I believe PIR actually bought them from Sterling Rail, the dealer that bought them from INPR. I don't think INPR ran them into the ground before parking them, they just didn't need them any more after Boise-Cascade's implosion that ended most of the freight traffic on the branches. INPR leased some GP38-2s for their operations out of Nampa, before selling that lease to Watco's Boise Valley RR.

I recall hearing that the father of one of the PIR managers (I think it was the one that figured out it was a scam and is now suing them) did do some work on them and presumably got at least one running so they could move to Coyote Wells. I was contacted by someone looking for somebody to refer to PIR that was qualified to do a mechanical assessment of the wrecked engines for an insurance claim.