Police Cars

[Kate]

*I did a search in this section of the forum and didn't see anything, but if I overlooked the topic, my apologies.

Coming home from work this evening, I saw a police car assisting a motorist whose van had broken down. I would never have known it was a police car, if not for the lights in the rear window. (I don't want to sound like an idiot, but I don't know what you call those particular kind of lights).

Anyway, the car looked like this.

I'm curious now what kind of car your department has and if you like them. Also, if given the opportunity, which car would you prefer to drive and why? How long is the usual life of a police car?

Thanks,

Kate

[acreature]

My new one looks just like that

All Black, but with tinted windows and NO markings ;)


Our cars, marked, last about 3 yrs. Unmarked usually 4-5.... mine will last 3 maybe. I still aggressively hunt for stuff.

This is my first unmarked, so I'll be judging which is better over the next year.
So far, unmarked is the way to go. People do stupid stuff, but they do even more when they don't know you're there.

[Darin]

My dept. used to have 2 marked Intrepids but they didn't hold up well to patrol duties. The brakes were toast after every 3k miles. They are now investigator vehicles. Our oldest car is a '00 and they have about 95k and are pieces of slow steaming crap.

We have CV-PI and they are fine for what they are. The newer models have decent power and they handle fairly well for being a big family car. I like them. My week at EVOC really surprised me at how well the CV handles. We have pool cars and we get about 4 years out of em before we replace them.

We just received 2 brand new CV-PI and they are just waiting to get radios and lightbars installed. Since I got assigned to an '04 I guess I wont get a new one. I wished we had take home cars. Even though I would never get to take it home at least I could leave my crap in it all the time. One interesting note is the newer CV sit a bit higher than the older models. Much better for curb hopping.

[Legoate]

Our unmarked take-home cars tend to be intrepids, Ford Tauruses (lord knows who made this decision), or Impalas. They generally have tinted windows and hidden lights. Our actual UC cars tend to be Hondas since that's what most of the gangsters and racers drive here.

Our patrol vehicles are all Crown Vics. Most live a decent life of about 4 years before someone kills them. It's rare to see one of our cars with over 60k miles that works well. I did however drive a car with 99k miles on it the other day...on the other hand, we almost ran over a suspect because the car kept driving after it had been put into park on a subject stop. We hopped out, the car made a grinding noise and started going again. My partner then informed me that two days earlier the car had to be towed because he had it out in the road and it wouldn't go into drive after parking it.

Police cars live a hard life (especially when I try to drive them)

[mcsap]

My unmarked Impala has flashing strobes mounted in the rear tail lights. Not noticeable at all when they are not lit.

[Retired Trooper]

My ride:

[Retired Trooper]

Forgot to add all my strobes are only visible when lit up. When im behind people day or night they have no idea its a police vehicle. Also cant tell until its too late when coming up behind me.

[acreature]

My first 'trep' brakes warped at 4k... But after that, I seated the new rotors and they were trouble free til I gave the ride up at 48k

[marchaa]

I have an 2004 CV-PI; it is a nice car. The only thing I don't like about it is the governor. It won't let me go over 130 mph, no matter how I massage the accelerator. I have a Vector lightbar. Its ok. We just got an 2005 Impala. It has a LED bar on it. I am so jealous, when they turn it on it is blinding. It is so random and bright I am waiting for it to induce someone into a seizure. It rocks and I wish I had it.

[Johninaustin]

Our cars, (if not wrecked) usually last about three years. We do not have take homes. I drive a 4x4 F250 diesel fully marked with a MASSIVE LED package. The fleet is exclusively Crown Vics. Lots of unmarked cars in different colors. Supervisors drive Expeditions. (Sarge barges) :D

[samseed101]

Ours last two years. We have the front line cars, and the spare cars. Each year we puchase new cars. The new cars become front line, the front line become spares, and the spares get sold or go to Public Works.