I just saw a TV show on the Spike network featuring the M35A2 military truck. I had no idea that these trucks our government pays a lot of money for are often sold at auction after just a few years of service with very low miles for ridiculously low amounts of money. How low are the prices? $3000 - $6000. How much does the government pay for them? This is just a guess but when a standard 4×4 Ford Pickup now cost $30,000 or more these truck probably cost $70,000 - $100,000.
The thought of driving a new car off a sales lot and automatically loosing 25% of it’s value is bad, but it’s even worse with these M35A2 Military trucks. For buyers at auctions however these trucks are an incredible value. While they are overkill for the average individual, farmers, and companies needing to haul heavy loads short distances should take advantage of these great deals. With them being so inexpensive I may just pick one up for surf fishing. Why damage a $50,000 Range Rover with salt water and sand when a $4000 M35A2 will do the same thing and look completely bad ass on the beach? The one caveat to my plan is that I do not believe my wife would want one in the driveway.
So why do states that rarely see snow like Delaware pay outside contractors tons of money to remove our occasional snow when the Federal Government could just give these old military trucks to the states and equip them with plows? New plow trucks cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The M35A2’s with a plow could be had for less than $10,000. You have to love how government (both state and federal) waste our money. If the government were run like a business we would unfortunately be out of business. You can’t spend more than you bring in indefinitely.