Would you buy an ex police car or ex taxi?

[ESV80]

Originally Posted by JAYBA

... ive found will hold up better throughout its life being driven hard the whole time, in comparison to a car thats been grandpa'd from new for a few years then given to somebody who is gonna give it a flogging ive found they dont last long at all.

My dad's NC II was run in doin no less then 120 km/s the whole time. Gunnedah to Bourke every day for about 2 months, and I honestly don't think you could find a better car for what it is.

I'd go a HWP, cause they've been run in doin exactly what I'd do with 'em. It'd probally end up in a speedway event though.....

[LTDHO]

There is a difference between high speed cruising and flooged.

Basically police cars are thrashed and would have a small life span.

[Donny]

They have those silver BA Fairlane Taxis in Sydney city, gotta be pretty nice inside I would think. Dunno bout the condition of the bodies tho, those Sydney cabbies are a rough lot of drivers........

[TURBOTAXI]

Do people think that the safegaurds built into factory motors (RMP limits, Torque limits, speed limits, heat limits - all computer regulated with shutdown/retard functions have an impact here?

If Ford sell a car with a 3 yr 100,000k warranty do you think thet would know that it could be flogged for that time/distance?

The new generation ECU for ford seems to be all about longevity and preservation. it wont let you flog it TOO much. It will cut the fun before you can really push it. The way I see it, the XR6T runs low boost (compared to other factory turbo's) and never really needs to work that hard.

I think about how I drive my current Taxi, if BA's had better mechaicals than the AU I am not too worried.

I will need to get 217,000 out of the XR6T by the end of the lease, I am pretty confident that will happen.

[LUXO_8]

Originally Posted by xagt_coupe

They have those silver BA Fairlane Taxis in Sydney city, gotta be pretty nice inside I would think. Dunno bout the condition of the bodies tho, those Sydney cabbies are a rough lot of drivers........

the drivers seat of those are usually munted..... the rest is pretty good though
i got my LTD interior from one and there wasnt much leather left on the seating part of the drivers seat...
i put the electrics onto some EB Ghia leather sports buckets, chucked the drivers seat and will be making a comfy computer chair out of the passenger one when i get the right base for it

[TwistedEL]

I've been there and done that
+1 to the cop cars

[Gohan]

i'd by a Ex cop chaser not Taxi due the fact that theres so many thing wrong with them

Ex cop chaser i'd go a Scooby Doo WRX due to the fact they are Manual and the AWD and are cleared to do 280km on the dial i think theres only 5 left most are just SS chasers down here

[TwistedEL]

Originally Posted by LTDHO

There is a difference between high speed cruising and flooged.

Basically police cars are thrashed and would have a small life span.

That is pure BS. I had an ex cop car and it never missed a beat. 200k's and still on the original head gasket, good for any EL.

[TURBOTAXI]

Originally Posted by LTDHO

There is a difference between high speed cruising and flooged.

Basically police cars are thrashed and would have a small life span.

When you say thrashed I think of cars being shifted into reverse whilst doing 100k's, or doing line locked burnouts, or driving everywhere at max throttle.

I know the cars get given max throttle and braked hard, but is any of that stuff a "show stopper"? I am guessing that most XR's out there see some max throttle and some hard braking - according to people on these forums, some of them get raced on track days and 1/4 mile races.

In a 240km/h car I dont see that they could be on the max throttle all the time or it would probably attract the wrong kind of attention. (complaints?)

Given the mecanical safety mecahisms built into the cars, can they really be hurt by accelerating and braking?

[Gohan]

most of Ex chasers and cop cars are serviced reguarly dont 4get that most taxis are aswell but the LPG system is srewed up big time backfiring in the Converted and so on

[HOON69]

i'd own a EX TAXI or POLICE car "if"mechanically sound of course
yeah the doors sag
lpg and gbox's ae suspect etc but you can get that from car yard cars and they are usually 3 times more in value

saw a ex taxi on ebay sell for 1600 *AU* looked in good condition minus 2 tears in back seat,so there are vehicles that are kept in GC just that most aint and thats why ppl wonttouch em..

but yes i would own one

[Michelle]

I brought an ex taxi. It was a XF. It had 190000 on the clock. It drove for 6 years/ another 250000ks before anything went wrong with it. I owned the car for 10 years in total and it was great to me. I sold the car to a P plater. He put a larger engine in, did so other mods and then wrapped it around a tree 2 days after it was finished!!!

[Melz]

We have an ex-cop car sitting in the shed, and about 12 months ago my bro-in law sold his ex-cop car. All i can say is never again, both the cars have had a hard life and have taken a long time and lots of $$$$ to get them to where they are today.

Mind you the one sitting in the shed failed its roadworthy for being too low... so is this a case of do as I say not as I do??? hehehehe (yes i'm stirring, take it that way)

[TE50 027]

Friends of mine bought an ex NSW HWP BA XR8. Pretty much had problems right from the start. They'd had it a week and drove it from Bris to Armidale. About half way it blew the heads. Fortunately it was still covered by new car warranty, but was always plagued by problems.

[Steffo]

Definitley ex-taxi. They're mechanically A1 99% of the time, the stuff that makes them look warn is the stuff that does not matter.

A cab with 700,000 on it has all the little nitty gritty things on it changed time and time again that a normal used car with 150,000 - 200,000 wouldn't have touched. Suspension bushes and other little things most normal people don't even know are part of a car. They're required to by the Government and there are strict rules implemented upon them.

Police cars I don't know anything about so I won't even comment.

[SNB05T]

had an ef11 ex copper for three years ran hard smoked well, would own another one, IF it was a manual, lazy b@st$rd's :

[Redrum]

Taxis are driven into the ground and police cars, because of urgent duty driving, are just thrashed, and still only get regular services.......

[Craig]

Ambo vehicles are the ones to get, commodores, falcons etc as they are maintained to a very high standard and yes they cop a bit of a hard time but nothing like a cop car i would of thought.

[smoo]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

I wouldn't touch a taxi with a barge pole. They would rattle and squeek and be so floppy in the body, driveline and suspension it would drive you nuts.

Lets be honest though... Most Falcons do that from the factory anyway.
I bought my AU after 7 years of been a cab, never looked back. Cheap, reliable, comfortable and with a decent amount of grunt, its better than a 1.5l Jap POS for the same price.
Its not ideal for flogging the **** out of it, but no auto poverty pack Falcons are. You can't beat it for a run around car tho.

[BeStRaFe]

you tell me where i can buy a

01 AU WAGON, Auto, AC, 4 Legal Tyres, Dedicated LPG, 500,000+ k
for less the $2201....

a. you cant!!!!!!!!!

so what the interiour is a bit scuffed...
you drive it into the ground and say thanks for the miles......

the *worst* that really goes wrong is x-taxi is ...

gearbox service $85 - for the kit and fluid
ps rack - $kit 40$ (ebay)
ps pump $kit 15$ (ebay)

if you pickup a taxi owned by a small co-op or a owner driver
the car will be in a1 conditon becausr that car is their LIFE!

[Kenaz]

I would consider a BT1 VLT :hihi:

[AUIII XR8 MAN]

It's no different they buying any other used car.

[hanky]

If you've seen and test driven the car, and it's condition meets your standards I can't see the problem. Friend of mine purchased a BA XR8 ex police car, interior wasn't perfect but body wise and mechanically it was fine. He was happy with this as the "price was right." Plus I believe ex chasers go harder because they are not babied, they're run in the right way! His ran a 13.99 at wsid with no mods at all, even a dirty air filter! As for ex taxis they can make great run arounds, just pay for what you're getting, and it sounds like you got a good deal on the turbo.
Good Luck.

[Bluehoon]

Ex Highway Police Yes... General duty and detective etc, and taxi, not a chance in hell....

[mik]

dont know how the servicing goes now on cop cars but back in the xc xd era, the interceptors used to get a change over auto`s at 40 k intervals wether they needed it or not and where well generally well maintained, occasionally a car would come in with bearing rattle from being full throttled the instant it fired up cold, but they where always fixed no problems, like any car bought check well, there will be some lemons mixed in with the good ones

[05MkIIFutura]

no and no

[Bluehoon]

Originally Posted by mik

dont know how the servicing goes now on cop cars but back in the xc xd era, the interceptors used to get a change over auto`s at 40 k intervals wether they needed it or not and where well generally well maintained, occasionally a car would come in with bearing rattle from being full throttled the instant it fired up cold, but they where always fixed no problems, like any car bought check well, there will be some lemons mixed in with the good ones

Still maintained in the same way.

Police cars have the best run in procedure... Floor it.....

They maintain them well mechanically.... Interior can be a little worse for wear sometimes..

[Redrum]

remember seeing one of those "great" stories on today tonight or similar with an ex taxi that was resprayed and different dash put in with different cluster and less kms. The poor owner has nothing but issues.........

[cArSiK]

Tough one. I personaly wouldnt buy either as I dont like white cars :P

However I would never consider a high Km TAXI as after 800,000kms most falcons (well the ones in my family with those Ks anyway) start to get pretty bad body flex that causes all sorts of creeking noises from door locks , parcel shelfs etc.

James

[Steffo]

Originally Posted by cArSiK

Tough one. I personaly wouldnt buy either as I dont like white cars :P

However I would never consider a high Km TAXI as after 800,000kms most falcons (well the ones in my family with those Ks anyway) start to get pretty bad body flex that causes all sorts of creeking noises from door locks , parcel shelfs etc.

James

I know of an AUII Falcon Forte cab with 927,000km on it that looks brand new outside and inside. In fact, most people who look at the thing would probably say it is brand new.