From: SETOYOTA@aol.com
Date: Tue May 02 2006 - 08:28:16 PDT
Buying a military vehicle has many pro's, and as always a few cons. But, the
pro's far outway the cons. I don't think you can really go wrong buying a
military vehicle, if you know what to expect. It's just a little easier than
buying a used car from a dealership. If you want to know where to buy military
vehicles, the military has online auctions. You can for instance type in a
search right here on ebay web search to look for a base, click on that base's
website and go to civil services and find the category DRMO or type in a
search on the website for it. You can also call the base operator and get the
number from there. Here is what I know from being in the Marine Corps and Air
Force:
Military vehicles are always serviced at certain intervals. They are
almost always are cleaned once a day or once every week. The oil is changed
very frequently, usually every 1500-2000 miles, or in case of a diesel engine
every time the engine gets over so many hours. The air and fuel filters,
grease, fluids, and lubes are changed strictly by manufacturers timelines. The
military is very "by the book" when it comes to this. Maintenance is carried out
very seriously. The military doesn't have a whole lot of money to begin with,
despite what you have heard, and they take care of what they have and make
the best of it. All parts are ordered from the manufaturer and in some rare
cases from parts stores, usualy for items like belts, hoses, ext.
There are some good vehicles and bad ones. Here are some questions you
might ask and some other helpful information to look for. If you purchase a
car that was for a marked case or a general, you can bet it is in the best of
shape and that everything works. Not always the case but usually. Ask if the
vehicle has been in combat. If it has it is likely that if the vehicle has
had problems in combat there might have been some emergency fixes that weren't
right and done just to get the vehicle moving again. Usually in these
circumstances the problem is fixed the right way once it reaches a repair facility.
If it is too bad the military will scrap it. But you should be aware of it.
Also ask if they have the maintenance records to go with it and the
manufacturers instruction manual.Check and see if parts are still available for the
vehicle. Sometimes the military will sell a vehicle if they can no longer aquire
parts for them.
Different services keep vehicles for different lengths as well. for
example, the Air Force will replace a vehicle every five or six years whether
it's good or not, where as the Marine Corps will use the vehicle until it has
no sign of life at all. The Marine Corps gets only 10% of the Navy's anual
budget so if they buy something you can bet it's going to be very, very old and
used if they get rid of it. So be mindful of where you buy the vehicle from.
But the Marine Corps does take care of what they have. Semper Fi!
Chuck
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