I live in a small town that recently upgraded there Tahoe fleet of PPV’s. They have a white 2011 with 131000 miles that they are accepting sealed bids on and I’m planning on placing a bid. I’ve done a lot of looking around on eBay and such but I’m having a hard time placing a value on it. It’s very clean with no dings, dents or rust and the interior has been stripped of all the fun police stuff and the original rear door panels were installed and everything works as civilian. It has clean carpet and also includes a factory jump seat that still needs to be installed but has never been used. One small tear in the drivers seat and a 6” crack in the dash behind the instrument cluster. With the exception of the spot light, there was only one hole in the exterior l, which is on the center roof near the backs and it has been plugged. Also, the tires are completely shot. I could maybe get some pics later if that would help. They’re reserve is set at 6k but I’m having troubles trying to figure out a value and not overbidding. Thanks in advance for any help!
Well there are different ways to look at this;
- for one, 'typically' these vehicles are sold, through an auction, because the owner (government) doesn't want to deal with selling them, and they go in batches. Local government, small town, wanting to sell them themselves means they really 'need' the money/best price.
- As with any auction, you should bid thinking "what is it worth to me?, including risk etc. (they are "sold as is")" typically the best strategy is to accept that you won't 'win'... BUT if you do, in an auction or sealed bid, you were willing to pay more than all the others bidding on that vehicle
Not on cars, but I have done this before; walk up to them and offer "$8k cash", right now, telling them you'll only bid $7k in the sealed bid. (or $9k right now, $8k in an official bid, or something along those lines, and stick with it.)
It all depends on how you want to buy 'one'. I wanted "something bigger" for long hauls that could tow well, so a Tahoe or Suburban. I looked around and saw that there was not that many available (civilian), typically "high mileage" and still pricey. (A 5 yo Tahoe, with approx. 150k miles, for 35k is a little steep I think). It also depends on where you buy one, and what is available. There are not too many of them here in NM, there's more choice and lower prices in for example CO and TX, in my case.
People in general are a bit hesitant to buy a PPVs/SSVs, for obvious reasons BUT you might run into a good one. (I did, I found one with almost no mods, 'low miles' (approx 60k) low engine hours (miles divided by engine hours was a little over 30MpH), no accident reports etc, decent/good tires and the deal I made was that the 'dealer' threw in a 3 year, 50k miles warranty (engine, drive train, etc). In that case the price difference was just way too big to not buy my SSV and just buy a civilian. Also, most of the civilian ones I saw had that "family wear and tear", from kids, pets etc.
One thing that helped me was, I live in a government town and know one of the guys that maintains the 'govvy' Tahoes/Suburbans around here, had them check it out, and they gave me a thumbs up.
So far I am happy with my Tahoe SSV.
Best advice I'd have would be to be a little patient, there are enough of them out there, and you can get one for a good price or what you want to pay for it.
It's pretty much like buying any other car, other than checking for what mods happened and what the 'overall' condition of the vehicle is, which, it seems, you already looked at. Also, a decent used car is supposed to come with decent tires, brakes etc... take that into account $$$ wise. (also, for ball park figures, check Kelly Blue Book.. although I don't know if they even list SSVs/PPVs).
hope that helps,
Ron