Fancy a fire engine? French firefighters launch online auction

A fire engine, ambulances and a range of former emergency vehicles are on sale at auction in Hautes-Pyrénées (Occitanie) until March 8 after firefighters launched a call for bids online.

The firefighters of the SDIS 65 have put 41 lots of their old material on sale. As well as the vehicles, there are also Michelin tyres, two Samsung printers, and even a professional cooking grill.

Currently, a fire engine is available for just over €1,100; and a 1997 Land Rover Defender with just 35,000km on the clock is up for sale with a tag of less than €10,000. The model usually sells at €25,000-€35,000 second-hand.

The online auction is available on the public sector auction site Agora store.

Some of the most notable bids currently include:

• Renault Premium fire engine, good condition, 65,035km, petrol, 1998: €1,131
• Peugeot Boxer 4x4, new battery, 82,237km, petrol, 2009: €3,712
• Peugeot Partner light van, 132,196km, petrol, 2003: €788
• Land Rover 4x4 Defender, 35,902km, petrol, 1997: €9,767
• Franstal gas plancha grill, good condition, hardly used, 2018: €1,753
• Samsung ML-1850DN printers, used condition, 2008: €24

The auction does not specify any rules for the use of the vehicles once bought but fire engines and trucks have become popular for campervan conversions in recent years.

A quick search on YouTube finds many people who have converted old fire trucks into campervans, either for an unusual holiday vehicle or as a full-time, moving home.

The auction will remain online until March 8, and many bargains remain available to bidders so far.

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