Found this 2012 Impala with the police package for $8400. Has 57,000 miles on it. Looks like it wasn't used for car chases as it doesn't have the barrier between the front and rear seats. I know youre not a fan of late model GM cars, but i was wondering what you think of this car.
Pass. You got two red flags for this car:
1- Chevy Impala
2- Used police car
It’s never a good idea to buy a police car unless you absolutely knew the entire history of it (which good luck getting access to). As for the model year Impala, those were not good years and that was already many years after GM’s steep decline in quality.
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/police-car-auctions/#post-199453
Sometimes a foia for the tattle tale box can be requested, no clue how long they keep that info now but it documents every second that car is assigned to a shift.
In smaller towns, although they have enough cars to shuffle around, often the same cop will have that same car every shift they work. If they're willing to share their gripes without naming names that always comes in handy.
Pass, was probably ragged on, abused, and has been left idling for hours. Car isn't worth half that even if its in great condition.
According to it's CARFAX report: Structural damage disclosed by seller based on results of a visual inspection.
May want to stay away from this one.
Here is the 3rd red flag. This one iteself is more than enough for not considering the deal.
I wasn't actually going to buy the car. Just wanted to know what you all thought of it. Since that is an ex cop car, I would have had it looked at before I bought the car. Given what the carfax report says, I would not have bought it.
When considering a cop car it's best to do a bit of research on the department & ask a cop or five "I'm thinking of buying a used cruiser, off the record, what's the typical amount of idling vs high speed en route to calls? Do certain cars always go on certain beats? Would YOU buy one for someone you care about(ie daughter, wife)?"
In a small town I once called home, I knew cops who were suspended after refusing to take unsafe "punishment" cruisers. A lawsuit came after one had a wheel fall off during pursuit & another was totalled due to loss of control. Usually said cars were shelved for K9 only calls as those were so infrequent that it only had to go across town a few times a month & no one wanted to have a stinky car. One trip vs a whole shift, others would avoid using a cruiser after Officer(s) McMessy used it, leaving trash crammed in the seats & all the controls sticky from food. The funniest description I heard was "the guy turns it into a dumpster with an engine."
Never know if you'll get one of those!
If you REALLY want to get detailed info, most depts post-2005 got tattle tale boxes.That gives 24/7 usage graphs for the entirety of the units time with the dept, from gps, to speed, time idling, what lights were on, real time everything.
Early on the guys I knew would block the signal & once the call came in asking what was going on they would say "bad reception area", claim to relocate & take the blocker off. Dash cams put an end to that.
Say a cruiser still interests you at a local dept...sometimes it can be impossible to get that info, others if you get friendly with someone they'll make it easier. Each unit has a record & each record had a VIN. That is until they get transferred to non-leo duty like parking enforcement or say the water dept, that part of its life is pretty much just squeezing any usefulness out of them.
Fire dept cars can be great if they were with fire the entire time since they spend most of their time garaged at the fire house. Can't say I've ever seen the chief or investigator cars moving fast, probably because they really have no excuse if they break something.
