Dozens of vehicles up for bid in St. Johns County government auction

If you need a utility vehicle, a fire truck, a rescue truck or one of dozens of other vehicles, St. Johns County may be the place for you on Saturday as the county is holding an auction on surplus vehicles and goods.

A St. Johns County news release said the county holds an auction once or twice a year to put items up for sale that have been approved for auction by the County Commission. Great Expectations Auction, Estate Services and Realty will handle the auction event Saturday.

The in-person auction will begin Saturday at 10 a.m. at 2416 Dobbs Road in St. Augustine. While the event takes place on Saturday, county officials are encouraging prospective bidders to take part in the early preview of the items on Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and an early preview will also be available on the day of the auction from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The list of items up for bid can be seen online at a Great Expectations website. There is an array of government vehicles on the list, including a full 2007 fire engine, which is from the St. Johns County Fire Rescue Department. Another Department pickup truck fully loaded with response and water equipment is also up for bids along with other Fire Department pickups.

Then there are dozens of other service utility vehicles, pickups, sedans and specialized vehicles from different governmental departments and agencies. Some of the vehicles were manufactured as far back as the 1990s and many were model years from the past decade.

There are also other items, such as storage tanks, up for auction. While anyone can view the items on the online roster, bidders have to be physically present to make offers on the vehicles.

The Great Expectations website said they want potential bidders to be fully aware of the condition of the items and advised that those bidders can even bring their own equipment for inspections.

“All vehicles are sold as-is, with no warranties, expressed or implied, so please be sure to preview. We want you to be happy with your purchase, so make sure you know what you are buying beforehand. If we know there is an issue, we will disclose it, but in most cases we are given little information on these vehicles, so please come prepared to inspect,” Great Expectations officials said.

Cash or approved checks are the only acceptable forms of payment. No credit cards will be accepted.

County officials said all revenue generated from the auction will go right back to the taxpayers. “The revenue generated from the auction goes back into the county’s General Fund.”

Auctions are general practice by governments to generate funds and recover some of the expenses of equipment already purchased that have reached the end of their use in the public sector.

The Florida Department of Financial Services is holding its own auction on Saturday in West Palm Beach. That auction is a statewide event for unclaimed financial assets that are unknown, lost or inactive from across Florida. All those proceeds from that auction are used to fund education in Florida.