Should You Buy a Surplus Military Vehicle?

I have nowhere to drive or store a seven-ton Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement. I have no desire to fold my body into a Humvee ever again. But when I see either one bidding for less than the price of a used Corolla, I start to second-guess myself.

Military surplus auctions are wild. There are new auctions every week. You can buy everything from uniform items to aviation maintenance supplies -- even operational vehicles. A quick search will turn up Humvees, MTVRs and even light-duty pickup trucks.

So should you pull the trigger and buy one? The short answer is probably not, but I’m nothing if not encouraging of collecting vehicles of ill repute. So let’s figure out how to make this work.

What’s Wrong with Surplus Vehicles?

Unlike private owners, the U.S. military doesn’t sell a vehicle because the warranty expired or there’s a baby on the way. Usually, vehicles get phased out because they hit a specified mileage or age. Maybe they’re getting replaced by something newer and better, or maybe it just isn’t worth the cost of repairing an antiquated platform.

Of course, some of these vehicles have problems. Whatever you’re looking at online has probably lived a very rough life. This isn’t the place to scoop up a clean daily driver, but you might find a diamond in the rough -- just remember that some lumps are just coal.

Depending on where you buy, you may or may not be able to see a vehicle in person before purchasing it. A pre-purchase inspection by a third party isn’t going to happen unless you’re working with a private seller. Be prepared to roll whatever you buy straight off the trailer and into a shop where you can get busy diagnosing and fixing whatever issues it has.

These Vehicles Aren’t at Your Local Dealership

While you might stumble across the odd military vehicle at a used-car dealership, the vast majority of surplus vehicles are only available online.

You can buy from another private owner through sites such as Facebook Marketplace, eBay or Bring a Trailer (for the well-financed buyer). These vehicles may already be titled and street legal, although state laws vary.

The other option is to buy your surplus vehicle from an auction house that specializes in liquidating government assets. The most well-known is GovPlanet, which holds auctions every week and sources inventory from all around the world. You’ll need to set up a free account to place bids and see what vehicles have sold for in the past, but that’s easy enough.

GovPlanet really has just about everything civilians are allowed to own. Looking for extreme cold-weather sleeping bags in Pennsylvania? They’ve got that. Want some heavy-duty mining equipment from Australia? They have that, too. There’s even a last-call section where you can pay rock-bottom prices on clearance inventory.

How It Works

Before you can bid on any auction site, you’ll need to set up an account and put your payment information on file. Once an auction is live, follow the vendor’s process to place your bids and win the vehicle of your choice.

Once the auction closes, you’ll have to make final payment arrangements, pay applicable taxes and fill out some paperwork. In the case of GovPlanet, you’ll need to make arrangements to pick up the vehicle from wherever it’s being stored. Showing up with a flatbed trailer is advisable.

If you’re buying government property, look for proof of ownership within 30-60 days.

Here’s What We Found

So what can you expect to find in these mystical military boneyards? Glad you asked!

I created a free GovPlanet account to peek behind the curtain and see what’s available and what kind of final prices you can expect to pay.

The first category I checked was antique military vehicles -- you know I love a good Power Wagon. Pickings were slim, but I found a 1973 Pinzgauer 710 from Switzerland in the low-$20,000 range and an M35 five-ton just like the ones in “Black Hawk Down” with no price listed yet. There were alson loads of domestic pickups, but prices and conditions varied widely.

What you really want to know about, though, are the Humvees. I saw starting bids as low as $3,500. Final sale prices depend on the condition of each vehicle, and that can be anything from nearly untouched to a total basket case.

GovPlanet deals with a ton of Humvees so there’s lots to choose from. I found slant-back hard-tops (sporty!), truck bodies and even a few that had previously been equipped with the MCTAGS collapsible gun turret. Those turrets are probably living a second life on a JLTV now.

Sale prices ranged anywhere from $3,000 for what I assume were basically parts donors to more than $30,000 for clean examples. There seemed to be something for everyone.

Does It Ever Make Sense to Buy a Surplus Vehicle?

If you’re looking for a loophole in the used-car market, this isn’t the life hack you’re hoping for. Military surplus vehicles are typically in poor condition compared to used cars in the civilian market. You can’t expect to buy a well-maintained F-150 for thousands less than market value just because you used a military auction site to find it. If these deals were good, used-car dealerships would have found them by now.

Maintaining a tactical vehicle will be tricky, too, since you can’t just head over to the dealership or auto parts store to order what you need. Owning one requires a little bit of resourcefulness and creativity; eBay and online forums will be your friends.

On the other hand, this might be an opportunity to score an incredibly cool off-road toy or farm truck. If you have a workshop, free time and some mechanical know-how, a surplus tactical vehicle starts to make sense.

Even if you can’t get it to run right away, you can still have fun telling your friends to find the keys.

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