Axis Vehicles on the market

[N.O.S.]

Just looking at a mediumn sized Renault truck put up for sale today on m i l w e b, is anyone else surprised at the increasing number of WW2 trucks used by Germans coming onto the market in recent months?

 

They are all rare survivors when you consider how relatively few there were and how many were destroyed, compared with the large volume of U.S vehicles which survived the war to see further mass use prior to the preservation movement gaining momentum.

[N.O.S.]

I guess one argument might be that whilst Allied vehicles were more plentiful, so many were scrapped in later life as road vehicle condition standards were pushed forever higher, whereas Axis vehicles, what few remained, found a longer afterlife in less affluent areas away from the demands of the MOT tester?

[TooTallMike]

My own theories:

 

1) The generation of European farmers who found abandoned vehicles lying around just after the war and hid them away long forgotten at the backs of barns are now dying off and their relatives are selling off the assets.

 

2) The same generation of farmers have realised they are sitting on little gold mines and want to realise the cash for themselves.

 

3) We are probably at the apex of the hobby in terms of affordability of fuel and insurance, the freedom to use old vehicles on the public roads, availability of parts etc etc. If I had been sitting on some unrestored gem for years believing I was investing in its steadily increasing value I would be seriously considering selling it now before it becomes less practical to own older vehicles at which point values will start to drop off.

 

One hears occasional stories of Kettenkrads and similar still being found in 'as-liberated' condition and a few months ago on here there was a photo report of an amazing private collection of unrestored Axis machinery. There are bound to be hundreds more items still hidden in Europe just waiting to be found, but the more that appear for sale, the lower the prices will go. Therefore those who sell sooner will get the better prices.

 

- MG

[Tony B]

Considering the Axis forces commendered every vehicle in sight, any vehicle in Europe of the right age has a tenuous claim to be ex military.