Military Will Finally Sell You A Surplus Humvee Starting At $10,000
Starting December 17, 2014 the general public will able to buy trucks from a surplus of "as many as 4,000 Army Humvees" being shifted out of government service. Bidding starts at $10,000, and the 20-year-old-trucks look like they're in good shape with low miles. There are a couple catches though.
The first lot of 25 trucks will be auctioned tomorrow out of Hill Air Force base in Utah. You can check out the listings, place a bid, and see how the sell right here from your computer. If you miss this round don't worry, there are about 3,975 more military Humvees in the pipeline that could be yours!
Inconveniently, the "completely demilitarized" Humvees auctioned on GovPlanet.com with come with no title. And they're legally declared "for off-road use only" meaning you can't get license plates.
One more thing; you'll have to present the sellers with a note describing your intended uses for each retired war machine you buy. Even though the trucks have been stripped of any military accouterments (including armor) Uncle Sam is still keen to keep the riff-raff and maniac vigilantes from going nuts with these things I guess.
Here's the complete list of "conditions," which is a little intimidating.
But how cool is this 1991 AM General M1038 Humvee HMMWV Hard Top Cargo Body with 23,938 miles?!
It's gut-wrenchingly titillating to cruise through the listings (click here to see all the Humvees, cranes, forklifts, and other treasures for sale) and imagine the fun you could have at an off-road park, your uncle's back field, or in a Spec Humvee race series I just wish I could afford to organize.
This is the first time genuine military surplus Humvees have been offered to regular citizens. Army Times says that the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has finally won its petition to the longstanding policy that retired military trucks had to be scrapped or parceled out to other government agencies.
GovPlanet won the contract to handle distribution of the DLA's "rolling stock assets" (used army vehicles) over the next two years, valued at $100 to $140 million.
AM General, which has built more than 300,000 Humvees since the Army started using them in 1985, is reportedly not happy about this development. The company "opposes any use of these military vehicles by individuals or entities outside of the military context for which the vehicles are designed."
That might add some complications to calling customer service when your new Humvee breaks down, but I'm sure you'll find plenty of help once an owner's club is inevitably established.
So who's bidding and what are you putting down for "intended use?"
Hat tip to Jmboehm and Steve Siler! Image via DVIDSHUB/Flickr, screenshot from IronPlanet.com