So it has come time to replace my mothers vehicle, and since she has a habit of absolutely running anything she has straight into the ground, the interceptor utility has caught my eye, especially since their fairly cheap.

So I've done the research and seen what's different between it and the regular explorer, but I haven't seen much in the way of common problems, etc.

Is there anything, besides excessive wear from fleet/police use, that I should look for while looking at these things?

I've been eyeing a couple 13 models if it helps.

Thanks!

 

I have a 16 we bought with 28 miles on it, Only has about 3500 now. No problems so far, handles great and runs really great.

 

I drive a Police Interceptor every day. They are far more rugged than I expected them to be. That having been said, I would NEVER buy a used patrol vehicle. Worse than buying a used rental car. Might as well marry an ex *****.

If you're determined to buy used Police car, find one that was a detective, crime scene or supervisors car, since they weren't beat on daily or used to haul prisoners and idle for hours and hours on end. The giveaway is that they wont have damage from having a prisoner divider mounted in them. You don't want one that had a push bumper on it either. The front bumper will be damaged from the mounting of it and who knows what was pushed with it.

The upside is that they are usually regularly serviced at extreme use intervals.

 

I looked at California Highway Patrol cars years ago. (Mustangs....) Anyway, they had a full rundown of the vehicle condition and problems. (whining rear axle for example). Not sure other states do the same, but if they do, read that list and check it twice.

Some agencies sell them with some life left, some not so much.

 

I would look for one from US government. The police unit at my work started getting their cars replaced every two to three model years back in 2010 instead of keeping them till they quit. The cars are then sent to auction. I was talking to one of the officers and they replaced his patrol car after two years with less than 30 thousand miles. I know for a fact that an Amtrak Police car is a glorified commuter. I would imagine that other federal agencies cars are used the same, vs one used by the city police.