Potential buyers check out the goods at King County's semi-annual vehicle and equipment auction.

Twice a year, the King County vehicle and equipment auction brings out a flood of bidders looking to snap up a good deal. In return, the county nets revenue on items that would otherwise have to be scrapped.

The next vehicle and equipment auction will be held Saturday, May 22 at the county auction lot, 3005 NE 4 th St., Renton. Bidding starts at 9 a.m. Previews will be held on Thursday and Friday prior to the auction from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Preview information is also available online, along with driving directions and auction terms. All items are sold “as is.”

The King County Department of Transportation's Fleet Administration Division manages the semi-annual auctions, and the spot auctions held throughout the year. The auctions are successful in helping the county surplus equipment and vehicles that are no longer cost-efficient to maintain. All of the sales are open to the public, anyone and everyone is eligible to bid.

“One of our primary goals is to maximize the use and resale of county assets,” said Windell Mitchell, Director of the Fleet Administration Division.

Mitchell says Fleet's surplus program saves the county money three ways. The first is by reusing extra equipment within the county. Secondly, there is a buyback program for vehicles that reduces the cost of buying future county vehicles. And lastly, money is saved by auctioning the surplus vehicles and equipment to the public.

“Over the past year, we've saved the county more than $1 million by auctioning surplus vehicles, and more than $1.1 million by reusing surplus equipment,” said Mitchell.

At last spring's auction, there were dozens of cars, trucks, vans and pieces of heavy equipment, plus assorted small buses, tractors, and refuse trailers. Sales for that one auction totaled $569,000 – all of which was returned to the county departments that originally surplused the items. In turn, those departments put the funds toward the purchase of new county vehicles and equipment.

For each type of equipment, there are evaluation criteria involving both usage/mileage and overall condition that helps the county determine when individual items are ready to be surplused. Accredited mechanics from several county divisions keep detailed records on the vehicles, and those records serve as the basis for the decision to surplus. For instance, almost all of the 29 mini-buses auctioned last spring had well over 150,000 miles on their odometers, and some had body damage that made them unusable by the county.

Some items have value, but not a lot of local interest. In those cases, Fleet turns to the Internet to help find a buyer. Recently, items have been advertised on eBay. In some cases, the prices fetched online have been ten fold what the county estimates it would receive from a local auction.

Along with the usual assortment of cars, vans, SUVs, and trucks, the May 22 auction features a woodchipper, a hydroseeder, two 55-gallon drums of mineral oil, and a baseball scoreboard from the Mel Olsen Stadium in White Center. Sounds like the makings of a pretty nice backyard ballpark.

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