Been wanting to get a V8 sedan for a while, however my biggest problem is I'm a gigantic cheapskate.

Anyway, across looking for vehicles, the one thing I've found recently was how to bid on state auctioned police vehicles. From the last few months I've been looking at , the vehicles go for about half the price of comparable Chargers w/ 5.7s in them, and the police versions do have quite a few upgrades from a base R/T model.

The complaint/issue/thing I continue to hear is that they can potentially have exorbitant numbers of hours on them in some/many cases. The state does allow you to check vehicles before bidding, so I've been considering buying one I could find with low-is numbers of hours. The good thing about buying from a state agency is that they all have routine maintenance done (Every 3,500 miles they're taken in and services), and tend to be sold off in the neighborhood of 110,000 total miles (I don't see in any case where they're sold once they hit a specific number of hours).

So, I'm curious if anyone has ever gone though the process of buying one, it seems like a cheap way to get a vehicle. Additionally my budget would allow for about $2,000 in maintenance/replacements to be done after purchase to keep it within my goal price area.

You're going to need more than $2000. They are junk. We have 2 Hemi AWD models. They have had nothing but problems. They are in their second year of service.

Both have had one cylinder head replaced as well as cam shafts. One was just sent in for a drive rain noise and the dealer said it was the front diffand warranty replaced it. Came back with the same noise and back it went. The dealer then warranty replaced the rear diff. It came back with the noise and now they are saying it's the tranny. It had the transfer case replaced last year.

Not to mention the half shaft breaking and wiping out the rack and pinion.

We have a population of about 16,000 so it's not like they're out doing high speed pursuits on a daily basis.

The rest of the fleet consists of Tahoes and the new Explorers.

The Chargers do scream but not for very long it seems.

Friend of mine is issued a take home charger . His big complaint is no room in the back if you are an over 6 foot driver you better arrest guys with no legs . Minor squeaks and rattles . Not as much trunk as a CV but faster .

Seems to me the total trunk size on the chargers has been fantastic. Granted mine is a 07 which is 1cu/ft bigger, however when trying to get in my accidentally locked car, I found out I could very, very easily fit my 6ft 260lb body in it in order to push the seats open and climb in the rear seat.

The prices sure are tempting

Biggest pos I've ever driven.

Engine rebuilt at 40k. Motor mounts shortly after. Now at 60 cel keeps coming on. No power steering on left turns.

I'd have serious reservations about any Chrysler automobile with over 100k.

A used Chrysler cop car?


Hell no.

BUT BUT BUT BUT the ARFcom Chrysler cocksuckers say all Chrysler cars are great. The Charger is one of Chrysler's better cars, and still will lay down like a rented mule under the rough use of LEO.

I've had very good luck with the 2011+ chargers. The AWD's have been more reliable for us than Ford Tauruses and explorers, but all modern cop cars have problems.  The biggest flaw with the chargers in service is fuel pumps that go out before 100,000 miles and horrible brakes in the older ones. Some have electrical flaws that don't get fixed due to costs.

For post service, it's a used cop car, and it's a dodge. It will have all the common worn out features that a used cop has. You won't know for sure if it was used by a retired-on-duty slug or the traffic enforcer of the year. For dodge specifically, plan on ALL suspension and steering components being worn out, even parts that you didn't know that could wear out. Plan on possible electrical gremlins that are very expensive to fix. Plan on brake jobs every 30,000 miles unless it's a 2014.5 or newer. Know that they have 16 spark plugs and it wasn't until the 2010's that they switched to platinum plugs. Know that they have the ground clearance of a matchbox car so there is likely undercarriage damage.

The 2010 and older are much simply but wear out a lot quicker than the 2011+. Also, around here, chargers keep a lot of resale value. I would take a chance on one as a beater but not for what they are selling for.

Edited to add: On the positive side, the hemi rwd chargers have generally reliable engines and transmissions in a mechanical sense. Don't get a V6 model.

The V8 hemis are going for around $5,000 - Saw a 2016 with 9k on the odometer sell for $7k that had a little bit of cosmetic damage, thus my major interest.

They had a FEW 2015s last month sell ~$6k, and I'm thinking of going exclusively for a 2015 or 2016 that got pulled out due to cosmetic damage and bringing along a engine reader to check for engine hours.

The 300 has a shit ton more front seat legroom than a Charger.  I can put the seat so far back in a 300, I can't reach the pedals and there is a telescoping wheel.  300 can be bought with a Hemi.  Choose wisely.  

The police models all have idle hours and total hours. You'll need the ignition on to see those.

You are asking for a special kind of punishment if you buy one with body damage. Unrepaired cosmetic damage means it was used by the very proactive and aggressive guys of the department. Normal officers get their cars fixed after a minor accident or incident. The aggressive guys don't get their minor accidents fixed unless it's absolutely needed because something else will get dented or cracked next month anyways.

Buying a used cop car is like trying to date a hooker. It won't ever turn out as nice as dating a normal girl and everyone will judge you when you're seen in public. Buying a used cop car that was used by traffic enforcer of the month is like jumping into marriage with a toothless crack addicted prostitute that has 4 incurable STD's.

Those prices seem unreal for a car with less than 10K mikes regardless.

for your price range, the only vehicles you should be looking at are as follows

1. late 90s- early 2000s Crown Vic that was privately owned
2. 99-03/04ish Silverado 2WD

It's not only PDs that are being auctioned, there's some other government agencies like USDA on a state level that are auctioning vehicles off too, I would think they're not putting the hours on em like the PD was.

Now having said all this, I may very well say screw you to afrcom's wisdom , buy one anyway, then sell it for when it breaks, the spreads I'm seeing look good ($7k-$8k on craigslist for a PD owned charger) So with that $2k-$3k spread I might be able to at least taste-test one.

Two things.

1) on any cop car take the mileage and times it by at least 3 to account for idling none stop and factor in the way cops drive.
2) when we had chargers they were absolute shit and were in the shop more then they were on the road.

I won't even mention the shit that happens inside cop cars and how 99% of cops take car of their vehicles/equiement.

I've been a cop for 22 years and wouldn't drive a used cop car if you have it to me and kicked in cash too.

J-

Would I buy an old police car? Yes, but I would try to get one from an agency that has a take home car program.  I would have loved to buy my old Crown Vic, I took care of that car, because if you beat it and it broke, you would get stuck driving a pool car, which back then was a 1992 Taurus police car.....those thing were garbage.

That being said, the Chargers are going for some coin......