[desideep]

Originally Posted by brutus

Guys the Mandi Dabwilli market is where you'll find the low-rider, "look at me, i am a cross between a mahindra and a ford", type of vehilce(not sure if i want to call them jeeps). The moga market was basically a good jeeps market until they realized the Dabwilli guys are minting money by selling the crap they make at a huge profit, so they followed much the same way. The Delhi market was scrap dealer base when the auctions used to held at the delhi contonment, and also been a refuge for those looking for surplus vehicles. After the army closed down the auctions at delhi(actully limited it to very few), the mayapuri market started relying on the bathinda and phatankot auctions. Beleive me, the dealers sitting in Bathinda and Pathankot are basically agents for the delhi guys.
Pathankot has never been a market, it was always a army dumping ground. All the VFJ vehicles(now they just assemble Tata and Ashok leyland trucks with bodies for the army) first go to phatankot and then are distributed to all the regiments and its also a big surplus dumping yard for the army. I have always seen jets ,tanks, armored vehicles in these junk yards, including odd vehicles every now and then. These guys are notorious butchers, and i seen them dismantling(or should i say breaking down) 1 Tatras and a kraz in 4 hours flat. The main dealer in phatankot are gandhi and Kohli, both agents for the dehli guys, and prices too are the same. I have never been quoted less than Rs80,000 for a 540 in phatankot, Jongas go for 45000(against 50000 in delhi) and cj3b are the same too(now at 70-80,000). And yes, dirty torn clothes do help, but that depends on how you carry the disguise(they see these types of ppl everyday, and its their job,so be carefull).
Regards,
Bikram

i CANT BELEIVE IT THAT THERE ARE AUCTIONS IN BATHINDA. i am sorry but i am really surprised so many years in bathinda but i have not heard of any auctions in bathinda. with close connections in the CANTONMENT i have come to know that all the auctionable motors are sent to PATHANKOT or DELHI

[desideep]

Originally Posted by brutus

The Army surplus dump is near the Nahtana road. Thats where the dabwalli ppl get most of their stuff from.

Hmm near Nathana Road ok then this weekend i would keep busy around nathana road and will be back with some info. but i live near by i am not sure if there is a Army Surplus dump near nathana road. and what side do we go there from BHUCHO MANDY or BIBIWALA PIND? there are two ways to go to Nathana

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by desideep

Hmm near Nathana Road ok then this weekend i would keep busy around nathana road and will be back with some info. but i live near by i am not sure if there is a Army Surplus dump near nathana road. and what side do we go there from BHUCHO MANDY or BIBIWALA PIND? there are two ways to go to Nathana

Dont know for sure coz i'am basically from muktsar nor bathinda, but tell you what, right around the outskirts of bathinda, and just before the army contonment starts, there is this very busy roundabout. If you turn left from here, there are a lot of booths that deal with surplus army stuff, but its mostly things like army bogs, belts, etc, etc. Ask these guys and they will be able to best guide you towards the way. I saw it my friend took me to it from nathana, where he lives, so i know its somewhere around there, but not sure about the exact way. Let me find out and i'll let you know in a day or two.
Take Care,
Regards,
Bikram Singh Sandhu

[ksrinu]

Any idea where we can get the same in Hyderabad. I am Planning to by one mm550 4x4 similar to kittigadu (krishnababu)

[desideep]

Originally Posted by brutus

Dont know for sure coz i'am basically from muktsar nor bathinda, but tell you what, right around the outskirts of bathinda, and just before the army contonment starts, there is this very busy roundabout. If you turn left from here, there are a lot of booths that deal with surplus army stuff, but its mostly things like army bogs, belts, etc, etc. Ask these guys and they will be able to best guide you towards the way. I saw it my friend took me to it from nathana, where he lives, so i know its somewhere around there, but not sure about the exact way. Let me find out and i'll let you know in a day or two.
Take Care,
Regards,
Bikram Singh Sandhu

Rite Sandhu Saab, i just live across the road from that busy round about that is called the BIBIWALA CHAUNK. actually i went to college on that road for alomost 3 years and kind of dont remember seeing any surplus shops there.may be i was too busy. han i do know of some places where i used to see army jongas kind of trown away. chalo i have been busy this time when i was there this weekend will be going back soon and find some details. take care for now

Deep

[bigman]

Has anyone managed to find where these ex army MM550's end up ?

There is a lot of conflicting posts it would be great if someone could provide a definitive answer.

[SirAlec]

auctioned in bulk. Most of them land in places like Mayapuri.

[SirAlec]

This is one more that a friend owns, apart from that beige one.
Well this one is unique in the sense that it has Nissan Diesel mated to a 5 speeder Isuzu retaining the 4x4. He gave up the freaking 550 xdp as always it was giving lot of trouble coping with hot summer of Jodhpur.

Front


Rears




Inside


Switch for various Blackouts


Shifter


Bay


Blackouts



and yeah this is a 2001 model.

Now jodhpur is becoming an auction ground for Western Command. a well to do MG413 can be had for as low as 1.20L.

[Parm]

im going to get all my army contacts activated to source a nice MM550, on war footing!

cheers:

[Born 2 Be Wild]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

Thats very informative. I didn't know that. and guess I am not the only one. I am sure very few have excercise this rights.
I must say they are cheap. but depends upon the condition. Also I must add in India this things are just on papers.
I heard a news about shoody petrol pumps distribution to deserving widow of Kargil widows, the most deserving ones. I am not sure many jawans and NCO or their widows even know about internet/email, let alone e-auction.

Going A bit OT Here, But Siralec Getting A Petrol Pump is a entirely different Ball Game ( Know from personal experience). Getting A Disposal Jeep I think would be 10 times easier than a Pump.

And there is a catch to the Ex- Serviceman Thing as well It says in Fine Print that You Are only eligible to get an Army Vehicle within 6 months of your retirement date, also subject to approval from The D.G.R (Directorrate General Resettlement).

[SirAlec]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Be Wild

Going A bit OT Here, But Siralec Getting A Petrol Pump is a entirely different Ball Game ( Know from personal experience). Getting A Disposal Jeep I think would be 10 times easier than a Pump.

And there is a catch to the Ex- Serviceman Thing as well It says in Fine Print that You Are only eligible to get an Army Vehicle within 6 months of your retirement date, also subject to approval from The D.G.R (Directorrate General Resettlement).

I know yaar! its a different ball game. But point being these facility are not used by many. I bet most of them in the army even don't know about this.

If DD had not provided the link did you and me knew about this facility. ANd we are 24/7 online people. Imagine this with people who never heard about Google.

[gotzuk]

Now, that's what i call a real deal..
A Nissan 1 tonne 4X4 for 51,640 Rupees!!!
Can somebody find me a Soon-To-Retire-Army personnel...

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

I know yaar! its a different ball game. But point being these facility are not used by many. I bet most of them in the army even don't know about this.

If DD had not provided the link did you and me knew about this facility. ANd we are 24/7 online people. Imagine this with people who never heard about Google.

I will take that bet. Retirees are usually informed of their benefits and you certainly do not need a computer to find out about disposal regs or the vehicles themselves. It was a retired Army guy who told me about it.

[SirAlec]

My experience is that most of them are not. post us an image of a single ex-army dude who bought these vehcile along with is vehicle.

[bonobashi]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

My experience is that most of them are not. post us an image of a single ex-army dude who bought these vehcile along with is vehicle.

This is unlikely to happen. We have to remember that faujis don't look at these 'toys' the way we do. They are mostly pragmatic, not like us soft-in-the-head romantics. They've used these 'devices' all their lives in training and in battle, and they are not glamorous any longer.

To illustrate: my very good friend, and a colleague right through the last ten years, in different places, retired as a bird colonel from the Army (please forgive the Yankee slang). Every time we talk about my attempts to get a 'good' (read: working condition) Jeep with 4WD, he gets purple in the face, and explodes. He can't figure out WHY a civilian would need 4 wheel drive. Trying to explain the fun in off-roading simply doesn't work with him: he looks blankly at me with a look of total incomprehension.

The point? Well, Army guys tend to look at these toys that we all lust after as simply tools to do the job. They simply don't see any glamour associated with any of them.This guy used to serve with Abbot SP guns (before various shifts of avatar: he landed up flying choppers). He just can't figure out why anybody would want to go off the beaten track.

Is he against it? I dunno. It's just that journeys with him have never been off the road - ever. He almost hates it.

[The rest of this is severely off-topic; Moderators, please kill it without mercy if you so deem fit.]

However, he is slowly beginning to get it on board that I'm obsessed. Last time we were on a working trip together, he launched us from Lucknow to Kanpur without ANY planning for logistics. I was really cross; being a fuss-budget, I like i's dotted, t's crossed and so on. First, he got us there in military transport. If Rudra had seen it, he'd have died of a broken heart on the spot. Then in Kanpur, he organised overnight stay with an armoured regiment. The icing on the cake was the next morning, when he smiled mysteriously all through breakfast, then dragged me off to see the acting CO, and before I knew what was up, popped me into the command turret of a T90.

Guys, THAT is off-roading. The damn thing had no idea about the difference between road and not-road. I have nothing further to say. Words go just so far and no further.

bonobashi

PS: He's just bought a brand-new Safari (2WD ) and still can't figure out why anybody would deliberately go off-road.

BTW, inspired by our Ikon 1.6, and my wife's lyrical descriptions, they just got themselves a 1.3 for the good lady of the house.

PPS: We missed all our morning appointments that day. I didn't CARE!