It Just Got A Lot Easier To Own A Surplus Military Hummer
GovPlanet has been auctioning off surplus military Hummers to the masses for months now, but buyers were hard-pressed to get them road legal. Starting now, all these trucks will be sold with "SF97;" a form you can take to the DMV to get a regular title and license plates.
Update: Here's what GovPlanet (a marketplace of IronPlanet which sells all kinds of amazing stuff) has to say exactly:
"By deciding to issue SF97s on the Humvees, it allows owners to acquire the "proof of ownership" document from their local DMV, which in this case is a title to the vehicle. Previously, Humvee buyers had a bill of sale, but not a way to obtain a title. Going forward, Humvees bought on GovPlanet will have an SF97. In addition, for people who have already bought, they are eligible to request an SF97 from GovPlanet."
Literally hundreds of retired Humvees, Hummers, HMMWVs or whatever you want to call them are auctioned off every month from storage facilities all over the country. Which is cool, but the stipulation that they be kept for off-road use only makes them an even bigger pain in the ass to own than a Hummer is inherently.
Nevertheless, people seem to be buying them in droves. The more that hit the market, the further prices seem to be getting pushed down.
Just a few months ago bids were starting at $10,000 and soaring up over $30,000 pretty quickly. This week's Hummer auction starts the bidding at $7,500. If you want to see where they end up, check out the listings right here.
But this week's round will be the first to be sold with SF97; which is quite simply the United States Government Certificate To Obtain Title To A Vehicle. GovPlanet's reps have assured me that one of these slips will be issued with every surplus Hummer sold through their auctions and it "should make it a lot easier to get these things registered and get license plates."
Surplus vehicles sold through GovPlanet are typically given to buyers with an "off-road title" that basically asserts who the owner is but precludes it from street use. With an SF97, you should be able to get a regular-old title for that new-to-you Hummer just like any other car. Ergo, drive it on the street.
Of course we all know nothing's "easy" when it comes to the DMV but another form from the government can't hurt your odds. Right?
Image via Wikipedia CC. Hat tip to Andrew!
Contact the author at andrew@jalopnik.com.