Heartbroken...

[Harv]

After several months of researching and shopping I was told by my tractor broker that he had just the machine for me -- an L2350 w/loader and box blade, 500 hours, excellent condition for $11K. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif For the last 2 weeks I've been waiting for it to be shipped from Utah to California where I could get my first look at it. Like an expectant father I cleaned out one end of my wood shop so my new addition could sleep indoors, spent hours with my DR Trimmer/Mower preparing the first leg of "the tractor path" on our 42 acres, started shopping for implements, chains & hooks, diesel cans, etc., and glued myself to this message board to learn as much as could about how to be a good parent -- I mean tractor owner.

Found out a few minutes ago that this was a repo deal with a 14-day waiting period for the previous owner to make good on 5 months of missed payments, and with 2 hours left before the deadline, his dad stepped in and bought back the tractor.

I'm devastated!!!

Now, don't get me wrong -- I'm happy for the guy who got his tractor back, but it's sort of like having the owner of that stray dog you took in a couple of weeks ago show up on your doorstep. "Thanks for taking care of my dog, man! Bye!"

Back to square one, and coincidentally our hot spell was broken today with a light rain (sorry, Wen). Somehow staring out the window at the drizzle isn't cheering me up any.

I'm running out of summer and I was counting on the tractor to help me do some culvert work before the real rains begin. I could contract it out, but... did I tell you the story about the man and the stray dog?

I hope this eventually leads to a happy ending as it did for for Glenn.

 

[MarkV]

Sorry Harv, guess it just wasn't ment to be. Doesn't help a bit, does it.

 

[Muhammad]

Harv,

Jeez that must be tough, you even had the L2350 sig picture. Ouch. Another one will come along, hopefully better! Good luck...

 

[glennmac]

Some of of can't get the right tractor, and others can't get one at all.

Same result. Neither of us have a tractor. Well, Harv, maybe we should both take up needlepoint instead.

I'm sure you've researched thoroughly, but as I have found, one can get all tied-up in solipsistic cerebrations. It appears that you, like me, decided on a purchase before we actively joined this forum and never asked for advice.

Why are you using a tractor broker? I dont even know what they are, but I do know that anything involving brokers is usually more expenseive than even buying used from dealers. And shipping from Utah to California--come on, that would have added a lot of expense. Plus, you may not have liked the baby when it arrived at all. Have you actually driven and tried this model you had your heart set on. If you havent, well, you know what we all will say.

Ask the group about experience with brokers and buying used.

Why are you looking used? To save money I assume. Your finances are your personal business, but does used save money? It seems that popular Kubota's hold there value very well, as my own recent experience proves. That means that if you buy a used one, you arent saving that much over its useful life to you; and it also means that if you buy new, you can trade-in or upgrade with good value.

I am not familiar with your potential tractor, but are you sure you were getting a good price. There is a used tractor price book in hardcopy.

If you buy new, why not reject the bigger-is-better philosopy outright. That is, focus on your immediate, short term, smaller project, important needs and buy a new tractor sufficient to perform them. Then, in later years, see if it will do the bigger jobs. Sounds as if neither you nor I have the practical experience to make these judgments beforhand. If the Guinessians are wrong, and your "too small" tractor can perform these bigger tasks, great. If it can't do them, trade up to the "right" machine at that time, when you have actual experience, and when you probably have good residual value.

Just some thoughts. It'll all work out.

Glenn

 

[W5FL]

Guess it just got harder to find information. Carver has taken down all of his prices.

I would inquire into the economy L Series as you can buy an updated version of the same tractor new without hocking the whole farm. Big savings with the gear transmission but that is what you would have in the older tractor anyway. Your signature would not even have to change.

 

[Harv]

Glenn -

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. You sound like a practical person and your advice is much appreciated. You are apparently well educated, too -- I had to go to the dictionary to find out what "solipsistic" meant. Great word!

You're right about my limited budget. I've been in the process of starting my own business for the past couple of years. Are you familiar with the term "negative cash-flow"? Financially, this is the wrong time to buy a tractor, but maintaining these 42 acres by hand is killing me, and the bumper crop of weeds and the subsequent fire danger this year has prompted me to take aggressive action. I have tried contracting out for help, but I was never totally pleased with the results nor did I have as much done as I really would have liked. I would much rather get equipped and do the job myself. There's that solipsistic thing again./w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

My choice in going to an L-series was prompted partly by my general research (the same research that led me to Kubota), partly by the guy on the next property who appears to be "just getting by" with a B2150 (on his 10 much-tamer-than-mine acres) and partly from reading the archives of this message board. I sincerely believe I would not be happy with less than an L or less than 25hp.

Now, in order to find that much tractor on my budget pretty well puts me into the "used" equipment category. I am convinced that there are good tractors and good deals out there if you shop intelligently (which remains to be seen, of course).

That brings me to my broker. Like you, I didn't know about such people, but I stumbled upon him when I answered an ad about a used Kubota. It turns out this guy is a well established independent dealer in pre-owned tractors and equipment. Many dealers in the western states know him well enough to call him whenever a customer wants to trade in or trade up. It turns out many dealers simply don't want to be in the used equipment business, so they call on brokers to help them out.

Can used equipment really be a good deal? There are many variables, of course, but from what I've read it's a matter of knowing what to look for. I certainly have no personal experience but I am at least well read enough to get started. My broker seems to know tractors inside and out. Since he doesn't want any hassles and can't afford to have lemons coming back at him, he accepts only equipment which passes his personal criteria. In the case of the Utah deal, the Kubota dealer had to fill out and sign a detailed inspection report which they would be held accountable for. (BTW - the dealer was paying for the shipping to California.)

I should probably start a thread on used tractors in general, but take for example a deal I just missed out on through this same broker. It was a 30hp L-series w/FEL with close to 3,000 hours on it. Sounds dubious already, doesn't it? When the broker inspected the machine and its history he found that it had been used on a dairy ranch almost exclusively for pulling a trailer on level ground and occassionally cleaning up stalls. It was cleaned off at the end of each day and stored indoors at all times. Apparently it looked brand new and was available to me in my price range, if only I had called a day sooner. I can't help but think that that tractor would have served me for many years with little headaches.

The broker has good relations with a large Kubota dealer in Stockton, California (actually the closest dealer to my location -- 50 miles) and they treat him and his customers well due to the volume of business he throws them.

Is the broker more expensive? Well, define "expensive". He certainly takes a commission, but his margins are as low as a few hundred dollars. He sells about 10 tractors a week plus any number implements, so he's doing all right for himself without gouging his customers. He is privvy to deals that I could never find on my own, knows a good tractor when he sees it, and connects his customers with a reputable dealer for maintenance and support. How much is that worth?

Oops! Didn't mean to fill up your screen so much. I guess this stuff has been heavy on my mind lately.

Glenn, I respect everything you said, and if it sounds like I'm just trying to rationalize my actions to this point it's because... well, I am. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I do hope we get some feedback on this "used" equipment issue. There are thousands of hours of experience on this board and I would really like to tap into it.

 

[Harv]

Wen -

Thanks for the advice. Funny you should mention Carver -- I had a few email exchanges with Steve and he said he could probably find something for me and ship it all the way to California cheaper than I could find here (no sales tax helps).

I told him to go for it, but never heard back from him. Maybe it's time to rattle his cage again.

 

[Bird]

Wen, I noticed on the CTB that Carver has a note to check back after Labor Day for "cool" deals. I'm just guessing that prices are changing, and will probably be re-posted sometime next week.

Bird

 

[Muhammad]

Harv,

Did you see this classified? http://www.tractorbynet.com/photoads/cgi-bin/view.cgi?action=photo&AdNum=1598

 

[W5FL]

Bird, I sure hope so. Although I could not work a deal with Carver, I tried and would not hesitate to do so next purchase. I see that some members have got good pricing out of Modern Equipment. I did not, but things must have changed somewhat. I really hate to have to get into a dialog for every piece you want to know how much it costs. I found that you could get all the pricing information you wanted by attending the Stock Show or State Fair, but it is a big hassel when you are trying to find out how to mix and match and get what you want - particularly between brands. It also seperates out the smoke and mirrows salesmen once you determine exactly what is being priced in the various configurations that manufacturers come up with. Kubota is about the closest to Honda in that when you buy one, there are no options nrmally needed unless you want to add an implement or loader (the main exception is the quick attach kit for the bucket if you need that).