garda fleet

bacon bites

anybody have a notion when the sh1tboxes we're being made drive everyday are going to be replaced?

bacon bites

bacon bites wrote: »

anybody have a notion when the sh1tboxes we're being made drive everyday are going to be replaced?

Vehicles will be replace once they have reached 190,000kms, or when it is not affordable to repair it. There was a large number purchased last year. There will be no procurment of vehicles this year. If you do a search on the garda website and through the papers you will find information on it. In the papers you are looking for the Competors report into spending in the public service. (I think).

TheNog

foreign wrote: »

Vehicles will be replace once they have reached 190,000kms, or when it is not affordable to repair it.

This has now been increased to 300,000kms

TheNog

TheNog wrote: »

This has now been increased to 300,000kms

Seriously?

Trojan911

TheNog wrote: »

This has now been increased to 300,000kms

Class....:D. The Government loves you guys...... I wonder do their cars have the same mileage?

trad

You obviously never had the pleasure of an Austin Montego or Maestro. You got a medal if you got it over 60,000 miles

FGR

300k? That's seriously pushing the 1.8 petrol engine in a Mondeo nevermind the 1.4s or 1.6s in the sub district cars..

And that's not factoring the general wear on wheels, bearings, springs and everything else in between..!

TheNog

foreign wrote: »

Seriously?

Unfortunately yes. We were promised a new district car once we reached 190k when it was at 180k but was soon after changed to 300k for all cars

donvito99

The circumference of the earth is approx. 40000 km....you will now be driving around it 7.5 times...

DubMedic

donvito99 wrote: »

The circumference of the earth is approx. 40000 km....

If only the government's common sense could stretch that far, We'd be onto a winner.

.

helimachoptor

TheNog wrote: »

This has now been increased to 300,000kms

Jesus thats unreal..
With the extra money they'd spend repairing them they probably buy new cars.

gdamedic

TheNog wrote: »

This has now been increased to 300,000kms

One of the cars in the district has something like 200,000kms on it, spends more time grounded because it keeps breaking for one reason or another. State wont replace it until it reaches 300,000kms. Only problem is it doesn't stay working long enough for it to reach the 300,000.

Terrontress

Reminds me of series 5 of The Wire.

miju

TheNog wrote: »

This has now been increased to 300,000kms

i do believe it's gone up ALOT more again :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

bacon bites

heard that opel flew brass over to england to look at the new insignias a few months back. they'd want to be a bit better than the vectras!

the locust

I think they should go for skodas (see pics of the PSNI using them) they actually don't look that bad marked up and they are a decent car and win the rallies! :P

Zambia

Sigh once again madness reigns

Here is the thing every state department has roughly the same requirements from a saloon car.

1: Decent speed there is probably a speed limit even for pursuits so as long as the car can top up a little above that speed your Ok.

2: Life as you can see the gov wants the most out of these cars.

3: Cost cheap as possible within the requirements

4: Room 4 door sedans fit the bill, station wagons for Traffic etc

5: Strip the fancy crap
5.1 No Power windows
5.2 Hard wearing seats
5.3 No cd players (chances are these are ripped out anyway for Radios)

6: Has to look decent , so thats Hyundai chances scuppered

7: If problems did arise that where common , just have it in the contract that these should be addressed at production.

Now there are probably more reqs but chances are they are not that bad.

So the Goverment departments including State sit down and agree (They have to no backing out) on these requirements. They bring these requirements to tender and say for the next 7-9 years we will be buying this car and no others. For the next 7-9 years. Chances are Ford,Opel,Renault,etc will take the Mondeo, Vectra, Laguna design and ramp up the brakes, suspension etc.

The Goverment body then decide on one car and thats the fleet car, every department gets this car, spares are brought in bulk and mechanics that want state business better just know how to fix the f**ker.

When I say state department I mean every State department, work for the HSE and have a company car you get this , Fire Chief you get this, Army MP car you get this I mean all the way to Brian Cowan's State car he can paint it Metalic Black and get it valeted more often but thats the state car. Imagine the kudos a politican would get for denying a Lexus or Merc to muck in and give the Garda and other emer services decent cars.

In this way the buying power of the state becomes really a prize worth chasing. Especially in such uncertain times for the motor industry.

Undercover cars well I would appoint a guy for that to trawl though yards every day buying bargains. As the need arose imagine the deals you could get if you removed emotion and where prepared to walk away from every deal.

Specialist cars - Personnally I think these are a complete W*nk. Besides If you make a law that if you are found 80Km over the signed speed limit , the state will take the car. I reckon you could confiscate these cars and make them Specialist Cop cars. Plus the pieces of crap that made it over this speed by some miracle could be donated for scrap.

Rather than wallowing in self pity over a lack of funds the goverment should be thinking of ways to maximise the power they have.

Right now i have said all that I have some more heavy drinking to get back to...VB 30 bucks a slab ...15 yo yo for 24 Bottles where would you get it he...

Terrontress

Zambia232 wrote: »

Sigh once again madness reigns

Here is the thing every state department has roughly the same requirements from a saloon car.

1: Decent speed there is probably a speed limit even for pursuits so as long as the car can top up a little above that speed your Ok.

2: Life as you can see the gov wants the most out of these cars.

3: Cost cheap as possible within the requirements

4: Room 4 door sedans fit the bill, station wagons for Traffic etc

5: Strip the fancy crap
5.1 No Power windows
5.2 Hard wearing seats
5.3 No cd players (chances are these are ripped out anyway for Radios)

6: Has to look decent , so thats Hyundai chances scuppered

7: If problems did arise that where common , just have it in the contract that these should be addressed at production.

Now there are probably more reqs but chances are they are not that bad.

So the Goverment departments including State sit down and agree (They have to no backing out) on these requirements. They bring these requirements to tender and say for the next 7-9 years we will be buying this car and no others. For the next 7-9 years. Chances are Ford,Opel,Renault,etc will take the Mondeo, Vectra, Laguna design and ramp up the brakes, suspension etc.

The Goverment body then decide on one car and thats the fleet car, every department gets this car, spares are brought in bulk and mechanics that want state business better just know how to fix the f**ker.

When I say state department I mean every State department, work for the HSE and have a company car you get this , Fire Chief you get this, Army MP car you get this I mean all the way to Brian Cowan's State car he can paint it Metalic Black and get it valeted more often but thats the state car. Imagine the kudos a politican would get for denying a Lexus or Merc to muck in and give the Garda and other emer services decent cars.

In this way the buying power of the state becomes really a prize worth chasing. Especially in such uncertain times for the motor industry.

Undercover cars well I would appoint a guy for that to trawl though yards every day buying bargains. As the need arose imagine the deals you could get if you removed emotion and where prepared to walk away from every deal.

Specialist cars - Personnally I think these are a complete W*nk. Besides If you make a law that if you are found 80Km over the signed speed limit , the state will take the car. I reckon you could confiscate these cars and make them Specialist Cop cars. Plus the pieces of crap that made it over this speed by some miracle could be donated for scrap.

Rather than wallowing in self pity over a lack of funds the goverment should be thinking of ways to maximise the power they have.

Right now i have said all that I have some more heavy drinking to get back to...VB 30 bucks a slab ...15 yo yo for 24 Bottles where would you get it he...

I think you started that post stating what you believe to be fact and finished it with an "if I ruled the world" post.

Zambia

Well all ideas basically are If I ruled the world posts...

jabbertalky

I don't see many Gardas driving cars with 300,000 km on them. What's that, about 200,000 miles?

source

jabbertalky wrote: »

I don't see many Gardas driving cars with 300,000 km on them. What's that, about 200,000 miles?

Our mondeo has around 215,000km on the clock. trust me there's quite a few out there.

goldie fish

jabbertalky wrote: »

I don't see many Gardas driving cars with 300,000 km on them. What's that, about 200,000 miles?

Country district cars have it done in no time. Most average 200miles per tour.

TheNog

miju wrote: »

i do believe it's gone up ALOT more again :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Gone up more than 300k?? are u serious?

Thats bloody ridiculous and downright dangerous

bacon bites wrote: »

heard that opel flew brass over to england to look at the new insignias a few months back. they'd want to be a bit better than the vectras!

I like the look of the Insignia

the locust wrote: »

I think they should go for skodas (see pics of the PSNI using them) they actually don't look that bad marked up and they are a decent car and win the rallies! :P

The Skodas really are the way to go tbh. They are cheap and reliable. The VRS can be bought at the same price as a Mondeo but the VRS can most certainly move alot quicker than the Mondeo

jabbertalky wrote: »

I don't see many Gardas driving cars with 300,000 km on them. What's that, about 200,000 miles?

There are many many cars fast approaching the 300k.

The question I have is when these cars, many of them being the 1.8 or 2l Mondeos, do exceed the mileage limit, what do we replace them with? This recession for Ireland is predicted to continue for another year or two so its doubtful we will get new cars in that time. Should I dare say the Mondeo will be replaced by the 1.4l Focuses we already have lots of.

donvito99

jabbertalky wrote: »

I don't see many Gardas driving cars with 300,000 km on them. What's that, about 200,000 miles?

186411.357671 miles, approx...;)

Gary ITR

donvito99 wrote: »

186411.357671 miles, approx...;)

In all honesty that's not a whole lot of mileage once the car has been maintained. Regular oil changes and servicing etc

Other things like suspension bushings, wheel bearings etc should also be replaced along the way too

TheNog

Onkle wrote: »

In all honesty that's not a whole lot of mileage once the car has been maintained. Regular oil changes and servicing etc

Other things like suspension bushings, wheel bearings etc should also be replaced along the way too

In all fairness I would agree with you if we were talking about a family owned car which would be driven at normal speeds according to speed limits and/or road conditions but we are not.

Garda cars are driven across all sorts of roads at differing speeds and stresses are put on the car which family owned cars are not. Regular servicing and changing of parts will take care of most of the problems but what about the structural intregity of the cars if and when they are involved in a collision?

the_syco

Zambia232 wrote: »

Specialist cars - Personnally I think these are a complete W*nk. Besides If you make a law that if you are found 80Km over the signed speed limit , the state will take the car. I reckon you could confiscate these cars and make them Specialist Cop cars. Plus the pieces of crap that made it over this speed by some miracle could be donated for scrap.

I'm pretty sure the Italians do this: I've sen them getting some nice "one off" cars, with police markings...

deadwood

goldie fish wrote: »

Most average 200miles per hour.

My, that is fast.

Gary ITR

TheNog wrote: »

In all fairness I would agree with you if we were talking about a family owned car which would be driven at normal speeds according to speed limits and/or road conditions but we are not.

Garda cars are driven across all sorts of roads at differing speeds and stresses are put on the car which family owned cars are not. Regular servicing and changing of parts will take care of most of the problems but what about the structural intregity of the cars if and when they are involved in a collision?

The structural integrity of a car wouldn't be affected with mileage. In fact a car that sits up for longer periods would be worse.

The underside of cars *should* be inspected at service intervals and any parts that need replacing should be replaced

deadwood

Nothing like fresh, new topics being trashed out, eh?:D

Gary ITR

the_syco wrote: »

I'm pretty sure the Italians do this: I've sen them getting some nice "one off" cars, with police markings...

Just reminded of the EVO Lancer that was used on the M1, wht happened that car is it still in service?

TheNog

Onkle wrote: »

The structural integrity of a car wouldn't be affected with mileage.

What if a car was in at least 4 collisions one of which (the first collision) the car could have been deemed to be written off and where the engine came of its mounts after it was fixed up?

It is very likely that patrol cars will be involved in RTCs due to the mileage and sheer amount of time on the roads.

Gary ITR

TheNog wrote: »

What if a car was in at least 4 collisions one of which (the first collision) the car could have been deemed to be written off and where the engine came of its mounts after it was fixed up?

Collisions and dodgey repairs are a different ball game altogether.... And next time I get flagged down for speeding I think I'll do a runner cos I'm sure my car could outrun a car with a bent chassis leg :pac:

If the car is a write off because a repair would be unsafe then the repairer should be shot for undertaking the job and the fact that the Guards lives and the lives of the public are being put at risk is a disgrace

But a car is also deemed a write off when the cost of the repair reaches around 35% of the value of the car, for a Garda car to be written off for this reason if it has light damage would be crazy when you consider the cost of branding the car, fitting radios etc etc

donvito99

I've found the chancers...

Transport Section
Garda Headquarters
Phoenix Park
Dublin 8

Tel: +353 1 6662104
Fax: +353 1 6662105

...these presumably are the people who buy the cars.

TheNog

donvito99 wrote: »

I've found the chancers...

Transport Section
Garda Headquarters
Phoenix Park
Dublin 8

Tel: +353 1 6662104
Fax: +353 1 6662105

...these presumably are the people who buy the cars.

Cant go blaming the lads and lassies in the Transport Section. The same way I cant go blaming the Super for telling me there is no money for OT. The blame for this goes straight to the top man and his party in this country of ours. Thats where the buck stops or at least where it should stop if they had the balls to take the responsibility.

djtechnics1210

If members keep driving cars that they feel are unsafe then the unsafe cars will never be changed..... ground the car.... no one can make you drive a defective patrol car, so why are you driving/being observer in it???????
No point moaning about cars being unsafe if your still going out in it for a tour of duty.
I would definitely not drive a patrol car i felt was not road worthy.
If you are in an accident in a patrol car that is clearly not up to the job it is intended for, the job will not cover you and you are leaving yourself wide open to court actions and prosecution.

Hooch

djtechnics1210 wrote: »

If members keep driving cars that they feel are unsafe then the unsafe cars will never be changed..... ground the car.... no one can make you drive a defective patrol car, so why are you driving/being observer in it???????
No point moaning about cars being unsafe if your still going out in it for a tour of duty.
I would definitely not drive a patrol car i felt was not road worthy.
If you are in an accident in a patrol car that is clearly not up to the job it is intended for, the job will not cover you and you are leaving yourself wide open to court actions and prosecution.

+1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TheNog

I have told on good authority the mileage limit has been increased from 300k to unlimited. Basically cars will be repaired until they no longer run or are unfixable. At this stage any car that cannot be put back on the road will not be replaced.

So any criminals out there reading this all you have to do is steal alot of clapped out cars and ram patrol cars until they are written off. Once ye get rid of all the half decent cars we have and we are driving around in 1.4L Focus', just steal a high powered car and thieve all ye want.

To the General Public, whatever level of protection we provide for ye will soon be reduced to practically zero. Expect our country to be raped and pillaged before this Government gets what it deserves.

DubMedic

TheNog wrote: »

I have told on good authority the mileage limit has been increased from 300k to unlimited. Basically cars will be repaired until they no longer run or are unfixable. At this stage any car that cannot be put back on the road will not be replaced.

So any criminals out there reading this all you have to do is steal alot of clapped out cars and ram patrol cars until they are written off. Once ye get rid of all the half decent cars we have and we are driving around in 1.4L Focus', just steal a high powered car and thieve all ye want.

To the General Public, whatever level of protection we provide for ye will soon be reduced to practically zero. Expect our country to be raped and pillaged before this Government gets what it deserves.

Unless they plan to purchase Volkswagen Beetles for general squad car use, the idea of unlimited mileage is insane.
A car reaches a certain point where it just physically cannot take anymore, much like a disgruntled employee.

.

jmccoy

TheNog wrote: »

I have told on good authority the mileage limit has been increased from 300k to unlimited. Basically cars will be repaired until they no longer run or are unfixable. At this stage any car that cannot be put back on the road will not be replaced.

So any criminals out there reading this all you have to do is steal alot of clapped out cars and ram patrol cars until they are written off. Once ye get rid of all the half decent cars we have and we are driving around in 1.4L Focus', just steal a high powered car and thieve all ye want.

To the General Public, whatever level of protection we provide for ye will soon be reduced to practically zero. Expect our country to be raped and pillaged before this Government gets what it deserves.

It is already being raped and pillaged by said government. :mad:

Shield

All you need now is the brick wall to bang your head against. That is truly appalling.

TheNog wrote: »

I have told on good authority the mileage limit has been increased from 300k to unlimited. Basically cars will be repaired until they no longer run or are unfixable. At this stage any car that cannot be put back on the road will not be replaced.

So any criminals out there reading this all you have to do is steal alot of clapped out cars and ram patrol cars until they are written off. Once ye get rid of all the half decent cars we have and we are driving around in 1.4L Focus', just steal a high powered car and thieve all ye want.

To the General Public, whatever level of protection we provide for ye will soon be reduced to practically zero. Expect our country to be raped and pillaged before this Government gets what it deserves.

Terrontress

Invent a serial killer by tying ribbons round the wrist of homeless people who expire naturally. Then blackmail the lead detective to let you use his budget to hire some new cars. I saw a documentay on it before.

Zambia

TheNog wrote: »

Expect our country to be raped and pillaged before this Government gets what it deserves.

You mean a fat pension, no comeback for years of mismanagment, a decent Gaff somewhere and a subscription to the independent so he/she can say how it was never like that when we where in power.

Sadly I cant imagine anyone who can fix that mess.

delly

Question folks, there was a press report a while back that said a number of new cars were warehoused while they awaited branding and equipment installed etc. Are these cars still holed up despite being paid for while districts still drive clapped out cars?

source

delly wrote: »

Question folks, there was a press report a while back that said a number of new cars were warehoused while they awaited branding and equipment installed etc. Are these cars still holed up despite being paid for while districts still drive clapped out cars?

Yeah, the lights, sirens, radio and markings all cost a pretty penny to install.

goldie fish

foinse wrote: »

Yeah, the lights, sirens, radio and markings all cost a pretty penny to install.

If they bought proper police spec cars they wouldn't have this problem.:mad:

goldie fish

goldie fish wrote: »

If they bought proper police spec cars they wouldn't have this problem.:mad:

I don't think that the major companies do a "police spec" car anymore due to the high quality on the standard build.

There was an article in the Sunday Times a good few years back about a UK company who kitted out the cars and they said that they used to upgrade breaks, suspension and engines. Now they only fitted electrics for radios and sirens.

And sorry, no link. It was at least five years ago.

miju

foreign wrote: »

I don't think that the major companies do a "police spec" car anymore due to the high quality on the standard build.

Volvo have designed and built police spec cars.

delly wrote: »

Question folks, there was a press report a while back that said a number of new cars were warehoused while they awaited branding and equipment installed etc. Are these cars still holed up despite being paid for while districts still drive clapped out cars?

that was an article completely blowing things out of proportion. in anycase they are all gone out now due to that article :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: and guess why they were "warehoused" ????

miju

miju wrote: »

Volvo have designed and built police spec cars.

Do you mean specialist cars like the RSU Volvo's?

Terrontress

foreign wrote: »

I don't think that the major companies do a "police spec" car anymore due to the high quality on the standard build.

There was an article in the Sunday Times a good few years back about a UK company who kitted out the cars and they said that they used to upgrade breaks, suspension and engines. Now they only fitted electrics for radios and sirens.

And sorry, no link. It was at least five years ago.

I remember that article! It was a lady who was being interviewed. They said that it is becoming more and more difficult to modify the cars due to the computerisation of everything. Apparently they took the rear view mirror off a Volvo S60 so they could fit two effective mirrors. Taking the mirror off resulted in the car not starting.

All they seemed to be doing was lights, sirens, dot matrix led, radio and comms, the power for that, markings and a system to allow the engine to run with no keys to power the extra equipment but that would shut the car off as soon as an attempt was made to drive it off.

Terrontress

Found it

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/article1129354.ece