going fast

[Kernopelli]

While it's a good deal for the buyer, it's a little disheartening to see our PT's have such little resale value

I'm really not familiar with the PT's resale value but I would not worry that that auction was a classic example of a used price. I watch McGrews autions every day for the last two years and have consistently seen some excellent deals go off their lot through Ebay. Not sure why, I have talked to them several times and have been really impressed with the way they seem to do business and can tell you I've seen many times I wanted to bid on their auctions just to resell. It's almost a 2000 mile round trip for me to buy a tractor from them + 2-3 days off work but I could still make a good profit in our area off some of the deals I've seen. The BOSS just doesn't see it my way though. I bought 7 tractors one summer and she starts getting pretty grumpy when they sit in the yard for a 4-5 months.

 

[KentT]

As for tractor resale values, from everything I've heard and the few times I looked, name brand, big three small tractors really do hold their value over the years. Why? Probably because they only get 50 hours a year on them, are still in great shape, have been maintained well and have great reputations as being dependable, long lasting machines. The PTs don't have that long lasting reputation. What they do have is they fill a niche market that no one else has touched yet.

That brings up a really good point...

How many hours per year are people putting on their PTs?

My hypothesis is that many of us may put more hours on them because they're so much more versatile than a regular CUT.

I know that I put a lot more hours on mine than I do my garden tractors -- and that's with the PT 900 miles away and the garden tractors being used for all my routine mowing, leaf collection, garden tilling, snow removal, etc. I can put 50 hours on it during one trip to TN. That usage may slow down some when I'm doing only routine "site maintenance" but that's still a long way off...

Meanwhile, I use the PT extensively -- it saves my back in all kinds of ways.

 

[RegL]

Resale value on a used name brand CUT is pretty good. I always bought used at a very good price and maintained them well. When i sold them after 4 or 5 years to upgrade, i got what I paid or more but i usually sold them with the tire chains i would buy for them. As much as I love my PT, I would be surprised if i can do the same thing. On the plus side, with the PT, I am not feeling the need to upgrade yet. Which is good because my only realistic option would be a newer PT.

Ken

Ken,
That's the point. You always bought your name brand tractors used at a very good price. You let the original purchaser of the tractors take the big hit just as moss does with his cars. The buyer of the 418 on ebay also bought it used at a great price, and 5 years from now will also be able to sell it for what he paid or more.

I also think historically, one of the reasons tractors held their value was the price of new ones went up every year. When looking used, folks are always comparing the price to new.

 

[SpringHollow]

A good used price on a low hours CUT in good shape is only 25% less new, at least around here. I usually hunted around until i could find 35% off but that was a lot of auctions. Now on Ebay, I see some better deals but many are not legit. Unfortunately, on a PT, I think most sellers would be happy to be able to sell a low hour PT for only 25% off new. 50% (and sometimes more) seems to be the norm.

I do believe that most purchasers of used PTs will not continue to take huge losses in value. Because of the low resale value of PT's, they are a good bargain when purchased used.

I REALLY like my PT but I could never say they have good resale when bought new, that they have manuals, that they are ideal for traditional farming, or that they do not require more repairs than a traditional CUT. There are LOTS of reasons to buy them and a few reasons not to.

I am just trying to give potential buyers straight information at least as i see it.

Ken