To: 80scool@yahoogroups.com From: Jon Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 00:44:59 +0100 Subject: [80] Re: UN SurplusToyota vehicles - CHAT Reply-To: 80scool@yahoogroups.com At 07:58 PM 3/5/03 +0000, you wrote: > Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 09:24:34 -0800 (PST) > From: James Chow >Subject: UN surplus vehicles > >Anyone know how/where one can buy UN surplus left-hand drive cruisers, in >particular, a >pre-96 to thwart the US airbag requirement after '95? Jon? Well James pleased to help if I can ! The good news is that UN like Toyota. But each agency within UN may have its own preference. For example UNHCR is almost exclusively Nissan Patrol with no Toy in sight. The 4R is still the standard preferred 'general' vehicle used in UN operations for patrol work. You will see that in Iraq they use a mixture which was once dominated by Patrols but I now see more 4R's and LC's on the TV news. In Cyprus they use a quantity of LR Defenders. So to buy one first ask yourself, if you're in the USA where is the nearest place that the UN works and has a vehicle fleet ? Not sure if they are in South American countries, so the nearest place I would guess would be in the Mediterranean if you are on the eastern seaboard of US or somewhere in Asia if you are on the west coast. So I guess you have already worked out the cost of shipping and if it is worth it against buying a car locally with the parts you don't want ? In the Med the nearest UN missions would be Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, and then onwards to Cyprus. After that you have Palestine of course, then take your pick of countries after that. Now go to the UN websites for these individual countries and see if they have a 'tenders' page. This is where it gets difficult, as unless you want to go right through the main UN site and filter through to your countries of choice, you have to know the UN acronym for the country. In my case it is UNMBH (UN Mission in Bosnia & Herzegovina). If you find that site and then find the 'tenders' page you will see what they are offering. If its a regular mission with ongoing work, they will sell-off damaged but repairable vehicles maybe on an annual basis. These are usually bought locally in a large lot for repair and refurb and local sale. This is how I got mine. The local bodywork shop which repairs all the UN crash damage - and there is plenty, they send people here from Africa and expect them to drive in 18ins of snow straightaway ! - bought two lots of 40 cars at a time, did them up with a re-spray and re-upholster and sold them on locally. Recently there has been a large Croatian buyer who has bought just as many for use in a demining company working in Croatia. There has also been a company reputedly buying for sale in Africa. Each has been paying fancy prices too. A mission that is now leaving a country is the best bet to buy cars in good condition, given that you can only inspect from the outside and not even open the door or look at the engine - and see it has one ! In Bosnia the UN is running down so has been selling-off a large number of 4Runners and Patrols, plus tons of spares. Rumour has it that the cars in best condition have been shipped somewhere in Italy for an overhaul ready to deploy elsewhere. They sold maybe 100 cars in the first sale in lots of mostly 5 cars apiece, usually all the same make - though they even mixed some Winnebago's in, yes you read that right - Winnies ! The last sale about a month ago they sold maybe 150 cars mostly in lots of 3 at a time. The price was about 11,000 Konvertible Marka which is about USD5,500 or Euro 5,250 apiece (3 at a time remember). They were 4Runners, Patrols and some 80's, all about 1998 vintage with from 90,000 - 180,000 kilometres on the clock. All sold as seen with no guarantee that they even run ! There is no open auction, its always sealed bids only, but you will see all the requirements on the webpage. UN maintenance is usually good, they use genuine OEM spares and do it on time, but the labour is local and allegedly 'trained'. So they may have one good 'western' technician to 15 grease monkeys who need to be told what to do. This is easily seen by the chisel marks on the transmission level plugs ! (I know, been there, done that, replaced them all). Remember also that most UN cars are military spec - plastic mats, little soundproofing, no airbags, no electric this and that, no sunroof, etc. But they also reputedly have ceramic capped pistons, cast iron heads replaced where there are usually alloy, and generally made to be 'boilproof'. So the engines are 'ruggedised' . Can't vouch for it myself but my HZ sounds like a sewing machine at 236,000 kms running on synthetic oil. Transmission, not so sure. They get some hard use here in rough rocky conditions on mountain roads. The front axle is maybe used 30% of the time either for snow and ice or rough conditions. They all have AC too. One advantage of the Atlantic is that shipping rates are low as compared to the rest of the world, so to fill a container in Hamburg with 3 cars and spares might be feasible and cost effective. Oh, and remember the cars are supplied Duty and tax free to UN, so there could well be some hassle in store for you on the way or at least when it comes to US Customs. Though buying from a local refurbisher tax and Duty paid after an overhaul might be an option. That's it, but hit me off-list if you want some more info. Jon HZJ80 ex UN surplus in Bosnia PS. Thanks for the window info listers, will get back to you when I have done the job in the next few days, might take some pics for the record too.