Last month, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office deputies got hundreds of new Glocks for a quarter of a million dollars to shoot you with if they have to – and now they’re getting some new cars and other vehicles to chase you down in.
At the Thursday, Nov. 6 meeting of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, the board is expected to approve roughly $1.9 million for the Sheriff’s Office to buy and equip 29 new vehicles.
The department says these purchases will replace older, high-mileage models that have taken a beating while in the line of duty.
The Sheriff’s Office always points out that its vehicles are often driven hard –accelerating quickly, maneuvering aggressively, and at times reaching high speeds. In extreme cases, deputies may even have to ram a fleeing suspect’s vehicle to stop a chase. That sort of wear-and-tear and outright intentional totaling of a car, they say, takes a toll on the fleet, so regular replacement vehicles is necessary to keep the fleet safe and reliable.
If the board gives its approval Thursday night – which is fully expected – the new vehicles will include:
- Five 2026 Ford Transit vans from Piedmont Trucks of Greensboro, at a total of $296,665 (including highway use tax).
- Three 2026 Chevrolet Traverse SUVs from Capital Chevrolet of Wake Forest, totaling $122,915.
- Two 2026 Ford Mustangs from Parks Ford of Hendersonville, at $99,976.
- Nineteen 2026 Dodge Durango Pursuit AWD SUVs from Ilderton Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram of High Point, totaling $765,187.
Those four orders add up to $1,284,744 before the department outfits them for duty. The “upfit” – which includes adding radios, cages, sirens, lights, decals and other law enforcement gear – is expected to cost another $606,000. That brings the estimated total on-the-road cost for the new fleet to about $1,890,745.
Each purchase follows state-approved contracts or cooperative agreements through the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association and the state’s own contract system, meaning the county doesn’t have to go through a separate bid process. The county’s Small Business Enterprise Department and purchasing staff have already signed off on the required forms, and a bid waiver justification is on file for each vendor.
County officials say the vehicles will be distributed across different divisions of the department, everything from administrative use to patrol and special operations. The Durangos, for example, will go to front-line deputies and traffic enforcement units that regularly clock long hours and fast miles. The transit vans will likely serve transport, detention, or crime-scene units, while the two Mustangs –not your usual law enforcement car – could see use in highway enforcement or public-relations roles.
The agenda information adds that, once the vehicles arrive, assignments may shift depending on the department’s needs at that time. That flexibility could slightly alter the upfit costs, but the total price is expected to remain close to current estimates.
Sheriff’s Office vehicles tend to rack up mileage faster than nearly any other county fleet. Between constant patrols, emergency responses and high-speed chases, deputies put the cars through punishing conditions. The office says timely replacement is essential not only for safety and reliability, but also to avoid the higher maintenance costs that come with keeping worn-out cruisers on the road.
The new rides will join the county’s growing law enforcement arsenal – following this year’s earlier upgrade to new Glock sidearms. So, it looks like Guilford County’s deputies will have plenty of new horsepower to match their new firepower.
Scott – how about investigating to the money used to purchase these items is from drug seizures, not all tax dollars ?
Also look into the age of the equipment being replaced, good chance the equipment is old and worn. I know I would want the weapons and vehicles to be i good shape so they can do the job they were hired to do. Ifthis is an issue to you let me know and I will send you a new pencil.
At what point does it cost more to do maintenance on a car than replacing it with newer, more expensive models? I can’t imagine that replacing parts on their cars is more problematic than spending millions on new ones. It’s just that the money is available so they’re going to spend it. Yay for taxes.
I drive a 20 year old car and maintenance isn’t very much and I also accelerate aggressively, reach high speeds and in extreme instances of road rage, perform pit maneuvers to get people out of my way. If I could afford to replace my car every 3-5 years because I was told money wasn’t an issue, I suppose I’d be tempted.
How many of these, other than the vans, go to MANDATED services? Those services required by statute. That’s the point almost all of you miss… A sheriff in NC is only obligated to provide certain services and protections. Everything else, while it looks impressive, just adds visibility for the Sheriff and additional tax burdens for the rest of us. The sooner we cut out the unnecessary things across the whole of government, the sooner we can actually start to own things, live in peace & actually have our own money to use as we see fit. Anyone else find it interesting that the Post Office and the IRS appear to be running just fine during this “shutdown?” Don’t be fooled by either side.