I was the one started the thread ("buying used check for liens") posted by KiotiJohn. My friend had the problem with the deadbeat and John Deere. The final resolution was that he had to pony up another $10K to buy off Deere. His "deal of the century" turned out to be too good to be true. The total he paid (between the deadbeat and Deere) is more than he would have paid to buy the tractor new.
I had another friend who bought a used outboard engine. Checked the serial number with the police and the manufacturer and everything was fine. Nine months later the police were on his doorstep. Turns out the engine was stolen afterall.
The dealer who originally sold it had two of the same model, and wrote the wrong number on the original customer's invoice. When the customer's engine was stolen, the customer called in the serial number on his invoice, which was not the number on engine that was stolen. A year later the manufacturer figured it out when there was a warranty claim on the other engine. Who lost? My friend with the stolen engine. Even though he checked with the police and the manufacturer, he did not have good title to the engine. The police seized the engine as evidence. After the trial my friend was able to buy the engine back from the original customer's insurance company. Cost him another $2K.
There is risk in buying used. That's part of the reason you should be able to buy cheaper than new. Understand all the risk before you decide to go that route.
