This disclaimer works alongside the terms of use, which set out how the site and its content may be used.
I Go Cars explains how police vehicles are built and tested, how government vehicles are sold, and what the law says about speed enforcement and the devices drivers use to detect it. Because some of that information bears on money and on legal exposure, this page sets out its limits clearly.
Not legal advice
Nothing on this site is legal advice. Pages that discuss radar detectors, laser jammers, speed measurement, vehicle titles, decommissioning rules, impound procedures or forfeiture sales describe what the cited statutes, regulations and agency documents say. They do not apply that law to any person's situation, and they are not a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney in your state.
Laws change. A statute summarized on this site may have been amended, repealed, reinterpreted by a court or supplemented by local rules since the page was reviewed. Before relying on any legal point, read the current text of the statute itself, check with your state's department of motor vehicles or other responsible agency, and consult an attorney if the matter is important to you. This applies with particular force to radar detector and laser jammer laws, which differ by state and sometimes by vehicle type.
Laws differ by state
Traffic law in the United States is mostly state law. Whether a radar detector may be used, whether a laser jammer is prohibited, how a commercial vehicle is treated, how an abandoned vehicle is noticed and sold, and what must be removed from a former patrol car before sale all vary from one state to the next, and some rules vary by city or county. A rule described for one state should never be assumed to apply in another. Federal rules, such as those covering commercial motor vehicles, sit alongside state law rather than replacing it.
Test figures are agency figures
Performance figures on this site come from the agencies that measured them, under the conditions those agencies set. Michigan State Police results are clean-roof figures, recorded without a light bar, spotlights or other emergency equipment, on the agency's own test courses, and MSP warns that equipped vehicles may perform lower. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department results reflect that department's procedures. Manufacturer figures are manufacturer claims. None of these is a guarantee of how a particular vehicle will perform, and a retired vehicle that has spent years in service may perform very differently from the one tested new.
Not purchasing advice
The buying guides describe how sales work, what documents a buyer receives and what the selling agencies' own terms say. They do not recommend buying any vehicle or using any sale or platform. Government vehicles are generally sold as-is, often with limited or no inspection, and the risk of condition, title and removal sits with the buyer. Read the specific terms of any sale before taking part in it.
No figure on this site is a current price or valuation. Where a page cites a cost or sale price, it is a dated figure from a named agency document, given as that agency's figure for that year.
Auctions and sales
The sale procedures described on this site come from the published terms of particular agencies at particular times. Payment windows, removal deadlines, fees, inspection rules and default penalties differ between federal, state and local sellers and between individual sales, and they change. Impounded and seized vehicles are sold under statutes that differ by state, and the paperwork a buyer receives, whether a title, a certificate to obtain title, a sales receipt or a bill of sale, depends on the seller and the state. Advertisements that promise seized luxury cars for a few hundred dollars have been called fraudulent by the Federal Trade Commission, and official federal sale listings are free to view.
Safety
A retired police vehicle has usually been driven hard, idled for long periods and fitted with equipment that was later removed. Holes drilled for that equipment, if not properly sealed, can matter: NHTSA's investigation of exhaust odor in Ford Police Interceptor Utilities found that sealing problems caused by upfitting were responsible for the highest carbon monoxide levels measured. Open recalls may not be listed on a sale page. Have any vehicle inspected by a qualified mechanic and check its recall status by VIN with NHTSA or a dealer before driving it. Nothing on this site is a substitute for that inspection.
Not a government website
I Go Cars is privately published and is not a government website. It is not affiliated with any police department, sheriff's office, government agency, manufacturer or auction platform. It cannot locate, value, inspect or sell any vehicle, cannot tell you whether a particular vehicle is available, and cannot act on behalf of any agency. Any site that asks you to pay for access to government vehicle sales is not connected with I Go Cars.
Accuracy and corrections
The site is researched from primary documents and reviewed against them before publication, and conflicting sources are presented side by side. Errors are still possible. If you find one, the contact page explains how to report it with a source.