Last Updated on February 27, 2024
First came the online news segment from ABC 12 in Boston, then came the winning bid for a fire truck from the local Burton Fire Department. Tony Powell, the man from Chesaning, Michigan heard about Municibid by chance in that short segment. They provided a link, he clicked, and soon he was exploring a government surplus catalog. In addition to enjoying hunting and fishing, the Michigan man has always found pleasure working on vehicles. That latter point meant that once he procured the fire truck, the vehicle was in good hands.
A New Experience
“I like the old cars, and that one came up. This is how I heard of Municibid. ABC 12 is the local news station around here, and the Burton Fire Department which is local. I seen a little story on the news about it. And I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s pretty nice.’”
“So, I kind of looked into it a little bit. I think I called them if I remember correctly, and got a little bit of information on it.”
“The next day, I looked at it a little bit more and stuff and the next day I started bidding on it. I was at work, and I started bidding on it. And of course anything I bid on, I’m going to win. I don’t know if I ‘won’ but probably overpaid for it a little bit, but probably within 30 minutes after that the Burton Fire Department called me, said I won it and you know, the details and everything. So, I thought I’d play it safe. I grabbed my father in law just in case I was in trouble. And we went down and got it. I got to meet the…I don’t know if he was like the captain and chief.”
Tony drove back home excited to show his wife the new ride, and most impressed with the fire designs and lights on the vehicle. Since he’s not a fireman himself, the experience was novel in many ways.
Community Sensation
Shortly after getting home, he got a call from the very people who were the reason he found the vehicle.
“Drove it home. Parked it in the barn. ‘Course wife drove in and she likes that kind of stuff too. So, I wasn’t in too much trouble, but probably about a half an hour later, I had ABC 12 calling me and they wanted to do a little story. Little follow-up story on it. They asked me a bunch of questions. ‘Course the fire department invited me back down for the parade and so forth, which I didn’t end up going to. Had some problems with the vehicle. Then later that night, that aired and a lot of my family and stuff seen it, so it was all pretty cool.”
He also posted about his win online, leaving his family and friends on Facebook to inquire about what he would do next. “What are you gonna do now with it?” they asked. The truth was that he wasn’t sure, but he would figure something out.
Classic Vehicles
Tony opted to treat the fire truck as a classic vehicle, rather than a work truck to commute in everyday.
“It was more of a classic vehicle. It was 1969, and it had 32,000 miles. So, it was very low miles and it’s just parked in a barn. You know, don’t drive in the rain, anything like that. Just like a classic vehicle. It was more of a drive it up town, get some ice cream or just drive around the block, drive it to a friend’s house or something like that. We took it to the Frankenmuth Car Show which is a really big car show. My wife’s boss puts it on and I don’t know how many thousands of vehicles are there.”
“We got in there and it’s just like people come around you so you really couldn’t do anything. And I had a couple of people coming up to me and they said, ‘Hey, this is the Burton Fire Department. Were you the one that bought it?’ and so forth.”
“Drove it around for probably a year. And I had my fun with it. I was gonna redo it. And you know, keep it, but the value in the history is the fire department and everything and I didn’t really want to pull that off and devalue it. I didn’t know what I was going to do with it.”
“I didn’t know I was gonna get it. So I didn’t plan on anything after I bought it.”
“I’ve been to a few car shows and so forth. And like I say, I didn’t want to devalue it. And I was looking on, I think it was Craigslist, and there was somebody that had a real similar, it was a suburban, it would end up being an ambulance. Same year, low miles, all that kind of stuff. And I got talking with him. I said hey, if anybody wants a package deal you know, I’ll possibly sell this one. And the guy just started talking to me. It was a younger guy, downstate, and he was interested in it. So he came up and you know, we worked out a deal. I made a little bit of money on it.”
Using Government Auctions
Prior to the fire truck, Tony was not privy to any sort of government auctions, but is thrilled to have had his experience, and with Municibid specifically.
“I was not familiar with them whatsoever. ABC 12 had that link. I went there and I probably spent a lot of time on [Municibid] just looking at other vehicles and I liked the auction stuff. Just seeing what things go for, you learn quite a bit.”
“I don’t remember what the whole process was but it was straightforward, easy to do.”
Since placing that winning bid, Tony has “ told a bunch of people about it” as a result. One thing he really likes is that the company is open to feedback from its customers and taking into consideration what would make the experience even more user-friendly.
If you’re interested in having an experience like Tony, whether you live in Michigan or elsewhere in America, then know you could find a fire truck too, or instead, take a gander at other options like cars, ambulances, and so much more.