A cargo van with just 106,000 miles and no rear seats will go to the highest bidder at the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office auction, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 21.
The van, according to Lt. Andy Cimino, is the lowest-mileage vehicle he has that is being offered, with roughly a dozen other driveable vehicles available. The annual auction brings a mix of cars seized as part of investigations, as well as vehicles the Sheriff’s Office no longer uses.This year’s auction includes 23 vehicles, including Dodge Chargers, Ford Tauruses and a Ford F-150, that were used by the Sheriff’s Office.
“We have a nice silver truck with about 177,000 miles on it,” Cimino said. “We just don’t really use it.”
Four vehicles, including a Ford F-350, Nissan Altima, Jeep Cherokee and Pontiac Grand Prix, were seized by the department.
Beginning a 9 a.m. the day before this year’s auction, potential buyers will have the opportunity to tour the selection of vehicles offered by the Sheriffs Office. The next day, a formal auction will be held at 10 a.m.
Cimino said the event typically draws between 75 to 150 people. The price paid, he said, can vary wildly depending on the condition. From year to year, similar non-running vehicles can sell for as low as $400 to a high of $1,500.
Cimino said one buyer owned a fleet of Ford Crown Victorias on the West Bank, and the non-functioning police cruiser provided cheap parts. Repairing the air conditioning and power steering on a 2004 Ford Taurus with more than 180,000 miles, for example, might not be the wisest investment.
“Generally when they’re buying [non-running] vehicles, they’re not buying those to put them back on the road—they’re buying them to salvage the parts,” Cimino said. “Like they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
Buyers will have until Feb. 22 to settle up their bids and arrange to transport the vehicles from the auction site at the Fleet Maintenance Building on 5061 Highway 3127 in Killona.
For more information, contact Cimino at (985) 783-1340.
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