Governor Perdue Kicks Off Auction of Surplus State Vehicles

Over 500 State Vehicles Leave Government Fleet for Highest Bidder

ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue today participated in a public auction of surplus state vehicles by selling a 1993 Dodge Caravan to the highest bidder.  A total of 559 surplus vehicles were up for auction including agency sedans, police cruisers, vans and utility trucks.

“Today's auction is the result of our desire to make more effective and efficient use of state-owned vehicles,” said Governor Sonny Perdue.  “We have identified more than 1,500 surplus state vehicles that are being sold to the highest bidder.  By auctioning these under-utilized cars, trucks and vans, we will streamline the state fleet and save millions of dollars.”

Hundreds of bidders attended the live auction and many more took part in a simultaneous online sale of 50 vehicles liquidated by the Department of Transportation.   Representatives from GovDeals ( www.govdeals.com ) and Liquidation.com ( www.liquidation.com ) were onsite to facilitate the Internet sale, and three vehicles were sold on e-Bay.  The online auction eliminated transport costs and allowed buyers from across Georgia to participate in the bidding.

The Georgia State Agency for Surplus Property (GSASP), a division of the Department of Administrative Services ran the auction.  GSASP was established in 1977 to distribute federal and state property through public auctions so surplus items can be recycled to government agencies or sold to the public.  This agency is self-supporting from sales and distribution fees. 

Vehicles are auctioned as surplus when they cost more to maintain than they are worth, have excessively high mileage, or are no longer serving a useful purpose. A total of $4,511,357 has been generated from surplus auctions in FY 2005.  Of that total, $2,612,530 was refunded to the state agencies which turned in the vehicles.  At the most recent surplus vehicle auction held in Swainsboro on June 8, 2005 , 119 vehicles sold for $139,200. 

Last December, the Governor set an aggressive goal to reduce the state fleet by up to 2,000 vehicles by June 30, 2005 .  To date, 1,506 vehicles have been eliminated from the fleet including those on the auction lot.