ERPD Sgt. Terry Prescott eyes one of the new Dodge Chargers the city recently purchased to add to its fleet of police cruisers.

The East Ridge Police Department received five new patrol cars earlier this week.

Officials said the Dodge Chargers will be hitting the streets once graphics are applied to the vehicles.

“These cars came fully equipped,” said Chief J.R. Reed. “The only thing we’ve got to do is put mounts in them for the computers that we have ready for the cars.”

The Chargers were purchased out of a capital improvement fund for about $175,000, officials said. The city buys the cars through a state-approved vendor.

Chief Reed said the city began buying new police cruisers on a regular basis for the purposes of rotating out cars with about 100,000 miles on them. In this way the city can sell the older vehicles for more money while they still have value.

City Manager Scott Miller said police cruisers with more than 100,000 miles begin to present maintenance problems. Engine and transmission problems can be costly and they mount up in a short time.

Warranties on police cars are usually 100,000 miles and/or three years, Miller said. In order to maintain a viable and responsive fleet it is recommended to maintain a workable vehicle policy, such as replacing the cars with new ones when the odometer is over 100,000 and rotating the old ones to non-patrol officers or for use by other city departments, he said.

Miller noted that if this is done on a regular basis the city won’t have to shell out huge sums of money in any given year to beef up the fleet.

Chief Reed said the officers like the Dodge police cruisers, which the city went to in 2014. The department had previously used Ford Crown Victorias and Chevrolets, he said. The new cars will replace the 2009 Chevrolets the department has.

The East Ridge Police Department has 31 patrol cars in its fleet, officials said.