Newbie buying M998 - Rebuilt in 2015?

[buhdontcare]

Hey everybody I'm a noob & not a car guy. I have a trusted client (I'm an insurance agent..) who sells 5 ton military vehicles & fixes flood damaged cars for a luxury dealer in my area. He purchased a 1990 (I think that's the original year..) M998 off government planet & says it was totally rebuild by the military in 2015 & since...only has 4000 miles on it. He said it just needs reverse lights & a license plate holder & then he can get it titled as a special constructed title or some crap.

I trust the guy isn't playing me, he's asking $11,000 & claims that's just a bit more then he paid from government planet. He says it's in great running condition & everything is pretty new as it was rebuilt in 2015. Does 11k sound reasonable? I also want to get the hard doors, a hard top & new paint job right away. Thoughts or input? THANKS!

It's a 6.2 non turbo

 

[orgnal]

Hey everybody I'm a noob & not a car guy. I have a trusted client (I'm an insurance agent..) who sells 5 ton military vehicles & fixes flood damaged cars for a luxury dealer in my area. He purchased a 1990 (I think that's the original year..) M998 off government planet & says it was totally rebuild by the military in 2015 & since...only has 4000 miles on it. He said it just needs reverse lights & a license plate holder & then he can get it titled as a special constructed title or some crap.

I trust the guy isn't playing me, he's asking $11,000 & claims that's just a bit more then he paid from government planet. He says it's in great running condition & everything is pretty new as it was rebuilt in 2015. Does 11k sound reasonable? I also want to get the hard doors, a hard top & new paint job right away. Thoughts or input? THANKS!

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Looks like it already has Pennsylvania plates ??? Are they temporary plates borrowed from another vehicle?

McReddy

 

[buhdontcare]

He's sells vehicles & tows as well so he has dealer tags

 

[Action]

"special constructed vehicle"? That sounds like he is not going to tell them it came from GP with the OFF ROAD USE ONLY. Sounds shady to me.

 

[Sintorion]

I am not seeing anything that looks totally rebuilt. Not sure how he would know that anyway. 6.2 or 6.5? He probably paid around $7K. $700 in auction fees and maybe a few hundred in transportation. If he is a dealer then he didn't pay sales tax. He is probably into it for $9K. To do what you want, you should buy one on your own. To do what you want, it really doesn't matter the config. You can one yourself and be into it for $8k. Obviously it takes time and effort so if your time is worth more than $3k then go with that.

 

[orgnal]

He's sells vehicles & tows as well so he has dealer tags

I would say it is in the 'reasonable' ball park. He is probably making $2K out of it.

McReddy

 

[maa45069]

I think it's in range.. he is not robbing you but if you like the truck and he will get it titled....up to what the truck is worth to you. There is no such thing as a Kelly blue book for MVs

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

 

[3jacks]

Odometer on a MV is not reliable and if he is telling you it's rebuilt with 4K miles on it because the odometer shows 4K...that may not (read likely) be accurate. If your itching to get one it's not a horrible price. However you might want to learn a bit about maintenance on these things...mine runs and drives and I'm under it regularly finding stuff to fix and replace VERY frequently.

 

[1 Patriot-of-many]

Dealer plates usually say dealer on them somewhere in every state I've ever been in. Lived most of my life in PA. Not far from your area. Qtown, Redhill, Richlandtown, Perkasie and a host of places more east like Levittown. Not unreasonable price IMO if everything is working properly. Make sure the glow plug system works right. If it were rebuilt it should have a rebuild tag somewhere or ask for a link to the auction(govplanet keeps them) where it says that, at least all my 5 tons that were rebuilt have one.
Don't expect a turnkey daily driver. There will always be something.

 

[infidel got me]

Truck looks good overall- cooling system and glow plug/starting system are the two main concerns when first purchasing. If those are good, then its fluids, wheel brgs. geared hub oils/ regular mant. Read the stickys. As far as price, these things were going for 40k not long ago-- you can be the judge of that.

Plus no euc barbwire to chew through--- PRICELESS

 

[buhdontcare]

Thank you all for the input! The link to the vehicle is below when he bought it back in September 2016. Again, I don't know how to work on engines or vehicles (well...at least not yet..) but I know it started up instantly. I accept there will be work needed. I'm already planning on doing the 4 door 4 seat conversation on my own (that's nuts & bolts.) What's unfortunate, is the link below says nothing about being rebuilt in 2015. The side of the door jam has "CARC 15" which maybe he's mistaking as the year rebuilt w/ the paint? The last part I didn't know on my own, I actually called somebody who's selling theirs separately & he's on these forums & gave me that advice (and other great advice.)

The listing also doesn't have a year for the thing? (how's that possible?) It has a West Viriginia National Guard tag on it that has "WV RSMS" above the "West Virginia National Guard." No clue what that means>?


https://eu.ironplanet.com/for-sale/...,sort|ad+asc,mf|1&rr=0.025&hitprm=&pnLink=yes

 

[DanM7890]

Doing the math, he's not making much after the fee and transportation. I would budget for repairs and maintenance as it adds up quick if stuff needs to be replaced. Overall the truck looks clean. Any MWO tags on the door by the data plate?

 

[buhdontcare]

Doing the math, he's not making much after the fee and transportation. I would budget for repairs and maintenance as it adds up quick if stuff needs to be replaced. Overall the truck looks clean. Any MWO tags on the door by the data plate?

I definitely recall seeing other metal tags, but I didn't look closely enough. So the tag for WV RSMS / West Virginia National Guard (that's right on the dash..) appears to be for a Regional Sustainment Maintenance Site OR Regional Support Maintenance Site for the National Guard. I found an address for them (which is also a National Guard Recruitment center.) Satellite view shows a ton of trucks parked so maybe it makes sense why it has such low mileage? Or is that an unfair assumption & do these trucks regularly move between units etc.

The guy told me he's giving it to me at cost b/c he's selling a lot of toys (and he has a LOT of toys..) to fund a 250k RV purchase. He replaced the mirrors & some minor sewing work to the soft doors. Again, I can say I do trust him for sure. Sounds like (nomatter what) I can expect this thing to give me trouble by virtue of the truck in general? Oh well....still cheaper then buying a sports car (which everybody else has.)

 

[riderdan]

The military doesn't care about milage, so if the gauge needs replaced they just throw a new one in. The odometer reading is meaningless. So's the tag: there's no way to tell what work was done in 2015... it could have been a whole new drive train, or not.

Do you know someone who is a "car guy" or better yet are you near a SS member who could look it over for you? We could probably tell you a few obvious things to look for, but there might be something that someone knowledgeable might catch in person. Even for people who know what to look for, a second set of eyes can be helpful.

The cost doesn't seem unreasonable, as long as you've budgeted for maintenance. A lot of the work on these trucks can be done by anyone who knows one end of the wrench from the other and has the TMs or internet access.

 

[shawnshumvee]

Hey everybody I'm a noob & not a car guy. I have a trusted client (I'm an insurance agent..) who sells 5 ton military vehicles & fixes flood damaged cars for a luxury dealer in my area. He purchased a 1990 (I think that's the original year..) M998 off government planet & says it was totally rebuild by the military in 2015 & since...only has 4000 miles on it. He said it just needs reverse lights & a license plate holder & then he can get it titled as a special constructed title or some crap.



I trust the guy isn't playing me, he's asking $11,000 & claims that's just a bit more then he paid from government planet. He says it's in great running condition & everything is pretty new as it was rebuilt in 2015. Does 11k sound reasonable? I also want to get the hard doors, a hard top & new paint job right away. Thoughts or input? THANKS!

It's a 6.2 non turbo



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hello. Like everyone on SS has already said, don't trust the miles. i also don't see any MWO (military work order) tags anywhere on the door jam? In my opinion 11K for a two door with a 6.2 and no winch is a bit pricy, but thats just me. I bought my Humvee (4 door) on GP for 10K out the door and it has a 6.5 L. But at the end of the day if you like it and agree on the pricy then go for it, its only MONEY! Now off course, i would shoot an offer (its just normal for me) the worst he can say is no.

 

[98G]

The military doesn't care about milage, so if the gauge needs replaced they just throw a new one in. The odometer reading is meaningless. So's the tag: there's no way to tell what work was done in 2015... it could have been a whole new drive train, or not.

Do you know someone who is a "car guy" or better yet are you near a SS member who could look it over for you? We could probably tell you a few obvious things to look for, but there might be something that someone knowledgeable might catch in person. Even for people who know what to look for, a second set of eyes can be helpful.

The cost doesn't seem unreasonable, as long as you've budgeted for maintenance. A lot of the work on these trucks can be done by anyone who knows one end of the wrench from the other and has the TMs or internet access.

In general I agree. *However*

RSMS is a full reset. They replace both gauges there also. Let me look through the original GP listing and I'll expand on this.

Edit - RSMS is "Readiness Sustainment Maintenance Site". It's the high level reset. In the 5ton truck world, RSMS was a $65k per truck contract.

They replace the data plates at RSMS. They don't always restamp the numbers into it. Date of build, and serial numbers are frequently lost.

I presume you see the damage to the mirrors and the door. I'd like to put eyes on the truck....

The invoice from GP was $9600. He's into it beyond that for what ever he's done to it, and transport. From a P&L standpoint he certainly isn't gouging - I'm sure he likes to eat, maybe even twice a day....

The hmmwv market is extremely volatile. You'll notice I'm not dabbling in it.... what the value was in 2016 doesn't really reflect July 2017 values. I strongly predict the prices on these things will bottom out well below where they are now. I see worried discussion about how many are left...they've sold maybe 7500, and there were 360,000 in service. There'll be plenty. And we are starting to see M1045A2s with the better frames and powertrains.

So, this is a truck for you, not an investment. You're not asking "can I flip this for profit? " . You're asking "is this a decent truck?". Yes, it's a decent truck. The RSMS tag assures me of that. (I've bought trucks sight unseen and driven them across the country based only on the knowledge they had an RSMS tag)

If I could put eyes on it, there's a couple more things I'd like to check, but these would only make it a stronger endorsement, not a wave off.

The only caveat I have is "Make sure it has a real on road title as a condition of sale".

 

[emmado22]

It got a paint job for sure in 2015... Other than that, who knows......

 

[shawnshumvee]

It got a paint job for sure in 2015... Other than that, who knows......

That is true. CARC 15

 

[98G]

It got a paint job for sure in 2015... Other than that, who knows......

Other than that, *I* know. RSMS is a full reset.....

Edit - rereading this a day later, it comes across with a far different tone than I had originally intended. Please read it without any offensive tone...

 

[emmado22]

Problem is there are several levels of RESET... The MMA resets are different that RRAD which may be different than regional resets, and even they had different levels of reset depending on when it was there.