TR> There would be many others. We got lucky here the last
TR> couple of years and finally got to retire most of our cars
TR> with over 200,000 miles on them. You can just imagine what
TR> shape a patrol car would be in with that many miles on it.
TR> Our biggest problem for a long time was simply keeping the
TR> old pieces of junk running down the road and keeping the
Shouldn't be that big of a problem if they were
maintained and the engines rebuilt when needed.  There
are very few things that wear out on a car that isn't
designed to be replace and/or rebuilt.  In most cases
this kind of maintenance is cheaper, in the long run,
then driving the car(s) into the ground.
Power trains of police cars are what tend to get the
most abuse and they are the most easy to take care of.
Engines, transmissions, drive shafts and transaxles can
be rebuilt for less than half of the cost of a new one
and 9 times out of 10 they are just as dependable as
new ones.  The cost is even less if you do the work in
house.
About the only time I can see the need to replace a car
would be for damage to the frame or when it has been
damaged to the point the number of parts to repair it
would cost over 2/3 or so of a new car.
TR> bailing wire tight.  I don't blame the tax payers for
TR> not increasing the taxes to buy equipment. I blame
TR> government for not prioritizing needs properly and wisely
TR> spending the money where the money is needed the most. I
TR> don't think this is an uncommon problem in most places.
That is the biggest problem.  Its hard to get enough
money to buy gas and tires for a patrol car much less
money for a complete engine rebuild.
                      Remember:  Freedom isn't Free!
--- timEd-B11
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