Ex police cars - good buy or not?

[Jim Bergerac]

Probably a movie filming car, you see them like that when not filming so people can realise that they are not on-duty police.

[sierraman]

If you can get an ex traffic car direct you might be ok, but consider it will have sat on a motorway hard shoulder and had to accelerate to 100mph as quickly as possible a fair few times. So stuff like clutches, driveshafts etc might be on borrowed time.

[UltraWomble]

Or being driven by a civvy on its way to/from the workshop. They do that round here for the stuff from Hutton.

[Largactil]

Interestingly for me, this is a question I'm currently asking myself - Looking at getting a new modern, and was tempted by an ex-plod Octavia VRS estate which was £2-3k cheaper than a private car of similar miles.

 

Many hours of idling / full bore standing starts / launching over speed bumps at full chat / piss stained seats / undertaking TPAC manoeuvres is a concern, in additional to the usual DPF / knackered clutch / turbo / gearbox problems and has put me off a bit.

 

Still considering one, but more thought required...

[DSdriver]

I was offered the Chief Constable's T5 Estate once. It seemed a bargain until I found out how much it would cost to insure because it was a stealth wagon.

Actual beat cars I was once informed had doors and bonnets planished to fuck by rozzers throwing crims at them. Plus random holes in the roof for multiple aerials and lights.

[Formula Autos]

I know someone who has bought 5 ex-police cars in his time.

 

3 were ex Cumbria or Lancashire Constabulary vehicles. - a 5 series estate, a Range Rover and a Volvo estate. All were wrecked, had mega-miles, and had, at best, passable bodywork wise from 20 yards away.

 

The other two were a bit different - a Mondeo that was ex IOM police, and an X5 that was ex CNC (Civil Nuclear Constabulary - the force that patrols Sellafield and other Nuclear sites). Low miles, good nick, and nice cars.

 

I suppose you get what you pay for.

[dugong]

My Vectra C estate was ex-plod.  That had done a lot of miles but didn't feel knackered at all.  I got the Thames Valley Police service record with it, and it had been fairly well looked after.  That was an odd spec - I think it was basically an SRI (cloth seats and keep fit rear windows) but with the 3.2 V6.  Didn't hang about.

Ex Pat n' Carl?

[sierraman]

I wouldn't pay too much attention to where it says it was registered to the chief constable, it probably says that on all the V5 docs from panda cars to rapid response. Ex CID probably best bet, least likely to have been twatted up a kerb and across a field.

 

There's a lot of bollocks concerning police cars, they might be well maintained but still they are regularly driven at the limit, used to shift prostitutes, drug addicts and lowlife about, occasionally used to forcibly ram a stolen car into submission. In guessing they get rid as they are worn out after 3-5 years of this treatment.

[DSdriver]

I think the average age of our local police vehicles is about eight years. Either that or they're using cloned plates.

[trigger]

 

[Ghosty]

 Ex CID probably best bet, least likely to have been twatted up a kerb and across a field.

 

[gordonbennet]

I've had two, both times i was the first owner after plod.

 

a 2.0 Sierra GL ex traffic, good car that was and trouble free.

 

But one of the best cars i've ever owned was ex Thames Valley driving school 827si with the rare manual box, went like hell genuine 140 odd and still pulling,  totally reliable, no evidence of any damage at all, but the best thing was the service history print out, never seen anything like it, dont think it ever got more than 5k between oil changes and full service, a new set of discs and calipers every 6 months and more new tyres than you could shake a stick at, serviced in house too...not sure if thats still the case.

 

I'd have another driving school or ex CID/covert car.

 

By the way, the Halifax based ex plod car dealer often used to advertise (last year when i last looked) that some ex plod T5's and the like circa 2006/7/8 would not be in the high tax band due to being police cars and that situation was permanent...is that right and how does that work?

[martc]

Some forces are buying metallic silver cars so that they can sell them on easier, and to make more money, once they've knackered them.

 

I'm sure the extra £50 they'll get will cancel out the £350 the optional metallic paint cost them when buying it new.

[twitcherman]

I once had an ex-West Yorks helicopter support vehicle - LR 110 hardtop, 2.5 petrol, no PAS, full towing kit (for fuel bowser), only 21k miles at 6 years old. I bought it from a charity who'd had it as a donation from dibble. Really excellent nick, someone had put a removable panel in the rear floor to enable easy replacement of the rear axle top ball joint!

 

Notable as the only vehicle I've ever made money on. I sold it on to a mate who LPG'd it and ran it for another 100k, including annual ski trips to France and caravan towing.

[brickwall]

Had a Ford Orion from Strathclyde serious crime squad. Went like the clappers, with no need ever for 2nd gear.

 

Avoid area cars.

[Aston Martin]

If I was unfortunate enough to live in America. The only car I would need is a P71.

 

[Pete-M]

My tame mechanic had an ex Plod T5 estate. 04 plate (this was about four years ago) which he'd paid around £1200 at a Dibble disposal auction for.

 

It wasn't very good. Gearbox was noisy until it shat itself, aircon didn't, it had done close to 200k, the interior was battered and the dash was full of holes. There were strange sections of wiring all over the place - when bought the headlamps would Flash alternately and it didn't have roof rails. The dash was mega poverty spec cheap grey plastic everywhere.

 

It did handle better than a standard T5 as it had a strut brace (around £70 from Volvo, Dibble ones all have them), and the rear brakes were quite a bit larger than standard ones. Performance wise it was nothing special.

 

It didn't appear to have been in too many fights and seemed remarkably straight for what it was but it wasn't a good car.

 

Even so, with the holes in the roof filled, roof rails and a leather interior fitted it didn't give him a lot of grief other than the exploding gearbox.

 

Personally I wouldn't bother. Back in the early 90s I had an ex police RS2000 Mk2 that was equally rough. That also shat its gearbox.

[sheffcortinacentre]

about ten years ago I had an ex usaf F350 was 20 years old 57 k on the clock bottom of range spec vhd mechanics only used on base was in vgc, mate has had a few similar 2 & 4wd all been great, he currently has a suburban ex usaf mp's met blue low spec but sweet as a nut.

[The Moog]

I had pleasure of K reg cavalier saloon 1.6 carb ex plod. Was mums car and had massive hole where radio had been. Keep fit windows but PAS. Had 110k on it after only 2 years. It was white and couldn't get the shadows of the markings off it .

 

I borrowed it to go to school in and certainly felt pretty quick and definitely* impressed the chicks being handbraked turned in the school road.

[robinmasters]

Had a 'thing' for MK2 Grannies back in the day and I bought (deliberately) an ex plod 2.8 Granada. Manual, 4 speed and injected. Very weird spec as everything but the steering was keep fit/manumatic. It was absolutely mint everywhere except the boot floor which no longer existed. Just not there at all - no signs of rust so it hadn't fallen out...

A MK2? That would have been shortly before the 1984 Police And Criminal Evidence Act came in. Someone must have heard rumours the new rules would mean they weren't allowed to 'put the boot in' anymore.

[warren t claim]

We run a few ex plod Focii at work. They seem to cope well even though none of them have had an oil change in 80,000 miles.

[Pete-M]

Another ex-Dibble motor I had was an ex-Durham Peugeot 406 GED on a K plate. It had gone from the Dibble to being a mini cab in London for a couple of years after which it was given to me (this was about 15 years ago, when a diesel 405 was still worth a few quid).

 

It was an excellent example of miserable spec making an otherwise decent car into one that wasn't exactly enjoyable. No options and no fun whatsoever. Windy windows, huge clock instead of a tacho, non-turbo diseasel engine with absolutely bugger all poke. Holes in the dash for dibble equipment, zip in headliner, and the most miserable grey interior I've ever seen in anything. The dash was really nasty cheapo spec - think poverty spec 205 and then add more cheapness and misery.

 

It actually scrubbed up quite well after a day with the Vax but if it hadn't been free I wouldn't have even considered buying it. The one saving grace with it was it got from Tottenham to Liverpool, via Newmarket, on about £20 diesel - most of it pissing from the fuel pump onto the alternator.

[RichL]

It did handle better than a standard T5 as it had a strut brace (around £70 from Volvo, Dibble ones all have them), and the rear brakes were quite a bit larger than standard ones. Performance wise it was nothing special.

 

 

 

The brace between the front struts is a standard fit on a 285, designed to send the engine towards the ground in a hard front impact.

 

Rear brakes are standard. Front discs are bigger as are the calliper carriers, pads are standard size but have (had) wear sensors.

[TimothyClaypole]

3 pages of people living in a fantasy land, this is Autoshite -

 

Join the force and live the real thing -

 

 

 

 

[HillmanImp]

^^ Is that Scumberside? When I used to live there they had that Cosworth that used to race up and down Bev Rd with a Vauxhall Senator full of Alsations running a few seconds behind. 

 

How times change.

 

[Ghosty]

Someone posted somewhere else that they've got a Lexus IS-F now.

[Richard]

I think the Humberside Protons all run on LPG too.

[AnthonyG]

I remember a Plod livery Lotus Esprit, one of the last ones on a M or N, was all in yellow and battenburg livery but whether it did anything other than go to motor shows I don't know. Think it was Central Motorway Group and was at a NEC classic show in the 1990s.

 

The Italian traffic police have Lamborghinis, and the California Highway Patrol had Mustangs and Camaros in the 1980s/early 90s when the various GM/Ford/Chrysler saloons were deemed too slow for highway pursuit.

 

I love oddball police cars.

[Pillock]

Norfolk Plod had a Lotus mocked up for press shots

[danthecapriman]

I remember a Plod livery Lotus Esprit, one of the last ones on a M or N, was all in yellow and battenburg livery but whether it did anything other than go to motor shows I don't know. Think it was Central Motorway Group and was at a NEC classic show in the 1990s.

The Italian traffic police have Lamborghinis, and the California Highway Patrol had Mustangs and Camaros in the 1980s/early 90s when the various GM/Ford/Chrysler saloons were deemed too slow for highway pursuit.

I love oddball police cars.

I'm sure back in the 60's and 70's UK police forces brought some big Yankee patrol cars over just to trial them. I've seen a pic somewhere of a Plymouth Fury police car at work on the M1 with UK traffic police driving!