Army Jeep, anyone?

December 30, 2006 10:11 AM

My father and I are looking to sell his 1969 m151a2 Army Jeep. It's in good condition, but we're in a town that only has so much selling potential (Birmingham, AL). Putting it on Ebay seems like an obvious choice. I was also thinking of putting it on craigslist for towns that, though far, might include some willing to pay more to have the jeep transported. I've googled about for websites selling Army jeeps but haven't come up with much. Do you have any suggestions for selling this? Online or offline, overall, we'd just like to get the best mix of convenience in selling and price. In advance and always, thank you for reading my question, for thinking about it, and if posting, thank you even more. This really is a great forum and I hope to be a part of it for a long long time.
posted by gbinal to Shopping (9 answers total)

Is this a restored jeep maintained to look like it's Army issue? I know several farmers and ranchers that use these as utility vehicles and use them hard every day. You can advertise it as a utility vehicle to that crowd, but they won't pay a premium just because it's painted green or has been maintained to look like an Army vehicle.
posted by Science! at 10:44 AM on December 30, 2006

For something as niche as this, you might pay for an ad in Hemmings, and you might do well to make some posts on Jeep-collector message boards.
posted by box at 10:49 AM on December 30, 2006

This site has a '68 model of an M151 for $9.5K. Have you just looked over the sites? Maybe first-person contact would be helpful? To sell it, apparently you'll need something resembling title as well as release documentation from the Department of Defense or NG or wherever you got it from, because these types were not supposed to be sold to the public as decomissioned, but instead destroyed. Have you considered auctioning parts?
posted by nj_subgenius at 12:19 PM on December 30, 2006

Yeah, I think eBay is a no-brainer for older vehicles with some collector appeal, (our one transaction went very smoothly) and getting the appropriate collectors to the page is also important. Keep in mind that many forums are not pleased with the idea of eBay links, so maybe just an elaborate post with "contact for more info" would be best.
posted by trevyn at 1:55 PM on December 30, 2006

Selling my last truck, I had a lot of not-success with Ebay and a few other online car-listing services.

I put an ad in one local paper and got about 5 times the response in one day, sold it the day after that.

That's just me, and it was not an antique truck, but if you're near any major cities, I would encourage you to pay the $10-15 for a small listing for a week. Maybe include a line about how you are out of town but can send pictures / negotiate delivery.
posted by allkindsoftime at 2:55 PM on December 30, 2006

There is an outfit here in Memphis (reasonably close to Birmingham) that sells vintage military trucks. I don't know the name of it, but it is on Third street, immediately south of the railroad that crosses just north of E.H. Crump.
posted by jmgorman at 5:47 PM on December 30, 2006

I'd have to second Hemmings Motor News. It is the Bible of old car sales. With ebay you may happen to hit it lucky, but it may also be the week that no Jeep collectors are looking at ebay.
posted by Gungho at 8:13 PM on December 30, 2006

It's in good condition, but we're in a town that only has so much selling potential (Birmingham, AL).

I'm lost as to why you think birmingham has limited selling potential (I use to live there) compared to elsewhere. Military members, including older and retired ones, would be a definite possibility. Add to that you're only 3 hours from pensacola and the navy base, and if you're looking for a bigger city atlanta is 2 hours away. You don't get much bigger than atlanta.

Sure, you'll get more coverage by putting it on ebay, or listing it in a national magazine, but I don't think your location is a problem.
posted by justgary at 10:16 PM on December 30, 2006

Response by poster: First off, cliche though it is, I really do mean it - thank you to each of you for taking a moment and lending your knowledge. I'm extra amazed as...well...literally every answer is helpful. Usually, I figure on getting a certain ratio of helpful.

(Merde, is it wrong not to mark a best answer then?)


Some answers...
- Science! -Yes, I do believe it is a restored, genuine army issue. We're aware that it is all the more special as most of its kinfolk got chopped into quarters and sold as sure-as-hell-not-cars.

-Trevyn, the idea about auctioning is a darn good one.

-Justgary, I think I'm just exhibiting some of my ignorance. I'd thought about Atlanta, but honestly, it didn't even occur to me to look into Pensacola (and Ft. Benning), even though I've been to that air show some.

Again, thank you to you all. And Happy New Year.
posted by gbinal at 9:21 PM on January 1, 2007