Would you recommend buying a used police cruiser?
Dear Car Talk | May 01, 2001
Dear Tom and Ray:
TOM: Well, first of all, we want to assure you -- and all of our readers -- that every single letter that comes to us gets the attention of a carbon-based life form. Even if we don't read the letters, the dog sniffs though all of them in search of errant bacon bits.
RAY: I'm not a big fan of used police cars, Ian, for three reasons. One is that they typically have a number of special, heavy-duty parts. And while a heavy-duty alternator, for example, might seem like a good thing to have, when it breaks you'll be surprised to learn that a new one costs three times as much as a standard alternator.
TOM: Second, unlike the typical used car, police vehicles are in pretty much constant use. Most police cars are driven two or three shifts a day. So even though it's only a '95 or '96 model, it's been "used" far more than the average car of that vintage.
RAY: And finally, the recorded mileage doesn't account for time spent on indoor investigations and doughnut dalliances. When you see a cruiser that's parked in front of a building, is the engine off? Never. It's got the windows down and the air conditioner on full-blast ... cooling off the whole neighborhood. And none of those hours of engine idling time is accounted for on the odometer.
TOM: So even if the odometer has only 120,000 miles on it, the engine could have the EQUIVALENT of 620,000 miles on it.
RAY: On the plus side, you do get powerful engines and some heavy-duty equipment -- usually an alternator, radiator, transmission cooler and maybe suspension. And the cars are often very well-maintained.
TOM: But unless they're selling at a very steep discount over similar used cars (like half or less), I'd let this cruiser idea pass, Ian. However, we do have a used New York taxi cab for sale. Are you interested?
TOM: Well, first of all, we want to assure you -- and all of our readers -- that every single letter that comes to us gets the attention of a carbon-based life form. Even if we don't read the letters, the dog sniffs though all of them in search of errant bacon bits.
RAY: I'm not a big fan of used police cars, Ian, for three reasons. One is that they typically have a number of special, heavy-duty parts. And while a heavy-duty alternator, for example, might seem like a good thing to have, when it breaks you'll be surprised to learn that a new one costs three times as much as a standard alternator.
TOM: Second, unlike the typical used car, police vehicles are in pretty much constant use. Most police cars are driven two or three shifts a day. So even though it's only a '95 or '96 model, it's been "used" far more than the average car of that vintage.
RAY: And finally, the recorded mileage doesn't account for time spent on indoor investigations and doughnut dalliances. When you see a cruiser that's parked in front of a building, is the engine off? Never. It's got the windows down and the air conditioner on full-blast ... cooling off the whole neighborhood. And none of those hours of engine idling time is accounted for on the odometer.
TOM: So even if the odometer has only 120,000 miles on it, the engine could have the EQUIVALENT of 620,000 miles on it.
RAY: On the plus side, you do get powerful engines and some heavy-duty equipment -- usually an alternator, radiator, transmission cooler and maybe suspension. And the cars are often very well-maintained.
TOM: But unless they're selling at a very steep discount over similar used cars (like half or less), I'd let this cruiser idea pass, Ian. However, we do have a used New York taxi cab for sale. Are you interested?
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