BMW The best-buy ex-cop car for quality and reliability, says the Ex-Police Car Centre's Nicola Finney.
Thanks to TV shows and dashcam footage, we’ve all seen police car chases and winced as the pursuit vehicle crests a speed hump in a shower of sparks before turning the crook’s motor with a side swipe. So, having witnessed such a casual absence of mechanical sympathy, why would you buy an ex-police car?
Good question, but at the Ex-Police Car Centre in Brierley Hill, near Birmingham, they sell around 30 a month to people happy to do just that. Nicola Finney, who runs the business, reckons it’s the largest dealership of its kind in the UK. “We’ve been selling ex-police cars since 1976,” she says. “There are so many bad used cars, why wouldn’t you buy one from a reliable source, with a good history and one former keeper?”
One former keeper, maybe, but multiple drivers – and not all of them enjoying a leisurely cruise. London’s Met Police has revealed that in the year 2018 to 2019, 105 of its vehicles were destroyed or written off at a cost of £656,000. Some will have been involved in the 1438 vehicle pursuits that it carried out, of which 27 included ‘tactical contact’.
“City cars do have a hard life,” admits Finney. “The best ex-police cars are from rural forces such as Devon and Cornwall. They do higher mileages but are in better condition.” By ‘higher mileages’ she means anything between 120,000 and 180,000, and often in just four years.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 08, 2022-Ausgabe von Autocar UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 08, 2022-Ausgabe von Autocar UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
THE DRAMATIC ITALIAN THAT MARKED THE END OF AN ERA
When the Huracán bowed out, the curtain fell forever on Lambo's V10
HOW EV MAKERS CAN WIN THE RACE TO 5.0MPKWH
Manufacturers are honing every detail to close in on big efficiency goal
MASERATI MC20
We bid a sad farewell to a handsome supercar that was easy to live with
The quickening
Instant acceleration is part of the appeal of an EV, but is it all getting a bit much for unwary and inexperienced drivers? JOHN EVANS investigates
Inside track
Watching an F1 race with live access to engineers and telemetry is the stuff of dreams for racing fans. ALEX WOLSTENHOLME makes a day of it
WHOLE IN ONE
The Volkswagen Golf has been all things to all motorists for half a century. At the wheel of a classic Mk1, VICKY PARROTT charts the eight-generation history of one of the world's most successful cars
DACIA DUSTER
Mk3 model gains digital tech, ADAS, slicker looks... Is this mission creep?
MAZDA CX-80 PHEV
Another look at Mazda's hefty SUV, this time in plug-in hybrid form
VAUXHALL GRANDLAND ELECTRIC
Newcomer looks to ease the average family SUV driver into EV motoring
BMW X3 20 XDRIVE
Fourth generation of brand's best-seller arrives with base petrol engine