How and where to find your next bug out vehicle:
This applies to vehicles in general too. Not just bug out vehicles.
Vehicle manufacturering changed drastically sometime in the mid 2000s. And maybe even before. Where once auto manufacturers (and all manufacturers in general not just cars) prided themselves on the value and quality of their vehicles. The emphasis being placed on quality, long lasting vehicles that justified a good profit and repeat, loyal customers.
That changed when manufacturers switched to a profit model where they realized they could make just as much money, if not more, on parts and service after the sale. And unfortunately to a model that made alot of consumer goods disposable in a sense.
What once lasted a long time. Or routinely 200,000 miles or more. With few repairs if properly maintained. Became over engineered with more and more complicated systems. Increasing the sheer number of parts. Making it more difficult to service many parts, that might require the removal of several other parts to get to. And many parts became pre engineered to fail at various intervals. Requiring people to spend alot more on parts and service.
And alot of the systems touted as safety requirements or technological break throughs. We're little more than overly babysitting the driver. (My humble opinion.) Or just excuses to add more parts the manufacturers and dealerships could make more money on down the road.
Alot of these vehicles end up being to expensive to continue repairing and maintaining. Much earlier in their lives than ever before as well.
In my own vehicle searches I stopped looking at more modern cars as a valuable option. And tried to find simpler, low milesge, more reliable cars. Made to last, easy to repair, and costing far less. In initial investment and upkeep.
Modern cars have become disposable, with much shorter lifespans.
There are the standouts. The Japanese stalwarts, etc. But even those have gotten quite complicated and expensive new.
My strategy has generally been to not buy new. As you lose a large percentage of depreciation just driving it off the lot. And turning it into a used car. Some estimates as high as 20-30%.
But there is a sweet spot pre late 2000s. But this strategy and the website I'm going to recommend. Works for any used car. Even from this current model year.
There are three vehicle values - trade in the lowest, then private party sale the next level up and finally dealer price the most expensive. These can be confirmed with the two major bluebook sites - Kelly Bluebook or Edmunds.
I'm not going to break down individual vehicles. That's more a personal choice. And needs vary. Even if you prefer a more modern, more complicated vehicle.
There are a few things you have to verify in a used car - it's known reliability and performance (Performance is also a personal evaluation. What is important to you? Or what is a valuable need? Say 4x4. Might not be to someone else. But might be to you. Performance includes things like horsepower, size, cargo space etc.), after that you need to verify maintenance, mileage and condition. Lastly, if you go to old or to rare - are parts and service available?
I found that buying from a private owner, with verification of mileage, maintenance and condition was the sweet spot. Private party sale price is always lower than a dealership or used car lot. And you can learn alot from talking to an owner who has kept their vehicle up, is interested and open sharing their knowledge of the vehicle. And the various things they've done to maintain or improve it.
(Carfax - I won't go into the specifics but the biggest tool available to car buyers today. Beyond owner receipts. Is a Carfax report. Don't buy a used car without running a $25 Carfax report. You won't regret it.)
But this brings me to Bring A Trailer. Or BAT. Or www.Bringatrailer.com
This site has been around for several years. But I just really dug into it over the summer. Alot of online car sales have become an exercise in futility. Trying to dig thru hundreds of used car ads. And find a gem. Has become harder and harder.
But Bring A Trailer is different. It's a used vehicle auction site. With reserve and no reserve auctions. Meaning sometimes the seller picks a secret price he agrees that only if the auction goes over that price - he will sell. That's a "reserve auction". But a "no reserve auction" means the owner agrees to sell the vehicle no matter where the price ends up. Those are kind of more exciting. Because often cars sell for a very fair price.
But that isn't what's valuable about this site. Most vehicles sell for a fair market value. Because it's a very open and transparent market on BAT.
I've never seen a site that promotes so much open honestly transparency car sales information in my life. It's really geared towards the car owner who prides themselves on vehicle ownership, maintenance, improvements, and often times customizations.
The cars that sell on BAT are generally much nicer, much better cared for and much higher condition cars than the norm.
Everything is sold on BAT. Multimillion dollar rare sports cars. Very historically important show cars. To run of the mill economy cars. Four wheel drives. Commuters. Family sedans, Motorcycles. Vans. You name it. You can find it on BAT.
But the way it's set up it focuses only on quality, high value versions of those vehicles. No junk. No problems. And every vehicle is very openly shared. Vetted by members of the community looking to buy - in active comments sections in each sellers auction page. And every seller communicates publicly with every question and comment posted.
Pictures routinely number the hundreds. Including videos of the vehicle running or other details. If anything is missing or questioned. The owner responds. If not, and without enough open detail or support. The auction suffers. Anyone watching the auction or considering bidding will see if something gets questioned and not answered to the potential bidders liking. Not in a hostile way. These are mainly open, honest and very knowledgeable car guys.
Listings also routinely include a Carfax. Detailing any accidents, mileage, service and repairs. And routinely get questioned.
But where it really shines for a prepper is those pre mid 2000s, super reliable, easy to operate vehicles. That have been kept in top condition with low miles.
Need a reliable pickup with 4x4, low miles, an excellent reputation, well cared for and a price half that of a new model? This is your place. Want a big SUV, with a good track record for hauling the family wherever you need to go, with again - low mileage, excellent maintenance, and a clean no accident record that's verifiable? BAT has something for you every week.
You can sign up for email alerts. By category or specific vehicle. It's a very well run site. That attracts excellent vehicles, excellent owners and smart buyers. That know what to look for, know what to ask, and post openly in each listing. Interacting with the owner.
And the owners, largely are very proud of the vehicle they have maintained and kept up so well. Frequently for many years. And are more than willing to share any documentation, verification, proof and information about the cars. It's really refreshing. It's like finding dozens of those one in 50 car sellers on Craiglist or Facebook Marketplace that actually give a shit about their vehicles, have one that is of value and quality, and really want to help you decide to buy it. Because it's a good car.
It's really a gold mine for anyone searching for any car. But especially that group that is the prepper. Who might be better served by a more economical vehicle, from a foregone era, when things were made to last, be easy to repair, but also have been well taken care of and have low enough mileage that they still have tons of life left in them.
And it's also fun. You'll see vehicles on their that you forgot about or never knew existed. And the prepper category is full of great older vehicles with low mileage, in really good condition. And often for very fair prices.
The advantage is that your drawing from a national pool of good used vehicles. The one thing that normally adds to the price is getting the vehicle back to you. But shipping vehicles is common these days. You could fly out and drive it home. But shipping usually runs anywhere form $1000-$3000. Depending on if you want an enclosed trailer or open. And how much of a flexible schedule you can live with. BAT offers resources to help with that. But figure out shipping before you bid. I've shipped a few cars on the west coast. It's insured, safe and not to expensive. Especially if you factor in the ability to find a much better car, that isn't costing you anywhere close to new. Without any of those problems I listed above about buying new.
Check it out if your in the market for a new bug out vehicle. Or even if your just a car person. It's really a cool site.