The Camillus Volunteer Fire Department will be replacing its three chief’s vehicles.

The village board unanimously approved the purchase of three Chevy Tahoes at Monday’s regular board meeting. The department will spend $88,844.79 on the vehicles for Chief Doug Groesbeck and two assistant chiefs.

The current vehicles are seven years old, said deputy chief Jim McBride. They each have between 70,000 and 80,000 miles on them and the paint is blistering, he said.

The vehicles will be funded through a $15,000 down payment, which the department has budgeted for 2012. The remaining $73,844 will be financed over five years and added to the debt service in the department’s budget. The first payment will be covered from the sale of the current vehicles. McBride estimates the department can sell each of the vehicles and their emergency lights for about $12,000.

“If we wait much longer, the value will be much lower,” he said.

The department was not able to order custom vehicles through state bid, but will be purchasing three vehicles on the lot at Hoselton, near Rochester. The state bid vehicles on the lot are first-come, first-served, Groesbeck said. Had the department not taken the state bid vehicles, it would have had to purchase the vehicles at the regular price.

“If we pass on this now, we’re looking at passing $15,000 to $20,000 on to the taxpayers of the village of Camillus,” Groesbeck told the board.

The motion was unanimously approved by the village trustees and mayor.