Blues and twos: why buy a used police car Car News

Cars that have suffered structural damage are crushed, but not before a salvage company has removed and returned all functional police equipment.

“It can cost £3,500 to fit a police car, so we reuse the kit if we can,” says Mallett. “We also reuse doors and panels.” If the car is not structurally damaged but too worn to be driven again, it will be sold to the salvage company, which will remove and resell its mechanical parts. Cars with little damage are repaired by garages approved by the police before being put up for public auction. Similarly, undamaged cars, such as those sold by the Ex-Police Car Center, are sold at public auction.

The Center usually has around 30 cars (it also sells vans) – mostly BMW X5s, Mitsubishi Shoguns, Skoda Octavias, Peugeot 308s, Vauxhall Astras and Vauxhall Insignias. All are diesel and most are no more than five years old. When we visited, prices ranged from £3,295 for a 2013 Vauxhall Astra 1.7 CDTi Tech Line Sports Tourer with 150,000 miles on the odometer to £29,995 for a 2019 BMW X5 30d SE auto xDrive with 75,000. used cars in general, the prices of old police cars have increased. At the same time, due to the problems faced by the armed forces in sourcing new cars, fewer used cars are being disposed of.

Luckily, the ones Finney has in stock seem pretty tidy. Not approved – used shiny but no damage and well worn, although if you’re looking for one in a tasty metal forget it: most of it is solid white. Most still come with mounting holes for lights and antennas, which the body shop fills in and paints. Unsurprisingly, after so much use, the interiors look a bit tired. Dashboards may also have an odd mounting hole. Touchscreen systems are left in place, but Finney occasionally has to replace radios that have been removed.