SACRAMENTO, Calif. --- Bargain-hunters snatched up watches confiscated from criminals, surplus prison shirts and antique pianos salvaged from parks on the first day of a statewide garage sale to scrape together cash for California.

The two-day sale kicked off Friday at a Sacramento warehouse, with hundreds lining up for deals on cars, computers and collectibles. Many arrived hours before the gate opened at 8 a.m., walking past a Terminator mannequin on the way in.

An auctioneer sold vehicles by the minute. SUVs, vans and California Highway Patrol cruisers -- all were being moved off the state's inventory for just a few thousand dollars each.

"Welcome to our garage sale," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told reporters. "As you know, we're trying to raise some extra money here, getting rid of the old stuff we don't use anymore."

Mr. Schwarzenegger decided to clear some of the state's clutter after ordering its fleet of 40,000 vehicles cut by 15 percent. He added his autograph to 15 car visors and four patrol motorcycles in hopes of fetching more money.

State officials hope the sale of 600 state-owned vehicles and 6,000 pieces of office furniture, computers, electronics and other items will raise hundreds of thousands of dollars. There were no early sales figures Friday.

At the time Mr. Schwarzen-egger signed the order, California faced a projected $26 billion deficit. The state has since passed a budget with billions of dollars in cuts to schools and colleges, prisons and health care for the poor.

Some items had been sitting in storage for years. The Department of Motor Vehicles towed out eight vintage scales that doubled as fortune teller machines.

"The vendor was expecting the state to buy a whole bunch and they never did," State and Consumer Services Agency spokeswoman Erin Shaw said. "They were in storage but now they're out for sale about $150 apiece."

The money will go to California's general fund.