SECRETS TO BUYING A USED COP CAR, THE BEST BARGAIN ON THE ROAD
This must have occurred to you some times in life: you notice that a cop car is following you, you check your speedometer and hit the brakes only to know that it is just some civilian who has secured an old police car for no reason. That is weird.
Here is the deal: a former police car can be a nice daily driver for various reasons – beyond just scaring texters and motivating other vehicles to stay out of your way. They can be comfortable and also fun to drive, appreciation to the heavy duty cop package which makes them so powerful enough for a chase which is high speed. Additionally, they are not expensive to maintain and they last long as well too.
Some former vehicles are utilized, abused and also they worth more in pieces than whole. Others have also received the creme de la creme of upkeep and care. So how will you detect when you have got a winner? Here is where to look into and also what to look for.
Notice that, not all police vehicles are being treated the same.
Many police vehicles are not utilized for police duty. County and state officials will most times get a car which comes well equipped with the cop package, but never detect a high speed pursuit or a donut intensive patrol. The cop package comes with a heavy duty suspension and also beefed-up interiors and also cooling systems – everything you will need for a high speed chase or hours doing nothing – but these vehicles do not receive the abuse that their on-duty siblings experience.
What you really want is an off-duty car
Off duty vehicles have all the things that make a police vehicle worth the drive,but they also include nicer, more conventional cloth seats, rather than the industrial grade vinyl a cop cruiser will tend to have. A chosen few even comes with leather seats, but those are scarce and also generally given to county commissioners, police departments, chief of the fire and other bigwigs. Not coincidentally, these cars have the highest frequency of proper care.
But don’t assume that all patrol cars are junk
When you are shopping for cheap second hand vehicle, it comes down to the care and also the upkeep which the former owner does on it. Some patrol vehicles are given much attention from departments which have the cash and also the manpower. Suspensions are being rebuilt, power trains are being repaired and also in many cases you can actually end up with a virtually new car for less than 10% of the cost.
Each version of the car has its own charm. More times than nit, the ones that is utilized by men in blue can be purchased for less. They are also the real white and black vehicles with the on road feel and also battle scars as evidence. Still, if you possess a family or significant other that might not even share your love of a bare bones plastic internal part, you may be joyous with an off duty type.
Narrow your search online before checking cars out in person
Public Surplus and GovDeals are the masters of online auctions and also they always liquidate police vehicles for local municipalities.There are various cars to choose from and this ranges from mint condition cherry rides which have rarely been put through their paces to those bad ones which have been crushed to hell and have potentially bad amounts of bodily fluids which have stained the seats.
Don’t take the listing at face value, though
Mostly, agencies that are selling old vehicles do suck at it. Sometimes, the photos that are on net are for the wrong vehicle, and the care records are not sometimes listed there, even when they would increase the final sale price. For instance, I once purchased a car of $700 that i later sold at a price of over $7,000. The listing had the wrong mes, wrong pictures and also featured a surprisingly known phrase you always see a lot at police auctions: ” Working condition unknown. Mechanical condition also unknown. Mileage also unknown.”
You’re gonna need to figure out the history for yourself
CARFAX can be valuable, but that is only if the agency had a dealership and independent repair facility handle the maintenance needs – and bigger cities are much less likely to do that. Taking a gander at the photos online can aid you quickly cross out the vehicles which look like they got into a quarrel and lost – so long as you are so sure the pictures are of the right vehicle. The vehicles that are left can all be examined and also confirmed for their condition by a mechanically inclined person or by you. That will take a bit of planning.
Conduct your own forensic investigation
Has the transmission recently been replaced? Has the engine been repaired recently? Also, what about the suspension? These are the big three expense components of most cop vehicles, and also to sort them out, you have to notify the official who posted the onnet listing. Or, if the agency in government is not online quite yet, yes, that still happens sometimes, call the maintenance department and also discover who keep these records.
Either way, inquiry the official when you can come and also when you can see the records in person, and whether there is a definite time of day when you can examine the car. Every place has its rules and also its policies which are already set in place.
Start it up and look around
Some places will put forth a battery jumper and an escoet, while others have friends who will point, grunt and also allow you to do the heavy lifting of hoods etc. Most of the car batteries will be Dead or Alive so be sure you have some juice with you if the agency will not give you a jump box.
In most of the cases you will be granted to begin the car up and also to do a detailed examining, but driving the vehicle is not an option. As for the records it is almost mostly good to go over them with a good toothed comb before hand because you really have no idea what you are getting yourself into.
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