Those looking for used vehicles, construction and lawn equipment, auto parts, used bicycles and bargains in general will have a chance to bid on dozens of storm-damaged, surplus or seized items Saturday when the city stages a surplus auction at the public safety maintenance lot off Popp’s Ferry Road.
The auction will include nearly a half-dozen tractors, 18 heavy duty trucks, more than two dozen pickup trucks, 10 SUVs and vans, four dozen police patrol vehicles, and four dozen impounded vehicles, including SUVs, pickup trucks and late-model cars.
In fact, nearly two dozen vehicles up for auction are less than five years old.
Also scheduled to be auctioned are 150 bicycles, computers and printers, CD players, VCRs, tools and an assortment of lawnmowers and lawn equipment.
The vehicles and merchandise – which are being sold “as is, where is” — may be inspected Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Successful bidders must pay in full on Saturday either in cash, by cashier’s check or personal check with a bank letter of guarantee. Major credit cards also will be accepted, with a 5 percent handling fee.
“There are a great deal of vehicles from the police department, along with a lot of jewelry, clothing, cell phones, electronics, some of the seized items being new,” said Jim Durham of Durham Auctions, a Brooklyn, Miss.-firm overseeing the auction for the city.
Those interested in bidding on material in the auction must register either Friday or Saturday before the auction begins at 10 a.m. Bidders will be required to show a valid ID.
“Durham has handled our annual auctions for three years now,” Mayor A.J. Holloway, “and we’ve found this to be the fairest way for the public to have a chance at purchasing these items and the best way for the city to get a fair-market return on the merchandise.
“This is certainly the largest auction that we’ve ever hand, owing to Hurricane Katrina, and I hope it’s the largest that we’ll ever have.”
You can see a detailed list of the items to be auctioned, along with photographs of many, and other information on the auction by clicking here.
