Council OKs Purchase of Three Police Cars

Three new police vehicles have been approved for purchase by Manchester's township council.

The cars — all 2012 Dodge Chargers — will replace three aging Ford Crown Victorias used by the which are no longer in production. The cost for the vehicles, which will be purchased through the , shall not exceed $74,877, according to the purchase authorization resolution approved Monday evening.

The current cars are being replaced because they each have over 100,000 miles. Having that many miles on a police car "is probably like having 300,000 miles on a regular car," said Chief of Police Brian Klimakowski, because of the "the manner in which they're driven, the high speeds, the braking, in addition to the idling that a normal car never does."

At this point in their life, the costs for maintaining the cars begin to exceed their value and safety becomes a factor, Klimakoski said. 

With about 30,000 miles driven in each patrol car every year, the township has to ensure that the fleet remains current, said council president Craig Wallis.

Other vehicles in the department are racking up miles. Klimakowski said that two cars have over 90,000 miles, four have over 80,000 miles and three have over 70,000 miles.

Cars must be replaced annually to ensure that the department does not end up with an aging fleet that needs replacing immediately, which would be a daunting task for the township, Klimakowski said. 

"By this time next year, we're going to have 12 cars with over 100,000 miles, so we have to begin to start getting the fleet to where it needs to be," Klimakowski said. 

The Charger is commonly used by police departments — including neighboring — and is "a good vehicle," Wallis said. Though there were other options, administrators did not want to take a chance with unproven police vehicles.

"Chevy is going to come out with the Caprice [police version], but they haven't been tested," Wallis said. "When they come out with a new police vehicle, do you want to be the testbed for it? The Dodges have been out there for a while."