New car buying - want items from taxi/police packages

[Bongleur]

My 24 year old car lasted so long because I added heavy duty items like suspension & electrical from the police & taxi packages.

Having a hard time finding that data nowadays. I don't want to buy a police interceptor because they are full size cars. Looks like the Ford Fusion or Chevy Impala are the right size, and the fleet sales websites indicate they are available as support or "special services" vehicles -- but without detailed data on what is upgraded to the heavy-duty grade.

I know that walking into the new car sales office is unlikely be helpful; AFAIK there really is a separate organization, but finding it is murky. And I want to be able to specify the correct item codes for at least some of the items I require.

I want this car to last 20 years -- by then I probably won't be able to drive anymore & the new cars will drive themselves.

 

[Out of Steam]

You should check in with enthusiast sites for GM and Ford, such as https://www.fordforums.com. The detail some people have is impressive, very often from inside the car business.

 

[Midpack]

As far as I can tell new GM and Ford SEO models are only offered as fleet vehicles. Both orgs have fleet vehicle contacts, here are the Chevy specialists https://www.gmfleet.com/contact-us/police-vehicles-specialists.html

and Ford https://www.ford.com/police-vehicles/contact-us/

 

[T-Minus]

I would be interested in purchasing a Suburban 2500 that is no longer offered to the general public (only fleet and government). I will also pursue the links above for any leads...

 

[AS2019]

Have you tried going to the service department and asking for the codes you want? They generally know a lot more than the sales people.

 

[Bamaman]

I worked for Ford for many years. We had a 40,000 acre farmer that wanted a car that would hold up running the furrows on his massive farms. Only thing with the guts was a police intercepter and they are not sold new to the public. He fortunately owned a small town, and the town marshal purchased the car for him.I

Closest thing you can get is a Ford Explorer with the Ecoboost twin turbo engine and it comes with heavy duty suspension and police spec. brakes.

 

[travelover]

Respectfully, I think you are overthinking this. If you are really that hard on the suspension, get a tough little truck like a Tacoma or even a Ford F150. As vehicles have been getting safer, I'm not so sure a 20 year timeline is prudent. A ten year old vehicle lacks a lot of safety features that can help an older driver.

 

[ERD50]

Check out the Mount Prospect city police auction, I think they have one each spring:

-ERD50

 

[LOL!]

The cost of a car that should last 20 years is probably much more than the cost of 2 cars that will definitely last 20 years. The reason is that one can buy a car and trade it in after 12 years towards a used car that will get another 8 years of service.

Plus if one does the deals right, then one will probably not have 20-year-old technology in 20 years. One will have at most 10-year technology.

 

[travelover]

It's a shame you can't buy a Checker anymore.

 

[jimbee]

It's a shame you can't buy a Checker anymore.

The back seat room was amazing.

 

[jazz4cash]

Respectfully, I think you are overthinking this. If you are really that hard on the suspension, get a tough little truck like a Tacoma or even a Ford F150. As vehicles have been getting safer, I'm not so sure a 20 year timeline is prudent. A ten year old vehicle lacks a lot of safety features that can help an older driver.

+1
I wonder specifically what items OP thinks are responsible for longevity of previous vehicle. Police / fleet specs are generally geared more to severe service which may/may not translate to longevity. Suspension and brakes are not that expensive to replace. I think sales of Chevy Caprice are restricted to fleet/police customers but I’ve seen a few on used car lots.

 

[Walt34]

I think sales of Chevy Caprice are restricted to fleet/police customers but I’ve seen a few on used car lots.

Trust me, you do not want one of those used. They've been run hard and put away wet. When I was a patrol officer tearing up the equipment was one of the fun parts of the job.

 

[ncbill]

Buy whatever vehicle you want & upgrade the suspension.

When the trouble-prone air suspension finally gave up the ghost on my Suburban I ordered a heavy-duty conventional suspension kit from strutmasters.com & had my local mechanic install it.

 

[Breedlove]

Buy an F150 and have it beefed up at one of the 4wd shops .

 

[aja8888]

Buy an F150 and have it beefed up at one of the 4wd shops .

Or just buy an F250 with a diesel.

 

[Breedlove]

That F250 Diesel sure is popular , you could drive it on the moon .

 

[Jerry1]

Buy whatever vehicle you want & upgrade the suspension.

When the trouble-prone air suspension finally gave up the ghost on my Suburban I ordered a heavy-duty conventional suspension kit from strutmasters.com & had my local mechanic install it.

We did the same thing on our Buick Rainier. That air suspension gave us a lot of problems. The vehicle had a towing package and when we go fed up with fixing the air suspension, we got heavy duty springs and shocks and the local shop put them in. Wasn't really a big deal at all.

I agree with some others though. I don't think I want my car for 20 years. 10 years sounds about right given the change in technology. Plus, with cars seeming to go over 100K miles pretty easily these days and 200K not too uncommon, how much more do you want out of a car? I'm trying for 10 years or 150K miles. I think at that rate, at 57, I only will buy 2 to 3 more cars anyway.

 

[brewer12345]

Up to 14 years on a stock Honda minivan that has even.been used to tow a 3000 pound trailer. Modern cars are very reliable. Buy what you like and maintain it. As long as you skip the real dogs you should do fine.

 

[Music Lover]

My 24 year old car lasted so long because I added heavy duty items like suspension & electrical from the police & taxi packages.

I want this car to last 20 years -- by then I probably won't be able to drive anymore & the new cars will drive themselves.

How do you know it lasted that long because of the suspension and wiring package? There are tens of millions of cars that have lasted 20 years with normal suspensions and electronic packages. You might be looking for something that isn't necessary.

 

[jazz4cash]

How do you know it lasted that long because of the suspension and wiring package? There are tens of millions of cars that have lasted 20 years with normal suspensions and electronic packages. You might be looking for something that isn't necessary.

+1

 

[Out of Steam]

That F250 Diesel sure is popular , you could drive it on the moon .

Only if you add oxygen tanks to burn the fuel.

 

[ProspectiveBum]

Up to 14 years on a stock Honda minivan that has even.been used to tow a 3000 pound trailer. Modern cars are very reliable. Buy what you like and maintain it. As long as you skip the real dogs you should do fine.

+1 Same story here. Our Honda van is nearly 14 years old, and we just completed a 3000+ mile road trip with zero issues. It currently has 171K on the clock, has had very few mechanical issues, and still runs and drives great. We bought ours new, but you could probably buy a 3 year old one off-lease and do even better.

A Toyota Tacoma or 4Runner with off-road shocks would probably hold up as well as any vehicle you can buy.