Just think of the amount if fuel left in those 12000 vehicles.
At the end of the War, Paul Mantz bought a load of surplus US Aircraft realising there would be a use for them in the American film industry, at one point he had amassed so many Aircraft, ( 475 bombers and fighters ) that it was said he had the Worlds sixth largest Airforce, this cost him $55,000, but when the USAAF delivered them, he sold the fuel remaining in the aircraft making a profit on the original investment of $55,000. He then retained 12 aircraft for film use and sold the remaining 463 for scrap which again was a handsome profit.
Indeed more on that from here
Airport Journals
Following the war, Paul Mantz Air Service handled tasks including flying daily film rushes into Hollywood from distant locations. In 1946, he invested $55,000 in 475 surplus bombers and fighters, much to the amusement of his friends. At the time, it was the world's sixth largest air force. The fleet of surplus had cost the American taxpayers $117,000,000.
Mantz ended up bringing a dozen of the best ships to Burbank. His partners in the deal disposed of the rest of the fleet for scrap. First, however, they drained the fuel tanks; the fuel alone sold for more than he had paid for the entire fleet. Then, Mantz netted $160,000 worth of scrap aluminum, $100,000 worth of Plexiglas, more than 1,000 good engines, and a warehouse full of 6004-A oxygen regulators that an embarrassed U.S. government bought back, at $75 each, for their own postwar airplane fleet.