What Did An M37 Cost New?

[w30bob]

Hi Guys,

Just wondering.....what did the Government pay for M37s back in the day? Anybody know?

thanks,
bob

[k8icu]

More money than they should have....

That's a great question Bob. I hope someone has that answer. I wouldbe interested in compairson to 2012 dollars. i.e. Did an M37 in 1950 cost compaired to a HMMWV in 2012?

[Wayne64]

That is one great question. I don't have an answer to that but I lost two M113s in Vietnam after the second one was blown to hell my CO visited me in the hospital and broke my chops by telling me "I hope the Army doesn't back charge you the $32,000 for losing it" That was in 69 so the cost of a M37 would be hard to pin down because of the long run of production, and who was getting their kick backs

[m-37Bruce]

It used to be stenciled on the inside of the hood, "This vehicle cost the united States Government $ ##,### I do not remember the amount, but I sure Carter does?

[Carter]

Mis-places faith Bruce, like you I have seen that stencil but for the life of me I can not remember what it was.

[k8icu]

The stencile was probably over inflated to scare GIs into not abusing the trucks...

Even with the internet and it's vast resources I don't think that information is out there. I wonder if someone would have the cost of power wagon in say 1951 that could be used a bases for the M37?

[ChrisC]

AMDF was $4079 w/o and $4487 w/w

[w30bob]

Hi Chris,

Sorry for my ignorance.....but what does AMDF mean?

thanks,
bob

[ChrisC]

AMDF = Army Master Data File, AMDF price is what the Army "charges" the unit for an item, so the AMDF cost is what the army paid plus whatever the surcharge was at that time the price was calculated...

[w30bob]

Thanks Chris.....great info!

regards,
bob

[k8icu]

Ok so 4K for the truck was a bit more than the average vehicle at that time. So the Army did pay more for an MV.

[ChrisC]

I do not know what the surcharge was at that time, but today it floats around the 20-30% mark, this covers the cost of storage, transport plus the logistics overhead for all the AMC employees etc.... so if you do the math, they paid $3k for a truck...

Without finding an actual contract, this is my best guess.

[Wayne64]

Alright, but here is another question. As I mentioned in the past I did a total restore on a 1943 contract Indian motorcycle. In my research I found out that when Indian supplied each unit they also had to supply X amount of spares which was part of the contract. Maybe 2 extra sets of tires, 6 sets of points / condensers, etc. The list was long and for that reason certain NOS parts were still cheap and available into the late 70s. BTW the Governments action after the end of WWII help put Indian out of business, Harley weathered what they did but just barely.
So how did DOD handle spare parts needed after 1952?

[RADDOX]

I should have checked the board before I left for Idaho coupe of weeks ago. My original "Green Book" has this written in pencil "THIS TRUCK COST XXXX" I want to say it was 5,000 something but dont quote me on that !

[powerwagontim]

This is a cool thread! I converted the $4,487 from 1952 dollars to 2012 dollars and got $38,681
If you walked into your local Dodge (er I mean Ram) Dealer and there next to the Ram 2500 and 3500 was a new M37 with a price tag of $38K it would not seem out of line.
Tim