unexplained incidents. I liked the bike but sold it in the end because it was just too big.

lemontart

I had an ex police car years ago. and under certain lights you could still see the markings, who ever had got it from police did not alter the engine so it was like the proverbial of a shovel and very fast very quick.

My uncle used to buy them direct off the police too and sell on. They are very well maintained and looked after.

I now have an ex area health authority vehicle, which was aslo well looked after. and still looks like an amublance

Car_54

Warwick_Hunt wrote: »

More reasons to avoid than buy. If you do decide to go for it get it up to motorway speed and listed to the wind whistle through the any gaps where it's not been repaired properly post collision.

That's not likely to be possible at an auction.

bigadaj

Make sure you check the cigar lighter....

Warwick_Hunt

lemontart wrote: »

I had an ex police car years ago. and under certain lights you could still see the markings, who ever had got it from police did not alter the engine so it was like the proverbial of a shovel and very fast very quick.

My uncle used to buy them direct off the police too and sell on. They are very well maintained and looked after.

I now have an ex area health authority vehicle, which was aslo well looked after. and still looks like an amublance

Given the police run the engines in standard spec it would have been as quick as any other car from the same factory.