The U.S. Army Has Begun Auctioning Its Humvees To Civilians – There’s Just One Catch
If you have ever had a fantasy of barreling down in a military spec’d Humvee, you’d better hurry. For the first time ever, the United States Army is selling off its Humvees to ordinary civilians, albeit for a slightly heftier price tag and a rather stinging caveat.
The Department of Defense will soon start auctioning off as many as 4,000 military spec’d Humvees to the public, reported New York Daily News. Under its plan to reduce and monetize its surplus supplies, the Humvees will be auctioned off in stages. The first batch of 25 surplus Humvees is slated to go under the hammer as soon as today.
Recently, the military has gradually begun doling out its surplus equipment to public offices and schools. However, it has never allowed any civilian to own its non-lethal hardware. In the past, these Humvees would have been sent straight to the military scrapyard. But thanks to liberal changes in the policies in recent years regarding military surplus and what Defense Logistics Agency spokesperson Michelle McCaskill describes as “cooperation from other government offices,” the used Humvees will not be broken down, but sold as complete transport vehicles.
Most of the Humvees that are part of today’s auction seem to have been built between 1987 and 1994, with anywhere from 1,361 to 38,334 miles of service. While few may have been in combat, most of the Humvees served this country as troop and/or cargo transporters. However, prospective buyers needn’t worry about any damage, since each of the current and future Humvees to be publicly auctioned will have been inspected for defects prior to sale.
However, these Humvees will be stripped of any “military characteristics,” reported Fox News. Thus, if you are interested in a Humvee that looks like it has served in a battle, you will have to supply your own armor or artillery deployment devices. The majority of the Humvees start their bidding at $10,000, but IronPlanet, the company that has won the contract to auction of these machines, expects the price to climb soon as bidding wars ensue.
Even if you manage to snag one of these behemoths, there’s a huge and disappointing caveat. These military beauties aren’t certified as “road-worthy.” In simpler words, you won’t be able to barrel down any roads where the general population drives its cars. Moreover, winning bidders will have to sign documents specifying exactly how they’ll be used.
Though this limiting factor might severely restrict the appeal of these Humvees, Randy Berry, IronPlanet’s senior vice president for operations and services, assures that there is a lot of pent-up demand for the Humvees.
[Image Credit | IronPlanet]
