Sooner or later and the artificial intelligence on the internet will point an automotive enthusiast to an ad for government seized vehicles at auction. Government auctions of seized vehicles can provide some really good deals to bidders. But, beware, some of these vehicles have a past. One lucky purchaser was able to pick up the Ram 3500 of his dreams, only to find that the truck’s past possibly involved someone’s death. 

The draw to government auctions of seized vehicles is that the vehicles purchased there will support a given law enforcement agency or other government agency, such as the CIA or DEA. Also, the vehicles are stigmatized since they are seizures, so fewer people will compete for them at auction. So, these vehicles sometimes take longer to sell when compared to an equivalent vehicle with no questionable past at a regular dealer auction. Often also, the seized vehicles sell at auction prices under market value. 

Dream truck found at auction

For people that have no fear that a possible nefarious past will come back and haunt them, the government seized vehicle auctions are a good way to pick up a great ride. On a video posted on May 18th to the Vinwiki channel on Youtube, a gentleman describes his experience picking up his dream truck from one of these auctions. The video is below.

In short, Christopher Michaels saw an advertisement for a Ram 3500 Mega Cab he had been looking for. When he showed up to the site of the auction for seized vehicles, he found the advertised truck, test drove it, fell in love with it, and purchased the Ram. He then drove home a happy camper.

A wrestling match in the truck

Mr. Michaels was a little more descriptive of his experience, though. He remembers that when he examined the vehicle at the auction, he saw the driver’s seat bolster was broken, the sun visor was torn down, the radio was kicked in, and it looked like something had been spilled in the cabin. He suspected that a wrestling match broke out in the pickup. He also remembers that the salesman did not want to go on the test drive with him. 

Mysterious modifications

Mr. Michaels was not dissuaded. He purchased the vehicle and began to customize it to his liking. During that time, he made more discoveries. For example, the truck had its engine modified at some point in its past. In the video, Mr. Michaels says when he purchased the truck, it was putting out 698 horsepower. Also, anything that could make a sound or light up in the cabin had its wires cut by the previous owner at some point. So, the radio, the horn, etc., had all been snipped. It was like someone wanted the truck to be a stealth vehicle at night.

Another discovery came when Mr. Michaels was cleaning some of the stains in the cabin of the truck. The stains caught the attention of a friend of his that is a hunter. The hunter friend brought out a blood tracking blue light. He shined it in the car and told Mr. Michaels that the stains he was working on were blood. Needless to say, Mr. Michaels’s mind started to wonder if somebody had died in his precious Mega Cab. 

Even more telling details of the ominous past of the vehicle came to light when Mr. Michaels went to help another friend move. He showed up with the truck, of course. But, another person showed up to help as well. The pickup was familiar to him. He described the truck, or one identical to it as having belonged to a drug dealer. Mr. Michael kept his mouth shut for fear that person might still know the drug dealer. 

The truck’s brighter future

The video does not end there, though. Mr. Michaels ends the video by saying he is trying to give the truck a brighter future. He is building it into his ultimate Overlanding truck. He even intends to do some significant travel with it. Regardless, his experience serves as a word of caution to those considering purchasing a vehicle at a government seized vehicle auction. Great deals are available, but they may involve vehicles that have a mysterious past. The question is, can the potential purchaser stomach the past a vehicle might have had.