Ex Police BMW's, what do people think?
Discussion
As someone who owned an ex police Vauxhall Senator 3.0 24v and loved every second of it, I was wondering what are people's experiences of ex police 330d tourings and other assorted BMW's.
I can see that the interiors are full cloth and somewhat basic and I understand that the Police spec cars do not include much of the I drive stuff, but what are people's experiences of them?
Has anyone bought one and then purchased parts like seats etc from a write off to upgrade the interior and if so how did they find it?
I can see that the interiors are full cloth and somewhat basic and I understand that the Police spec cars do not include much of the I drive stuff, but what are people's experiences of them?
Has anyone bought one and then purchased parts like seats etc from a write off to upgrade the interior and if so how did they find it?
Knowing the abuse ours get at work, I wouldn't buy one at the prices they seem to sell for.
With the BMW's I've noticed that once they hit 130k or thereabouts, they spend a lot of time in the workshop (drivetrain faults, weird pulsing on constant speed, wafting suspension just to name a few)
If it's dirt cheap and you're happy to spend money maintaining it, then you can go for it
With the BMW's I've noticed that once they hit 130k or thereabouts, they spend a lot of time in the workshop (drivetrain faults, weird pulsing on constant speed, wafting suspension just to name a few)
If it's dirt cheap and you're happy to spend money maintaining it, then you can go for it
RicoOS said:
As someone who owned an ex police Vauxhall Senator 3.0 24v and loved every second of it, I was wondering what are people's experiences of ex police 330d tourings and other assorted BMW's.
I can see that the interiors are full cloth and somewhat basic and I understand that the Police spec cars do not include much of the I drive stuff, but what are people's experiences of them?
Has anyone bought one and then purchased parts like seats etc from a write off to upgrade the interior and if so how did they find it?
How much £££ are you expecting to save?I can see that the interiors are full cloth and somewhat basic and I understand that the Police spec cars do not include much of the I drive stuff, but what are people's experiences of them?
Has anyone bought one and then purchased parts like seats etc from a write off to upgrade the interior and if so how did they find it?
I'd expect the cars to have been serviced very well, but they would have led a hard life.
Also, not sure how much of the interior is adapted to police needs (centre console etc) and what other adaptations would need to be 'reversed'.
I wouldn’t, whilst they get looked after, they really take some serious abuse. I know, having driven them for many years.
Saying that, as someone mentioned, we’re seeing a few having new engines under warranty, very late on in their patrol lives, then being sold. The new owners getting all the benefit.
Saying that, as someone mentioned, we’re seeing a few having new engines under warranty, very late on in their patrol lives, then being sold. The new owners getting all the benefit.
Would I want a car that has been driven extremely hard it's entire life...?
And when we say, they've been serviced regularly. They get serviced as per the schedule. Nothing more than that. There is no special treatment for them.
Long high speed runs regularly for those based out of the cities. Countless speed bumps for those in the cities. And lots get crashed and repaired, which as I understand it doesn't go through insurance so doesn't need to be declared as Cat S or N.
Given how many good private cars there are out there, I dont really understand why anyone would bother taking such a massive punt to save a few quid.
Dad was in the trade for 30 years until recently and couple of my mates are in the Police. So those are my two cents from what I've been told anyway.
And when we say, they've been serviced regularly. They get serviced as per the schedule. Nothing more than that. There is no special treatment for them.
Long high speed runs regularly for those based out of the cities. Countless speed bumps for those in the cities. And lots get crashed and repaired, which as I understand it doesn't go through insurance so doesn't need to be declared as Cat S or N.
Given how many good private cars there are out there, I dont really understand why anyone would bother taking such a massive punt to save a few quid.
Dad was in the trade for 30 years until recently and couple of my mates are in the Police. So those are my two cents from what I've been told anyway.
Hi,
These threads over the years bring a varied and mixed bag of responses, ranging from 'you must be extremely mad & need to be checked into the loony bin' to 'glowing reports'... and everything in between !
I fall into the latter catagory !
Bought my Ex Police E39 530d a short whilst after 'retirement' from Police duty in early 2006 just after it's third birthday at 150K miles. I still have it and it's gone gone from totally base/police spec and condition to totally changed. I bought it for just over £6.5k'ish and the cheapest equivalent non Police example I think was around £14K with 'most' for sale at around £16-18K.
first gearbox failure was 2007 at 172K miles, rebuilt and in 2016 failed again at 280K miles (stage 1 remap since first rebuild). Rebuilt again and after numerous failures and 6+ months of trying to get my money back via credit card issuer's and the gearbox specialist being a complete jerk, a low miled manual 5 speed conversion kit came along so bit the bullet and converted. So it now feels like a new car IN my old car!
Routine servicing, a couple shock absorbers, new electronic control module for the injectors, couple fuel pumps, the 'usual' 5 series front suspension component issues, a few other nominal to 'relative' mid range priced parts changes (steering rack gaiter/fuel neck filler leak etc) and it's been very good in terms of reliability.
All else - interior, suspension, exterior I've changed/modified over the years, currently looks like this;
I've added bits I wanted and more to come!
I was lucky that not too much had been messed around with internally. 3 holes on the dashtop, 3 more on the centre console trim, I found the OEM unused head unit in a bag in the boot the day after purchase (sold that for a rather silly amount - someone paid £250 for a radio cassette!) It has zero options, so nothing to go faulty/wrong and has 4 shocks/springs instead of rear airbags (all coilovers as of 14 months ago)
The service book I had showed a Police Preparation centre stamp every 2/3 months, but no details of what was changed. A contact I know used to work at a Police Car Preparation centre and gave me a good overview of hwo they prepare cars and maintain them.
I've no qualms in buying another one, I think however over the years, the price gap between an ex police example and a base level non police spec car is quite a bit smaller now, still a few grand but not like the £10+k I 'saved'. That said, I'd still consider to purchase another one.
Cheers, Dennis!
These threads over the years bring a varied and mixed bag of responses, ranging from 'you must be extremely mad & need to be checked into the loony bin' to 'glowing reports'... and everything in between !
I fall into the latter catagory !
Bought my Ex Police E39 530d a short whilst after 'retirement' from Police duty in early 2006 just after it's third birthday at 150K miles. I still have it and it's gone gone from totally base/police spec and condition to totally changed. I bought it for just over £6.5k'ish and the cheapest equivalent non Police example I think was around £14K with 'most' for sale at around £16-18K.
first gearbox failure was 2007 at 172K miles, rebuilt and in 2016 failed again at 280K miles (stage 1 remap since first rebuild). Rebuilt again and after numerous failures and 6+ months of trying to get my money back via credit card issuer's and the gearbox specialist being a complete jerk, a low miled manual 5 speed conversion kit came along so bit the bullet and converted. So it now feels like a new car IN my old car!
Routine servicing, a couple shock absorbers, new electronic control module for the injectors, couple fuel pumps, the 'usual' 5 series front suspension component issues, a few other nominal to 'relative' mid range priced parts changes (steering rack gaiter/fuel neck filler leak etc) and it's been very good in terms of reliability.
All else - interior, suspension, exterior I've changed/modified over the years, currently looks like this;
I've added bits I wanted and more to come!
I was lucky that not too much had been messed around with internally. 3 holes on the dashtop, 3 more on the centre console trim, I found the OEM unused head unit in a bag in the boot the day after purchase (sold that for a rather silly amount - someone paid £250 for a radio cassette!) It has zero options, so nothing to go faulty/wrong and has 4 shocks/springs instead of rear airbags (all coilovers as of 14 months ago)
The service book I had showed a Police Preparation centre stamp every 2/3 months, but no details of what was changed. A contact I know used to work at a Police Car Preparation centre and gave me a good overview of hwo they prepare cars and maintain them.
I've no qualms in buying another one, I think however over the years, the price gap between an ex police example and a base level non police spec car is quite a bit smaller now, still a few grand but not like the £10+k I 'saved'. That said, I'd still consider to purchase another one.
Cheers, Dennis!
I would echo all of the above, it’s a real gamble what you’re going to end up with - I seem to remember some YouTube channel ‘Nut Job’ or someone who documents his tale with a 530d who’s engine finally gave out while on the dyno.
All I would add is that no two cars will be the same. Some feel loose and baggy yet some don’t at the same mileage. There are some police cars on the fleet that are known to have been in big smashes that are back on the road, and as stated, all are thrashed from cold and left idling for hours.
Where I am BMW are now replacing the rod bearings at 150k miles as preventative maintenance.
All I would add is that no two cars will be the same. Some feel loose and baggy yet some don’t at the same mileage. There are some police cars on the fleet that are known to have been in big smashes that are back on the road, and as stated, all are thrashed from cold and left idling for hours.
Where I am BMW are now replacing the rod bearings at 150k miles as preventative maintenance.
Dennis, I think the difference now, as opposed to when you bought yours, is that not many forces run motorway only vehicles/ units anymore.
I would have probably bought an ex-motorway vehicle as they did monster miles, at speed, but the engines etc weren't particularly stressed and the rest of the vehicle eg suspension/ bodywork etc had an easy'ish life.
These days, most, if not all of the vehicles are joint motorway and sector cars. With the arrival of the HATO's, the motorways don't need the police presence they once did.
So, the traffic cars get a much, much harder life as the stress and wear on the parts is much greater.
Hence, why I probably wouldn't want one now. Well done on finding yours though, obviously got yourself a cracker.
I would have probably bought an ex-motorway vehicle as they did monster miles, at speed, but the engines etc weren't particularly stressed and the rest of the vehicle eg suspension/ bodywork etc had an easy'ish life.
These days, most, if not all of the vehicles are joint motorway and sector cars. With the arrival of the HATO's, the motorways don't need the police presence they once did.
So, the traffic cars get a much, much harder life as the stress and wear on the parts is much greater.
Hence, why I probably wouldn't want one now. Well done on finding yours though, obviously got yourself a cracker.
Thanks for all the thoughts people, I must admit I hadn't thought about it from a perspective of there are no longer motorway patrol cars and I had also noticed the price differential is much closer than when I bought the Senator. Plus there were no speed bumps back in the early 90's, so that's a thought too.
Paid £3k for it with 105k on the clock at 4 years old, 3 years of Police life, plus 1 year of an old boy who bought it to tow his caravan and did about 3k miles in the year he owned it. But it was was under half the price I would have had to have paid for a non Police one, and also back then Police spec included more performance, as instead of the stock 200bhp, it had 235ish, add in weighing a lot less and the performance was comparable to a Cossie.
I'm not actually considering buying one at the moment, it was more to see how things had changed given the price gap has narrowed a lot, and it seems that unless you can find the right one, that's led the right life I'd probably avoid them
Paid £3k for it with 105k on the clock at 4 years old, 3 years of Police life, plus 1 year of an old boy who bought it to tow his caravan and did about 3k miles in the year he owned it. But it was was under half the price I would have had to have paid for a non Police one, and also back then Police spec included more performance, as instead of the stock 200bhp, it had 235ish, add in weighing a lot less and the performance was comparable to a Cossie.
I'm not actually considering buying one at the moment, it was more to see how things had changed given the price gap has narrowed a lot, and it seems that unless you can find the right one, that's led the right life I'd probably avoid them
I think you need to be very careful .. or in the know
Anything that firearms has been near ... avoid
Traffic officers are normally “car guys” and try to look after the cars as best they can
Firearms though, they just destroy things for the sake of destroying them .. they can wreck anything
Sadly some nice cars get given to them for training prior to disposal .. which kills them
Maintenance isn’t what it was .. where it was all “no expense spared” and massive over servicing, now it’s more as per manufacturer .. our cars used to get serviced every 5k ... not now
Motorway cars with dedicated drivers have gone mostly, as have supervision vehicles and the number of vehicles has fallen massively so they are worked much harder
But, I have a friend who bought an absolute beauty of Range Rover that was a Chief Cons personal car which then went to the VIP unit where it was very lightly used ( by him )
Recently 3 530d’s went from that unit to the auction.. brilliant buys .. never liveried, hardly ever driven in anger
But they are a very small minority of cars
As a mate used to say .. “one owner, original dashboard ( if you’re lucky ) !
Anything that firearms has been near ... avoid
Traffic officers are normally “car guys” and try to look after the cars as best they can
Firearms though, they just destroy things for the sake of destroying them .. they can wreck anything
Sadly some nice cars get given to them for training prior to disposal .. which kills them
Maintenance isn’t what it was .. where it was all “no expense spared” and massive over servicing, now it’s more as per manufacturer .. our cars used to get serviced every 5k ... not now
Motorway cars with dedicated drivers have gone mostly, as have supervision vehicles and the number of vehicles has fallen massively so they are worked much harder
But, I have a friend who bought an absolute beauty of Range Rover that was a Chief Cons personal car which then went to the VIP unit where it was very lightly used ( by him )
Recently 3 530d’s went from that unit to the auction.. brilliant buys .. never liveried, hardly ever driven in anger
But they are a very small minority of cars
As a mate used to say .. “one owner, original dashboard ( if you’re lucky ) !
We have a Company which specialises in acquiring and retailing covert police cars. We do not touch liveried ex police vehicles they are generally too much work.
Covert vehicle quality varies hugely depending on the exact Police Force and some are much better maintained than others but most are maintained extremely well and above and beyond manufacturers recommendations including annual brake fluid changes etc. Some are MOTd on the basis that criminals may spot an untested car etc. Some are registered to the Force concerned others are registered to a spurious Company for security reasons.
Many we acquire through BCA and prices are generally low. Police spec cars obviously are alot cheaper than the equivalent private/lease car.
We have noticed many Forces are now disposing of their cars more because they require work and have issues rather than on a time/mileage basis.
Covert vehicle quality varies hugely depending on the exact Police Force and some are much better maintained than others but most are maintained extremely well and above and beyond manufacturers recommendations including annual brake fluid changes etc. Some are MOTd on the basis that criminals may spot an untested car etc. Some are registered to the Force concerned others are registered to a spurious Company for security reasons.
Many we acquire through BCA and prices are generally low. Police spec cars obviously are alot cheaper than the equivalent private/lease car.
We have noticed many Forces are now disposing of their cars more because they require work and have issues rather than on a time/mileage basis.
av185 said:
We have a Company which specialises in acquiring and retailing covert police cars. We do not touch liveried ex police vehicles they are generally too much work.
Covert vehicle quality varies hugely depending on the exact Police Force and some are much better maintained than others but most are maintained extremely well and above and beyond manufacturers recommendations including annual brake fluid changes etc. Some are MOTd on the basis that criminals may spot an untested car etc. Some are registered to the Force concerned others are registered to a spurious Company for security reasons.
Many we acquire through BCA and prices are generally low. Police spec cars obviously are alot cheaper than the equivalent private/lease car.
We have noticed many Forces are now disposing of their cars more because they require work and have issues rather than on a time/mileage basis.
Surprised you’re getting stuff coming out with ghost identities, I’ve always known them to have a Police identity which would always be on the vehicle if it went outside for any warranty/bodywork etc and certainly on it on disposal Covert vehicle quality varies hugely depending on the exact Police Force and some are much better maintained than others but most are maintained extremely well and above and beyond manufacturers recommendations including annual brake fluid changes etc. Some are MOTd on the basis that criminals may spot an untested car etc. Some are registered to the Force concerned others are registered to a spurious Company for security reasons.
Many we acquire through BCA and prices are generally low. Police spec cars obviously are alot cheaper than the equivalent private/lease car.
We have noticed many Forces are now disposing of their cars more because they require work and have issues rather than on a time/mileage basis.
Agree about the disposal .. certainly the mileage/time limits have mostly gone and stuff mainly goes when it starts costing money .. if it’s costing nothing they’ll keep running it
Strangely I’ve seen them put new engines in and then a few months later bin it because it needs a clutch .. they’ve just decided they’ve spent enough on it so get rid
Agree with all of the above. 15 to 20 years ago when they were more of a bargain, traffic cars were used for traffic purposes only, and forces had an active role in maintaining them I'd be happy to buy one. Nowadays, I'd be much more weary. Main factor is the price is often really high for a 530/330/x5 with an awful spec and misaligned panels.
JakeT said:
Agree with all of the above. 15 to 20 years ago when they were more of a bargain, traffic cars were used for traffic purposes only, and forces had an active role in maintaining them I'd be happy to buy one. Nowadays, I'd be much more weary. Main factor is the price is often really high for a 530/330/x5 with an awful spec and misaligned panels.
Many moons ago had an ex Leicestershire Police E61 530d, which was a good family car (Authorities spec is below SE with cloth trim), lots of worn surfaces from police officers' kit like handcuffs, asps etc rubbing against seat belts, radio would have been ripped out, or replaced by some sort of MDT (mobile data terminal), and there's not even an alarm or locking wheel nuts. You can't get past that specially calibrated dash which is a tell tale sign. Thrashed engines from being driven on a shout / on the hurry-up, and no doubt TPAC damage from pursuits. Holes in dash very common as well, can be hard to sell on.Mind how you go if buying one...
The driver training cars are much better looked after than the patrol cars. That's not to say that they don't live a hard life, they are undoubtedly driven very hard but at least they're never purposefully crashed or thumped over speed bumps.
I don't think running the cars at idle does them any damage but I do remember reading years ago that the oil galleries in the S60 T5 were redesigned after police use - they found failures were caused by sitting at idle and then trying to demand max speed from the car, as would often happen for cars getting an ANPR hit or an urgent job when parked up next to a fast road, just the sort of use that would never occur in civilian use to highlight a problem.
As much as I wouldn't buy an ex traffic car, I'd steer even further away from an ex panda. They're thrashed from cold regularly, driven extremely hard, treat like dodgem cars.
One thing I had often wondered about though was the amount of threads on PH warning about switching off an engine shortly after a fast run. Every manual I've had has warned the driver not to switch off the engine without first doing a gentle cooldown drive. The experts suggest that the sudden cessation of oil flow to the turbo would cause the oil trapped there to carbonise and the turbo would be damaged by the heat it couldn't dissipate. However, police cars are regularly flogged to jobs and the keys are pulled out before the engine has stopped turning over, yet not once have I ever known one to be damaged by repeated action.
I don't think running the cars at idle does them any damage but I do remember reading years ago that the oil galleries in the S60 T5 were redesigned after police use - they found failures were caused by sitting at idle and then trying to demand max speed from the car, as would often happen for cars getting an ANPR hit or an urgent job when parked up next to a fast road, just the sort of use that would never occur in civilian use to highlight a problem.
As much as I wouldn't buy an ex traffic car, I'd steer even further away from an ex panda. They're thrashed from cold regularly, driven extremely hard, treat like dodgem cars.
One thing I had often wondered about though was the amount of threads on PH warning about switching off an engine shortly after a fast run. Every manual I've had has warned the driver not to switch off the engine without first doing a gentle cooldown drive. The experts suggest that the sudden cessation of oil flow to the turbo would cause the oil trapped there to carbonise and the turbo would be damaged by the heat it couldn't dissipate. However, police cars are regularly flogged to jobs and the keys are pulled out before the engine has stopped turning over, yet not once have I ever known one to be damaged by repeated action.
Don Roque said:
The driver training cars are much better looked after than the patrol cars. That's not to say that they don't live a hard life, they are undoubtedly driven very hard but at least they're never purposefully crashed or thumped over speed bumps.
I don't think running the cars at idle does them any damage but I do remember reading years ago that the oil galleries in the S60 T5 were redesigned after police use - they found failures were caused by sitting at idle and then trying to demand max speed from the car, as would often happen for cars getting an ANPR hit or an urgent job when parked up next to a fast road, just the sort of use that would never occur in civilian use to highlight a problem.
As much as I wouldn't buy an ex traffic car, I'd steer even further away from an ex panda. They're thrashed from cold regularly, driven extremely hard, treat like dodgem cars.
One thing I had often wondered about though was the amount of threads on PH warning about switching off an engine shortly after a fast run. Every manual I've had has warned the driver not to switch off the engine without first doing a gentle cooldown drive. The experts suggest that the sudden cessation of oil flow to the turbo would cause the oil trapped there to carbonise and the turbo would be damaged by the heat it couldn't dissipate. However, police cars are regularly flogged to jobs and the keys are pulled out before the engine has stopped turning over, yet not once have I ever known one to be damaged by repeated action.
The diesels are far better suited to sitting idling for long periods than the petrol cars although the clouds of black smoke when you booted them off the hard shoulder was epic !I don't think running the cars at idle does them any damage but I do remember reading years ago that the oil galleries in the S60 T5 were redesigned after police use - they found failures were caused by sitting at idle and then trying to demand max speed from the car, as would often happen for cars getting an ANPR hit or an urgent job when parked up next to a fast road, just the sort of use that would never occur in civilian use to highlight a problem.
As much as I wouldn't buy an ex traffic car, I'd steer even further away from an ex panda. They're thrashed from cold regularly, driven extremely hard, treat like dodgem cars.
One thing I had often wondered about though was the amount of threads on PH warning about switching off an engine shortly after a fast run. Every manual I've had has warned the driver not to switch off the engine without first doing a gentle cooldown drive. The experts suggest that the sudden cessation of oil flow to the turbo would cause the oil trapped there to carbonise and the turbo would be damaged by the heat it couldn't dissipate. However, police cars are regularly flogged to jobs and the keys are pulled out before the engine has stopped turning over, yet not once have I ever known one to be damaged by repeated action.
The T5’s were plagued with engine management faults prob from the ECU’s frying whilst sitting for hours running hot
The last batch of Range Rovers ( petrol V8 )we had were epically unreliable. They continually fried the ECU’s and other complex electrical stuff after sitting for hours. They couldn’t cope with a high speed reverse after hours idling for some reason
One was sent back to LR for diagnosis and subsequently scrapped there .. the rest of the batch were withdrawn early and replaced by diesel X5’s which were much better
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