Used Police Vehicles

Regardless of what type used vehicle you might consider that was previously owned by a governmental entity, you should be aware of this:
Typically, governmental agencies are self-insured for property damage, and have what is known as a self-insured retention, or SIR, for liability under a certain dollar amount. For bigger municipalities or entities, the SIR can be as great as 5 million dollars; for federal agencies perhaps higher. Thus, any damage to vehicles, or liability claims, will not be paid by insurance gepanies, provided they fall under the cap on the SIR amount. Most property damage only claims, such as vehicle damage, is never reported. In fact, although required by most insurance gepanies, in some cases,even liability claims that fall under the self-insured amounts are not properly reported to the gepany.
The way that it works is this: A vehicle is damaged in service. It perhaps is totaled. The cost of repairs exceeds the value of the vehicle so the city writes off the $28,000 value of the vehicle plus the $5,000 value of the equipment they cannot salvage. Property damage as a result of the accident is $10,000 to Mrs. O'Leary's fence. The city pays Mrs. O'Leary, and nobody has any idea this ever occurred except the city and Mrs. O'Leary. The total loss to the city is thus $43,000 in real dollars, but the city has a $1,000,000 SIR, so they have $957,000 to go before the insurance gepany would pick up the first cent. Although the insurance gepanylikely requires notification as part of it's policy language, there is a good likelihood they won't be notified. I guess the point is if there is no payment to be made, why bother with the paperwork. I do have to say it is more likely notification would be made if there was personal injury involved, such as Mrs. O'Leary standing between the vehicle and her fence! That's pretty difficult to overlook with the impending legal activity that surely follows. So, in any event, your future cruiser will never show up in an insurance database anywhere. And, if it is not issued a salvage title, you may never know how bad the damage was!
Thus, if you purchase a used vehicle that has been owned by a municipality, you really don't know what you have, unless you have it inspected first by a trusted mechanic. A police, fire, EMS or utility vehicle that has been in an accident can either be repaired and returned to service, removed from inventory and sold, or salvaged, all depending on the severity of damage. Since the damaged vehicle would not show up on a CarFax or other report, you would never know the vehicle had been in an accident, an if you did, what the extent of the damage really was.
You should also be aware of State Laws in the locality where you are going to purchase a vehicle,or where the vehicleis geing from. In Oregon, for example,a total loss equates to "a vehicle that has sustained damage that is not covered by insurance and the estimated cost to repair the vehicle is equal to at least 80% of the retail market value prior to the damage." So a car that was damaged to 75% would not be considered a total for all practical purposes.
My recent searches show vehicles being severely damaged and being sold on okay, albeit with a salvage title, being described as having had minor damage when propspective buyers question the sellers about the vehicles past. One 2006 vehicle, previously sold under Item number: 130029469348 shows a great deal of damage, and then later repaired and listed as Item number: 110057905952,yet is described as "It had previously fallen into a dirt ditch." and "This car had minor bodily damage." Any "minor" damage usuallydoes not result in airbag deployment,the fenders to move, the rear bumper valance to deform, etc. Then in an even later auction, Item number: 110061601528, the same car is again listed with no mention of damage until prospective buyers begin to question why it has a salvage title.The seller states again it had "minor damage." Also, a prospective buyer asks if there is any warranty from Ford and the seller indicates they don't know. Fact is the vehicle had the warranty cancelled as soon as the title was "branded" as salvage. You get the general idea. This is so close to fraud it's pathetic, but okay has no way to catch these sellers unless you do it for them!Again, it doesn't have to be a police car for this to happen, but police vehicles are in some pretty unusual collisions and you can end up getting a vehicle that has had a rough life, unless you choose wisely. As a followup, the vehicle was again listed as Item number: 110064642355 indicating a salvage title but with again, no mention of the previous damage. And, for some reason,the seller has now changed their okay name as well. February 2007 update: It's now listed once again as Item 130079116878, under a new seller's name, but the same vehicle with no mention of all the damage, just notes it has a salvage title. Heck, folks, the front and rear valance trim isn't even the right one for the police package!
Remember too that a salvage title may not be able to be registered in all states, and you will be responsible for all problems after the sale. If you go to register the vehicle and it fails the DMV check, the cost of bringing it up to requirements, if even possible, will be yours. If the vehicle cannot be brought to requirements, you will then own a pricey lawn ornament, or might have to sell it to a salvage yard for parting out to try and recoup some of your money. So, be sure you can register that coveted vehicle before you buy it.
Also, when a vehicle has other than a standard title, the warranty will not usually apply, so your dealership won't repair the vehicle if anything goes wrong, even if it's under the standard new car warranty period. If the transmission, air conditioning, engine, differential, axle or suspension or even the entire electrical system fails, it's your problem. Some peoplesell flood cars on okay, even admitting the car had flood damage. Some will tell you it's okay because it was only fresh water. There's lots of contaminants in fresh water and it still gets into electrical parts, connectors, cables, upholstery, and in and between everything else. Mold and fungus can still form and may not even smell or begee apparent for awhile. Again, if the car has a flood title, good luck in getting anything fixed under the warranty. Changing all the fluids in a flood damaged car doesn't undo thedamage or eliminate the potential for more serious problems.
TIP: White powder on the floors and interior is often a sign that the airbags were deployed in a frontal collision. It's not all that easy to remove all the residue, and sometimes traces can be found in crevices, showing evidence of prior collisions. In the example above, it appears to be on the passenger side door sill; I am aware this vehicle had airbag deployment so it's pretty likely supposition this is residue from the deployment.
This does not mean that you can't get a great bargain on a government vehicle, nor should it keep you from buying one. What it should do is get that caution light burning brightly, so you don't end up with a real problem that you never bargained for. There is an old saying: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Holds true for many things in life.
SomeFacts: If you're perusing the ads looking for a used police car, beware of the catch phrases and gee-one. Words like "mint" condition, "premium" package, and such should set off that big cautionlight inside your head. Ask yourself what "mint" condition could possibly be on a used police car! Mint conditionapplies to something that cannot be told from the absolute brand new item,and was originally used to describe coins that were in the exact condition as received from the US Mint. Nowhere will you find a used vehicle with significant mileage that is "mint". There is no premium packages for police cars.
(If you're considering buying one, please read my review on Used Police Cars,andPolice Interceptor Never in Police Service?here on okay. It will be worth your time to help avoid getting a bad deal and helping you be happy with your choice of vehicles.)
Beware of puffed up claims on condition, speed capabilities, gas mileage etc.The Crown Vic is not an economy vehicle and people who tell you they get 28 mpg are likely burning the wrong kind of gas in their pipe, if you get my drift! I've driven many of these, some on several thousand mile trips, some new and some broken in, and none ever got gas mileage anywhere near those figures. Gas mileage runs anywhere from about 15 city to 23 highway, depending ontune up, fuel and driving habits and conditions. Top speed for a newerCVPI is electronically limited to 129-130with the 3:27 gear set and 119-120 for those with the 3:55 gears. Some units may run a couple of miles faster or slower, depending, again, on conditions, but this is not a 150 MPH car in any case.Defeating the electronic speed limiter is dangerous, as the driveshaft harmonics have been shown toviolently damagethe drivetrain, and/or result in an accident. Plus, your warranty will disappear faster than your money in a casino if the limiter is disabled.The Crown Vic doesn't put out 300 HP by simply installing a cold air intake, and it's not all that easy to get 400 HP out of the engine without nitrous or a supercharger either. Outrageous claims of huge horsepower and speed capabilities are pretty clear signalssomeone is trying to pull something over on you.
Also, these vehicles do not go a million miles without problems. No vehicle goes a million miles with no problems. Even a big rig, designed to long haul with a diesel that will run non-stop coast-to-coast, will not run a million miles trouble free. Don't fall for the hype that people throw out there, when it's clear they don't know what they're talking about. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is!
If you seea 2006, 2007 or 2007being sold with almost nomiles, it's almost certainly been factory transit damaged. One seller didn't disclose this in their auction, until I asked them why they didn't let prospective buyers know the vehicle had door and fender damage before delivery to the original dealer. They then did place that in an addendum to their listing. An oversight? Or simply thinking you wouldn't ever know? You make the call.Frankly, you would have absolutely no way of knowing if it weren't for guides like this one!
The Ford Dealers won't like me for telling you this: but when they sell a transit damaged car, they can and should obtain the OASIS report on the vehicle outlining any pre-delivery damage and/or repairs on thevehicle. Infact, the OASIS report will outline every factory-paid warranty repair on the vehicle since it was new, including recall gepletions and also outstanding recalls. Non-Ford family dealers do not have access to this report but the service department of every Ford andLincoln-Mercury Dealer does. If you're about to shell out big bucks for a nearly new car with almost zero miles and either being told it has no damage or not being told anything, ask for the OASIS report. It will have the VIN on it, the manufacture date, date the vehicle went into service, all repairs under warranty and, perhaps most important, where the vehicle was delivered and where the repairs were done. Thus a vehicle being sold in Georgia and represented as a local car might have been delivered to Minnesota and had body damage and auctioned off and purchased by the Georgia dealer. Nothing really wrong with that, and it does explain how many of those Michigan State Police blue cars end up all over the country. But, wouldn't it be nice to know that the car wasn't really from Georgia to begin with, and that there might be more little untruths you could have to deal with as the sale unfolds? Once again, honesty from the beginning is what makes the sale easy and pleasant and avoids the pitfalls of buying a surprise.
Read and be an informed buyer. Just like buying a parachute, getting the best you can is always a very smart idea!!