Middletown Police Purchasing New Cruisers

Cruisers last an average of 3 years before being replaced, turning over an average of 80,000 miles a year.

MICHIGAN RECONDITIONING
Michigan Reconditioning & Fleet Services (MRFS) is a full-service, automotive repair and maintenance shop located in Livonia, MI. MRFS will take vehicles that a department is ready to get rid of and recondition them; that is, replace every wearable mechanical item. This includes A/C, wiring, axle, etc. MRFS does not buy the cars from the departments—it performs this service for the departments, which saves them between $12,000 and $15,000 per vehicle. PFM spoke with Michigan Reconditioning’s owner Stu Durocher.

http://www.mrfsauto.com

Once a car arrives at MRFS, it is looked over, and MRFS gives the department a quote. Durocher said the company has an “a la carte” mentality; that is, if a department changed a transmission recently, he will not replace it. Every wearable item on the cars is replaced, except for fuel pumps and master cylinders. All brakes are replaced regardless of condition.

The engine oil, transmission oil and fuel filter are all changed as standard procedure. Mechanics do install factory OEM engines and transmissions. Turnaround time for the reconditioning is about two weeks. They will typically put 50 miles on the cars to make sure they run well and no “check engine” light appears.

MRFS does not repaint the cars, but it will do cosmetic or touch-up painting if necessary. Durocher said the majority of the cars’ bodies are in good shape. They can outsource a repainting job, but that adds on cost to the customer. They do clean and detail all cars upon delivery, which includes a washing, a waxing and a wipe-down. They also replace a lot of seat cushions.

MRFS provides its service to every type of agency. According to Durocher, “Size doesn’t matter.” The company once reconditioned about 20 vehicles from Lake County, IN, and the department used the money saved to implement a take-home fleet. Another customer is Wayne State University Police in Detroit. Additional clients are from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and as far as Florida and California. Shipping is $500 roundtrip.

Their cars typically have between 80,000 and 120,000 miles on them and are between 3 and 5 years old. Durocher said the cars are good for three years after being reconditioned, and then they are usually handed down to building or roads commissions. They deal with all makes and models, but prices vary depending on the vehicle. They have even done a “paddywagon” for less than half of the price of a new one.

A 2-year-old Ford CVPI with 85,000 miles would cost between $12,000 and $12,500 at Michigan Reconditioning. Durocher points out the substantial savings compared to the same vehicle brand-new, which could cost more than $21,000.

POLICE CRUISERS
Police Cruisers in Middletown, OH is one of the oldest and most trusted refurbishing / reconditioning companies in the country, according to owner Bill Kirkpatrick. When Police Cruisers receives a car, it goes through a rigorous inspection process to determine what major repairs are needed, such as new brakes, new tires, etc. Kirkpatrick said sometimes the cars come in “OK shape,” so they only replace parts that are really worn.

The engine and transmission oil as well as the fuel filter are all changed regardless. In addition, every car is thoroughly washed and cleaned, detailed and painted. The engine compartment and motor are de-greased, which takes between 40,000 and 50,000 miles off the life of the motor. Mechanics will install rebuilt engines and transmissions as needed. Police Cruisers employees paint the cars to their customers’ requests, but Kirkpatrick said they mostly do white.

Cars at Police Cruisers are purchased from all over the United States, “wherever good cars with low miles can be found,” Kirkpatrick said. City cars are hard on miles, so Kirkpatrick tends to stay away from them and holds out for the best. “It’s easy to buy junk…a lot of cars are nothing more than taxi cab material,” he said. But he doesn’t eliminate any agency whether it’s urban or rural, as there are always good cars within departments.

Police Cruisers sells to some of the biggest, as well as some of the smallest, departments across the country. Some departments have one car while others have 30 cars. Agencies’ finances change every year, so Kirkpatrick deals with many different situations and budgets. He sells primarily Ford CVPIs and Chevy Impalas. Kirkpatrick said the company will sell Dodges once the Chargers become available, but they are still too new to be recycled. Vehicles at Police Cruisers average between 35,000 miles and 65,000 miles, but the company has had cars with as few as 9,500 miles. It generally does not take any car more than 5 years old, but “there are exceptions to the rule,” Kirkpatrick said.

A 2004 Ford CVPI with 50,000 miles retails for $10,995 at Police Cruisers and includes a three-year/45,000-mile warranty. Police Cruisers ships nationally, and the farthest it has sent a car was Wallbridge, AK. Kirkpatrick guarantees the quality of his cars; if anyone is interested in one of his cars and comes to see it and for some reason doesn’t like it, he will pay the expenses of the trip.

If you really want to mention vehicle purchases for the city - why are their crew cab trucks being bought for the fire dept.  I know they do not show up for a fire in this - they need the fire trucks.  So if they are for the chief - they do not need such an expensive truck.  There is a lot of mismangement in the money being spent on vehicles in the city - it is one of the biggest wastes of money this city has.

Doesn't seem to add up. No wonder we have trouble balancing the budget.

Bill Rogers wrote: Some interesting numbers on the size of Middletown's Police Department, and statistics on police cruisers.

Interesting numbers indeed!!!  City Hall must use "Middletown Math"!!!

Thanks again Impala SS for your great suggestions to streamline our wayward municipal government.  What you say makes too much sense for the all-knowing ELITISTS at One Donham Plaza!

Impala,
Have you called the police department to ask about the cruiser sitting there?

Marianne wrote: Mike Presta, Divide that number by the 23 used by uniformed patrol and multiple it by 3, and you'll get about 78K, I believe, which is close to the average of 80 mentioned.

Marianne:

The story states that: "The Middletown Police Department put over 600,000 miles on their fleet of cruisers each year."

If one divides this TOTAL number of miles logged by the FLEET of cruisers by the NUMBER of CARS in the fleet (even using the lower number of 23), one cannot approach the 80,000 miles per cruiser average that Ms. Gilleland discussed at the council meeting. (The number is 26,087.)

With all due respect, Ms. Marianne, neither the number of drivers nor the number of shifts matter. In the story and in the replay of the meeting, it was clear that Ms. Gilleland spoke of the total miles on the fleet and the miles on the individual cruisers.

To examine this question from another angle, please consider the three cruisers that have “turned an average of 80,000 miles a year.” If this is typical of all “23 used by uniformed patrol”, then the 23 cruisers times 80,000 would equal about 1,840,000 miles, more than ONE MILLION miles per year more than Ms. Gilleland discussed. (To use your “times 3” methodology, this would exceed one half BILLION miles per year for the total fleet, nearly TEN TIMES the 600,000 mentioned by Ms. Gilleland!)

I stand by my original statements:

Interesting numbers indeed!!! City Hall must use "Middletown Math"!!!

Mike you are right on the numbers.  600k divided by 23 (uniform officers) is approx 26k, not 80.  What I don't understand is when you have financial troubles, you usually look at cutting costs unless you are the city of Middletown.  At any given shift there are not 23 vehicles being used - are they sitting in the garage or are they being driven home by the officers.  When they drive to Hamilton for court - why not take a impounded vehicle or pay the gas milage and let them drive themselves.  There where more questions that should be asked by council (if they can do math) then just saying okay to the purchases.  A little common sense needs to be used. 

Mike,

No I am not.  But the first point to be brought up is why did we have 29 cruisers when there are only 8 out at a time.  I do not have a problem with some extra (needed for down time, maintenance on vehicles) but it does not hurt for the ones available to be taken home by officers on a rotation basis.  But 29 is excessive for the amounts we have out on the streets.  Give them the benefit 10 on the streets, 2 for superivisors, and 5 for extra - that still only adds upto 17. 

Pacman wrote: So you all are ok with footing the Bill for 80-100 Cruisers, gas, added insurance, added liability, added maintenance, so each officer gets their own car, and here we are bitchin about replacing a few cruisers.

WHAT???  Hold yer horses, Pacman!  I didn't say anything about buying 50+ more cruisers (to bring the total up to 80 to 100)!

Someone takes their police vehicle home. 

I've noticed a Middletown PD Cruiser parked in a driveway near Britton Ln in Monroe.