Brandson Resale Value in Marketplace ??

bigcut · Sep 24, 2018

It's apparent from the responses that Branson owners love their tractors based on price, quality, and engineering design features.

I'm curious as to the thinking and experience in the resell value of Branson tractors. I would think that trading a unit in to purchase another Branson is probably favorable in terms of resell value. But, how about selling it in the open market, or, resell into a non-Branson dealer to purchase a competing brand ?

What got me thinking about this was several posts on TBN where owners stated that they knowingly and willingly paid higher prices for one of the big 3 because of their perception of high trade-in value. One went as far to say that he could get what he paid for his Kubota or even a few dollars more in the open market.

So, I ask the question: What's the percepton of the resell value of the Branson in the open market; in moving to a competing brand; and in upgrading to a different Branson Tractor ? (basically 3 different scenarios)

Looking for comments and experience.
John

ning · Sep 25, 2018

I think the people who get more for their used Kubota tractor must be the same people I saw listing their used log splitters on Craigslist for more than I could buy the identical model new...

My Branson is only a year old and I can't imagine selling it so I can't help your question...

4570Man · Sep 25, 2018

Selling a Kubota for more than you paid is only likely to happen if you bought soon before the emissions regulations and sold soon after. And I think the biggest part of the question left out is the area. I’ve never even seen a Branson or LS tractor except for somewhere out of town or the NFMS. Good luck selling one of those without a bad hit here. Edit. There’s apparently a Branson dealer within 40 miles and a LS dealer within 90 miles. You still don’t see them in the “wild” around here which doesn’t help the cause.

Granthol · Sep 25, 2018

I’d say if you buy new and plan on trading like many do cars, you’ll take a hit, but most tractors aren’t traded like cars. Most people buy a tractor then have it for 20+ years. Resale value is also based on initial cost. Because you are paying less than a big 3 up front, I would always expect the value used to be somewhat lower. When I bought my Branson, used, I bought it because of the value. No doubt if I sold it now, I’d get about what I paid for it a year ago
.....but it’s not for sale.

bigcut · Sep 25, 2018

Granthol said:
I’d say if you buy new and plan on trading like many do cars, you’ll take a hit, but most tractors aren’t traded like cars. Most people buy a tractor then have it for 20+ years. Resale value is also based on initial cost. Because you are paying less than a big 3 up front, I would always expect the value used to be somewhat lower. When I bought my Branson, used, I bought it because of the value. No doubt if I sold it now, I’d get about what I paid for it a year ago
.....but it’s not for sale.

Granthol,
Thanks for your comments.....I agree that many people buy tractors and used them a very long time. But, I've also seen postings where some people look like their trading up every 2 or 3 years. I had a neighbor who traded his car every 9 months and bought a different brand each time. It seemed to me he took the financial hit b/c as soon as you drive a car off the lot, they say it drops in resale value.

In terms of tractors and resale. I was defining resale as a percentage loss from what you initially paid for it. Or, what you could get for it compared to the replacement cost for a NEW model with the same brand and features.

I don't think comparing it to one of the big 3 is a fair comparison, b/c as you pointed out, you probably paid less to begin with. So, I was thinking of it more in terms of % decrease compared to the initial purchase cost. Example, purchase cost $30K, resold 3 years later for $24K. The % of loss in this case would be 20%, or $6K. I guess you could also think of it as costing $2K per year. We're assuming that the tractor was maintained, and in good condition.

I believe you're correct in that, the better the deal you get in the purchase, the higher the resale or a reduced loss.

Slowpoke Slim · Sep 25, 2018

^^

This.

The folks adding up "resale value" always seem to forget that the new tractor price is *many* thousands of dollars cheaper on the Branson, then it is on the JD or the Kubota. I saved over 20K by buying a Branson, over buying a JD. Let that soak in for a minute... saved twenty-thousand-dollars. I'm sure if the day comes when I ever sell my Branson, I'll get less for it used than I would have got selling that JD I didn't buy.

There are plenty of folks around this region that will list a used tractor for the same price (or more!) as new. It doesn't mean they'll get it. It just means they listed it for that. A used tractor is only worth as much as you can get someone to pay you for it. I started tractor shopping, and looked at a few used ads, but when you see a brand new unit, same brand as the used one in the ad, that's the same price (or close enough to it not to matter), then there's literally NO reason to buy the used one. Cracks me up to see what some people think their used stuff is worth. Same goes for attachments, and pickup trucks for that matter.

Always want to call up the seller and ask them who they sold it too. They say a sucker is born every minute, and I've got some stuff for sale. Lol.

Unit will sit for months, or even years, seller can't figure out why it hasn't sold. Funny stuff.

I buy my tools and equipment for long term use. So resale value is irrelevant to me. I know some folks buy and sell, trade, etc all the time. And that's ok, but it really never entered my decision process at all. I'll probably have this Branson until I'm too old to climb in it anymore.

oosik · Sep 25, 2018

OK - this will probably be considered outside the norm. In 1982 I purchased a brand new Ford 1700. In 2009 I traded this Ford in for a brand new Kubota M6040. I received - within $100 - the same trade in value, for my Ford, in 2009 as I paid for it in 1982.

Yes - that is 27 years with next to no loss in value. The dealership sold my Ford - within two weeks for more than they gave me for trade in value.

And the wheel goes round...............

PapeCAT · Sep 25, 2018

Oosik ever heard of inflation? "No loss in value" Would mean that you should get $150 dollars on the $100 dollars you originally spent. And that's just on the monetary side. Obviously the old Ford lost value to you practically or you might now have been in the market to replace it with a new tractor.

Resale depends where you live as well. If you live anywhere near a large Branson dealer, people might be more inclined to pay up for a new one to buy the dealer etc. But if you don't have a dealer nearby, and branson's are hard to come by you might find the right person to pay a decent price based on convenience of getting one local. I dunno.

I have sold one Branson in the past, my 2800H. I sold it for about 2K (15%) less than I bought it after two years of ownership and it took less than a week and it was gone. It served me well and was cheaper than renting a tractor for two years.

Texasmark · Sep 25, 2018

I needed another tractor for my haying operation. Didn't want a Tier IV diesel so I looked around for an older, simpler tractor.....found the Ford 3910.

Branson Cummins engines seem to be able to meet emissions with the simplest of controls and add ons. For that reason I see the Branson tractors demanding better pricing as time passes and more folks do what I did and look for simpler emission tractors. But I'm not selling mine, and time will tell, so I don't know.

bigcut · Sep 25, 2018

PapeCAT said:
Oosik ever heard of inflation? "No loss in value" Would mean that you should get $150 dollars on the $100 dollars you originally spent. And that's just on the monetary side. Obviously the old Ford lost value to you practically or you might now have been in the market to replace it with a new tractor.

Resale depends where you live as well. If you live anywhere near a large Branson dealer, people might be more inclined to pay up for a new one to buy the dealer etc. But if you don't have a dealer nearby, and branson's are hard to come by you might find the right person to pay a decent price based on convenience of getting one local. I dunno.

I have sold one Branson in the past, my 2800H. I sold it for about 2K (15%) less than I bought it after two years of ownership and it took less than a week and it was gone. It served me well and was cheaper than renting a tractor for two years.

Pape,
Interesting, so it cost you about $1K per year for ownership, using simple math and not including any maintenance cost. Which would have to be done anyway, whether new or used.

Your example was the kind of feedback I was hoping the post would draw. I was trying to get at what the relative cost or value decline would be. And your example accomplished that.
Capital Outlay
So, if I buy a Branson for $30K and 3 years later sell it at a 20% decrease over purchase cost and I buy a Kubota for $40K and sell it after 3 years for $32K, the decrease is also 20%. The difference is that in the Branson case there was a smaller capital outlay, by $10K in comparison.
Cost of Ownership
The cost of ownership in the Kubota case would be $2,666 per year. While the cost of ownership of the Branson was just $6K for 3 years, or $2K per year. Again, we're assuming that maintenance cost is the same in both examples and obviously, we're taking a simplistic view of things. However, I think the economic scenario is still valid. I think I did the math correctly ??
Dealer Financing Impact
No doubt, the presence of a large dealership in the area could affect the resale value. You could make the argument that getting a maintained tractor for 20% less than the dealer price, would be appealing to some buyers. It would be a smaller capital outlay. I think the bigger issue is that dealers can provide financing. Not everyone has that kind of cash and maybe doesn't have access to finance. In both brand cases, dealer financing could have an impact on the speed of the sale and the resale value.

I guess the conclusion that I reached in my own mind, is that the Branson purchase would be better for someone like me. Not to say that's true for everyone. Remember when it was fashionable to have that little "alligator" on your shirt ? Like they say, "to each his own."
John