What's the catch with GL??

[silverstar]

I have been looking on the GL website and I see piles and piles of M35A2's that look pretty decent, even a few that look almost new. Most of them say "won't start" which is probably just dead batteries because the engines look like new on alot of them. I see them with 2 days left on the auction and not one single bidde rand it says that the starting bid is $150. There has to be a catch there because there is no way you're gonna pick up a nice Duece for $150! Is it that everybody waits till the last few hours?

Also I plan on buying my first duece when I move to PA next summer (I don't want to get one now because I don't want to have to move a duece from FL to PA!). I'm going to be about an hour (in normal car time, not duece time. HAHA) from Indiantown Gap which I have heard alot of good things about and that they usually have a good selection there and many other places in PA. What do I need to do to register, bid and buy on GL? Also what's a good price to pick up a nice M35A2 from GL? Is it true that people are getting them for as little as $1,500? That would be sweet! My plan would be(if/when I win a bid on one) to drive down with my dad (who spent many years driving dueces and 5 tons in the Army) and change all fluids and check it over along with taking 2 new batteries to throw in it and driving it home. Thanks for any help or info you can give on this.

 

[Chevytruck]

I'm guessing that its time till auction starts if nobody has bid on them at all.

they can easily go up to 2k, if its your first truck might want to go private party since everything is all ready. But if you want to go the GL way, your bidding on trucks that may look good but hide major problems. or you may get lucky and get one of the good runners.

i hope that helps.

 

[silverstar]

Yeah i've read some really shady things about GL on here and it does have me kind of worried but I really don't want to (nor can I afford to) pay $6,000+ for my duece from a private party. Can you go inspect the trucks before you bid? I'll be only an hour from Indiantown Gap so I could drive down there and inspect the trucks. And the one's i've seen that were really cheap were started auctions, just that nobody had bid on them.

 

[clinto]

Hmmm...... the catch

In no order.......

A lot of people do wait till the last minute to bid

Here's the difference:

Bid on a deuce from GL. First, go through the paperwork hassle. Then wait for the paperwork to be approved. Then schedule a time that is bad for you and good for them (sorry, you have no say in this matter) to pick it up. Get there and who knows what you will find. GL, the military or other auction winners have stolen Lord knows what from your truck. Good luck getting any resolution from GL. It might run or it might have a hole in the transfer case (don't laugh-if it can go wrong it will). It might have no brakes, a dead hydraulic head, who knows. Now you have a 14K lb paperweight you have to find a way to get home. Or you can take another deuce and a towbar and tow the thing home. Then get it home, pay for the SF97, get it inspected, get your tag and title, etc.

Or buy from a private seller. Test drive it, you get your paperwork right now, you know what you've got, etc.

For that, you pay a premium.

I've done it both both ways. Both ways (GL and private sellers) have their pros and cons.

And fwiw, I've seen a ton of auctions that had no bids on the morning of their end date and by the end of the day, had exceeded what I thought was their retail value.

 

[zb39]

Key words.......The pics Look good............I couldn't see the bad head gasket in the pics.......GL says truck starts and drives.......yes it does, but only on 5 cylinders. also you might want to keep the windows down because it blows in the cab........

 

[drgreg]

By next summer you will probably have to buy from a private seller, some indications are that most all M35 series trucks will be out of the GL system late this fall.

 

[bryan70546]

I paid 3500 for my deuce and purchased it from a forum member , did a test drive and everything .My advice for you go private party .You dont need to pay $6000.00 for a deuce You can get them for less.You can get a really nice truck for a whole lot cheaper .Just take your time
and look around .Good deals are out there you just have to find them. Good luck buying your deuce .

 

[M725]

You need to inspect the truck before you bid, just like you would buying anything else. To see if there to a hole in motor, trans and anything else. Oil leaks, oil in motor, fliud in the brakes. Leaks at the wheels etc..........

 

[frodobaggins]

I look at it this way, if you don't inspect it, prepare to part it out to make your money back. If it's better than a parts truck, you did good !

 

[gunboy1656]

why not get one now...yeah it would be a slow trip, but you would not have to get a moving truck to haul your stuff.

 

[dm22630]

I have bought over 25 trucks from GL in the past year. ONE THIRD of them ran/drove/stopped when they were picked up from the base! Even though the description says "runs, drives, new engine, etc", MAJOR parts, tires, starters, etc very often come up "missing" & your only recourse is getting a refund......and that is ONLY if you find the problems before you leave the base. If you have someone pick it up & bring it to you & then find out parts are missing, you have NO recourse at all.

Buy from a private seller. You will know what you are getting & all the BS has already been dealt with.

 

[wreckerman893]

I have bought a lot of trucks from GL......I'm the guy that buys deuces to flip and help support my Green Iron Addiction (just as bad a crack but you have something to show for it).
When you buy a deuce from me (or other private seller) you get a truck that you can come look at, test drive and (most importantly) walk away from if you don't feel good about it.
I try to make 500-700 bucks per truck to cover my costs and the hassel of dealing with GL.
If a customer wants, I will do a complete service on the vehicle prior to pickup. This includes changing filters and fluids, checking all lights and tires and any other issues needed to get the vehicle ready for pickup or drive off.
The old adage "you get what you pay for" is very true with GL.
Once the National Guard and Reserve vehicles are ran through GL the supply will dry up and prices will skyrocket.
Now is the time to buy.

 

[silverstar]

Well I guess i'll probably be either not getting a truck or crossing my fingers and hoping i can still find one for about $4k or less from a private seller. I'm not going to try and move with a duece, that's crazy. I could just imagine trying to get all the large heavy items all the way up into the bed of a duece! LOL I could see alot of stuff broken and damaged by the time I got 1,100 miles away. I'm not even going to waste my time with GL because I have been reading on here for hours over the last couple days and have read nothing but bad comments about them. They sound like real scumbags running a shady and illegal (bait and switch tactics) business. They also sound like a bunch of bullies basically too with thier whole "well, if you don't like the garbage we're going to give you even though it isn't what you bidded on you can go elsewhere". I guess they have zero concept of customer service and I really hope it bites them big in the end. So it's not really looking good for me at all because most likely all the surplus will be gone and the private market will go through the roof putting them out of my reach to buy one. That sucks. Thank you though for all the help and info everybody. I can definitely say one thing about this site is that everybody is very friendly and helpful and ya'll truly look out for one another. Thank you.

 

[mdog]

Don't worry about getting one. Almost all the ones around now will still exist in a year or two unless scrap prices go through the roof. There may be more of a glut then than now. And GL is not the enemy. All of my experiences with them have been good. But you do have to know the system they operate by. They have their problems but you never hear about when things go right, only when things go wrong.

mdog

 

[Phily]

What is the usual route people will take to have CUCV's shipped?

 

[BKubu]

PHILY, I recommend starting a new thread as your information request is sure to be missed by many people who may be able to help since it is buried in an unrelated thread. My suggestion...contact the usual suspects (PCTRANS, Ray Patton, etc.) and also contact car haulers. The latter might possibly be your best bet unless a trucker just needs to back fill a load.

 

[fuzzytoaster]

I cant really comment on GL practices or experiences first hand but be creative in your searches. Ebay motors..varies..but for some reason Craigslist has been kind to me. Even with my small budget I've gotten offers for M35A2's with the works for about 3K. Title through tires are included and ive checked out a few so far, just nothing has struck my fancy just yet.