In a fleet of 130 patrol cars, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office has replaced five in as many years.

So the addition of 13 new vehicles and plans to refurbish about 20 has the office pretty excited.

“We’re in a stage now to where we have to have new cars,” Sheriff Gerald Couch said. “We have 48 cars with well over 200,000 miles, and for an agency our size we need to replenish our fleet at least 20-25 cars per year.”

It was one of the first things he addressed as he took office in January, and the Hall County Board of Commissioners worked with him to get some money allotted, sheriff’s officials said.

One way to fit it in the budget, though, was the refurbishment program — a Band-Aid, Couch said, but something that will save taxpayer money and get at least three if not more years out of those cars. Funds for the first refurbished car were approved at a Jan. 24 commissioners’ meeting.

The office sent that car off to get some major mechanical work and body work.

“It was driving like it had a 176,000 miles on it,” said Sgt. Mark Blihovde, who has been driving the vehicle for three years — two other deputies came before him. “The transmission was going out on it, so it wasn’t far from having to do that anyway.”

Seat covers were worn, paint faded; it didn’t handle curves well, and the steering was loose.

The car came back this week with a new engine, drive train, suspension components, interior updates and paint job. And it handles just like new, Blihovde said.

“It’s gonna make it a lot easier,” he said. “It really does handle and feel like a brand-new vehicle. Of course all the way around it’s, for everybody’s sake, safer.”

The handling is important since he drives 150 to 250 miles in a given day patrolling his large North Hall district. And when residents call 911, they expect a quick response.

The $14,600 price tag for the refurbishment compares to a $32,000 to $35,000 cost for the typical brand-new car outfitted with the needed special equipment such as light bars, sirens and radios, said Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks, spokesman for the office. Some $5,000 to $6,000 in savings comes just from reusing that equipment, much of which is fitted specifically for the discontinued Crown Vic.

Another $2,300 in savings comes by using white as the base color instead of the office’s traditional gold. The new graphic design also costs $60 less than the old.

Money will be saved in maintenance costs, too, since the refurbished cars are coming with a three-year, unlimited miles warranty.

The office didn’t have maintenance costs available Thursday, but Couch referred to the amount spent to maintain the fleet as “a fortune.”

Couch said he got the idea for the refurbishment program from a department in Alabama that replaced much of its fleet with refurbished cars.

“It got high marks over there. All the deputies thought it extended the life of the cars and saved them a great deal of money,” Couch said. “And so I thought, well, maybe we could try that here.”

The new cars just purchased came at a discount, too, though — almost $23,000 for each.

“Those are actually the last Crown Victorias around anywhere,” Couch said. New cars in the future will have to be another make and model.

Couch hopes savings in other areas of the department will help the office purchase cars in a more timely fashion and keep the fleet up to date.

First responders’ cars with the most miles are getting the most attention now, but as new cars come in, patrol cars get passed down to jail, court services and detectives. With no new cars coming in, there haven’t been any hand-me downs lately, Couch said. Even the new cars that came in the last few years were purchased with seized drug funds, not out of the budget, Wilbanks said.

“Their cars are just racking up the miles, so that’s why we’re in such bad shape,” Couch said.

He hopes to buy another 20 new vehicles this year.

“We need to make sure our officers have the tools they need to respond to emergencies,” Couch said. “If a deputy’s car stops working, it endangers the welfare of the citizens. We’re grateful for the commission’s support on this project, and we look forward to working together in the future as we continue to improve the services we offer to our citizens.”$23,000 for each.