Ex-Govt SUVs & Jeeps Auctioned for Rs 200m — Bargain or Buyer Beware?

The Presidential Secretariat just closed its second batch of ex-ministerial vehicle auctions — Land Cruisers, Nissan Patrol jeeps, SsangYong Rextons, a Montero, a Porsche Cayenne and a few V08 double cabs that used to run on government duty. Seventeen of twenty-six listed vehicles sold, pulling in over Rs 200 million, with the state framing it as cutting fleet costs and improving fiscal discipline. Critics say the hammer prices were well below open-market value for these models, calling it a loss for taxpayers even if it's a steal for whoever bought. One side says: these are high-mileage ex-fleet vehicles with service histories nobody outside the ministry has seen — a 'cheap' government Land Cruiser could cost you more in repairs than it saved at the gavel. The other side says: a state auction is still more transparent than a private import with a hidden accident history, and the paperwork is clean from day one. Would you bid on an ex-government vehicle, or do you avoid anything that spent its life being driven by someone who didn't own it? If you've bought from one of these auctions before, what did you actually find when you opened the bonnet? රජයේ වාහන වෙන්දේසියකින් මිලදී ගන්න කැප කියලද? ඇත්ත අත්දැකීම් share කරන්න.