YM 2500 Almost Purchase

[SteveM]

I thought there were folks on this board who have done the container gig, but maybe not...anyhow, a guy I know bit the bullet and went for a container of grey yanmar and isekis (more isekis now that I think of it) and a bunch of tillers 'thrown in'. It was quite a spectacle when they arrived; looked like someone put the container on end, then dumped the dismantled tractors in from 30ft above....well I am exaggerating, but suffice it to say it took a lot of restoration work to get a set of salable tractors. lots of dented sheet metal and broken parts. I think he resorted to sacrificing a couple of the tractors for parts to complete the others. Long story short, he finally sold through that batch and gave it up....

I would want to work with an importer that you can trust, perhaps go see one of their containers at the dock to get an idea of quality.

 

[thegreatrandini]

Prob is just typo but these dudes r thinkin of buying a container. I think they should check this out before they do!
I doubt they will anyway once they consider the logistics. Thanks for posting!!!

Great

 

[Tractors4u]

I personally know of two importers that have been bringing in grey market tractors for 7 or 8 years now. Because they are considered "regular customers" their exporter in Japan takes care of them. They have only been to Japan a couple of times to "hand pick" tractors. I believe that the exporters in Japan can tell if someone is serious about being an importer and not a one time deal. It may be that they want to get rid of their junk to people that they don't think they will ever deal with again.

 

[California]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( it took a lot of restoration work to get a set of salable tractors. lots of dented sheet metal and broken parts. I think he resorted to sacrificing a couple of the tractors for parts to complete the others. )</font>

I saw this at an importer of VN rebuilts. The packing should have been sufficient to protect these immaculate, flawless appearing tractors. The shipper and receiver were the same family-owned company.

Even after the care that had gone into the reconditioning, the construction of the upper floor in the container was insufficient. Some of the tractors in the 'loft' had punched through and were resting on the ones in the lower level.

They told me they cant get replacement parts, they just build tractors out of whatever arrived and occasionally send an incomplete unit to auction.

What about buying a container in the US instead of dealing with the complexities of importing. Has anyone bought a container from an established importer, one who receives several containers per year?

 

[Yanmar_1700]

I have been searching for a reputable company in Japan to import from. While looking, I ran across this company, http://www.hstractor.com/ and spoke with Ron, the owner. He seem very knowledgeable and only tacks on another $100 per tractor and from what I am coming to understand, he earns his money. Has anyone ever dealt with them? We have to give them about $25,000 to $30,000.

We still need several people to fill a container and then agree on a central location to unload, assemble and load.

 

[bruce1966us]

Been trying to stay out of this one. I have imported thousands of the grey markets. You had better be sure of what you are doing or it will cost you a lot more than what you think you are going to save.

Just my 2 cents,
Bruce

 

[LMTC]

Well now you have some general idea what we deal with. And who do you think is going to open a container at port and let you look in it? For starters, it has to stay sealed for customs. For finishers, the container contents belong to whoever paid for them, and if I ever learned someone had opened one of our containers (other than USDA, customs, who do so and re-seal it) I would be pressing charges, as would the insurance company, as it would open the door for claims of vandalism and theft, among other things. The exporter has no ownership nor control once that container leaves Japan.

I have always marveled at the number of folks who seem to think a container comes in, gets unloaded, the dealer repairs a couple of wheel seals and replaces a light bulb or two, then sells them at a tidy profit. Containers are almost always suprises. If it were easy, everyone would do it.

 

[Tractors4u]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( We still need several people to fill a container and then agree on a central location to unload, assemble and load. )</font>

I know people have done this before, splitting a container that is. Suppose you find a person for each tractor. Then one tractor has a cracked water jacket, one needs new wheel bearings on the rear end, and one is blowing smoke real bad.

I guarantee you that everyone will not be happy with their tractor because there will be at least 1 tractor that will need some serious work.

 

[thegreatrandini]

u right!!!!!

 

[normde2001]

Sure seems like a lot of agravation to save a few hundred bucks on a tractor that may, or may not be any good.