ex-plod S60 T5

[Tol]

I'm considering an ex-police S60 T5 as a project car and toy. It'll never be our primary runabout, so doesn't need to be bulletproof reliable, though I'm not looking to acquire astronomical maintenance costs.

Have looked over and test-driven one today, ex devon and cornwall, 03 plate with 130k miles.

The checks that usedcarexpert recommended (play in wheel bearings, clonk under acceleration, no oil drips, thorough checks on heating/aircon system etc, as well as their standard checks for used cars) were all fine, it has a very full police service printout, the cambelt was done at 80k as should be. Plenty of life left in the tyres.

The car felt like a 50k miler to me, with nothing in the drive to suggest the amount it had covered.

The interior was low spec and shabby, and the exterior had some scuffing and denting, scratching from livery removal, and grommets and a little rust in the roof. I am however in the bodywork and interior repair and restoration trade, so the cosmetics aren't a concern for me - I just want to avoid coming a cropper on the mechanicals, since I have no mechanical knowledge.

Even for an ex-police, on 03 plate with 130k miles, £3500 seems a good price. It is a trade sale, though the chap isn't offering any warranty beyond sale of goods act.

Have I missed anything I should really check, and is there value in getting someone like the RAC to check it over?

Thanks in advance for any help,

Tol
Thanks Reply With Quote

[chris1roll]

Well, one thing you can be sure of, is that it will have been meticulously maintained, regardless of cost, they can't afford to have them go wrong on the job now, can they?

[Dibble]

chris1roll said:

Well, one thing you can be sure of, is that it will have been meticulously maintained, regardless of cost, they can't afford to have them go wrong on the job now, can they?

...and the other thing you can be sure of is it will have had the tits thrashed off it! No, really, redlined in every gear...

[theponce]

Indeed, that's what a copper told me! Even though they are serviced on a cost-is-no-object basis, they are also driven on a cost-is-no-object basis too!!! eg, When a plod T5 loses oil pressure while in pursuit, they just carry on until the engine blows up. Then they will put another engine in later, and probably blow that up too! Straight from the horses mouth!

My advice before buying ex-plod is to watch TV and see if you can spot the car you are about to buy on Police-Camera-Action going up the kerbs and smashing into the joy riders car. Then decide if you still want to buy it...

Oh, and the price of £3500 - double it!!!! Because whatever you buy an ex-plod for, that's probably what you will then need to put into it to get it back up to standard again. So you will have an ex-plod for £7K in crappy white with poor spec and crap resale value and 130K on the clock. With that in mind, have a look on the autotrader and see what you can get for 7K with much lower miles and a decent spec and colour!

Edited by theponce on Tuesday 17th July 22:37

[K321]

why dont you just get a normal volvo s60 t-5...i had one , got it around the 25k mark, sold it for 5k mark, 3 years ago at 110,000 miles, and just before i sold it i gave 3 friends a spin in it on a private runway at top speed and they thought the car was brand new such was the quality.

[Isoproturon1]

I have seen first hand the abuse police vehicles get.

Think about it, they can be sitting outside a nick with a stone cold engine and then within seconds be redlining it to a job.

[K321]

sounds a bit what i do

[thehappyotter]

I've heard you should take the mileage of a police car and double it to get a guide of how worn out it's going to be.

I know just how much our cars are thrashed at work so i'd never ever buy one.

Like someone else has said, they are taken from stone cold straight up to the redline on a daily basis. Over 130,000 miles that's a hell of a thrashing.

Plus think of all the prisoners who've had a wee, sicked all over and sometimes had a dump on the back seat. Horrible things happen in the back of police cars...

I once had a prisoner who had taken a dump, shook it down his trouser leg and then used his foot to rub it all over the rear footwell. It stank for weeks.

Don't do it.

[K321]

i also went in a volvo police car and was amazed how crap the interior was compared to mine

[Anatol]

Are any forces still transporting prisoners in the back of traffic cars? I thought everyone had moved to specialised prisoner transports, for the obvious reasons.

Also, traffic cars should have been driven advanced drivers only - not officers with just a patrol/response ticket... so the driving should have been skilled, with appropriate mechanical sympathy...

[theponce]

Anatol said:

Also, traffic cars should have been driven advanced drivers only - not officers with just a patrol/response ticket... so the driving should have been skilled, with appropriate mechanical sympathy...

where on earth do you get these deluded ideas from that plod traffic cars are driven with mechanical sympathy???? lol. they are thrashed to death. period!

[thehappyotter]

theponce said:

Anatol said:

Also, traffic cars should have been driven advanced drivers only - not officers with just a patrol/response ticket... so the driving should have been skilled, with appropriate mechanical sympathy...

where on earth do you get these deluded ideas from that plod traffic cars are driven with mechanical sympathy???? lol. they are thrashed to death. period!

Exactly.

Prisoners are transported in the back of cars all the time up here. Our only van with a cage is our LWB Public Order Sprinter which is not practical to have out on patrol with only one officer.

Volvo's are not just on traffic/arvs either, we have one at our nick which is used by section and thrashed constantly. Most other nicks have at least one too so we maintain a divisional pursuit capability.

We don't actually have a traffic department anymore...

[Isoproturon1]

At our nick, we have 2 4x4s, a van, a Proton saloon, and various plain jobbies.

Prisoners, therefore, get transported in cars more often than not (having the van is near to a luxury).

[Isoproturon1]

Dibble said:

chris1roll said:

Well, one thing you can be sure of, is that it will have been meticulously maintained, regardless of cost, they can't afford to have them go wrong on the job now, can they?

...and the other thing you can be sure of is it will have had the tits thrashed off it! No, really, redlined in every gear...

So that's why when I went to take the van out the other day:

1) There was no fuel in it;
2) There was no screenwash in it;
3) The brake light on the offside was blown;
4) The o/s headlight and sidelights were blown due to water getting in the headlight unit;
5) The exhaust is blowing.

On another vehicle, the battery keeps going flat and the exhaust blows, plus the immobiliser is a bit "keen" to immobilise.

Yep, meticulously maintained one-owner cars !

[Chris71]

Not sure about the price, but well maintained it should have another 100,000 miles in it at that mileage surely?

[theponce]

Chris71 said:

Not sure about the price, but well maintained it should have another 100,000 miles in it at that mileage surely?

If you're gonna buy a 100K+ mileage car and then attempt to do another 100K in it, then it's still best to avoid ex-plod for all the reasons mentioned above. There is no such thing as a "nice" ex-plod car. They have crap spec, crap interiors, crap colours, crap resale values, crap suspension, crap wheels, and crap bodywork. Crap, crap, crap!!! I really don't understand why people buy them!!!

[time2react]

I must admit, yes they are well serviced, every 5,000 miles where i am. However they are also in workshops every 2,000 miles having a part replaced that broke on the last shout.
so thinking about it, it's probably a whole brand new car when you buy it.
Drive safe

[theponce]

time2react said:

I must admit, yes they are well serviced, every 5,000 miles where i am. However they are also in workshops every 2,000 miles having a part replaced that broke on the last shout.
so thinking about it, it's probably a whole brand new car when you buy it.
Drive safe

Yes but when you buy a "brand new" car, you don't expect the bodywork to be full of holes and dents, nor do you expect a crappy interior! And you don't really want a high mileage "brand new" car because it's still got a high mileage on it's record. Try selling that for decent money after you've done another 50K on top.

[Isoproturon1]

Not to mention the fact they get driven over pavements, fields, etc.

Traffic cars don't just trawl motorways these days you know...

[rkidz01]

I have got an ex police car, i have owned it for the last 4 years now and i have got to say it has been fantastic! Mine is running at 325bhp and i have more than likely thrashed it more the the plods. It is still going strong with 180,000 on the clock. I have had no trouble what so ever, Keep up regular services and you will not have a problem. The only work i have had done apart from mods are Power steering rack, Drop link arm and Shocks oh and lots of tyres. Apart from that Mint Car. But i will advise to only buy an ex police car from leicester as they look after better.
Rayn