Hour meters unplugged!?

[wihakowiSteve]

Well, this is a bit off-topic but it's been buggin me and I wanted to get a handle on it through other's opinions. Yesterday I was at my local Kubota dealer looking around. They stock a fair amount of used equipment so I wouldn't class them as really only pushing new tractors like some dealers I've seen. Anyway, I was standing around and couldn't help but overhear one of the sales guys who was talking to two diffferent customers/prospective buyers.
In both instances, they had obviously been talking about the possibility of buying used - from the dealer or from the open market. He made a big point in both cases about warning them that - and I quote - "you really should know that on all of these compact tractors, the hour meter is really easy to unplug and disconnect so you should never trust the hours that are on them. I can't even attest to those in our yard. On a new tractor, of course, you know you start at zero"

That statement really caught me by surprise. I am not sure whether he was just trying to sell new tractors through some sort of "scare tactic" or was just informing them of some generally accepted dark fact in the industry. I gues the reason it has been bugging me is that I never even considered it when I bought my tractor and it is actually the first time I've ever heard it. I look at the hour meter as being a vital part that provides the primary basis for maintenance timing and in some cases billing.

What do you good folks think? Ever heard of anybody unplugging their hour-meters? Ever heard of that being a big deal to be wary of when buying used? Just curious whether I'm living in lala land and my naivete, innocence and innate trust in my fellow man is failing me yet again.

Thanks for your replies, steve.

 

[Hoeman00]

I know of some people that unplug hour meters on rental equipment
to save money.
The 15' JD drill we bought had the acre counter sealed
w/ tamper paint and epoxy.

 

[bphillips]

I know that my TC29D just had it's entire instrument panel replaced at about 90 hours. The new panel said 0 hours when the tractor was returned to me. Now that it has about 2 hours on the new one it appears to be fogging up like the old one did so .... back to the shop for another new panel. I'll keep records of all this, but it will add a little confusion to service intervals.

Brad in NH

 

[bgott]

I used to check out the forums at @agricultureonline.com and there is a dealership up north that kept popping up as being famous for doing that on big tractors. There were guys posting that they would see tractors at auction with X amount of hours and then they would hear of the tractor on the dealer's lot with half the hours. I'm sure there is a trick to doing it on compacts, too. Odometer and hourmeter fraud has always been prevalent. Play with one little part and it's free money. Pay attention to the overall condition of the unit and have them let you play with it on their dirtpile for awhile. Hours don't mean much, I know people that can tear up a piece of equipment worse in 200 hours than normal people can in 2,000.

 

[Steven]

Sounds to me Like he is trying to push new tractor sales over used. Maybe he gets more commision on new sales.

 

[Phred]

Steve,

I would have a hard time trusting that dealer. To me that is a big part of this type of purchase, since after the sell you need to be able to count on them.
Is he playing games to push you into something you don't want or does he know about meter fraud from first hand expereince? He would take a trade in on a unit he though had the hour meter set back? Pay trade in value on a machine that he suscpected had double the real hours?

Thats part of why I went with my local NH dealer. Great bunch of people and no BS. Your local dealers of other makes may also prove to be trust worthy. Just depends on who owns the local dealership.

Fred