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So, you want to own a used police car.
You're not alone. More and more private citizens are getting
a steal of deal by purchasing late-model former law
enforcement vehicles. For a relative pittance, a
casehardened Caprice, Crown Victoria or Grand Marquis could
be in your driveway.
Then the fun begins.
Impress your friends with the Corvette LT-1 running gear
that will peel your ears off at 145 miles per hour. Assist
your fellow motorists with your service-issue push bars and
floodlight. Say goodbye to high maintenance bills thanks to
inexpensive, readily available, quick-change parts.
Sorry, though. Sirens aren't part of the package. |
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And remember that despite your new
Bluesmobile's pedigree, you are buying a used car. So the
caveat "buyer beware" still applies.
A real muscle car
Paul Duchene is a national automotive writer whose work has
appeared in The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and many
national newspapers. Duchene test-drives new luxury cars for
a living, but when he goes out at night, he takes his 1989
Caprice squad car with 266,000 miles on it. He bought it a
year ago for $800.
"They are just built way better," he says. "The springs are
heavy duty, it's got big roll bars, big brakes, a
transmission cooler, a super-durable interior, lifetime
hoses that never wear out. It's a contrast to all the things
I drive that are worth $40,000 in that it is worth nothing
and it's as fast as they are."
Duchene's admiration for the aging Chevy continues as he
surveys its police-package interior: "I can lock all the
doors from one power switch. I can pop the trunk from
inside. I've got two overhead lights, neither of which comes
on when I open the door. I've got a super-accurate odometer
that goes up to 1 million miles but no trip odometer. And I
don't have a clock. Plus, it still has the spotlights and
the little stubby radio antennas and the push bars on the
front.
"It's the ultimate un-car and you don't have to worry about
it getting stolen."
Easy care, long-lasting construction
Another reason civilian drivers love former police cars:
They are mission-critical to law enforcement, so automakers
design them for quick and easy maintenance.
"Putting in a heater fan, which is one of the nightmares in
modern cars and would take you eight to 12 hours of work, I
can do in 15 minutes. You go under the hood, six bolts and
pulls straight out. It's a working dog," Duchene says.
Plus, the parts are cheaper. A new civilian-model heater
control unit costs around $500; the police version runs just
$36. Even better, you could probably pick one up at any
wrecking yard for lunch change. Thanks to the sheer number
of Chevrolet Caprice, Ford Crown Victoria or Mercury Grand
Marquis models that were sold to law enforcement agencies,
most scrap parts come from police vehicles.
Neither did the miles on his cruiser worry Duchene. These
babies are designed to go 500,000 miles plus, but law
enforcement agencies routinely "roll", or put out to
pasture, their cars at about 100,000 miles.
Duchene knows one owner who got 650,000 miles on one car,
original engine. Read the
next page.
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