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Morning Lineup – August 10

2 comments

Once again it has been demonstrated that people who read Firegeezer can save money.  Unfortunately, we hadn’t yet gone online when the officials at the Westarea VFD near Fayetteville, North Carolina, purchased two used fire engines from Ty Hubbard’s controversial firetruck brokerage, Firehouse 66 back in 2006.

I just learned about this incident this morning when STATter911 posted this STORY about how Westarea is on the verge of having to shut down because of the disastrous results from dealing with Firehouse 66.  The two pumpers that they bought have never been put in service because of major repairs that are needed and Hubbard never fulfilled his obligation to fix them.  And there are cloudy titles keeping them off the street as well.  Sound familiar?  Our first story on Firehouse 66 had to do with another central No. Carolina VFD that couldnt’ get their engine titled (HERE).

And in March of last year we documented a case where Firehouse 66 was selling via their internet catalogue a fire engine that they didn’t own.  Read that story HERE.  They advertise regularly in fire apparatus sales publications like Fire Trader and give the impression that they have a huge operation with dozens of employees and mechanics.

fh66-cc

After we ran our articles we received many emails from people who had been stung by them before as well as from others who were currently in the market for a used truck and were enlightened by the stories of some of Firehouse 66′s customers.

So how does this save you money?  Read today’s article in STATter911 that we linked above, and review our past articles.  And keep those lessons in mind when you go shopping.  And take time to read LightRock’s earlier article HERE on How to Buy a Used Firetruck.  As the old saying goes:  “Forewarned is forearmed.”

Now we’d better get our equipment checked out while I go start the coffee.

Posted by on August 10, 2009 • Filed under: apparatus
  • B. Morgan

    When I get ready to buy a used car I call Mike, my mechanic and pay him to check it out. It’s worth my money to have him spend some time and give me the low down on the vehicle. Yes, I have gone through a few hundred $$ on cars I did not buy, but in the end got a good one with his approval. For fire trucks it’s worth the time and money to go check it out first. If the seller does not want to put needed repairs into the contract the price should go down or it’s time to look else where.
    I was at a major fire truck manufacturer a few years ago and in a corner of the factoy was a large, brand new pumper with a group of non-employees in it, under it and around it. The company guy who was designing our new truck said it was the ordering VFD’s inspection team checking it prior to payment. His comment, “It’s better and cheaper to find and fix any problems here now, then later there”.

  • B. Morgan

    When I get ready to buy a used car I call Mike, my mechanic and pay him to check it out. It’s worth my money to have him spend some time and give me the low down on the vehicle. Yes, I have gone through a few hundred $$ on cars I did not buy, but in the end got a good one with his approval. For fire trucks it’s worth the time and money to go check it out first. If the seller does not want to put needed repairs into the contract the price should go down or it’s time to look else where.
    I was at a major fire truck manufacturer a few years ago and in a corner of the factoy was a large, brand new pumper with a group of non-employees in it, under it and around it. The company guy who was designing our new truck said it was the ordering VFD’s inspection team checking it prior to payment. His comment, “It’s better and cheaper to find and fix any problems here now, then later there”.