Bogus ads on TBN??

Iowachild · Jun 10, 2006

No, there are not a lot of 'overly trusting' people, they are greedy and looking for something for (almost) nothing. 

I would relly love to know where I fit in here. I bought a tractor off of E-bay. Here is how the description read (as copied and pasted) on the bidding page:

ford 1310 4x4 tractor w loader , starts and runs good . has 4 ranges 3 speeds. 3 point hitch pto starts easy in cold weather . has new starter , to left tires .

It is a 1984 Ford model 1310 4X4 tractor with a front end loader. That much is true. OK it didn't start too hard, but as far as running "good", what is the definition of "good"? The American Heritage Dictionary states: 1. Having positive or desirable qualities. (NO) 2. suitable; serviceable. (NO) 3. a. Not spoiled b. Whole; sound. (NO)
4. Superior to average (NOT IN THE LEAST) ..... 9. Complete (I'll get to that one)....
13. Pleasant; enjoyable (MORE DESCRIBES MY LIFE BEFORE I PURCHASED THIS MACHINE).

Any way, I'm sure you get the picture. Moving on with the description: has 4 ranges 3 speeds. 3 point hitch pto Yes this is true, it is the way Ford built it.
starts easy in cold weather . It did start fairly easy yes. What wasn't mentioned, and this applied to any weather condition, is when it was started and continued to run, it smoked so bad that people 10 miles away were calling the fire department. OK somewhat of a exaggeration, but what is needed to properly express how bad it smoked. has new starter , I can not say whether or not it was "new", but it does work. to left tires . I am not sure what this meant. The tires on the left side are in much better shape that the ones on the right. I don't think I would call them new as the rear has cracking on the side wall. The front left tire is probably one of the best parts of the machine. How ever it is mounted on a rim that only has 4 bolt holes. The machine requires rims with 6 bolt holes. The rim is held on with only 2 bolts in holes that were elongated in order to get the bolts installed.
I have been working steadily on the machine for the last 6 weeks and have spent close to $1000.00 on parts. (If I had only put that into shipping on a good machine.) I tore done the top end of the machine and replaced the head gasket, ground the valves, had the injectors rebuilt (that was $225.00 alone), cleaned and flushed the crankcase, the radiator, replaced many missing parts, rewired the machine, this list goes on and on. On the evening of Tuesday May 23, 2006 I finally had the machine ready to fire up and enjoy the fruits of my labor. The machine no longer smoked, but now coolant is running out of the side of the engine block. Well it seems the block has a hole in it. The hole was covered over with what appeared to be body putty and painted and apparently my flushing and cleaning, or maybe just the time that has passed allowed the hide to appear.
You can call me stupid, because believe me I have already called myself worse. But don't called me greedy. The machine was deliberately misrepresented and damage was concealed.

Yes I was looking to buy a tractor at a reasonable price, and I wasn't expecting a 22 year old tractor to be a beauty, but I was foolish enough to expect honesty. There are greedy people out there. They are the ones placing the ads and the ones collecting the fees for those ads much more often the the poor guy answering one! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

Iowachild · Jun 10, 2006

No, there are not a lot of 'overly trusting' people, they are greedy and looking for something for (almost) nothing. 

I would relly love to know where I fit in here. I bought a tractor off of E-bay. Here is how the description read (as copied and pasted) on the bidding page:

ford 1310 4x4 tractor w loader , starts and runs good . has 4 ranges 3 speeds. 3 point hitch pto starts easy in cold weather . has new starter , to left tires .

It is a 1984 Ford model 1310 4X4 tractor with a front end loader. That much is true. OK it didn't start too hard, but as far as running "good", what is the definition of "good"? The American Heritage Dictionary states: 1. Having positive or desirable qualities. (NO) 2. suitable; serviceable. (NO) 3. a. Not spoiled b. Whole; sound. (NO)
4. Superior to average (NOT IN THE LEAST) ..... 9. Complete (I'll get to that one)....
13. Pleasant; enjoyable (MORE DESCRIBES MY LIFE BEFORE I PURCHASED THIS MACHINE).

Any way, I'm sure you get the picture. Moving on with the description: has 4 ranges 3 speeds. 3 point hitch pto Yes this is true, it is the way Ford built it.
starts easy in cold weather . It did start fairly easy yes. What wasn't mentioned, and this applied to any weather condition, is when it was started and continued to run, it smoked so bad that people 10 miles away were calling the fire department. OK somewhat of a exaggeration, but what is needed to properly express how bad it smoked. has new starter , I can not say whether or not it was "new", but it does work. to left tires . I am not sure what this meant. The tires on the left side are in much better shape that the ones on the right. I don't think I would call them new as the rear has cracking on the side wall. The front left tire is probably one of the best parts of the machine. How ever it is mounted on a rim that only has 4 bolt holes. The machine requires rims with 6 bolt holes. The rim is held on with only 2 bolts in holes that were elongated in order to get the bolts installed.
I have been working steadily on the machine for the last 6 weeks and have spent close to $1000.00 on parts. (If I had only put that into shipping on a good machine.) I tore done the top end of the machine and replaced the head gasket, ground the valves, had the injectors rebuilt (that was $225.00 alone), cleaned and flushed the crankcase, the radiator, replaced many missing parts, rewired the machine, this list goes on and on. On the evening of Tuesday May 23, 2006 I finally had the machine ready to fire up and enjoy the fruits of my labor. The machine no longer smoked, but now coolant is running out of the side of the engine block. Well it seems the block has a hole in it. The hole was covered over with what appeared to be body putty and painted and apparently my flushing and cleaning, or maybe just the time that has passed allowed the hide to appear.
You can call me stupid, because believe me I have already called myself worse. But don't called me greedy. The machine was deliberately misrepresented and damage was concealed.

Yes I was looking to buy a tractor at a reasonable price, and I wasn't expecting a 22 year old tractor to be a beauty, but I was foolish enough to expect honesty. There are greedy people out there. They are the ones placing the ads and the ones collecting the fees for those ads much more often the the poor guy answering one! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

MikePA · Jun 10, 2006

I think calling people greedy would be "deliberatly offensive".
Did I call you greedy? No, I did not.

eBay scammers and their ilk would go out of business tomorrow if the buyers looking for a 'deal that's too good to be true' disappeared today. It has nothing to do with the economic state of the buyer since both rich and poor have lived to regret lusting afer an item being sold substantially below market value.

MikePA · Jun 10, 2006

I think calling people greedy would be "deliberatly offensive".
Did I call you greedy? No, I did not.

eBay scammers and their ilk would go out of business tomorrow if the buyers looking for a 'deal that's too good to be true' disappeared today. It has nothing to do with the economic state of the buyer since both rich and poor have lived to regret lusting afer an item being sold substantially below market value.

jlangton · Jun 11, 2006

( Well, the ads were just posted today, so they might not have had time to reply yet. The prices are so low, I'm anxiously waiting a reply. If it works out, I could sell either the L3430/Cab or my Mahindra 2615 4WD and come out with two tractors and money in my pocket! Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

BR )
I agree it's awful cheap,and the entire thing reeks of a scam,but we'll wait and see.I've yet to recieve an email yet either. I could actually use that BX, and would drive from Texas to Atlanta to get it no problem,but it'll get inspected by a friend that's close by before any kind of trip is made...and no I would never send money on a deal like that-I'd only take the cash in hand.
JL

jlangton · Jun 11, 2006

( Well, the ads were just posted today, so they might not have had time to reply yet. The prices are so low, I'm anxiously waiting a reply. If it works out, I could sell either the L3430/Cab or my Mahindra 2615 4WD and come out with two tractors and money in my pocket! Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

BR )
I agree it's awful cheap,and the entire thing reeks of a scam,but we'll wait and see.I've yet to recieve an email yet either. I could actually use that BX, and would drive from Texas to Atlanta to get it no problem,but it'll get inspected by a friend that's close by before any kind of trip is made...and no I would never send money on a deal like that-I'd only take the cash in hand.
JL

bearhawk · Jun 11, 2006

( I agree it's awful cheap,and the entire thing reeks of a scam,but we'll wait and see.I've yet to receive an email yet either. )

The old "if it sounds too good to be true" still holds here.

Please don't hold your breath waiting for this, you will be disappointed.

Jim

bearhawk · Jun 11, 2006

( I agree it's awful cheap,and the entire thing reeks of a scam,but we'll wait and see.I've yet to receive an email yet either. )

The old "if it sounds too good to be true" still holds here.

Please don't hold your breath waiting for this, you will be disappointed.

Jim

jlangton · Jun 11, 2006

(

The old "if it sounds too good to be true" still holds here.

Please don't hold your breath waiting for this, you will be disappointed.

Jim )
I have no plans on holding my breath...It's not hurting anything to wait and see if it pans out. I've actually made really good deals like this before. Perfect example is a '95 Ford Thunderbird I purchased through eBay a couple of years ago. 89K miles, V8,automatic,etc,etc...won the auction for $99.99.Auction stated that the engine had a knock,and the intake manifold was cracked. Contacted the seller and made a trip to NC over a weekend to pick it up. Everything on the car worked flawlessy,the mechanics that they had working on it had misdiagnosed the knock. I fixed the intake at home in less than 2 hours,and the engine has no problems at all..
I'm not defending anybody,but there are certain circumstances that are extraordinary,and you can get a great deal from time to time if you're paitent and careful. People that use Escrow services are idiots-if the selling party won't deal with cash-on-pickup terms,then they're crooks.
JL