GSA auctions

[iatractor]

I was curious as to member opinions about GSA auctions. Are there certain agencies that tend to be more accurate in their vehicle descriptions that others? Say a forest service being more accurate in description that say a US Fish and Wildlife vehicle? I know there are some military vehicles that pop up in there time to time when released from federal service. So far all of my mv's have been private sale, but since I'm a pretty long distance from a military installation that has GL, GSA tends to have some equipment closer to home that I can do inspections. Just curious about experiences people had with GSA, since we tend to see way more posts relating to GL.

 

[Heath_h49008]

A lot of the GSA stuff I have seen is pretty beat.



YMMV

 

[rtk]

Agreed , GSA equipment and vehicles seem well used and abused . My brother had Forest Service MV's when he first started the local VFD , they were not that great to begin with and were junk by the time he turned them back over to GSA for disposal .

 

[m16ty]

A lot of the GSA stuff I have seen is pretty beat.



YMMV

GSA stuff tends to be of lesser quality than what you find at GL. These agencies get the stuff from DRMO and their maintenance program isn't usually as good as the military. You also can regularly find civilian mods, some of which were very crudely done.

Most of the deuces I've seen and bought were "bought" by some fire department, ran into the ground with little or no maintenance, when it finally wouldn't go anymore it was set out back of the fire hall for several years until somebody decided to clean up the back lot, and then it was sold on GSA.

You can find some cherry stuff on GSA but it been my experience that it's the exception rather than the rule. Nothing wrong with GSA stuff, just make sure you know what you're getting into.

 

[3dAngus]

For reasons unknown, when I think of GSA vehicles, baling wire and masking tape come to mind, and I have never even seen one in person.

I guess it has to do with the notion of what an organization would do with a vehicle they got for free, had for years, then decided to give it back.

I might just buy a MV from GL and take a chance without a screening, but never a GSA vehicle.
But that's just me.

 

[glassk]

I buy lots from GSA, I did get a FEMA 8X32 Gulfstream Trailer from Mississippi', that no one had lived in, Still had plastic wrapping on the stove and all, Oh it did have a Thermostat robbed off the water heater, Your Mileage may vary,... of course My MEP002A from GL has 17 Hours on it, Govdeals. has good stuff to, I can usually tell buy the pictures and the description if the selling agency has a clue or not , Have gotten many Items by seeing the picture didn't match the description, .............BTW




Granted I have some straight up Junk from All of them, Wal-Mart included,...

 

[ranchhopper]

I have bought lots from the GSA as well most of the stuff in des moines is pretty beat up if you know how to fix things that's not a big problem though.

 

[patracy]

Remember the path of how this stuff travels. Typically the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines get the hardware first. Then it gets passed over to the reserves and national guard. There's two paths of stuff coming out of GL, straight from the main branches where stuff typically has been better maintained. Then from the reserves and national guard, where honestly a lot of times it's sat for long periods of time, has not been maintained, or has had parts robbed. But this is a total crapshoot. You might get something brand new that was owned by a NG unit. And you might get something with a blown engine from an infantry unit.

Now think about the next step in the ownership chain. LEO/Emergency Services/Higher Education that hock off the no longer used FREE stuff they have. Most of the stuff on GSA has been "bubba'ed", honestly no fault against them. Why spend tons of money on free stuff you're just going to eventually sell off?

All of that said. I do own a M871 flatbed trailer that has a good set of almost new tires on it I got from GSA. However the lumber needs replacing in spots due to the fact they never did anything with it. I also got it at a great deal, $900 or only 60% of it's SCRAP value.

It's all on you to do your homework before you bid.

 

[poppop]

The M813 I live in at the Ga Rally was a GSA vehicle. It had not been picked up by any agency probably because it would not start. Thats the first thing I was told when I went to pick it up, that many had tried and it just would not start. Installed batterys, raised hood and reset emergency shutdown on injection pump which has to be done manually when it has been pulled and it fired right up. I did have to replace one tail light bulb but the fuel tank was full. But I was just lucky as most are as described above.

 

[rtk]

yup , that's how it worked for my brothers VFD MV's , he had the whole spectrum at one time or another , MV 37's ,715's 211's 35's 5 ton's , and yes they were BUBBA-FIED , . The good thing is they had a GSA source for parts , they just had to ask and pretty much got it . I remember going to calls on with the 715 , took AWHILE or the time they put a NICE NIFTY aluminium 3000 GALLON tank in the bed of the 211 , had to drain the water out to get up the hill !!! LOL

 

[iatractor]

Thanks for the info guys. Time to time I see some vehicles that I could use (not just mv's), but sometimes the descriptions can be vauge on one item but then super detailed on another, from the same agency. Looks like if you take into account the bastardization program on some of this equipment into your bid price, you might get a gem in the rough. Might have to see if I can land one of those soon.

 

[m16ty]

Almost all the stuff I've got from GSA was parts machines. It would just cost more to get it in good shape than it was worth but I figured that going in.

I did get a M149 water buffalo that was in decent shape. It had several parts missing and was weathered quite a bit but it sold for far less than they were going for on GL.

 

[ryan77]

GSA= Government scrap auction!!

 

[Fishtail]

As with any auction, you should preview it. I have purchased thru GSA before, and was satisfied with what I got. My lot said the engine had a hole in it, but it was the exhaust manifold that was cracked, not the engine.

Remember this about the descriptions: Any Joe shmo fills them out, whether they have a educated background or not, or even if they have seen the vehicle or not.

Scott

 

[glassk]

http://www.officesupersavers.com/vi...dftrk=gdfV21806_a_7c446_a_7c1844_a_7cHON315PL

I got 4 filing cabinets from the FAA in Warner Robbins , $5 , on the way to pick up my $25 Floodlights cause the only picture was the closed box and I just happened to have a set just like them , Buyer Be ware,...

 

[glassk]

http://gsaauctions.gov/gsaauctions/aucdsclnk?sl=41QSCI14086201

1 EA 100 KW DIESEL GENERATOR WITH CAT ENGINE AND 254.6 HOURS. IT MAY BE MISSING PARTS AND IS UNKNOWN OF ITS OPERATING CONDITION. NO MAINTENANCE RECORDS ARE AVAILABLE. REPAIRS MAY BE REQUIRED. YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO INSPECT, MAKE: LIBBY, MODEL: MEP007B somebody thought it was worth some cash,...

 

[glassk]

12/20 05:48 PM CT (Closed)

 

[rtk]

WOW , somebody wanted it REALLY BAD ! Hope it all works out for them , LOL

 

[patracy]

WOW , somebody wanted it REALLY BAD ! Hope it all works out for them , LOL

Hope it's a 60hz model too!

 

[rtk]

yes indeed ! 400 Hertz could could be interesting indeed !