Is it HOLDEN in general or the fact that it is ex-police?

[andyman]

Sure police vehicles are maintained, but only "by the book" general maintenance stuff. They might do oil changes more regularly (as recommended in high duty cycle usage anyway), but for the rest it's just done by the book. The way those bozos drive them, I'm afraid I'd never buy an ex-cop car unless it was strictly a supervisor's runabout, and would have it thoroughly inspected beforehand still. A pursuit or general duties hack has been abused, there's no doubting it. With twenty different blokes a day driving them, do you think they give a good God-damn about the car?

not so, cop vehicles have a very strict servicing schedule, from what i was told by a guy that nows that has a police contract, they do oil and filter every 7,500km, diff oil, brake fluid, trans oil is done every 20,000km, is saying that though, no matter how much you change oils etc, a car that is destructivly driven will still break parts even with clean, new oil.


to put it in perspective with how hard there driven, certain models of rodeos of late where having the rear DRUM shoes (brakes) and as other mechanically minded people would know drum brakes on a ute on typical driving would easily last 150,000km, they where replacing them every 10,000km

Mine had a diff replacement at 34,000k's then again at 34,100k's, then a rebuild at 34,400k's...

lol what tha?

 

[andyman]

A few weeks later got a "fuel gauge" indicator error. Plus the car would smell petrol in the cabin. (The error was fixed but the smell is still present sometimes)

A few weeks later i started noticing a noise coming from the suspension/steering area when turning in low speeds. i.e. when doing u-turns or getting out of a driveway. This hasnt been rectified yet. Im suspecting ball bearings are damaged.

ive heard of people on here saying the fuel cap gives problems with not sealing, there fix is to squeeze the sides of the cap to tighten it up more


is that a clicking clunking noise, quite possibly and more than likely is small bump stop on the rusts up and grind together

 

[vsl67]

SO many people love to point out there car is an ex police car ,but why you would want a car that have been thrashed,usualy pranged a couple of times and treated like **** is beyond me ,

 

[howzat_96]

mines a vz 06 had a knocking in the rear. one diff,drive shalfs and tail shalf all replaced by 30,000 no more knocking and it drives great

 

[Verds]

Mate of mine has an ex cop xr6. Bought through qfleet like i have bought a few of my cars. He has never had a problem with it. I know qfleet goes through and does a full check over the car replacing everything that is either nearly gone or should die within the statutory warranty. Only problem i have had with my ex mains roads crewman is the clutch burning out. but that was after 90,000km and it had never been replaced before. this was lucky enough coverd under the stat warranty. lol after just buying the car i didn't have a lazy $2500 lying about.

 

[Calaber]

I don't think the car has been designed yet that is "cop proof".

After working for many years alongside the Police in NSW, I never ceased to be amazed at the sheer wanton neglect and abuse some of our cars received. On one occasion, a HWP Commodore SS was used to chase a stolen car across a paddock. Guess what state the SS was in by the time it got stranded in the middle of the field when it bottomed out? And what was I told? Well, the car is just a tool of trade, after all.

On another occasion, a motorist drove past an RBT post. Constable Fangio takes off in pursuiit, overtakes a car whilst negotiating a 90 degree bend in the road, clouts the median strip, but drives on. Front end, tailshaft, engine mounts front and rear, diff - all stuffed. But he got his man....

Another one. Car slides out in wet, belts rear wheel against kerb, nothing done, nothing said. Next shift, next driver, can't understand why car wants to steer itself and makes funny noises. In for service. New rear axle, two wheels, two tyres, misecellaneous other things. Big bucks, not warranty. Stiff.....

In NSW, a few years ago, it was decided to keep HWP and general duty vehcles longer. They used to be exchanged at 40k, but this was increased to 60k, so the chance of buying a car that has been abused and damaged is considerably greater. It is possible to get a good ex police car, but you would need to know what sort of duty it was used for. Forget any HWP or General Duty vehicles - they are heavily neglected and abused. Sure, they get regular services, but the job they perform between services means they lead an abnormally hard life.

Best bets are vehicles used by senior execs and various units associated with school lecturing/crime prevention/juvenile safety. They don't get used for emergency respones and are generally much more gently driven. They are often "unmarked" and don't have all the equipment fitted into them such as batons, mobile data terminals, warning lights etc. When looking at ex-government vehcles at auctions, look for signs where interior fittings have been removed and small holes or repairs are apparent. If you can't find any evidence of the equipment being installed, there is a chance it was used for the more "mundane" work and was better driven.

Frankly, why you would want an ex-HWP vehicle is beyond me after seeing what they cop during their service.

 

[Torquative]

I want en ex HWP car, as long as its at the right price for the pure reason I thrash my car anyway ...

Greg, whats wrong with my car? tis ex NSW Police and no, it hasnt been serviced to the book either. Acctually it has a very interesting and varied history.

Sure alot fo GD cars are thrashed, same goes for an ex taxi, but to put all cop cars in the same boat isnt right, there are good ones out there.

Then again Ive seen prestige cars that have similar issues and people pay $200 000 + for them brand new only to have the diff fail, trim fall apart, the dash fail, the radio lock up, ipod not work, bluetooth not pair with phones, unexplained oil leaks etc ...

 

[murph_1989]

ex-police would be your reason

i am sure it has done some 4wding over gutters and many sessions of thrashing

 

[volotre]

I had an ex-cop VZ and a privately owned VZ at the same time for few months as both were to good to pass up bargains. I actually preferred the ride in the ex-cop car (must be the the FE2 and LSD diff),I also prefered the black dash surrounds too but chose to keep the privately owned one for a few reasons but mainly because it was noticeably quicker than the cop car which wasn't expected. The cop cars have some soundproofing removed from the firewall and the one I had sounded like there was a big hole in the firewall behind the glovebox, very annoying at speed.

is that a clicking clunking noise, quite possibly and more than likely is small bump stop on the rusts up and grind together

Can you give more info on this? My VZ makes a bit of a knock/clunk sound on full right hand lock sometimes.

 

[policehoon]

not so, cop vehicles have a very strict servicing schedule, from what i was told by a guy that nows that has a police contract, they do oil and filter every 7,500km, diff oil, brake fluid, trans oil is done every 20,000km, is saying that though, no matter how much you change oils etc, a car that is destructivly driven will still break parts even with clean, new oil.

to put it in perspective with how hard there driven, certain models of rodeos of late where having the rear DRUM shoes (brakes) and as other mechanically minded people would know drum brakes on a ute on typical driving would easily last 150,000km, they where replacing them every 10,000km

Our cars are serviced only when the book says so, not before....It gets a pursuit check when its involved in a pursuit, ie looking for things that are bent and then replace them, change of brakes pads.

Its true we do drive the cars hard from day dot, and normally they are involved in some sort of accident thru thier police life, its the nature of the job.

As the cars get close to 60k mark, there is a marked amount of faults that show up which we dont fix because its going to auction soon.