Photo courtesy of Hilco Industrial.

Photo courtesy of Hilco Industrial.

The City of Detroit is selling off more than 450 surplus vehicles through a two-day auction in November.

The city partnered with Hilco Industrial and Miedema Auctioneering and Appraisals for the upcoming auctions on Nov. 5 and Nov. 13. The first auction will be a webcast and onsite auction, while the second will be online only.

Hilco finalized a contract resulting in an upfront payment of $5 million for the city’s surplus property, according to the Detroit News.

"Many of these vehicles are in very good working order and have a lot of life left in them,” said Gary Brown, chief operating officer for City of Detroit.  

Municipal garbage trucks, aerial bucket lift trucks, digger trucks, grapple trucks and backhoes are several of the types of vehicles being sold in hopes to pay off the city’s debt, according to a press release from the City of Detroit.

“There’s a tremendous amount of assets that aren’t typically seen coming from a municipality,” said Hilco’s Managing Partner Robert Levy.

Hilco has worked on high-profile transactions with GM, Chrysler, and Hostess in the past. “We were selected for our ability to bring assets to the marketplace,” said Levy.

The list of vehicles being auctioned include 115 automated side load garbage trucks, 79 transit buses and historic trolley cars, 41 truck-mounted snow plows and 130 public lighting service vehicles. Levy says the larger items will be sold at the first auction being held on the 13th floor of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center.

Brown says the profits from the auction will be pumped back into the city’s departments. The city proposed a recovery plan for its police and fire department in February of this year.   

Click here for more information about the auctions.

Originally posted on Government Fleet

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