COSTA MESA : City May Terminate Police Car Lease

The city may terminate its lease for police cars from a local Ford dealership after more than 30 years because of concerns about vehicle maintenance.

The cars, which the city has been leasing from Theodore Robins Ford dealership since the 1950s, were found by workers in the city’s maintenance department to be below city standards, Finance Director Susan L. Temple said.

“We keep vehicles that are without brakes, and the oil hasn’t ever been changed,” Temple told members of an ad hoc committee formed to help the city meet this year’s budget. “The maintenance has been pretty bad, and one area you want maintenance is in police pursuit vehicles.”

But dealership owner Theodore Robins Jr. said his company has maintained high maintenance standards for those vehicles, some of which he said the city has purchased after the lease is up.

“They are getting everything they are paying for, and then some,” Robins said. “There are no shortcuts to properly maintaining a vehicle, and if at any time they felt our service was not up to their standards, it behooves them to bring it to our attention. That’s what we’re paid to do.”

Robins added that one technician in the maintenance shop handles the majority of repairs and maintenance on police cars, Crown Victoria sedans, adding to the quality of work.

“He knows what to look for,” he said. “We’re also providing this service for the city of Irvine, so this isn’t something we take for granted.”

Neither Robins nor Temple was immediately able to say how much the city pays for the lease agreement, which is renewed every two years. Costa Mesa also leases undercover police cars from the dealership under a 36-month agreement, Robins said.

City officials are now reviewing new bids from dealers, including Theodore Robins, to either sell or lease 37 police cars, and will also decide whether to have city employees maintain the cars or contract for maintenance with an outside company.

Temple suggested that the city may decide to hire an additional maintenance worker to oversee police cars instead of hiring an outside contractor. That would cost an estimated $4,000 more than the lease maintenance agreement, she said.

“They’ve done it completely different this year. They’re bidding everything separate--the purchase, the leasing and the maintenance,” said Jim Robins, a sales manager at Theodore Robins and a son of the owner. “It’s obvious they’re looking at all their options, probably to analyze it and help them decide.”

Temple said she expects city staff to report to the City Council by early next month on either buying the new cars, which could cost the city up to $700,000, or awarding a new lease contract.

A new lease would specify higher maintenance standards, Temple added.

“We’re pretty particular about our safety standards and (the cars from Theodore Robins) were being maintained, but not to our standards.”