On this page + The Six-Month Build That Failed at the Counter + Vehicle Profiles: M998, M35, LMTV, M151 + The Universal Modifications Checklist + State Difficulty: What the Community Has Learned + GVWR Emissions Exemptions + Insurance: Who Covers Surplus Military Vehicles + The Montana LLC Path for Military Vehicles + Is This Legal? … Read more
On this page + The SF-97 Title Problem Nobody Warned You About + The Vermont Loophole: What It Was, Why It Died + The SF-97 Title Landscape: A Four-Tier State System + Option 1: The Bonded Title Path + Option 2: The Court-Ordered Title Path + Equipment Checklist: Making Your SF-97 Vehicle Street-Legal + The … Read more
The same 2018 Chevy Tahoe Pursuit — same VIN class, same fleet history, same 110,000 miles — is listed right now on five different auction platforms. On one of them, your out-the-door cost is $12,115. On another it’s $14,500. Same truck. Different platforms. Different paperwork. Different total damage to your wallet. If you’re shopping a … Read more
On this page + Why Montana Wins for SF-97 Vehicles + The Permanent Plate Advantage + Montana vs Wyoming, Delaware, and Nevada + SF-97 Titling in Montana: The Exact Process + The Multi-Vehicle Collector Strategy + 5-Year Cost Comparison by State + The Zero Tax Tags Process + Timeline: From Day 1 to Day 7 … Read more
On this page + The auction is over. The bid was yours. Then reality hits. + What SF-97 actually is (and what it isn’t) + Civilian vs military surplus: two very different paths + State-by-state SF-97 acceptance + The five reasons DMVs reject your SF-97 vehicle title + The 2024 to 2025 federal crackdown + … Read more
There is a specific kind of car deal that lives rent-free in the head of every gearhead, every budget-conscious tradesman, and every fleet-savvy buyer who knows the secret. It is the government surplus vehicle — a Crown Vic with the spotlight bracket still drilled into the A-pillar, a Tahoe PPV with the heavy-duty alternator and … Read more
The SF-97 timeline is the single most underestimated part of buying a military surplus vehicle, and almost nobody walks into their first GovPlanet auction with a realistic understanding of how long it actually takes to put plates on a federally-released Humvee. A buyer wins a beautifully photographed HMMWV at GovPlanet on a Tuesday afternoon. The … Read more
The SF-97 VIN mismatch problem is the single most frustrating wall a military surplus vehicle buyer can hit. You spent months hunting for the right HMMWV. You won the auction, paid the transport bill, watched it roll off the trailer in your driveway, and slid the federal SF-97 across the DMV counter like it was … Read more
On this page + The $7,400 GovPlanet Win and the Panic That Follows + What You Actually Receive: SF-97 vs DD Form 1348-1A + The 60-Day Wall: What Happens Before You Even Pick Up + HMMWV Variants Guide: What Is Actually at Auction + The Document Stack: What You Actually Need + The State-by-State HMMWV … Read more
On this page + You won the auction. Now you need plates. + How we built this guide + The four tiers, at a glance + Tier 1: The states where it just works + Tier 2: Workable with the right paperwork + Tier 3: Extra steps and longer waits + Tier 4: Where SF-97 … Read more
See how much you could save with Montana registration