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[Mart]

hi,

looking at getting an omega estate, ideally 3.0 . i've seen a fair few ex police cars around, at good prices, but are they worth it?

on the plus side i'd guess they've been maticulously serviced, but have they also been thrashed?

is there anywhere to buy them direct from the plod?

cheers,

martin

[sounds2k]

well the opinion of some members on here who have driven them whilst in active service would be no ... they are maintained but do sometimes get thrashed, sometimes from cold. Bear in mind that the trim level will be rock bottom (eg, wind-up windows), they might not even have a radio unless one has been retro-fitted by a previous owner ... plus no sunroof either, they typically have a panel where one would have been but the light bar would have been there before ...

but I think they'd be good as a workhorse for carting stuff around ...

[hotel21]

To my mind, they represent a good buy but ONLY if the price was very right.  Yes, they are maintained regularly with OE parts but the mechanics/techs in most police workshops are paid far less than dealer rates, so corners, as can be expected, are cut where possible.

Cars can be driven at balls out revs when cold though most Advanced Police Drivers will attempt to avoid overly thrashing them until operating temp is reached, but sometimes this is unavoidable.  

Cars tend to be 'poverty spec' with basic GLS interiors despite having 'Elite' or 'MV6' on the V5, no alloys, no aircon, no sunroof etc.  You do get things like ABS, traction control, limited slip diff as well as extra holes on and in the dash, heavy wear on the seats where the hancuffs and other bits on the tac belts wear through, missing factory radios etc.

Tyres tend to be Goodyear as they have the contract to supply all UK forces.  Cars also usually have heavy duty alternators, bigger batteries, and extra wiring that has been simply cropped when blue lights and switches have been removed prior to sale.

Can be good value for money but, as always, your eye is certainly your merchant....

HtH

B

[sounds2k]

I forgot to mention, there can be a few electrical issues - eg, no traction control switch so you can't switch it off being a common one. Sometimes the wiring is tucked out of the way, others it's just chopped - so it's pot luck on that score really.

Facelift models will have climate control though ... some have alloys, it appears to depend on the force it came from and/or what any previous owners fitted.

Limited slip diff was an optional extra on civvy spec cars - and manual ones only at that - so very few non-plod ones will have it.

Also, the 3.2 is available with a manual gearbox ONLY on ex-plod ... personally I wouldn't pay much more than £2k for an ex-plod mobile!

[Taxi_Driver]

Talking of which i saw one yesterday in my local garage.....white estate.....ex police definately...pre facelift or may have been mini facelift

3.0 ltr, but auto (auto suprised me)
Calibrated speedo with 86k on it (only 86k??)
Few holes on top of the dash that had been plugged
No roof bars
HID's (makes me think minifacelift)
Bodywork very tidy

I heard it run......sounded like a bag of nails  

Hmmm i thought.....if garage condemms it.....then i might offer owner a few quid for it...

But my hopes where dashed, coz when i called into garage this afternoon the omega had gone  

I asked....apparently 'The Boss' had sorted it.....cambelt had slipped  
apparently it ran sweet afterwards....owner came and collected it.  

Well   for the owner tho!

[hotel21]

Did you get the owners details though, TD, to tell him we could have saved him oodles of cash if he visits here!"!!

 

[Taxi_Driver]

Did you get the owners details though, TD, to tell him we could have saved him oodles of cash if he visits here!"!!

 

No.....it was a bit quick....i saw the omega sounding like a bag of nails at about 4pm yesterday and 'The Boss' nowhere to be seen......i think he must have done a ClarCE on it   ....When he did turn up whatever time that was.....he had stripped it....sorted it....put it back together....before going on holiday somewhere abroad today  

[edwardmickey]

The number of ex-plod omegas are starting to get rarer as a second ever owner.  Vectras starting to replace fleets in england.

Facelift omegas are generally low spec.  Most have alloys; all have elec front windows only, black plastic trim, TC is usually fixed so is perm on but this can be changed.  Services every 10k, new brake disks with pad changes every time.

Yes, they get thrashed.  Some get smashed and repaired.  There's a silver omega saloon on 52 plate - maunal 3.2 being decomissioned where I work soon but it pulls to the left - even after numerous visits to workshops.

You get roof holes, wiring issues, basic gid display, no sunroof, starship enterprise mileage (125k +).  Cloth inside is usually very worn on drivers seat - rips not uncommon.

I find that our omegas when hitting 95k miles onwards are constantly back and forth to workshops for prob after prob after prob.

So - are these bargains really?