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Is this a investment ?

sigo

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I think Wreckerman said you can tell your wife it's cheaper than whoring, boozing, and gambling. Or something like that. Seems like a solid argument to me. :D
 

Scar59

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I think Wreckerman said you can tell your wife it's cheaper than whoring, boozing, and gambling. Or something like that. Seems like a solid argument to me. :D
That's what I tell my wife; I don't bowl anymore, I don't play softball anymore, I don't hang out in taverns anymore, I'm in the shop, 140 yards from the house, with an 35 yr. old truck......
 

mkcoen

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If you want to see what an investment they are just follow my thread. I keep investing in it and save fuel by not being able to drive it :)

The way I got my wife on board was the 1st military vehicle we bought is her's. She wanted a mid-50's Power Wagon so I bought her a M37.
 

TexAndy

Active member
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They're not a good investment, is the short (but correct) answer.

The longer answer is, they can be a good buy to make money with IF you buy them cheap enough and IF you actively resell them for a profit. And in a timely fashion. Which would make them less of an investment and more of a revolving stock with you as a retailer and the auction company as a wholesaler.

The problem with this, is that GP knows a bit better what these things are worth than GL ever did. They don't leave much money on the table, as it were, in my opinion.

As far as investments go, you could make money on every single truck you ever bought, and it might STILL not make them a good investment. The reason being, what else could you have done with that money that you had tied up in trucks for x number of years? The answer, probably, is any number of things.

Don't get me wrong. I love this hobby. But that's what it is for 99.9% of us. Nothing wrong with that. Just don't kid yourself about it being an investment. Lying to yourself is never a good idea but we (humans) do it all too often.
 

ArizonaGasMonkey

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I also do not agree with anyone buying a running and driving FMTV LMTV truck for $3K. And is $3K a bottom price at auction before byers fees, taxes, transport and then titling fees. Best deals I have seen are on east coast so far myself.
Its like someone buying a $1900.00 5-ton in Kansas and selling it to someone in Arizona for $7500.00. That is a profitable investment for the seller, not so much for the buyer.
Make wise decisions there are plenty of these 2.5 ton trucks to go around and the private sector is loading up on them also.
 

1951M1078

Well-known member
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Man have I been looking in the wrong places ! If their are $3000 LMTV's out their I have not seen them in the last 18 months.

Where are the low price LMTV's ? Would love the help.

I have been see non-runners going for $4000 ++++.
 

Lmtv772

Banned
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Man have I been looking in the wrong places ! If their are $3000 LMTV's out their I have not seen them in the last 18 months.

Where are the low price LMTV's ? Would love the help.

I have been see non-runners going for $4000 ++++.
right exactly, you have not seen them, because they do not exist. I was bidding on a roll over truck out of state and even that one sold for more. Now you add your auction fees. And Transport fees for a 18.000lbs dead weight and you you're right at the prices running LMTV's go for.
You can go to the auction site that sells them and look at the sold prices. then add your fees and transport cost. Most people (most of the ones without money) seem to fail to realize that the starting bid is not what the trucks sell for.
I hear from people all the time: ' I can buy a truck on govp. for $4000 ... and I say, 'no you can't, that is the starting bid'.
 
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1951M1078

Well-known member
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Glendale,AZ
I'm with you 772. Think a great deal would be in the 6 to 7K range. But their would be the shipping and then the repairs.+-

The going price is more like 9K + for a runner and maybe with plates.
 

98G

Former SSG
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Its like someone buying a $1900.00 5-ton in Kansas and selling it to someone in Arizona for $7500.00. That is a profitable investment for the seller, not so much for the buyer.o.[/QUOTE]

I'm not so sure.

That $1900 dead truck is more like $2450 after GP fees. $1500 for transportation, $700 in fliuds and filters, $350 in new batteries, now let's replace the hood and radiator that GP crushed with their front loader, and then put a set of super singles on it for about $1800.

Now it's in front of the buyer, available for test drives and we know it runs. Is $7500 unreasonable? Especially in the context that the next "$1900" risk might have a rod through the block?
 

DanM7890

Active member
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Hickory, NC
People that just LOOK at these auctions and have never purchased have NO idea what they're getting into. The truck might be a deal at auction until you pay to get it transported, and if you can't do the work you need to hire someone to go through the entire truck, and what if the engine is toast, now you need to source one. All the risk is in the person buying through the auction, so no I don't think it's unreasonable to mark it up a little bit for the effort and time the seller has put into it. Just my .02 cents
 

mkcoen

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People who buy through GP or GL or GSA are taking big risks with their money. At least in the old days you could generally schedule an appointment to look at a vehicle if it was local and make a little better decision on whether it was worth buying or not. Now it is literally a crap shoot. I was very fortunate to have someone knowledgeable not only pick my truck up but then spend dozens of hours of his time wrenching on it for me. And I'm already over $9k (not including my nice, new tires) into the truck and it will be a few more days before we know if it's a runner or not. Still I couldn't get a running/driving truck in similar condition on the retail market for that. The days of picking up a $600 truck and driving it half way across country are over. Are there deals still to be had? Sure. But no one should begrudge a seller of making a profit on a vehicle they risked a fair amount of money on.
 
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