Cop Spec Used SUVs

2014 Tahoe with 200K miles

2014 Explorer   150K

Price is a wash

Explore is a 9 Interior wise

Tahoe is a 7 interior wise

Tahoe needs brakes and shocks

Explorer needs Tires

Explorer needs tow bar receiver and wiring

Intended Purpose

Road trip from NC to WA, pick up a Trailer and Side Car rig 1,000#s

Return through Black Hills and Mt Rushmore

Two LARGER than you average Bear humans

Input please

Tahoe 100%.  The police spec Explorer is not a great thing to drive, especially if you're towing, and the tank is tiny, especially if you're towing.

Is the explorer fwd/awd or rwd? If its a transverse mounted engine in the explorer then go with the chevy. The fwd ecoboost has an internal waterpump that is a BITCH to change.

I can't speak to a Tahoe. 

Is the Explorer the normally aspirated V6 or the ecoboost twin turbo V6? My wife used to own the twin turbski's Exploder. It had a tow rating of 5k. It had the tow package and so had a ball receiver in the rear bumper and wiring ready for a brake controller. Towed my 350Z on a U-haul trailer to VIR and Roebling Road great. It was loaded too. MPGs were abysmal but it towed without drama. 

We replaced the water pump on it at 80k as it started leaking. If the water pump goes it dumps coolant in the crankcase which destroys the motor. We replaced the water pump and the dealership recommended against a timing chain replacement. In 20k miles, the timing chain was done. This was a 2014 model. I hear later models have a better timing chain from the factory. Prior to this it was a great truck. Fast, reliable, big and comfortable.  

In reply to yupididit :

'14 would still be the old transverse layout in the Explorer.

I'd think the Tahoe would have better parts support for a road trip, and could easily be upgraded with other GM truck/SUV parts for more comfort, reliability, or resale.

Since both are police vehicles, check the run time on both.  Police vehicles idle *a lot*.

Fords are trash and I'm not saying that because I work at GM. Those cars are consumables when they're done let them die.

If you find a fire department explorer or tahoe they will be in better shape, less pursuit and more of a mobile office approach. better yet, find one from the water department or some other weird local government group. if its an option

Tahoe.  100%

2010 Tahoe PPV owner here. PPVs we're not rated to tow. There is no factory hitch on PPVs. However, you can install the factory hitch from any Tahoe or Suburban from the same generation.

The PPV Tahoes came with the 5.3L/6L80 combo. The final drive ratio is geared toward highway cruising. The 6L80 transmission is OK, just make sure you stay on top of fluid changes. The 5.3L has the much maligned Displacement On Demand (DOD). I disabled mine through a handheld tuner as soon as the truck was in my possession.

The PPV rides lower than a standard Tahoe as it has the police-spec suspension. Finding suspension parts can be a challenge. The idiot PO of my Tahoe installed the wrong rear shocks which let the rear springs fall out of the perches. The springs are also PPV specific.

Tires are also PPV specific. They are an odd size; P265/60R17.

The police-spec Tahoes also came with dual batteries, a heavy duty charging system and heavy duty cooling systems.

The interiors are pretty worn by the time they get hit the action. My dash was broken in about 30 places. The drivers seat had torn bolsters. The interior was filthy as mine was a K9 unit while in service. It also didn't have and rear door cards.

At the end of the day, it's a Chevy Tahoe with some different parts. Would I buy another one? Probably not. I'd buy a civilian spec Tahoe or Suburban.

The Interceptor Utility, err Explorer, is probably a 3.7 with AWD.  The police vehicles were the only way to get a 3.7 and I don't think they had the 3.5 as an option.  If they had an available Ecoboost, none of the local PDs bought one.

We'd get a few people who bought them on auction.  They usually had TPMS issues because the service departments were pretty lax with tire/wheel use - they apparently just had a general stock and the vehicles got what was next off the shelf.  Usually had to replace all the sensors because the installed ones were not compatible with that year.

I like the Explorers... but I wouldn't buy one if your main goal was towing, unless the rear suspension was fresh and the PTU had a cooler.  (Allegedly some Explorers did, I never got assigned one of the auction vehicles for service so I never saw if the Interceptors got that fabled device)  The rear suspension has a few trouble prone bushings, bushing mounts, and spherical bearings that cause phenomenal negative camber and toe out, just perfect for towing stability...

I'll ask...why police versions?

I'd suspect if your buying direct from municipalities they will be in need of significant investment to be up to a cross country drive

In reply to John Welsh :

The ones to try to get are detective vehicles or the like.  The patrol vehicles are generally a whole new level of trashed inside and out.  They rip up the interiors so they can sit in them without having to take 40lb of gear off.

I remember one Lumina (security, not PD) that had beautiful Ricaro seats... and a giant hole gouged in the cushion so he didn't have to take off his holster.

You're not towing much.  For an interior befitting gentleman of generous proportions I would highly consider a Ford Flex or it's Lincoln counterpart, The MKT.  For simplicity I would seek out the non turbo V6.  

Chassis mates of the Explorer your looking at but usually cheaper while still having the same capabilities.  

You may also find the significant Lincoln depreciation makes a Lincoln version cheaper than the Ford versions.  The Lincoln will likely have heated and cooled seats too, along with other road-going luxuries.  

I spent some time in the back of one of the Exploders for a kind of long ride through Dallas (TX) a little while back as an Uber passenger (not a citizen's arrest).  I'll just say that I've driven/ridden in some well-used Crown Vics that were in much better shape . . .

I would not touch either one. Cops trash these vehicles from what I've seen. I have a friend who is a cop and he has taken me on ride alongs, and the level of abuse ther vehicles take is insane. It was sort of a joke amongst them to do things like kick the door open into the jam to make it bounce back and close. it's a tool to them, a tool they don't love.

between the water pumps in the Fords and DoD in the GMs and all the abuse, nah. I'd hold out for a civilian car unless you find a really nice detective's car.

I wondered if my advice really held up so I went shopping...

'11 Flex w/ 157k @ $5.8k with factory hitch.  

'13 Flex w/125K @ $6k with factory hitch.

'08 Taurus X w/112k @ $4.7K, hitch unknown.  This is a killer deal.  The Flex was an evolution.  It started at the FreeStar but was saddled with a bad CVT trans.  To get away from that, Ford renamed it the TaurusX and gave it a reliable 3.5L and traditional trans.  To get even further away from the FreeStar, Ford then did a body update...but the same good TaurusX drivetrain and called it the Flex.  

I thought the Freestar was a rebadged Windstar when Ford decided all "cars" had to start with F and "SUVs" had to start with E.  I didn't see any of them, though.

Remember when they lost market share when they renamed the Taurus the Five Hundred?  The cars sucked too but name recognition is a huge thing.  They were smart enough to not rename the Mustang, at least.

Correct, I screwed up the names... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Freestyle

Freestyle -> TaurusX -> Flex

In reply to John Welsh :

To this day, I can't remember if my eldest aunt has a Lacrosse or a Lucerne.  It's a 3.8l Park Avenue to me 

Thanks Everyone

The Explorer was a Captain's car

Not certain about the Tahoe

Both are 2 owner vehicles, Gov Dept  1st    Civilian 2nd

Why a Cop car

In my best Dan Aykrod Impression Voice

"It has a Cop Motor

Cop Tires

Cop Shocks

.....

Is this the New blues Mobil or what?"

Fix the Cigarette Lighter

yupididit said:

Is the explorer fwd/awd or rwd? If its a transverse mounted engine in the explorer then go with the chevy. The fwd ecoboost has an internal waterpump that is a BITCH to change.

The bride has a '12 Flex with the transverse engine. Waterpump failed at around 60K, and it was an expensive bitch to replace.  I've heard that 60K is about the average service life for these water pumps.

In reply to M2Pilot :

Maybe average age of failure if they fail.  You don't see all the people with 150-200k on their engines complaining that their water pump was still good, so there's a reporting bias.

There are lots of those engines out there, and the vast majority go cradle to grave on the original pump.  I had one customer with 250k on his Flex ask us to do the pump and chains as preventive maintenance because he wanted to keep it another 250k and they'd never been done.

If they do go it does seem to be about 60k, but that's an if, not a when. 

The nice thing about the Explorer and Flex is that it's an engine-in repair, at least.  It's -just- possible to replace only the pump, too, without pulling the cam sprockets/secondary chains, but you need some odd shaped 8mm wrenches to back off the primary chain guides enough to sneak the pump out.  This way you don't need any special cam tools.  (AKA "I'm turning it in next month, do only what is absolutely necessary")

Between the two, the Tahoe.  As noted above, DoD and transmission issues are common problems.  6.0 was available, but most agencies wouldn't spend the extra $$ and bought 5.3s.

Most city PD cars are 'shift' cars, and get used nearly 24-7.  They also get checked out for a shift and are generally treated like 'rentals'.  If you can find a car from an agency that had take-home cars, they will have been assigned to one person, and those usually get taken care of a lot better.   County Sheriff, Highway Patrol, etc...  Many city/county departments get 'hand-me-down' cars from law enforcement, so those aren't always a good choice.  K9 cars will have even higher idle time than most... if the dog is in the car, the car is running to keep the A/C on.  Best thing is to carefully check out the car you're thinking of bidding on.  If the interior is clean and in decent shape, that's usually an indicator that the car was treated decently.  That said, LE cars do things daily that most of us wouldn't do with our own cars and it does take a toll.

I'm a Ford guy, but would never go with the Explorer. Lots of engine problems, all expensive to fix. And don't get me started on the 7 different headlamps they could have that are all $1000 or more a piece.

Please tell us how you really feel !!!!

Thanks