Although I suspect since the transition will take a long time, the "retired" vehicles will be kept for spare parts where the old vehicles are still being used, and many will still be kept just in case.
> Does anyone know where one might go to buy the retired vehicles?
My son had looked into this and it looks like you can't.
Some of it is due to the LLV being manufactured with exemptions from certain US car standards. Some of it is due to a obligation (with Grumman IIRC) that the LLV be destroyed after retirement.
We settled for a 31k mi 1992 Buick with the same Iron Duke engine.
Damn, if the intent of electrifying the fleet is to be more ecologically friendly, allowing these older vehicles to be recirculated seems like a compelling thing to do. I suppose the weird configuration of these vehicles doesn't make it a very good option as a personal vehicle, so destroying them is probably just as ecological as selling them to hobbyists like me. It will be sad to see these things disappear from existence though. They've been a part of my life since I was a kid.
>Damn, if the intent of electrifying the fleet is to be more ecologically friendly, allowing these older vehicles to be recirculated seems like a compelling thing to do
Why do you think that? These are terrible general purpose vehicles that have hundreds of thousands of miles on them already and have atrocious fuel efficiency even at what they are good at doing; start-stop driving.
Continuing to use these for another 50k miles is probably worse for the environment than buying a brand new hybrid or electric vehicle.
If you did buy one, you might not be able to license it in your state. Your mileage may vary.
Note: USPS is exempt from state regulations because it is a U.S. federal government agency. That is also why they don't have state license plates; they don't need them.
