How does the GL process work?

[Albin]

Thanks for the comments.


Talked to my brother-in-law yesterday. He owns and operates a sod farming business and runs 70-100 gallons per day in his big semi-truck. I asked him what he would charge me to run down to Montgomery and back with a M35A2.



Bad news: His answer was "fuel cost" i.e. about $100 or so!



Note my sig line. Oh boy!





The good news is that I have some time: Between a stock option expiration and yearly bonus, means I won't be able to buy until Feb. '06. This gives me time to inspect several trucks and watch several auctions, like the four that are going on right now (search "trucks" in Alabama) and see what the going price is here in Alabama. If I'm lucky, they'll let a few go right here at Redstone Arsenal.



I'd go down and look at the ones in Montgomery, but I can't get the GL guy to call me back and confirm the preview date and time; I'm not going to drive all the way down to Mont. unless I know someone is going to be there (+4 hours one way).



Thanks again for the comments, keep them coming!



Al

 

[BKubu]

That's a pretty nice truck that Saturn is selling and at a fair price...especially considering what these trucks are bringing on GL on the east coast. The real benefit is that the potential buyer could presumably test drive it.

 

[rdixiemiller]

One thing to watch on the Montgomery sales....
I have seen several nice looking trucks that are being sold with NO SF97. In other words, you are SOL as far as a title.
They still brought a good bit of cash.

 

[Albin]

One thing to watch on the Montgomery sales....
I have seen several nice looking trucks that are being sold with NO SF97. In other words, you are SOL as far as a title.
They still brought a good bit of cash.

Well, that's not going to fly in Alabama anymore.

Years ago, you could get a title to any vehicle with nothing more than a bill of sale. Now it's a properly executed (i.e. absolutely perfect) signed over title or you not going to get one from the state of Alabama.


So, in the case of GL in Montgomery, their site specifically states that drivable vehicles come with a SF97. Do you have any recourse if you win the bid, go down to pick it up and then and only then, find out that you can't get a SF97?

How do you read the GL site to see if a vehicle comes with one or not?

Thanks,

Al

P.S. A vehicle I've been keeping my eye on in current bidding, is up to $2,380.88. Vehicle description (search on "trucks" in Alabama):

KAISER JEEP CORP MDL M35A2 CARGO TRUCK W/ WINCH, 2 1/ 2 TON, 6 X 6, MI: 23419, HRS: 0936, 6 CYL MULTIFUEL ENGINE, VIN: 04B-30370-0325-27555. (BUYER LOADS).

Thanks,

Al

 

[rdixiemiller]

I saw a bunch of trucks in Montgomery a month or 2 ago, all looked good, all were sold as residue, no SF97. Also, look at the condition code. If it translates into "economically repairable", you can usually get it working. If it is HX (some value in excess of basic materials), you probably have a blown motor, no tranny, etc. Buyer loads can mean a lot of things, the main thing is "We no help you". Take a trailer with a winch, or a towbar.
Watch E-Bay, there are some decent deals out there. I know a guy in Montgomery that has a winch truck with the front axle taken apart, I believe he wants $2500 or so.

 

[Albin]

Well, dang gum it! Four vehicles I was watching for sale in Montgomery (3 M35's and 1 five ton) were taken off the list last night, apparently after bidding closed. Also, I note that they have several more vehicles at the Montgomery site, all state that no title will be issued (I assume this really means the SF97 form).

How do you find out what the final bid was for a vehicle after bidding ends?

Thanks,

Al

 

[Recovry4x4]

Sign in and check the top right of the page iirc

 

[rdixiemiller]

They bring a good bit less at Fort campbell Tn. There are a pile of 800 series trucks showing up at Fort Riley Ks.

 

[Albin]

Sign in and check the top right of the page iirc

Ok, found it. The truck I was looking at went for $3055.55. Wonder what it looked like... the GL guy never got back to me about a preview time and date.


Thanks,



Al

 

[Recovry4x4]

Figures he wouldn't call back.

 

[devilman96]

A word of caution...

I have bought a lot of items from GL and have managed to put together a fairly nice metal working shop from it.. MOST of my purchase have been great only needing TLC, tinkering and paint... However a few of them have been a total waste of time and rather huge waste of money...

If you are going to invest in a Deuce and $2500 is a big deal too you then DO YOUR HOMEWORK... Fly, drive, do what ever but go inspect the beast and be prepared with batteries, tools, etc... A $200 inspection trip sure beats a $2500 heap of garbage!!!

Something else to note... If there is a problem with your purchase... GL is ALWAYS "right"... no matter how wrong they are YOU are going to have to suck it up and deal with it...

Also... there are some guys in here (if close enough) will do this for you to lend a hand... Ask around and return the favor when you can!!!!

 

[JRBAMATEX]

I wrote all this before I realized how old this thread was. However, since I wrote it all I’m posting it dangit…..

I am from Huntsville, Madison and Decatur. Grew up there until I was 23 and live in Texas now. Alabama is home. So I am familiar with your logistics situation. Everything you have read so far is correct. It can be a dicey situation buying from GL. I found my deuce in Atlanta at Ft. Gillem. The ones in Montgomery were not near enough to auction date from my timeline and the ones in Kansas and Oklahoma just didn't look good. I looked at the vehicle condition code given to the trucks by the govt. and then I called the site manager and asked him what he thought about the few that I had picked out. It turns out that he felt that the one I was most interested in was the one he would pick also. I didn't tell him which one I liked best. Just asked him which one he would pick if he had to drive it to Ft. Worth Texas from Atlanta. Once he caught his breath and got up off the floor he said that all the trucks at his site DID run. Also that the one I was eyeing had new tires on it and he didn't see any leaks on the ground under it. So I read the GL rules and took a deep breath and put in my bid. Once I won I started the EUC process. It was kind of an annoying process. Something between dealing with a govt worker in Montgomery and an ISP customer service representative in India. I think that I might still be waiting if I hadn't been persistent with them. NICE!!! but persistent. I didn't feel that they had there act together very well so I tried to help them by calling them two or three times a week. I did wait for sometime before I called the first time. My EUC status just wouldn't change no matter how hard I waited. I was waiting.... and it was hard. Finally I just started calling and things started happening. They acted like "oh this is all normal" but you know how you can tell when the squeaky wheel is getting the grease. Whatever.... So I finally got the clearance and made arrangements to go pick it up. The morning I was leaving I got a message from the site manager that he was not going to be able to meet me when he said he would and asked if I could come another day. I had to be cool. It was hard. But I did it. I told him that this was the only time I could make it and he needed to make some kind of arrangements for me. He did and I drove over from Texas. This is where it gets good. We got to the base over there and they had a guy come over and jump start my truck. It started right up and the guy said "It's all over but the crying now!" we laughed waited for it to warm up and then took off to the diesel shop for a PM and a general check up before making the 800 mile run back to Texas. It ran great over to the shop….. The guys looked it over real quick and said I see some places where we need to replace some seals but other than that it looks good. I said great. Fix me up and when I get back from lunch I take it and go. When I got back from lunch they told me that one of the places where they had thought was going to just be an input shaft seal was really a big old hole in my transfer case. I looked at it and guess what? There was a big old hole in my transfer case. I didn't have all the phone numbers with me of places where I could get replacement parts. So you can imagine the attempted hose job that ensued. Oh and by the way. Hurricane Rita was on her way to Texas. So we waited all week long for a new case cover to come. They wanted $700 for the cover! First one came and it was cracked. No good. Wait another day. Next day one came but it was the wrong one. Wouldn’t fit. Wait another day. Next day nothing came and the place in Birmingham where all this junk was coming from said if I come and get it they would have it waiting form me at the counter. Now I am from Alabama so I really should have known better but I was desperate and the diesel shop said that if I go and get it and bring it back they would wait for me and put it in that evening. So off I went to B'ham. Got to the place and they didn't even have a case. Yeah..... I was in a great mood now. I called back to the shop in Atlanta and told them that I had to go on back to Texas cause there was a hurricane coming and my Wife and kids were there alone. Told them I would find my own part and have it shipped to them. Then I'd fly back and get the truck by myself because my buddy had already taken a week off with me and couldn't go with me again. I drove home through the hurricane like a hurricane. It was JR against Rita. I did pretty well. I had my wind speed up around 90Mph. Hers had diminished quite a bit. So I got home and found Sarafan in Miami. He sold me a whole case for $500. Would have sold me the cover for $100. Hmmmm… He shipped the case to Atlanta and they put it in. I flew over got the truck and drove it home. I know that it is hard to believe but there is a whole other saga associated with the trip home. I’ll spare you those details. All this is to say. If I was in Huntsville and all I had to do was drive to Montgomery to check out my truck before placing a bid. I’d scoot on down there. You can be there in three hours if you hustle. Call the site manager; take a day off, leave early and climb all over the truck. Prepare to get greasy. Have them start it and at least move it back and forth. Then look it over some more. Pump up the breaks. Look closely at the seals and places where there are leaks. Seals are not a problem to fix and you can get enough gear oil in it to get back to Huntsville where you can work on seals and other stuff. Holes in transfer cases and torn up transmissions is something else. Do yourself a favor and take your time in selecting the truck. If you can find one on Ebay that’s within 500 Miles I bet cha that’s not a bad option either.

Good Luck. It’s an awesome and fun thing to have…….. once you have it home.

 

[red devils dude]

JRBAMATEX
wow cool story

 

[Desert Rat]

JRBAMATEX,

Sounds very similar to my story of getting 'Storm out of Chicago. Oh the memories................