Does Anyone Buy Used Tractors?

[Hay Dude]

I have been buying mostly used equipment all my life. Mostly out of necessity to keep costs down. And it has allowed me to buy a lot more attachments, tractors (3 used), and vehicles (uncounted) than I could have otherwise. Buy something. Barely use it and sell. I'll be a buyer

Yeah, I like when you can buy something almost new with the ”depreciation hit discount”. That’s the best way to buy. Unfortunately, with the cost of Ag tractors, I am way past that. Nothing like a 1-3 year old tractor with 100-500 hours on it and buying it for 30% less than new.
But I am in the 10-15 year old range with tractors 1/3-1/2 way through their useful life

 

[scootr]

Yeah, I like when you can buy something almost new with the ”depreciation hit discount”. That’s the best way to buy. Unfortunately, with the cost of Ag tractors, I am way past that. Nothing like a 1-3 year old tractor with 100-500 hours on it and buying it for 30% less than new.

Right - you and I are buying in 2 different categories. My forklift, bobcat, and tractor, where all bought new - by somebody else.

 

[rScotty]

Nothing recent, but all my stuff is used and bought at auction. Have to be willing (and able) to do repairs and the savings (can) be substantial. SNIP......

Boy isn't that the truth. Not to beat the drum too hard, but for the person who spends a couple of years learning the basics of the mechanical and building trades there are a lot of bunch of really positive things that happen.

A biggie is that new or used...all the options go up and the cost of everything goes down. Knowledge really is power in buying.

easy/peasy

 

[LouNY]

In my opinion between buying new or used it all comes down to the individual.
There can be a bit of risk in buying used and a person needs to be willing and able to put some money into it.
I picked up a high hour 90 PTO Hp tractor a while ago that needs some work, but I can put $5-10,000 dollars into
it and still come out ahead.
NH 8160 project

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

Some will give you a 90 day or up to a 1 year warranty. I had purchased a JCB from Deere Country and they gave me a 1 year 50/50 powertrain warranty.
But your process is my generally my line of thinking as well.
If I am looking at a used farm tractor, the price is usually 40-50% of the cost of new.
RN, I am looking at 130HP tractor with loader, pre Tier-4, with cab/4WD and a few other options like a CVT and global carrier. Most are in the 2006-2012 year range. New, that tractor would be $150,000 all day post covid pricing. I am looking at about 60-80K asking price range. That leaves me a heck of a lot of room to buy a 2nd tractor and still be about the same as a single new tractor.
RN, I have 3 solid tractors I like very much. I have been in the process of replacing 2. One of them is sold and replaced and the replacement exceeded my expectations. The second one is sold and almost out the door. But it’s been VERY challenging to find the second replacement tractor. Inventory on used sucks, so prices are unusually high.
In serious Ag, you need 3-4 tractors, so I can’t just settle on ONE brand new one, like a lot of guys here. You need 3-4 tractors to do serious farming.

If the used $70,000 tractor needs $5-10k in repairs, I’m still doing ok, but the key to me is buying closer to 40% of the new price. What needs to be avoided at all costs is a new transmission. They are now approaching 25k on a mid size powershift rebuild and 15-20k on a CVT replacement. Engines are pretty easy to see up front if they have problems. Everything else is pretty manageable, but can still be thousands. I put front brakes and AC system in one of mine last summer and it was 6K. That sucked. The one I just sold has a PTO issue, but the buyer was informed by me and I took off thousands. I could have hid the problem, but that’s not the way I roll. Had a few pieces of equipment sold to me with hidden defects.

In my opinion between buying new or used it all comes down to the individual.
There can be a bit of risk in buying used and a person needs to be willing and able to put some money into it.
I picked up a high hour 90 PTO Hp tractor a while ago that needs some work, but I can put $5-10,000 dollars into
it and still come out ahead.
NH 8160 project

What I really hear you two are doing is a value add/rehab buy in real estate language. You take a B or C tractor and make the necessary repairs and turn it into a B+ or A- quality tractor.

 

[Hay Dude]

What I really hear you two are doing is a value add/rehab buy in real estate language. You take a B or C tractor and make the necessary repairs and turn it into a B+ or A- quality tractor.

And notice also that we both farm. I think mostly the huge corporate size farms buy new tractors.
Not to speak for Lou, but I could probably say I’d be taking a dirt nap before I’d ever be able to buy a new large farm tractor.
I can buy some new implements (rake, tedder, loader attachments), but a tractor? Doubtful.

The way I look at it, it’s just math/affordability.

 

[BleedingOrange]

I hate to say it but you can not trust what these machinery dealers say. I have caught nearly all of them in a lie one time or another down here in my neck of the woods.

I have found that to be true with any salesman. 99.9 % of them will tell you outright lies, to make a sale.
If you ask them enough questions, you can usually catch them. Get as much as possible written down, so you have some back-up for future dis-agreements.

 

[rScotty]

What I really hear you two are doing is a value add/rehab buy in real estate language. You take a B or C tractor and make the necessary repairs and turn it into a B+ or A- quality tractor.

That's what I hear too. Those two guys are old fashioned farmers who can probably build and rebuild anything from barns to backhoes as good as new. That's sure one good way to get started.

The other side of buying used is to buy something that doesn't need any work done on it, has low hours - but might be a decade old. It has proven itself good, but is long past any warranty.
My guess was that kind of tractor would be what anyone would want, but from the responses I've gotten it seems I was wrong. I was surprised by the number of potential buyers who would rather pay for new and get a warranty.

I could understand that better if warranty mechanics were trained professionally in factory schools like they used to be. But I'm not sure that is the case - and not sure how one would even know.
rScotty

 

[MossRoad]

I read a lot through the buying/pricing/comparison forums and see that almost everyone recommends new over used. I also see where most folks on here end up buying new. I know it is not everyone but it seems more common. I agree that used tractors are very expensive.

1. Is it because it is harder to finance and folks don't have the cash?
2. Is it because folks don't want to pay that much for used?
3. If the used market is so expensive and no one wants to pay, why does the price stay high? Or are they selling for a lot less than listing price?
4. Are the used tractors even selling or do they just sit forever and not sell?
5. I read a lot of statements about certain brands having higher resale value. Does this even matter if no one wants to pay for it because the resale value is so high?
6. This might not relate but I see a lot if used chainsaws for sale that are way overpriced as well. I guess folks pay for it and folks selling think they are worth near new prices.

Whenever I am ready to get rid of something, I usually put a decent price on it and it sells quickly. Maybe I need to up my price when selling and be willing to wait 6 months.

When my wife and I bought our 20 acres back around 1989, we needed a machine that was large enough to cut a driveway in through an earthen embankment where the state mandated the location along the highway. It also had to be able to brush hog between rows of newly planted trees for 5 years. And put in a 400' road. And take down trees to clear for a future house and garage.

We bought a used, 70s IH2500b tractor loader. 50PTO HP, permanent FEL, HST transmission, a 5' brush cutter and a 5' back blade, with the intentions of selling it when the large tasks were done and downsizing to a property maintenance machine.

We used the heck out of it and then ran out of projects for such a large machine. The road was in. The clearings were cleared. The trees grew up to the point they outcompeted the weeds. So it sat. We bought a smaller machine new that does everything we need it to do. And as planned, we sold the used machine.

Used had a few issues that I was able to repair myself, but I had to take it in for a dead engine. Turned out to be the gear on the distributor (it was a gas engine) had spun off the shaft. That was re-welded and all was good.

Used has it's place. Beware of repair costs, parts availability, and your ability to do those repairs yourself VS having it done by paid labor. Also beware of old junk that'll cost you more headaches, stress, and money. Ours was about 15 years old with over 4000 hours on it when we bought it. So it still had some life in it, used parts were available at a local IH salvage yard, and new parts were available through industrial repair businesses. Today, I don't think I'd buy that old and rare of a machine. I'd stick with a common JD or Ford that still has good support.

 

[Jimbo16720]

I bought 3 used and still have all 3....no problems with any of them and it only cost $11,000 for all 3.