The United States Federal Government owns and leases one of the largest (if not the largest) fleets of vehicles in the U.S. Throughout dozens of agencies (probably hundreds), some of which are made up of several million people (the DoD), the fed uses thousands of vehicles. A single large military installation will have hundreds of non-tactical vehicles on the books. Now, even though the tags look pretty much the same, there are some differences. Some of the vehicles are government-owned, while others are government-leased.
My old GSA at the airport.
In this article, we’re talking about government leased vehicles (GLVs): how it works, what happens when they are pulled from the fleet, how you can get a used fleet vehicle with low miles, and of course, how you can title and tag one once it’s been sold to you.
What Is the General Services Agency?
Before we dive down the rabbit hole of how to get your GSA auctioned vehicle, what exactly is the GSA, and what do they do?
Speaking from experience, as a federal government supervisor, I dealt with the GSA a lot over the years, at least indirectly.
If you needed anything, and I mean anything, it must be sourced through the GSA first, if possible. This meant everything, from printer paper to a Kubota tractor and everything in between.
Here’s the kicker: government procurement does not care if you find the same or equivalent items somewhere cheaper. You must choose GSA first if it is available through a GSA contract. Unreal.
The GSA itself has no inventory of anything, ever. It is a conduit that sets up purchase contracts for goods and services that all federal agencies need.
All in all, the GSA oversees the leases of almost 9,000 buildings and a fleet of well over 200,000 vehicles, and this pool of vehicles is our focus for this article.
See, government-owned vehicles are purchased by the agency and are held onto for as long as possible since they are owned. They don’t get the option to trade in owned vehicles. On the other hand, GSA-leased vehicles are fleet leases and are turned in to the GSA on a scheduled basis, explained here. As an end-user, it really sucked for us. My operation had special equipment on our truck (airport operations truck), like LED emergency lights and aviation band radios, so it all had to be stripped off and re-installed on a new truck. The worst part is that you have zero say in what brand you’ll receive, so if your truck is a Dodge 2500 (what we had), you are only guaranteed to get a ¾-ton pickup in return.
A few examples of what you can find on GSA Auctions. Courtesy of www.gsaauctions.gov.
This bureaucratic nonsense kept me from buying more make and model-specific equipment for the truck. Why say all of this? So you understand how the process happens from the end-user perspective and how vehicles you see come up for sale got there and have been through.
How Do GSA Auctions Work?
Referencing the link above, every type of government vehicle is on a specific timeframe for replacement. Our ¾-ton pickups were considered medium-duty trucks and were on a cycle to be replaced every ten years or 100,000 miles, whichever came first.
Our operation was a little airport with only a mile-long runway. We drove up and down it a couple of times a day and then did a few other tasks, but daily, it was only getting driven about five miles or less.
So, after ten years, our work truck was yanked and thrown on an auction, and someone got a ten-year-old Ram 2500 4X4 short bed with about 20,000 miles on it.
Great, so why the personal anecdote? To let you know that some rumors are accurate, like getting used low-mileage trucks off of the GSA auctions.
Okay, now we’re at the point where a government vehicle has entered the auction cycle. Unlike surplus military vehicles, which are auctioned off by the DoD, the GSA handles its own auctions. I know it’s weird; you have vehicles of all sorts of ownership affiliations roaming around. Military installations are probably the worst: tactical vehicles are owned by the DoD and assigned to units, then some vehicles are owned by agencies outright, especially special purpose vehicles (aircraft refueling trucks, etc.), and then there are GSA fleet leased vehicles thrown in the mix. It is unbelievably confusing.
Not a GSA, but a Government Owned Vehicle. And yes, the U.S. Army was still using this flatbed C-60 in 2020. Classic never goes out of style 😎.
Anyway, once the vehicles are pulled out of commission, they are sent to a contracted auction house where they are auctioned off like any other vehicle.
What Do You Get From A Government Auction? (i.e., paperwork-wise)
Here’s the deal: used GSA vehicles are not sold with a title in the sense that a private-party vehicle is. Instead, they are sold with the same SF-97 that a used military vehicle is sold with. Generally speaking, these are reliable forms of paperwork that your state will recognize and get you squared away. Of course, there is always the off chance that your state may either not recognize the SF-97 or may interpret the vehicle as a military surplus vehicle and refuse to tag it.
We can help with our vehicle title recovery programs if this happens to you.
What Kinds of Vehicles Can You Buy at GSA Auctions?
The GSA handles leases for all kinds of vehicles, from EVs to sedans, to light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty trucks, and a slew of specialty vehicles like winch trucks, fire trucks, fuel trucks, and service trucks.
Basically, any type of vehicle that you’d find at a fleet dealership, you’ll find at the GSA auction houses.
Are GSA Vehicles Sold With Clean Titles?
No, they are not sold with any title at all. Instead, you get an SF-97 and a Purchaser’s Receipt or bill of sale.
Again, this isn’t usually a problem because most DMVs know how to handle them. Of course, if you don’t feel like shelling out ten percent sales tax, or you’d rather not deal with inspections, then our out-of-state titling services make a lot of sense. And of course, we can handle the registration as well, and we can even do your annual renewals!
If They're Only Sold With An SF-97, What Can I Do?
Our team works with SF-97s and bills of sale all the time! In fact, it’s all you need to get your title and tags. Also, the states we work with have no inspection requirements, so if that is something you’d rather not deal with (who does), then it’s a no-brainer!
Here’s all we need from you:
Select your vehicle value: Your vehicle value is based on the purchase price or NADA average value, whichever is HIGHER. You can find your vehicle’s value HERE.
Checkout: Click Add to Cart and complete the checkout process. You’ll receive an email confirmation with your receipt and order number.
Vehicle information: Fill out the vehicle info form that appears after you check out. As long as you have a bill of sale and a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), we can title any vehicle regardless of state.
Documents: Keep an eye on your mailbox. We’ll send you a checklist for the materials we need to handle the service on your behalf, including your bill of sale, copy of ID, and notarized power of attorney, which we will include already filled out.
Send it in: Mail everything to us using the pre-paid envelope we’ve provided to make it as easy as possible for you. Congrats, your part’s done! Now simply wait to receive your new vehicle ownership document in the mail!
If the vehicle is a 2008 or newer (which most GSA fleet leased vehicles will be), the process will go through Montana, including an LLC. The cool thing about this is that you can add as many vehicles as you want to a single LLC, so if you plan on buying more vehicles (including trailers, UTVs, RVs, boats, or whatever else), they can all go in there. And our Montana titling service includes Montana tags and registration, so you are 100% street-legal when you go through this program.
The Dirt Legal Advantage
Dirt Legal is your one-stop shop for all of your out-of-state titling, tagging, and registration needs. Titling and tagging your GSA auction vehicle shouldn’t be hard, but sometimes things happen. Also, some states are a lot harder to deal with than others, or they require inspections you’d rather not bother with. If that’s the case for you, we can help you save a heap of cash and never have to inspect your car again.
Our team is well-versed in the processes involved and is only a phone call away. Also, if you are looking into a vehicle and the paperwork seems odd, or the vehicle itself is odd, call our team, and we’ll see if our services can help you.
Wrapping Up
If you know what you’re doing and where to look, the GSA auctions can be a gold mine for finding inexpensive, low-mileage vehicles, and you might even find an odd outlier that you can’t find anywhere else. But these vehicles only come with a bill of sale and an SF-97, and if your state doesn’t like those or misidentifies them as a surplus military vehicle (the same form is used for both), you could be in for a real chore to get on the road.
Dirt Legal will get you fixed up, and you’ll never endure another inspection again, plus we can save you a bundle in sales tax. Give us a call and we’ll go over your options today!
John McCoy is a lifelong car and truck enthusiast and has a strong mechanical background off the road. He spent over 13 years in the U.S. Air Force as a crew chief, assigned to the B-1B Lancer, affectionately known as the Bone to those in the community, and the KC-135R Stratotanker. He resides on a small farm in Eastern Kansas where he (sometimes) enjoys fixing ancient farm equipment.