Price Check Century Price check

[EddieWalker]

My local Cetury dealer has a Century 2535 for sale at $10,900. The only extra on it is the duel remotes on the back. He said the price is below his price, but it's been sitting for 3 months and nobody wants to buy a tractor without a FEL. He's sold 30 Century tractors this year and all have had the FEL, this is the only one he's ever had without it. Fortunately for me, I don't want a FEL on a compact tractor.

Is this a good price?

 

[Anonymous Poster]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Is this a good price? )</font>

It is probably $2-3000 under a "normal" price--especially with the remotes. If you don't need a FEL, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

SnowRidge

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Oops, forgot to add: Does it have the tires you want? Changing might be expensive.

SnowRidge

 

[SHIFTY]

EddieWalker
If I were you I would go for it,he is selling it quite a bit below his cost unless he had it sitting for 3 years,It doesnt make sence though considering he sold over 30 units ,why wouldnt he just put a loader on it?Something doesnt sound wright,Let us know if you buy it

 

[EddieWalker]

The dealer said he's had it sitting for three months and nobody is interestested in a tractor without a FEL. He said he'd just oredered one for it, but will cancel the order if I buy it.

It has the R1 tires, which are just fine.

Before I buy it, I want to look at Kubota. It's really down to these two brands.

 

[Pacesetter300]

You should look at the Kubota, I seriously doubt you will get a Kubota with the features of a Century for the price. Probably the L3000 is the most direct comparison. In my experience it would be between $2k - $3K more, yet lacking about 5HP and weighs much less. Keep us posted
Pacesetter

 

[markie61]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( yet lacking about 5HP and weighs much less )</font>

That, plus lack of shuttleshift, 4 forward and 10 reverse gears, etc., etc., /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
Mark

 

[19th_VA]

By all means look at the Kubota. Once your jaw recovers, you'll buy the Century. The tractors might be 2-3k different, but once you add all the implements (assuming you buy Kubota implements) and extra features the Century comes with standard, the difference, at least in my area, was more like 4-5K.

 

[JohnMiller3]

<font color="blue">...why wouldnt he just put a loader on it?... </font>

I agree... what's the difficulty of installing a loader? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Woodbeef]

Gee,never knew it was that hard to get a loader and install it on a tractor?

If he's only had it 3 months why is he giving you such a great deal on it?

How many hours are on it? Is it a demo? Or is it realy a used one someone brought back for a bigger model?

Does it have full warranty?

If in doubt get the serial number and call Am Jawa and see if it has an In-service date for it yet.

 

[EddieWalker]

I never thought about him pulling a scam. Is the price that good to raise warning flags?

From my first and only inspection of the tractor, it looked brand new, though I didn't check the hour guage, nor did I drive it, I just asked about 35 hp tractors for sale and how much. He showed it to me, told me about the standard features then we looked at some implements.

What should I look for if he's pulling my leg? The dealer is a long time personal friend of some my most trusted friends. This is one of the main reasons I was interested in dealing with him.

 

[EFC]

I don’t know if he is pulling a scam. Tractors are a big money game. I have sold tractors at cost many times over the years to free the money and put it into something more profitable. If I had a tractor that had been sitting on my lot for 3 months I would have eaten a bullet by now. Unless it was a great loss leader and was selling the heck out of another product I carry. I imagine the model is not a popular one in his area and he just wants to free the cash and move on. It has a warranty so I would grab it and spend the next two months telling anyone who will listen what a great deal I got.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Some thoughts on why the dealer would like to unload.

He is probably starting to eat interest charges. OK, that's a guess, but it might be what's happening. I have no idea how American Jawa handles payments on tractors they supply to dealers, but they may give 90 days free financing, after which interest is applied.

Perhaps he is paying interest to a bank or other lender and is concerned that he has something that might sit on his lot for a long, long time.

I know Bransons tend to come as tractor/loader packages with the loader installed at the distributor level. Centurys may be the same. Are the package prices less than the sum of the indiviual items? Perhaps a loader alone would not be cost effective for the dealer.

Could be lots of legitimate reasons.

SnowRidge

 

[JohnMiller3]

For a 31 PTO hp tractor with a 12/12 synchro transmission... with a full factory warranty... while you're thinking about it... somebody is gonna come along and grab it... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
(does this include the $900. rebate that ends June 30th?)

Here's a random internet pkg. for a 2535

 

[Woodbeef]

Hey Eddie,

I was not accusing your dealer of pulling a scam. Just go into this with your eyes wide open,and ask some questions. Get back there asap,and look the tractor over really,really good. Take it for a spin at least too,before you make your choice. if it all looks well & good and you like the machine,by all means grab it up before like JM3 said someone else does!!

 

[Pacesetter300]

First, on the dealer motives. I know that Century has had a problem getting enough C-50 loaders at times. An educated guess, hypothetical numbers. Say they (Am Jawa) order 70% of the tractors no loaders, 30% with the Anson from Kukje. If they run short on the C-50's and a dealer has a unit in stock without a loader, it could take some time to obtain one. Thus he sits on it waiting for a loader or sells it without. The C-50's are either dealer installed or installed at American Jawa. The dealer saves a few bucks ordering separately and installing the loader himself. He orders 10 Tractors, 3 with the Anson and 7 without to save a few $$$ installation. If there are only 5 loaders available, he gets 2 tractors without loaders. Makes it kind of a crap shoot on the dealers part. Figuring about $3k for the loader the total price is about $14k equivalent for the one you're interested in. That's an excellent price, but not so low that I would be concerned about a scam.
Markie - I was being kind! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Pacesetter

 

[19th_VA]

In my opinion the legitimate speculations/explanations have it over the skeptics. Stop by, drive it, look it over, ask the dealer a few more questions to make sure you are comfortable with HIM and then...BUY IT!

 

[Loges1]

Pacesetter,
You are right about the C-50 loaders being hard to get. I stopped by my dealer last week to pick up some filters, and he was saying the same thing. When he orders tractors he orders loaders for all of them. He said he never had any trouble getting rid of the extra C-50 loaders to other dealers, but he rarely has extra.
How are you getting along with your 3045. I hope all is well

 

[Pacesetter300]

Thanks Jeff, It is working out absolutely wonderful. The hours aren't adding up as fast as I thought because of weather and other circumstances, but it's amazing how much can be done in such a little amount of time..
Regarding the loaders, I had some conversations with knowledgable people, so I wasn't just pulling some theory out of a hat. I used hypothetical numbers to simplify the example and frankly I am not privy to actual ones. Dealers save a few $$$ by installing the loaders themselves. On a truckload of tractors, this can add up to some serious cash. On the other hand, they take a chance of being shorted and in the circumstance the Texas dealer is.
Pacesetter