A 38-year-old man has learned the hard way that if you’re going to pretend to be the police, you should probably make sure you aren't trying to pull over actual undercover officers.

The "perplexing" encounter kicked off in South Auckland on Saturday night, when officers noticed a station wagon behind them flashing red and blue lights.

Inspector Kerry Watson said the team “quickly clocked that the car was not police-official.” 

It apparently took a few moments for the driver to realise his mistake, at which point he tried to bolt from the area to avoid getting caught.

Real rookie mistake. 

Unfortunately for him, the real officers caught up with the driver just a short distance away. 

Not only was the man allegedly impersonating the police, but he also blew more than twice the legal breath alcohol limit.

"It’s bad enough that this person thought it was okay to impersonate a police car," Inspector Watson said. "It’s even worse to see impaired and dangerous driving".

Representing a vehicle as a police car is a serious offence under the Policing Act 2008. 

The man is set to appear in court this Wednesday, Christmas Eve, to face the music.

Not his finest moment.