He Buys, Sells Vintage Military Vehicles
If you’re looking for a military vehicle, John Ferrie may have what you are looking for. If not, he can probably find it. Ferrie has bought and sold more than 600 vehicles over the past 35 years. He finds them in barns, backyards, and even while traveling in other countries. Equipment has gone to buyers around the world and ranges from a 1941 Indian motorcycle to an M47 tank.
“I started this business 35 years ago after finding a WC Command Car behind a barn,” says Ferrie. “I told a friend about it, and he bought it for $1,000 and resold it for $3,500. That was real money back then. I thought a person could earn a living doing this. It’s been a dream job ever since.”
When he finds a vehicle that needs work, his goal is bringing it back to good cosmetic and running condition. He removes non-original modifications and replaces missing parts from his extensive parts collection.
“We do motor pool restorations, not factory floor condition,” says Ferrie. “It isn’t profitable for us to do a complete restoration. Also, then the buyer expects an 80-year-old vehicle to run like new. And even when they were new, they were not that reliable.”
Most parts he needs can be found in his junkyard of old vehicles. Sometimes the parts he needs show up when he needs them.
“I found a rare M3A1 Scout car for $75 on a ranch in Brazil,” says Ferrie. “It was missing much of its armor. A few weeks later, I found another one with all the armor, but no axles.”
Most of the vehicles he buys are found in the U.S. Bringing military vehicles back from other countries can be a problem. In the case of Brazil and three M8 Armored Cars he had found, he had to convince the Brazilian Army to let him export them.
“They were not sympathetic until I shared that I was a former U.S. Army captain and a Vietnam veteran,” says Ferrie. “From then on, I was ‘in the club’.”
Ferrie originally found his vehicles one at a time while driving down alleys in small towns. He also found them by the barn full.
“It is not uncommon to find 30 to 40 vehicles in a barn,” he says. “However, more common is the barnyard find. Now I get most of my vehicles when people contact me to sell collections from an estate.”
Occasionally, he does consignment sales. He once sold a tank for a billionaire. Another billionaire bought it.
“He sent his bodyguards to close the deal,” says Ferrie. “It was for $250,000, and they never even started it or test drove it.”
He notes that wealthy collectors tend to want armored vehicles. However, most of his sales are to ordinary people, usually older people who want a Jeep, can afford to buy it, and are handy with vehicles. Not many are sold to younger people due to their expense.
“The days of finding a $500 Jeep that runs are over,” says Ferrie.
In fact, in one of his posts to the Vintage Military Vehicles Facebook page, he lists a fully restored, mint condition Willys M38 Jeep for $28,500. He says that prices vary considerably due to the many variables involved.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Vintage Military Vehicles, John D. Ferrie, P.O. Box 1562, Ft. Collins, Colo. 80522 (ph 970 217-3859; john@vintagemilitaryvehicles.com).
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He Buys Sells Vintage Military Vehicles SPECIALTY/SERVICES If you’re looking for a military vehicle John Ferrie may have what you are looking for If not he can probably find it Ferrie has bought and sold more than 600 vehicles over the past 35 years He finds them in barns backyards and even while traveling in other countries Equipment has gone to buyers around the world and ranges from a 1941 Indian motorcycle to an M47 tank “I started this business 35 years ago after finding a WC Command Car behind a barn ” says Ferrie “I told a friend about it and he bought it for $1 000 and resold it for $3 500 That was real money back then I thought a person could earn a living doing this It’s been a dream job ever since ” When he finds a vehicle that needs work his goal is bringing it back to good cosmetic and running condition He removes non-original modifications and replaces missing parts from his extensive parts collection “We do motor pool restorations not factory floor condition ” says Ferrie “It isn’t profitable for us to do a complete restoration Also then the buyer expects an 80-year-old vehicle to run like new And even when they were new they were not that reliable ” Most parts he needs can be found in his junkyard of old vehicles Sometimes the parts he needs show up when he needs them “I found a rare M3A1 Scout car for $75 on a ranch in Brazil ” says Ferrie “It was missing much of its armor A few weeks later I found another one with all the armor but no axles ” Most of the vehicles he buys are found in the U S Bringing military vehicles back from other countries can be a problem In the case of Brazil and three M8 Armored Cars he had found he had to convince the Brazilian Army to let him export them “They were not sympathetic until I shared that I was a former U S Army captain and a Vietnam veteran ” says Ferrie “From then on I was ‘in the club’ ” Ferrie originally found his vehicles one at a time while driving down alleys in small towns He also found them by the barn full “It is not uncommon to find 30 to 40 vehicles in a barn ” he says “However more common is the barnyard find Now I get most of my vehicles when people contact me to sell collections from an estate ” Occasionally he does consignment sales He once sold a tank for a billionaire Another billionaire bought it “He sent his bodyguards to close the deal ” says Ferrie “It was for $250 000 and they never even started it or test drove it ” He notes that wealthy collectors tend to want armored vehicles However most of his sales are to ordinary people usually older people who want a Jeep can afford to buy it and are handy with vehicles Not many are sold to younger people due to their expense “The days of finding a $500 Jeep that runs are over ” says Ferrie In fact in one of his posts to the Vintage Military Vehicles Facebook page he lists a fully restored mint condition Willys M38 Jeep for $28 500 He says that prices vary considerably due to the many variables involved Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Vintage Military Vehicles John D Ferrie P O Box 1562 Ft Collins Colo 80522 ph 970 217-3859; john@vintagemilitaryvehicles com
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