The Glade 4.0

Posted here in case I don't get the answer I want...

We have 5 members in our family...about to be 6. Can't afford a new vehicle.
We have a 5 passenger truck.....(Ford Sport Trac?)

I was thinking...would it be possible to take out the front console and the bucket seats and put in a bench seat?

It is the only solution I can think of, short of going out as a family to church, dinner, movies, camping, etc in shifts.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

You really are from the south...

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The Dude abides.

Naw...If I was for real southern, I'd make say screw a bench seat and make the oldest kid ride in the bed of the truck with the dawg and tell him to duck when he saw cops.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

This is the correct response.

Hmm, southern car advice.

Y'all need a second vehicle. Go to a police auction and get an old Crown Victoria (or equivalent) cruiser. It will haul all y'all nicely, give the Prince a chance for his dad to teach him how to work on cars, and eat enough gas you won't use it for anything you don't have to.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

Crown Vic isn't a bad idea. You can still put a person up front if it has the bench seat.

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Raell Kromwell

A former Police-run Crown Vic is a bad idea.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

Yeah. Police cars spend a LOT of time idling, which is hard on the engine, and they get driven hard a lot too.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Why do you think I included the part about the King teaching the Prince about fixing cars. Yanking a police ruined engine and replacing it is a rite of passage for a young car buff. Also teaches him that police cars are good at going fast straight, but not so good at a backwoods chase.

Maybe he shouldn't get one after all.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

They also don't jump ravines well.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Purely anecdotal, but a couple months ago I was chatting with the Chief of Police of a small town not too far from here. We got on the topic of the police cruisers he uses, and he said they normally buy former State Trooper cars (still crown vics mostly at this point) as they get rotated out of the trooper's inventory. He said the average trooper car when they get it has 75,000 miles on it, and they typically run then another few years and get rid of them after another 30-50k miles (he said his patrol cars average only 8-10K miles per year). He said it saved them a ton of money compared to buying new cruisers, and because of the demands the troopers put on the cars, they spend the money to maintain them well, and provide a good, reliable car for his force.

If you go by mileage, police cruisers will be relatively well taken care of. However for city police (not so sure about state troopers), the mileage doesn't begin to tell the story. Mileage is used by regular folks as a judgement as to how much the engine has been used. When a police cruiser is traded in/sold-off the hour on the engine have little-to-nothing to do with the hours on the engine; the hours/days/weeks spent idling don't show up on the odometer.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

I don't disagree. I was just pointing out an alternative position to the one that buying a former police car might not be a good idea due to wear and tear, from a Chief of Police.

If he is willing to stake the effectiveness of his police force response time by buying former police cars, it should give an indication that such all or nothing statements might not be accurate.

The short answer LadaKate is no, you can't really do that.

Your best bet is to try and find a dealer who will give you a decent trade in on your car and get a used mini-van. From a money standpoint, if you're decent at haggling, sell your current car outright, and then based on what you sell it for, pick up a used mini-van for the same amount. However, a trade in will actually help you some depending it's value, because your trade in will reduce the amount of taxes you have to pay on the new vehicle.

For example, you trade in your current car for 5,000, and buy a new one for 6,000. You'd only pay taxes on 1,000. If you sell outright first, and then buy straight, you'd pay taxes on the full 6,000.

I see your point Ladas, and don't disagree with them. I do believe, however, that a Chief of Police may have more resources in choosing which vehicles (well-maintained, highway miles etc.) to buy than LK, as well as a turn-around time (2-4 years), and a maintenance dept. that would turn things in his favor.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

I think most people were thinking "local police" cars. Trooper cars will spend less time idling and more time driving at highway speeds by comparison. They would be much better, if one can lay hands on them.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Now that Nitefox has his old job back, we will be needing two vehicles anyway.
This should be interesting.
I found a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica that I really like.
64k miles and they want 9 for it. I don't know about that.
I sorta liked the idea of rigging up the truck. Bummer.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

Yeah, but phht.......they look GREAT on a 4x4 frame!!!!

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An Englishman, an Irishman, and a Scotsman walk into a bar.
The bartender looks at them and says "What is this - some kind of joke?"