Worth buying a demo/old stock unit?

[deereguy]

The more thought I put into this, 11 hours, even in the summer sun, shouldn't be cracking hoses just yet? Perhaps the dealer has "rented" it out and figures he has already made $1K off of it and passes those "savings" on to you. Since no one has owned it, it can still sell it with a full warranty and coverage of a new unit.

 

[Builder]

Run the tractor serial # yourself and see when it was built. 1 year in the sun causes some fading, but it sounds like 2 years worth more than 1 year. Could be a 2 yr old tractor.

 

[stumpfield]

Run the tractor serial # yourself and see when it was built. 1 year in the sun causes some fading, but it sounds like 2 years worth more than 1 year. Could be a 2 yr old tractor.

How can I find out when the tractor was built based on a serial #????? Is there a website on the net to figure this out?

 

[RobS]

I bought my backhoe as a new unit but it had been lightly used and on the lot for several years. I got it as new because the original owner never filed the paperwork. I got a great deal, but the dealer wouldn't sell it without swapping out all the hoses (his cost). I might be a little leary of hoses that are cracked after only one year in the field. That may be an indication of the quality of the entire tractor.

 

[Builder]

How can I find out when the tractor was built based on a serial #????? Is there a website on the net to figure this out?

Usually the serial number can be deciphered by the dealer to tell the date it was built. Just try another dealer to keep things honest.

 

[stumpfield]

To me, 11 hours is "used". That would equal 132, 5 minute test drives around the dealer's lot. Or possibly the dealer used it to move stuff around like wagons, trailers etc. What make/model are you looking at?

I agree with you. It's used. However, if I can save $1000 to get the same thing with just a few extra hours, it might be worth it. This is a TYM model T273 TLB. The price is the actual selling price which thousands below MSRP. If I buy the same tractor from another dealer or the same dealer can get me a brand new under 5 hours, it would be an extra $1,000.

If it's not normal for the rubber hoses to crack in just a year in the Sun, I'm leaning toward not buying this tractor at all. Back to step one....searching for the best tractor deal again. My concern is even if I get new hoses now, it will be crack in a year from now. I really don't want something that will crack so soon.

 

[deereguy]

I just checked out the TYM tractor site and they look like stout lil tractors. I also looked at the forum area of their site and others seem to share your concerns about parts/service for a relatively "unestablished" tractor manufacturer. I was suprised to see a 3 yr bumper-bumper warranty and 5 yr powertrain, that's more than I remember getting with green paint.

Good Luck in your decision!!

 

[CurlyDave]

A longer warranty is one of the things an "unestablished" manufacturer will offer to get business.

The problem I see is that I know my Deere machine will still be going at least 4-6000 machine hours from now, which is a lot longer than 5 years. All I have to do is keep up the maintenance, which I am going to do anyway.

 

[Soundguy]

Yep.. on these new machines.. it's easy to out live the hour warranty period by exceeding the month warranty period.

soundguy

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I've started typing a reply to this thread 4 or 5 times. I keep deleting it and thinking about what I'd do. I've came to the conclusion there isn't a pat answer based on what we know at this point.

A great deal of what a given tractor is worth depends one WHAT brand and/or model we're dealing with. Also, you have to take into consideration the particular area where you're located. Some brands sell better in one locale than in another. $1000 is $1000. That's a sizable "savings". But has the tractor depreciated $1000? More than that? What's a used "BrandX" sell for? Would 11 hours use cause the same drop in value as say, 200 hours?

Long and short, even with the new warranty, could you take this tractor home, put an add in the newspaper, and SELL it for the price the dealer is now asking?

I'd venture a guess that if he offered it to you right off the bat for $1000 "under retail", he would sell it for less. It's not at all out of the ordinary for a NEW tractor to be discounted $1000. Again, that'll depend on the brand (and the dealers margin)

Me personally? If I was offered $1000 off, I'd push for MORE than that. I would try to find "blue book value" of that tractor as USED (albiet in exceptionally good condition and low houred for used) and go from there.