PM Clinto and see what he has if anything.
Yea, PM Clinto, he can get you a good truck for that old price.
Thank you for the compliments, gentlemen.
During the ice storm here in GA last week, I noticed several guys out driving their Deuces, and it got me itching to finally buy one. (and yes, I know driving on ice was a dumb idea, but still makes me want one) I've been interested in Deuces for many years, and I remember as recent as five years ago the going price for a good looking, good running Deuce was around $5k locally. I have a big tax refund coming this year, and was hoping to put it toward the purchase of my first Deuce, but when I started looking at local ads, it looks like the price has crept up to an average of around $8000. I've been looking on ebay, Atlanta Craigslist, and the local autotrader/trucktrader ads. I thought about going the GL route, but since this will be my first, I'd prefer to be able to test drive it and know what I'm buying beforehand, rather than the possible crap shoot of finding one on GL. Am I just looking in the wrong places, or are prices actually going up? I also notice fewer and fewer Deuces on GL lately, and more of the 5 tons and M900 series trucks. Perhaps limited availability is driving prices up?
Welcome to the site. Ice or no ice, any excuse you need to go get into a deuce is a good one!
We've been refurbishing and selling deuces for several years, so we have a good grasp of the market.
So here's a recent history of the deuce market: For years, deuce prices were widely variable, as the govt. surplussed them in various numbers. Prices would go up and down a little but were pretty stable, pretty much increasing in cost along with the inflation rate.
Around 2006 or 2007(ish), DOD was really ramping up acquisition of the Deuce and 5 ton replacements, the FMTV family (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_of_Medium_Tactical_Vehicles). This led to an absolute flood of trucks onto the market. There were times when there were 30, 50 and occasionally more deuces at one time in one auction location. This kept the prices really low. At that point in time, we were buying deuces cheap, sometimes as low as a grand. Private market deuces were selling for $2500-$3500 at the time.
The same thing happened with the M809 series 5 tons. And it's currently happening with the M939 series 5 tons.
As time went on, the flood lightened and less deuces were coming out. This lack of trucks drive the prices up and that trend has occurred up to now.
The market for deuces is wide ranging-you can probably buy rough trucks that have been out of the military for a long time and aren't pretty or well equipped for about $4-5K. I'd say the high end of the market is around $8-10K, but that's for
pretty trucks that are well equipped and properly titled. Crewcabs and bobbers are more because of the large amount of fabrication work. There are exceptions to this rule, so I don't want anyone to think that I'm running down a truck they bought or are selling at the low end of the market.
So in short, prices are (and have been) going up. I don't know where they'll stop. I expect at a certain point you reach a level where they peak and float along with the inflation rate. I have no idea where that would be-if I was that good at picking #'s out of the ethos, I'd be playing on Wall St. instead of CARC street.
I have a few trucks that will be ready soon, most with good options, some with very good options. I'd be happy to have you swing by our place and show you the ropes. I'd be happy to show you what you need to look for, what you can expect, etc. You're more than welcome to the drive any or all of them. I've extended this offer for several people. If you don't buy a truck from me, that's fine, I have more buyers than I do trucks.
Welcome to the hobby. Be forewarned, it's real addictive.
