Police car auctions

Police car auctions and gsa auctions explained. Videos and specifications on the 9c1 optioned Chevrolet Police Interceptor. easily one of the best patrol cars ever produced in the United States.

GSA is an abbreviated term for general service administration or better known as U.S. government auctions. Gsa handles the federal acquisition of equipment to various government agencies. They ensure compliance with all current transportation regulations. Simplified, they buy and sell the cars that all levels of government use in the name of public service.

But lets start with a fun subject I like to talk about, my personal pick for the best law enforcement vehicle ever. I love to buy and drive old police cars, just like Elwood from the blues brothers. Why do I like cop cars so much?

I have worked on many in my day and currently, I am working on sheriff department and county vehicles. These modern cars are nothing like the ones built even a decade ago.

But still a police interceptor of any year is built with heavy-duty parts and designed to be powerful yet also handle well at high speeds. This is what I love about GSA car auctions.

You can still get well-maintained vehicles with heavy-duty parts at low prices. Below are some prime examples of the 1996 LT1 Caprice 9c1 police cruiser in action. This was a vehicle you could actually hide behind for protection. In my humble but educated opinion the 1996 caprice was the all around best police car package ever offered.

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Police car whats inside?

You will also find no frills easy to clean interior that includes commercial grade flooring instead of carpeting. The vehicle is constructed for pedal to the metal performance and handling that's impressive for the size and weight.

Even though this vehicle was lucky to get 13 mpg the 96 Chevy 9c1 in my opinion was the cream of the crop in law enforcement patrol car manufacturing. The Caprice police interceptor came standard with the Corvette LT1 engine that was built with a 4 bolt main block and all the heavy-duty hoses and accessories that GM could find.

The cop car I speak of can still be found at some GSA auctions and other police car auctions. I recently learned that this car was used exclusively by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and is available in Canada at the time of this writing.

Remember this interceptor unit was called the 9C1 which is the option package code that General Motors used in ordering and identification. This code can be found on the options label in the trunk. On the exterior the only difference between the standard model was the rear quarter window.

This special options package included 16-inch tires and Gm’s 3.23 or even 3.73 posi-lock rear differential behind a 200-4r or 700r4 4-speed automatic transmission. The engine included gm’s most powerful high-energy ignition system (Opti Spark) and true large diameter dual exhaust to let the LT1 350 V8 vent. The electrical system included a high output alternator.

Also standard was a gear reduction high torque starter and extra capacity dual battery's to help handle all the electronics you would find on a police car. The package was very well balanced. It was fast and handled great. I have driven these cars many times and lets just say I would smile for the whole ride.

A police interceptor story

When they would patrol on I 295 in New Jersey they would sometimes get into high-speed pursuit situations. He described in great detail how he would blow by the crown Victoria cars that had wide open throttle with his caprice not even at 75% throttle. On the rare occasions when multiple units would pursue suspects at some distance the crown vics couldn’t keep up.

You would see 3 caprices go bye you and then 5 minutes later you would see the Crown Victoria police cars come past bringing up the rear. The officers in this department would fight over the caprices and the loser's got the Fords. The Chevy police car reached its peak in 1996 with the 9C1. Then Chevy got out of the game for a couple of years because they killed the full frame car all together.

Gm has since got back in the game with its somewhat lame 6cyl Chevy impala and now the redesigned Chevrolet Tahoe police SUV. Now it’s the Fords that blow away the Chevy’s.

Also Dodge has come back into the competition with its Hemi powered rear wheel drive Dodge Charger police car.

And Chevrolet has added a super charger to its underpowered entry and a 5.3 liter (327 CID) in its Tahoe police truck. So we will have to see who winds up on top of the competition in the near future. Well back to why I support buying a police car at auction. Most law enforcement departments have very tight maintenance schedules for their automobile fleet.

So the vehicles are well maintained on top of being built with heavy duty parts. Even if the cars have high miles on them I would still purchase it with confidence. Remember this car is not the best all around family automobile.

They are not known for good fuel economy but they are very safe and reliable transportation. I have seen a Chevy caprice crashed into a wall at 75 mph and the officer was not seriously injured. The rear wheel drive cars with full frame construction are very strong and hold up well in accidents.

Patrol units often go for reasonable prices at GovernmentAuctions.org® because of the supply and demand scenario. They usually have plenty of them and the high mileage they tack on some times turns off buyers leaving a bargain to be had.



I worked for one of the largest car auction networks in the United states. This next link takes you back to my main auction car page that supplies more information about police car auctions



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