I got mine for $11,100.
It runs.
Between 60A-->200A upgrade, doors that need replacement, headlights, rear bumper and tire carrier, tires, winch, paperwork, etc. -- I'm pushing $20k.
Start thinking about upgrading seats, dome lights, lightbars, etc.; you see where I'm going with this?
To address the OP's first question: "
I am thinking about getting a HMMWV, from auction, and would appreciate any information owners might share (like in the deuce sticky), or links to pertinent threads.
and, if nothing else, would you do it again? how did it work out long term? getting parts, reliability, etc.
What Mario said.
I paid local market value for a basic HMMWV. I'd researched this for over a year, was on this board for about 4 months officially, here and G503 longer just lurking, seeing what I'd be getting myself into.
My neighbor, whose husband bought some small convertible "Kompressor" Mercedes Benz midlife crisis car knew exactly what mine was about and called it to much mutual laughter.
So, looking at eBay auctions, ads here, ads there, shipping, time involved in the EUC process, SF97 travails and all that, I chose a BASIC 4-seater M1038 with new top/rear cover/bows 85% tires and GOOD, CLEAR ON-ROAD TITLE at local market price.
Mid-teens.
Then I started lists, buying parts. High-back seats, 3-pt seatbelt kit (new all around), Optima batteries, ground lockout switch, generator, padding, tachometer, glow plugs, PCB box, new windshield washer pump/hoses/spray nozzles, miscellaneous doo-dads and stickers and ID plates and time involved in fabricating parts (switch box, tach box, glove box - see my posts over in "what has your HMMWV done to you today".. that's not right, "what have YOU done to your HMMWV today?" but sometimes it feels more like the former than the latter), lots of time none of which I resent or miss.
I work in a place where we have a high-speed LASER printer so I used it over a few days to print out every manual, TB, supplemental bulletins, PS magazine graphics and more. Watching SG1 reruns after I got home from work (8AM to 9PM or so - thank God I no longer have to round on patients before work) with a hole puncher I got all that into folders now occupying space in my office and a stack by the couch for ez reference although I have all of it on my desktop and iPad for rapid review in places the books are inconvenient and vice versa.
I also replaced all the cooling system hoses and will get around to dropping the fuel tank to replace gaskets and fittings (it leaks when full, and nearly full) plugs and hoses and sender unit and I've replaced a lot of the other rubber components (steering wheel shaft boot on inside firewall for example).
Like many have said, "if it's rubber replace, if it's electric, clean".
You'll want a high-quality dielectric grease and something like Deoxit to preserve/protect/ensure good electrical connectivity.
So I'm about $3k into spare parts and I discovered the transfer case was cracked. Badly. Preemptive replacement is underway and that's cost around a grand (T/C plus propeller shafts, U-joint, miscellaneous hardware) but I'll replace the boots on the shifter and emergency brake while I'm under there, grease/service/replace as needed, put in some rivnuts to hold the shifter plate down to the deck, put in some insulation/sound deadener under the tunnel... an opportunity and it's all easier with muffler, driveshafts, fuel tank, transfer case removed.
I've got hoses for the winch, power steering, hydraulic fan clutch to replace but that's down the road, maybe next winter.
I just figured out how to get this thing into my garage so I have a clean, level area I don't have to worry about weather either. Doing all this in the driveway was next to impossible.
Garage I'm building on my farm in TN will have a 10x10 door to get this (and tractor) inside, a nine foot wide door (7' high) in a suburban home just BARELY leaves enough room (couple inches on a side) to maneuver and at fifteen feet long, I'm left with about seven feet of space much of which is already taken up by workbenches and shelves and a Grizzly mill and accumulation of 23 years of stuff since I moved to Maryland. I intend on buying spare tires and a "spare" engine and transmission to tuck away in a corner of the new garage as insurance. And leave room for my other truck and my wife's car.
Remember that joke from Jakov Smirnoff about how great America is that people protect all their stuff by putting it in their garages while their cars stay outside?
Hope that gives you a better idea what you're facing.
Plan accordingly, and good luck.
