Ex Police Vehicles Configurations (what to look for)

[JL]

Okay, I've searched for topics regarding ex-government and ex-police vehicles and not a lot of information on them. Anyways I've found that there is a lot of info on the holden forums on there ex-cop cars, wondering why we dont here.

Well i'm in the market for one, and i want as much information as possible. Anyone who has experience with them. No urban myths here please, just the straight facts. I know the basics like most cop cars have heavy duty alternators and uprated suspension, oil sump guards... etc. Like how do I go about looking for the option codes on each vehicle and identifying any special features???

What I'm looking at is probably a BA/BAII XR6T or XR6. The ones i've seen have done about 40,000 to 50,000ks and still have new car warranty. They also have full service history.

Like with everything there are always pros and cons. So lets make this thread as helpful to everyone else as well and keep it all factual and informative.

Cheers guys!

[frost]

Ok Dont know any option codes, but the ECU has been re flashed, and the dash will only display a digital speed and distace to empty until re flashed

Most VIC cop cars, most likely NSW too depends if they Use Webfleet will keep most BA's to 60,000 to 80,000km due to the fact ford dropped the price of the BA11 in the wake of the realease of the BF Falcon

My next door neighbour who is a copper his "work" car has done 63,000km

I dont know much about the BA but in the past i was told that a lot of ex - cop car cars were fitted with normal speedo's with either single or 2 kay allotments.
I had an ex-cop xg ute that had 2k marks between 100 - 110 for example.

Like i say i dont know wether this is accurate or not but in the past we used to check out the dealers cars based on that principle alone.....if it had 5k intervals we left it alone.

Im sure there are others on the forum who could say one way or the other.

Maybe this helps

[Bluehoon]

BA cop cars..

re - flashed ecu, etc etc

they have an extra wiring hardness installed on the brake booster, used for accessories (radar, cameras,) etc etc.

Speedo is in 2 km increments.

There is also a transmission cooler fitted.

The cop cars also run a seperate series ID on the compliance plate...

Think that about sums it up

[whippet_zetec]

My AUII was an ex-police car from Orange.

When I purchased the vehicle all the options added were standard issue as you have already pointed out, upgraded electrics, ECU changes, suspension modifications etc.

You will find that most of the modifications left with the vehicle are dealer fitted or at least dealer available. For example the FE2 suspension the Commodore Police Cars run you can have installed on your family Commodore you buy new.

There are also a few things to watch out for. These include;
*any mis-alignment of panels from accident damage (and trust me most cop cars will have copped a few dents in their tour of duty),
*rubber grommets where previoulsy wires would have come out of the vehicle for emergency beacons (especially side pillar),
*panel repairs where attachments have been (my AUII had a spot on the roof where you could see they had repaired where the roof arial had sat).

Most ex-cop cars will have the remainder of new car warranty which I suggest you make use of (I put my AUII in as soon as I got and had Ford fix a number of things like the brake rotors which were dodgy and are only covered under warranty to 40K or so I was told by Ford)

Would I buy one again? Probably, just would stick clear of the General Duties cars (the white ones that you see everyday) and any ex-city car. I would be looking for an ex-country car. How do you find the cars work area? Just check the service book

Todd

[Fairlane]

Depends which state they are from. They are usually have a reflashed ECU but it is reset before sale to public (ford told me this). I see some damn nice Xr6T's and XR6's around were I live and one the F3 everday, they look very nice.

Try to look for a country car or a unmarked car, general duties is usually a bad idea so is Highway Pursuit. Make sure you look for previous damage. They may also have a few holes drilled in the centre console.

The plusses though are pretty good. Usually have

Improved Interior Lighting
Interior light dimmer
2kmh intstrument clusters
Perfect service record
Sports Suspension
LSD (turbo's already have this)
Sump Guards

Getting mistaken a a real copper.

I had ex a Brisbane El Falcon GLi detectives car and it was a damn nice car, the ultimate sleeper, pretty much an XR6 but cheaper.

I for willing to travel out of sydney to get the car you can get them cheap at interstate gov't auctions. Check out

http://www.pt.qld.gov.au/auctions/motor.htm
http://www.auctions.sa.gov.au/

* By the way mine was an Option 20. I think ford still uses this code for police vehicles. If not just give ford a call, they give you the code.

[whippet_zetec]

Originally Posted by Fairlane

* By the way mine was an Option 20. I think ford still uses this code for police vehicles. If not just give ford a call, they give you the code.

Forgot about that but correct for the GD cars, not sure about HP ones though but it could be the same.

Da S Pak

Whippet Zetec has hit the mark on this topic about what to look out for with the ex cop cars.

Although I know for certain that no police cars were given any ECU upgrades when they left NSW Police Fleet Management at Cosgrove Road in Enfield. If they did have an ECU upgrade done, it would have been done by the local police stations and been paid for from there local budget, and usually only for HWP, therefore it's very rare!

If your after an XR6 Falcon it would most likely be a 'special' order for a high ranking officer or public servant and an XR6T is most likely a HWP car, but not always... best bet is to check the log book and look at where it's stationed and what duties it had. If the log book is missing stay right away from it - it's missing for a reason! If your not sure what the initials of the duties mean (HWP=Highway Patrol, Det=Detectives, GD=General Duties, Chap=Chaplain, SC=Speed Camera Car, POOL=Everyones car usually based at Head office LOL etc etc) it would be a good idea to ask one of the public servants at Cosgrove Road (I think they are still onsite at AutoGroup,Cosgrove Road? Been a while since I worked there) Just grab the rego details of all the cars your interested in and wander into the office (or ring them) and ask politely for a bit of background info. It's the safest way to buy an ex Police Car, and you'll get all the info you need.

Good Luck

[Dave_au]

National Specifications for General Duty and High Performance Vehicles http://www.acpr.gov.au/publications2.asp?Report_ID=139

[JL]

Tripe, thanks for the heads up on Cosgrove Road, I'll be sure to check them out and find out more directly.

Yes most probably be looking at a highway patrol car or if i'm lucky an unmarked one ;) So i'll have a look at all the auction catalogues and check out the vehicles prior to auction so I know what i'm getting.

whippet_zetec, no doubt i'll do the same and get like a inspection report done and make sure ford service carry out any repairs under warranty.

Also, would anybody know if the ex-government XR6s come with the premium brake package? I've seen a whole heap of ex-cop SS Commo's with them, so i'm guessing XRs will to...?

[omn1potent]

Option 20 pack on the Fords is the police pack; its on the compliance/build plates in the engine bay with some police stickers. I have a few.
I have a rare ED Option 20 police pack with tickford gas. Nice.
BT1 pack on the Holdens for the police pack.

[Bushbasher]

EPIC thread mine..........and contender for thread mine of the year.

[SSVPom]

9 years and a month !!

[zlcrazy]

Originally Posted by omn1potent

Option 20 pack on the Fords is the police pack; its on the compliance/build plates in the engine bay with some police stickers. I have a few.
I have a rare ED Option 20 police pack with tickford gas. Nice.
BT1 pack on the Holdens for the police pack.

Holden also had 9C1 code.

Your ED sounds nice, you got any pics of it?

[ozpacman]

I've driven them for 25 years and I can assure you there has been very few I would ever have wanted to buy!

Russ.

[The Monty]

I would steer clear of any police car. 50 000km is more like 200 000km on a civilian car.

[boss351290]

I agree with Monty. I was a NSW Police officer for over 20 years. The abuse these cars cop is incredible. I did not treat any of the hundreds of police cars, 4WD's and utes with any care.

I remember 1 Holden Rodeo 4WD manual that used about 150 litres per day in fuel. That's 24 hours night and day shift. And it only covered about 450kms in a 24 hr period. You can imagine where the accelerator spent most of its time. (Flat to the floor). When this car went back to fleet services to be sold, I felt sorry for the poor soul who would buy it. I think it covered about 115000km in one year.

That's why the NSW Police only use diesels on utes as they use less fuel. The NSW police have a motor vehicle fleet of over 2500 cars. With one using 150litres in one day can you imagine the fuel bill!!!!!!..

[boss351290]

Sorry forgot to add, The Police don't get there cars tuned. In fact they are detuned as they only use 91 octane fuel in there Highway cars to save money. The xr6 turbo and SS commodore recommend 95 octane to be used. So Highway Patrol cars would actually make less power than a standard xr6 turbo or SS using the correct octane fuel. Believe it or not.
Also I remember the VZ SS commodore had 18 inch rims. Police VZ SS Commodores had the 17 inch rims from the VZ SS ute. They looked the same but were 17's. Again to save money on tyres.......

[GasoLane]

To add to what Boss said... anyone who's had a scanner and listened to a pursuit (in the metro area) would know that it's not unusual for a HP car to go over median strips, kerbs or anything else in the way.

[JG66ME]

Wow, an 11 year and 2 day old thread lives on. Is this a new thread mine record?

[wranger]

Unless my watch is a little off I think that'd be 9 years and 2 days old

[JG66ME]

Originally Posted by wranger

Unless my watch is a little off I think that'd be 9 years and 2 days old

Nope, it's my watch that is off, lol