I would buy one at the right price as long as the trim hadn't been butchered on it.

I am a serving Police Officer and my force never used the Mk1 Octavia but they do have a few Mk2's. To my knowledge Police forces don't generally modify cars beyond standard or spend extra money beyond oe parts. However they do tend to get serviced properly and when things need replacing they should be done in relation to bushes etc.

i must say if you can find one cheap they are a bargain, at least you know everything been maintained. If you but a car privately you don't know whether its been owned by a boy racer who rags it everywhere or a granny who rarely drives it but when she does she pulls off in 5th and slips the clutch, buying a second hand car is like playing roulette

Being in the job, my advice on ex-police cars would be to avoid any cars that have been used as a general Panda by local patrol officers are to be avoided like the plague. Although they will have been frequently mechanically serviced and maintained, They will have been lived in, with no consideraton given for their interior condition and upkeep and they will have been ragged throughut their lifetime, generally due to the fact they are largely used in urban area's, where the only way to get up any speed is to consistently push the car up through the rev range. The good news is that local pandas usually tend to be cheaper cars like the Astra or Focus.

With cars that have been used by specialist units (Traffic, Surveillance, Driver Training, Area cars) its a slightly different story. Again they will have been well maintaned from a mechanical point of view. You also tend to find that cops who work on the specialist vehicle based units tend to have a bit more pride in the tools of their work - they tend to regularly clean them inside and out (almost daily with traffic cars).

You will probably also find that although such cars will have done big speeds during their lifetime, many of these miles have been done on A roads and motorways, rather than on urban streets, where in the boggo panda's you are literally jumping up and down on the gas and brake constantly.

The cars themselves that these units tend to use will generally be of a better than average quality, i.e. vRS, BMW 330d etc (the exception to this is the Vectra V6 - that may just because i hate Vauxhalls though) as well.

My advice would be to try and have a good look at the car before you buy in all instances, but whilst i would always instantly rule out a panda car, more specialised police vehicles are worth consideration.

I've been tempted in the past and still think that you should go into the deal knowing what you are buying. However, one lady owner cars don't necessarily come without problems. I've seen some pretty badly curbed wheels on one lady owner cars. Makes you wonder about the suspension etc. There's a coupe of pensioners ound here that ride the clutch at avery given opportunity and one bloke called Frank and he only ever uses first gear! You can hear him screaming down the road in his Micra, the poor car under torture and his reasoning is that it will do 25/30mph in first, so why bother changing into second.

I've seen a couple of ex police cars that have nearly made me part with cash in the past, but I've yet to take the plunge.

i saw a scooby and a evo 9 ex police interceptor car for 5k the other day i was gobsmacked

cheaper and regular serviced

theres a 2006 vectra vxr 280bhp ex police on ebay at the moment for £3500 compaired to the normal £6000

then again would never have anotha vauxhall anyway

i want that haha, be nice to be treated with respect by other drivers and bmw drivers haha

was going to fit a dummy camera on the parcel shelf and throw a hi-viz jacket on the back for extra effect lol

was going to fit a dummy camera on the parcel shelf and throw a hi-viz jacket on the back for extra effect lol

now that would be great do it as an experiment see how many people slow and wont overtake you (just for the record its not imitating a police car is it?)

now that would be great do it as an experiment see how many people slow and wont overtake you (just for the record its not imitating a police car is it?)

ok just go for the hi-viz jacket then cant say anything then as its used to change wheels at night incase of a flat lol

and stop the idiots getting right up my a*se at night down the lanes

give it a go and report back, put a black cardboad box on the parcel shelf haha, will be interesting to see how people react

Do not go near an ex police car. They get hammered.

a very mixed review haha interewsting this is

I've only ever seen positive posts on here from people who bought ex police cars. I've never seen a negative first hand experience.

only 1 bad thing if its got no tax you have to go to dvla in person to tax it

i drove to wales to fetch mine only to be told by the post office they couldnt do it

had a choice drive my clio172 back with no insurance as it was changed over at 5pm

or deive the vrs back with no tax lol

worse thing was i just got a car i couldnt drive for 2 days as fetched it sat

if you get it from a company the arange it for you if you pay for it but still thats a bit annoying

if you get it from a company the arange it for you if you pay for it but still thats a bit annoying

dont know suppose they would have to put it in the garage name though

i had insurance and mot but they said as it was down as police on the computer and not plg they couldnt do it

i had to go to the dvla fill 3 forms in and got it there and then

dvla said its the same with all police cars for the 1st time have to go there in person

fair enuf pain in the arse but i suppose u dont mind too much cus of the price

im tempted to buy one now can get one with less than 90k on the clock for less than 3k!!! Any tips on how to conduct a thorough inspection on a car that has been used like this?

id use the buying guide at the top of the page. Get the reg and try to find out the force it came from and ring up the fleet manager, see if you can get some indication of what its had done.

west yorkshire constab, ill see whats what

phoned the people aparently they are both ex motorway cars one undercover

Any idea of service history?

phoned the people aparently they are both ex motorway cars one undercover

Who told you that? Fleet manager or car sales place?

the car sales place havent been able to contact the constab yet but as the get them direct they know whats what

i got the email address for mest mercia where mine came from and emailed them

took around a week as they had to forward it onto the transport dept

but got a email back a week later with all the service history and work that had been done and dates the work was done

just a idea might be worth a try foor you