I'm shopping for a tractor and have found several Farmtracs for 25% of their purchase price. They have several hundred hours but the owners are afraid of owning orphans. Would this be a good time to buy and not sweat the parts issues? They are all Ford clones.
Is now a good time to buy a panic sale Farmtrac?
- Thread starter Bser
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SESS
Gold Member
Farmtracs have been great running tractors and alot of very happy owners will tell you the same thing. Past management seems to be the problem with Farmtrac today. If you are not in a rush to buy a tractor, I would wait and buy a new tractor with virtually 0 hours, than buy a used one with a couple hundred hours. You will probably get a better price on a new tractor. I would not be afraid of the parts problem at all.
CDsdad
Platinum Member
I know it's not apples to apples, but Farmtrac bankrupting (or whatever legal term you use), happened to the old Outboard Motor Corporation 8 or 9 years ago.
OMC produced boats and motors, which I happened to buy one each of about a year before they folded. Lots of guys panicked and sold 2-3 year old boats for about 1/2 what they were worth. Eventually, the motor division of OMC was bought by Bombardier(I believe), and the boat mfg division was bought by Genmar(which also owns the famous Ranger boats). SOME warranties were given limited coverages after the buyouts, SOME none. It was dependent upon year model. And there were fabulous deals to be had on brand new boats and motors that you can still buy parts for today.
I figure something similar is going to happen to Farmtrac, and the better deal will be a new Farmtrac, with a possible limited warranty in the future.
Be assured something is up. All the dealers crowing on here for the past couple of months are awful quiet since the Tarboro meeting. If I was looking for a Farmtrac deal, I'd have to wait and see a while. I do believe they are good machines, and I'm not trying to stir up the dealers, and I could be dead wrong on all points. Just my .02.
OMC produced boats and motors, which I happened to buy one each of about a year before they folded. Lots of guys panicked and sold 2-3 year old boats for about 1/2 what they were worth. Eventually, the motor division of OMC was bought by Bombardier(I believe), and the boat mfg division was bought by Genmar(which also owns the famous Ranger boats). SOME warranties were given limited coverages after the buyouts, SOME none. It was dependent upon year model. And there were fabulous deals to be had on brand new boats and motors that you can still buy parts for today.
I figure something similar is going to happen to Farmtrac, and the better deal will be a new Farmtrac, with a possible limited warranty in the future.
Be assured something is up. All the dealers crowing on here for the past couple of months are awful quiet since the Tarboro meeting. If I was looking for a Farmtrac deal, I'd have to wait and see a while. I do believe they are good machines, and I'm not trying to stir up the dealers, and I could be dead wrong on all points. Just my .02.
SESS
Gold Member
Yes the dealers are quite since the meeting we went to in Tarboro. Why? It IS NOT because we learned what our fate as dealers or the future of Farmtrac is that is for sure! We came away with more questions than answers. We do not know anything more than when we left. Do we know what is going to happen to Farmtrac-NO. Do we know what is going to happen to us as a Farmtrac dealer-NO. Do we know if there is going to be warranty for the customers that already own a Farmtrac-NO. Do we know if there is going to be warranty for the new tractors that need to be sold-Probably some kind of warranty but what kind of warranty is yet to be seen. Do we know if the new tractors that need to be sold are going to be offered at "deep discounts"-NO. So what do all the Farmtrac dealers and Farmtrac owners know-NOTHING besides the fact that the sun will rise and set everyday. Other than that, we know nothing! Its a sad situation for so many good honest people. That I (we) do know!
bluechip
Veteran Member
Just an update. Dealers who are floored by Textron, have a third party warranty plan to offer with thier tractors. Parts distribution channels are being worked on and Farmtrac NA in receivership continues to supply parts. There are third party parts companies interested, but of course they want to wait until the resolution of the company before they commit to large inventories only to "compete" with the distributor later. It is always darkest before the dawn and now may in fact be the best time to make a deal, playing off the uncertainty of parts support to get a lower price! We never saw a lot of warranty issues on these in more normal times anyway. There is some risk, but you can get a new tractor for dealer cost and in some cases less. I think now would be the time to take advantage if you could use a tractor and prefer new (at used price?) so you can have all the maintenance histrory from the beginning...
SESS
Gold Member
Alot of dealers have implemented their "own" discount programs just to move their inventory. I would not hesitate to buy a new Farmtrac now because there is warranty on the units. Financing is being offered through your local Farm Credit or I would imagine any credit union. If I was in the market for a tractor, new would be the route I would take. As bluechip said previously, warranty issues have been to a minimum. Not to say you won't ever have a warranty claim because when something is man made there is always the possibility of a small problem, but put that with the discounts that the dealers are offering, I think you are in a win situation Please note line #1 of this post: "dealers have implemented their own discount....". Only minimal discounts are not being offered by the floorplan company Tex***, and no discounts by the manufacturer-the dealers are the ones trying to take care of the customers! And the dealers all over the great USA are in contact with each other to find customers the tractors they need by moving inventory amongst ourselves! 