Would You Trade

[Piston]

I'm all about buying a new tractor, but in your case, absolutely not.

You already have a larger tractor, with cab, and you haven't given any good reason that you need to replace the smaller one with a bigger one (closing the gap of differences between tractors). But, you have given an excellent reason why NOT to buy a new tractor...you own it.


I'm no CPA, but I don't get the whole idea behind buying something because it's a write off. Sure, you get to write off the cost, and save some money in taxes, but are you saving enough to cover the cost of the tractor? No...

If buying the new one ACTUALLY saves you money, then buy it, but I doubt it will.


It's sort of the like the argument people give, you shouldn't buy a house outright, you should hold a mortgage because the interest is tax deductible. So, you spend 20k+ per year on interest just to save a few grand on taxes? Doesn't compute in my non-CPA mind


Then again, the whole reason I haven't bought a brand new cab tractor is for that very thought, I own my current one. I could possibly talk myself into a new cab tractor, and take on payments, but if I already had a larger tractor with cab? No way.

 

[Oiltech]

So you rather give it to Uncle Sam than save 40% on income tax and have a new machine?

 

[Happy Gilmore]

What was your price quote?

 

[s219]

So by tax write-off you just mean taking the full cost of the machine now in 2014, which you can deduct from 2014 income when doing taxes. Then what you effectively save is a percentage (tax rate) of the cost, so probably 25-30% of the machine cost for most of us. That still means you're coughing up 70-75% of the cost directly.

I charge new vehicle purchases to my business and take the tax break, but it's never a way to save money, since you spend about 3X of what you save. But when I need a new vehicle, it's at least some bit of a tax break and can be thought of as a discount. I just can't ever make the math justify the purchase all by itself -- there has to be a legitimate reason to buy the new vehicle.

The big bonus was at the end of 2011, when there were extra incentives to buy trucks and equipment. I forget the numbers, but that worked out well above and beyond the usual percentage I see. I bought a vehicle on December 30 of that year....

 

[crazyal]

The whole idea of it being a write off because it's different for each person. I know for me I wrote off my dozer and backhoe. If I sold them I would have to pay taxes because it would have been a gain. But after a number of years of no longer being in business I do what I want with them. What I would say is if your accountant (if you have one) is making the recommendation to do something then he/ she must have run the numbers and it probably makes financial sense.

 

[Oiltech]

Man y'all sure take the fun out of wanting to buy a new tractor, just kidding I apprciate all the feed back

 

[Oiltech]

What was your price quote?

Dealer A:
L4760HSTC
Cloth air ride seat
1st remote valve
3rd function valve
Radio
$38,985.00

LA1055 Loader with 72" round back bucket
$5,295.00

Less Trade $18,500.00

Dealer B:
L4760HSTC with loader $39,400.00

No offer on trade yet

 

[coldfingers]

Is dealer A the one who has 30 hrs. on the tractor?

 

[Oiltech]

No, dealer B has the unit with 30 hours

 

[s219]

Man y'all sure take the fun out of wanting to buy a new tractor

I have a lot of experience learning that from my wife every time I want to buy a new tractor!