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Sunday, October 30, 2005
Humvee dealer sells the real deal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When Ben Cowart cranks up his Humvee, his neighbors definitely hear it. The 16.2-liter diesel engine roars.
This isn’t your typical civilian-style Hummer with all the slick comfort features. Cowart has the Real McCoy. Military style.
Actually, the Duluth resident has about 70 of them. If you’re in the market, go see him. He’ll sell you one. However many you want.
“Hum-vee parking only,” reads a sign posted on the four-car garage of Cowart’s home. He keeps a few Hummers there, just in case someone’s interested. The rest of the fleet is kept at an undisclosed location. Cowart won’t say where. Something to do with a partnership that went sour.
“Having a bad partnership is like going through a divorce,” he said, laughing. He’s sitting in the living room, wearing cowboy boots, jeans and a Western shirt. Dammit, his hyper terrier, is happy to see me. Cowart shoos him away. Then he points to a picture of the beloved pet Dammit replaced. The remains of Georgia, a white bulldog, rest in an urn. He lived to be 17.
Sometimes Cowart thinks it’s going to take that long to sell all of the 135 Humvees he and a former partner bought four years ago. Surplus military vehicles were being sold at an auction in Atlanta.
Now he runs Military Vehicle Specialities (www.Xhumvee.com), an online business. He subcontracts with someone to do the engine and body work. Then sells them for $35,000 to $50,000 a pop. Customers hail from all over the country. Mostly farmers and hunters with land to roam.
“They send me the money. I send them the truck,” he said. “I seldom see my customers. The manufacturers charge $80,000. We charge half of that, and ours are refurbished to look like new.”
Cowart was born in Chamblee and raised in Dunwoody. He attended college, had a blast and never graduated. He’s a developer by trade. He buys and sells land. Builds houses, too. He’s also worked in law enforcement as a reserve deputy sheriff in Gwinnett and Fulton counties.
Which brings me to the command reconnaissance vehicle, otherwise known as a tank. Cowart got it in exchange for a Humvee. He couldn’t sell it. So he donated it. To Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway. You may have read about it. It sure caught my eye.
The Sheriff’s Department plans to use it for tactical situations — rescuing officers and responding to natural disasters. Cowart got a tax write-off and a little peace of mind.
“If it keeps one of my friends from getting hurt, it’s worth it,” the 40-year-old bachelor said.
Cowart admits he’s a lot better at making land deals than selling Hummers. Right now, this Humvee-selling venture is more hobby than business. He won’t call it a complete bust, though. Plenty of people sell military equipment. Few sell military Humvees.
He knows two other entrepreneurs who specialize in them. They’ve talked to him about buying his stock. So he may be sold out by the end of the year.
No doubt, he’ll keep one for himself.
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