Tractor sold to me as a 2021, but is actually a 2020

[BleedingOrange]

I had a car dealer try to pull that type of scam on me while I was in the process of switching everything over to the new vehicle. I politely told him to stuff his vehicle were the sun don,t shine. In hindsight, I should have talked to the owner of the dealership. Escalate your talks to the highest person at the dealership, and make it very clear to them that with to-days media available, news of this scam trying to be pulled by this dealership would not be well received in the surrounding community. Bottom line, they sold you the tractor as a 2021, they should compensate you as if it is a 2021, with zero debate. Worst case, if the salesman is still there that made this mistake, he should be made to absorb the difference in value, not you.

 

[FERLING]

Hello everyone, I am new to the forum. So last year I bought a Massey Ferguson 5711 D from a dealership. I am in Texas. It was advertised as a 2021 year model. I have bought several pieces of equipment from this dealership And have been very happy with their service until now. I am looking at selling them the tractor back to them and when I sent them the picture of the specifications plate the sales guy asked me how I came up with the year model. I informed him that it is what they sold it to me as. So comes to find out that it is actually a 2020 model. Manufactured in June 2020. On their website it was advertised as a 2021 and all of my paperwork on the transaction shows it as a 2021. So they are wanting to give me less money for it. I guess I am a little bit upset with the situation and do not know if I have any type of recourse. thanks for the help.

You have a 2020 model when purchasing parts - serial number determines that. It was purchased new in 2021. Used price will be determined by hours and condition of tractor. When selling you can advertised as 2020 model bought new in 2021. Price will only vary by someone that really knows very little about tractor models.
I purchased a Ford 1510 (new) in 1984. Ask dealer what year model it was and his answer "If I sell it to you in 1984 it is a 1984 model". My lifetime lesson in year model of tractors was etched in stone for me.
Bought a Workmaster 50 (new) in March 2016. All paperwork says 2016 - serial number says it was made in 2015.
Ordering parts you use serial number that says it was made in 2015.

 

[FERLING]

Either I've misread the situation, or a few of you have. He's not looking to get rid of the tractor because of this, he only found out because the dealer is offering him less money based on the tractor being a 2020 when it was sold to him as a 2021.

They cut him a deal because it didn't have the latest price increases when he purchased it new. Now if he insisted on a 2021 serial number they could have ordered him one with latest price increases and delivery date of 2022?

 

[FERLING]

I had a car dealer try to pull that type of scam on me while I was in the process of switching everything over to the new vehicle. I politely told him to stuff his vehicle were the sun don,t shine. In hindsight, I should have talked to the owner of the dealership. Escalate your talks to the highest person at the dealership, and make it very clear to them that with to-days media available, news of this scam trying to be pulled by this dealership would not be well received in the surrounding community. Bottom line, they sold you the tractor as a 2021, they should compensate you as if it is a 2021, with zero debate. Worst case, if the salesman is still there that made this mistake, he should be made to absorb the difference in value, not you.

Two different animals - Autos have a title listed model year. Tractor only has a bill of sell that is created by seller. You have to use VIN number on Auto for manufacture date and Serial Number on tractor for manufacture date.

 

[BleedingOrange]

Sorry, I don,t agree. Somehow, the seller supposedly mis-represented the tractor as a 2021 model year. Somewhere, I,m sure there is something equivalent to the black book used by the auto industry, which goes by year, options, condition etc. Why bother putting the year of the tractor on the bill of sale, if it doesn,t matter. Again, they sold him the tractor as a model year 2021, and the selling price was based on that, so that is the year the value of the trade in should be valued at. The salesman that sold him the tractor and wrote the bill up should take the fall, and be made to make up the difference in value. Have you ever noticed that these types of mistakes always work in the sellers favor ? Why is that, if they are actually honest mistakes ?

 

[kneedeep]

You guys put too much value on the year bought vs mfg year.
Tractors that are mechanically sound with normal hours are worth what they cost new +-10%.
Beat up, torn seats, slop in linkage, lights don’t work, dents, peeling paint, etc reduce the value.
Maintenance records, shed kept, not abused are top resell.
Check auctions and compare sold prices to new cost. I did.

 

[ultrarunner]

I would agree but when owner was looking to trade it became an issue of value from the very party that sold it new...

Can't really have it both ways and call it fair

 

[Texasmark]

You have a 2020 model when purchasing parts - serial number determines that. It was purchased new in 2021. Used price will be determined by hours and condition of tractor. When selling you can advertised as 2020 model bought new in 2021. Price will only vary by someone that really knows very little about tractor models.
I purchased a Ford 1510 (new) in 1984. Ask dealer what year model it was and his answer "If I sell it to you in 1984 it is a 1984 model". My lifetime lesson in year model of tractors was etched in stone for me.
Bought a Workmaster 50 (new) in March 2016. All paperwork says 2016 - serial number says it was made in 2015.
Ordering parts you use serial number that says it was made in 2015.

Well you gotta build it to sell it and building could take all year....like you are still building them when somebody is selling them or you are building them for the next years market. Agree on the serial number if you need parts.

 

[LD1]

I think there is alot more information that none of us know.....and or answers to questions that can only be answered by the OP....who has only made this one post exactly a week ago, and has not been back to this forum since

 

[MHarryE]

When I bought my first tractor for the farm I purchased for future retirement. It was on the lot as a 2002 Kubota L3720. When I retired, I wanted a cab so I traded it on a L5740. Deal was all done and when I looked at the paperwork, the dealer listed the trade-in as a 2001 (he had looked up the serial number). Condition and model was their concern. Then I traded the 5740 on a L6060. Once again the dealer looked up the serial number after the deal was done and the paperwork shows one year older than the year in which I bought it. The L6060 later went on a M5-111. I knew in this case it was a 2021 although I took delivery in 2022 because of tax reasons I had bought it and drove in on the lot December 28, 2021. This is the only one of which I was concerned about how old. Since DEF, systems have been continually updated. However, Kubota doesn't advertise model year or serial number. I got the info on my tractor from shop guys telling me I got a good one - it came in with the latest DEF components so no updating needed.

 

[djefferis]

I don’t understand - you bought something sold as a 2021 model - and now that someone with an interest in acquiring it at the lowest possible cost makes up a reason why they can’t give you more for it - citing the manufacture date not being 2021 - you want to know what “recourse” you have ? Simple - say no to their offer and move on.

In manufacturing - a MODEL YEAR refers to the specs of a model - not the calendar year of its original build. Most often found in autos - you will see 2024s on dealer lots now (or shortly as the strikes effected intro of new models overall). Not uncommon for redesigns to be introduced a year before the actual calendar year. My 2021 truck was built in June 2020 - it just means that my truck has features introduced with the 2021 MY - and is missing those from the 2020 MY. I’ve seen. Products made in April 2014 sold as 2013s - because they have 2013 specs (manufacturer had a surplus of parts - so instead of just warehousing/destroying - they ran a 2nd line building 2013 specs and sold at a lower price point than the new/updated 2014 spec).

It’s not a living thing - it does not have a “birthday” - it’s mechanical and model years are commonly used to identify common specs. Hour meters/odometers are used to indicate usage on mechanical things - and in general less use = better as it’s presumed to have a typical expected useful life before requiring refurbishment/rebuild. Yes - in theory a 2020 could be more “aged” than a similar unit built in late 2021 for example - and fail slightly sooner - but that’s all just speculation and honestly the expected failure rate in general doesn’t spike by any meaningful amount - it’s all physiological at best.

Quit trusting the opinions of someone trying to buy something from you - even if they are employed by the same person who sold you that item. Their “opinions” will change by what interest they have in the item. Guarantee if he had your “2021” - the opinion would be it’s a 2021 and “only 2 years old” - because people seemingly can’t count when calculating model years vs calendar years - yes it has been less than 3 calendar years since 2021 ended - but 3 MYs have passed since then 2021, 2022 and 2023 (again - possibly 4 if 2024s are out now. Amazing how people lose the ability to do simple math when describing things they have a financial interest in.

 

[rScotty]

I think there is alot more information that none of us know.....and or answers to questions that can only be answered by the OP....who has only made this one post exactly a week ago, and has not been back to this forum since

Now that is an Interesting comment. Thank you, LD1.
Lately I've been noticing a lot of one time posts that that follow a peculiar pattern that I don't recall happening at TBN in years past.

1. The initial post starts with a story about an interesting tractor transaction, and ends by asking for advice about buying a new tractor.
2. The initial post is interesting, personable, and well written - but lacks detail and is never technical or speculative.
3. The thread takes off with a life of its own and often develops into an interesting conversation.
4. And The Original Poster is never heard from again.

It is the last thing - about the OP never posting again that caught my attention.
Being involved enogh to start a conversation and then just ignoring the subject when it takes off on its own seems unlikely. Even more unlikely is for that type of social behaviour to become more common. Or is that just my perception?

rScotty

 

[sjmedin]

I had the same problem with a Massey Ferguson purchase. I ended up trading it in on a John Deere and made sure
I was purchasing the model and year tractor I wanted. I wanted to buy a larger tractor and was told by the original
dealer the tractor I had bought was 2 years older than I thought. Never delt with that dealer again and made sure
everyone I knew was told that story. Lets just say you got taken and it is no fun being had by any dealer and really
no recourse.

 

[sportscarclinic]

Former federal rules prevented a manufacturer from selling next model year vehicles with a production date prior to 9/1 of the current calendar year. This was fairly recently changed by EPA legislation that now allows a manufacturer to do so as early as January 2nd, basically a full year 'ahead'. It's essentially federally approved fraud, imho. But it was probably the quid pro quo to get vehicle manufacturers to agree to much tougher environmental standards.

 

[Bentrim]

Interestig postings.
With that I want to add what I knew when I was working for a dealer.
The year was determined by the trade guide which included the make, model, options, year of production by serial number last published MSRP and it also included a list of features and options for the tractor. It also listed an average trade in value by year built.
Often we had some tractors that just wouldn't sell, but were left sitting on the lot, sometimes for a year or two, and due to current produced tractors haveing had price increases, the "old" tractor still reguarded by the manufacturer would sell due to the lower price. Sometimes if another dealer had a new "older" tractor they could be transferred and sold at the lower price.
One year we transferred in a bunch of combines from Tenessee (?), that year was dry for them, the combines were already a year or two old and were at a lower price than the factory fresh ones. But they were sold as the year they were built.
So wheather a car, combine or tractor the year built does affect the value of the machine. The only tractor I have seen that really increased in value was a TO35 Ferguson that only had a few hours on it and still looked as it did when it rolled out of the factory door.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

!-800-call sam, he will sue their pants off!!

AND you only have to pay if they win!!!

SR

 

[MoKelly]

!-800-call sam, he will sue their pants off!!

AND you only have to pay if they win!!!

SR

Maybe you should change your name to Lawyer Rob!

 

[RonF]

Consumers buy at retail and trade in to a dealer at wholesale. If it was a pre-computer tractor it would bring a auction or private sale for a premium price probably far more than original selling price....but it isn't. Private sale is usually always more than a trade-in offer, unless the dealer bumps the price of the new item.