Dave H (MI)

Well-known Member
For those who know of my search, one of these has come into the picture. Green stripe, black corn head 4 row.

REALISTICALLY, given it is in good shape, what is a fair price for such a thing. On the one hand it is exactly the sort of machine I am looking for. On the other hand it is a very old combine, a small combine, and...while I understand the green stripe thing makes it popular...the market on collector tractors (and I assume combines) is pretty soft so I would think it should be mostly judged on it's merits as an operating machine. I don't want to insult the guy but, on the other hand, I am about out of money for equipment. Can you give me a rough idea of value?
 
I started to share that one with you yesterday, thought it might be out of your price range. They are in the ball park on price. I feel it's a fair price for what it is, if you sold it several years from now you probably would not take a huge loss if any. I believe it's without grain platform. It will not last long.
 
I wanted an f3 last year when I was looking for a newer combine. I am in Pa and well kept small combines being a premium. 10k will not touch a field ready F3 and I saw several listed over 20k that didn"t stay around a really long time. There is still a lot of $7 corn money floating around.
Josh
 
Nope, nothing for grain. I made him an offer. Not looking for something on the cheap, just offered him what was left in me budget and it weren't peanuts. Not expecting a polite reply.

(Well, it never hurts to ASK!)
 
Yes, well around here I have already seen a pretty nice F3 with corn and grain heads sell at an auction around the corner for $4800. Starting to wish I had taken a flyer on it but these fool auctions don't let you have the time to get one looked at properly and I was even greener then than I am now. At $10K I could afford to buy them here, truck them out there and resell them. A couple trips and I'd be looking at something a lot newer than I am now. All kidding aside....

Back to the classifieds.
 
Dave, good luck! You're right, does not hurt to ask but sounds like you know the answer, since you shared on many of your posts that you are new to this, I think you are doing the right thing by getting some excellent advice on this sight, I would also suggest that you narrow in on several models that will fit your operation and price range then take a road trip and you will get a surprising education on what excellent,good and average condition really mean. Just a suggestion, this has been very helpful to me. Some of the best post on here are road trip stories.
 
Dave,
I think your right about buying them and trucking them east for profit. Several local dealers do just that, and my last several tractors and combine have been from the Midwest. I looked at trucking several F3's east, but the prices were high in the Midwest as well. Those things sell really well, they were about the newest and best of the four row combines.
Josh
 
I bought one for $3400 with 2 heads private sale, and I bought one (orange stripe, black heads) at public auction for about $9000 with 2 heads.

All depends who is selling and who is interested....

Need to fix up the last one and sell it again.

Paul
 
Fact is, I would be surprised if it brought what he was asking here. I have been a regular auction attendee for the last 25+ years. I have a great fleet of equipment that I have picked up over time and it mostly does a good job for me. I see things routinely these days that surprise me but I just don't think there is much demand in Michigan for 30 year old smallish combines with big price tags, green, orange or otherwise. Other areas may be different, but here...maybe when harvest time is close and someone is about to hit the wall.
 
Yes, your deal on the first one popped up on my research in the archives. I do pretty extensive research when I branch into new areas. I am starting to wonder if an F2 wouldn't get me by for a year or two and then replace it. There is an M2 up for auction this weekend but I cannot attend. Graduation on Saturday and one day either side of that I am finally going to plant the corn that I have no way of harvesting. Well, actually, I have an assortment of corn knives and gunny sacks in a pinch.

Gee that sounds like fun. I can run them thru the hand sheller. Yech.
 
My test plot for 2014 is about 7 acres. I did not want to try to do more than that without having a little experience. Things go wrong and the tenant and I just lose money on the deal so we kept him on the bulk of the fields and I just did this small one. Next year I would move up to a 40 acre field given all goes well. The next year I could do as much as 100 but after that I would have to start leasing fields. Probably not gonna want to do that but you never know. I never thought I would end up doing as much hay as I do and random people just stop by asking if I want to farm their land for them from time to time. That's what I have available but I will tell you, I have been very up front with my tenant. I didn't want to burn my bridges with him. I am comfortable with him and would have him come back if I feel over-extended. He is good with that plan.
 
Thank you! I am going to plant this corn tomorrow or Sunday and after that I have to gear up to get my hay in because folks are calling me. I never understand that question..."Are you going to do hay this year?" It's not like they can't see it growing out there.

Anyway, I digress...we are heading to northern Michigan for vacation and I am going to stop and see as many combines for sale up that way as I can. I have a trucker up there and he will bring it down for me if I find something. That will be in July. Cutting it close but I know a lot of combines were on the market late summer last year. No word from the green stripe guy...my psychic powers at work again.
 
Dave JMHO, I wouldn't plan on buying an older combine with the intentions of moving up in a couple of years, unless you get an absolute lemon. You'll only be trading a combine that you have gotten to know what it needs and have done some work on to getting another that you may not know exactly what's wrong or right. Hope this makes a little sense. John
 
Dave- just wondering about acreage cuz of the comment about an F2 being a small combine. I ran mine for about 20 years, doing my own and custom work. Usually had 40 acres barley each summer, and well over 120 acres of corn to combine after silo filling, plus around 100 or so of soybeans. One year I did a total of 240 acres beans, my own and custom work. Just to give you a perspective of how "small" that model is. For many years I did have help for milking, so I could run straight thru the evening. And yes, a lot of late hours.
 
I actually like to hear things like that. I don't use the newest equipment and you run into a lot of folks who have had so many bad experiences they are burned out on the told stuff. When I say smaller, I mean in comparison to the M2 and L2. They were marketed, if brochures mean anything at all, as alternatives with the F combines being the smallest of the lot. I have an F2 on line to go look at. Soon as I get done planting and then I have folks waiting on hay which is about two days past needing to be cut and more rain expected. I would go with a quality F2 before I would take a beat up F3. I just need to get my feet in the water. I can dive in later! :)
 
Oh...I know what you mean. I just got done working an 8 row IH Cyclo corn planter up from virtually useless. I think I know every inch of that planter now and unless it becomes a chronic (like everytime I use it, it breaks down) PITA I will probably hang on to it. A lot to be said for being able to look at a problem and know EXACTLY what to do to fix it. Back to the combine, though. What I am hoping to do is get two on the field eventually. When you have old equipment a backup is a wonderful thing.

Plus two great old machines find a useful home.
 
Yea, as a one person operation I run that many acres through mine, 2 neighbors used to have F series with about 400 acres.

My hang up is moving the grain away, combine 1000 bu of corn, and spend the same amount of time hauling it away with the combine sitting still. Is small operations can't afford a truck driver when the big operations are using all the trucks available. The. Right ours had kids old enough to drive truck and tractor to the elevator, so they could get 400-500 acres through an F.

And yes, I got a m3 for last year, but you know if we are supposed to get the 300 bu corn the ag media and local coops are telling us we are supposed to shoot for, I gotta expand capacities. ;) of course, I need to hit 200 bu first. Maybe this is the year? Probably not, just finished planting my last field of corn yesterday afternoon. Hopefully we stop with the rain today so I done need to replant it.....
 
Wow, I need to proofread better. Not sure what the tablet autocorrected there!

My neighbors had kids old enough and interested in farming to haul the grain away while dad kept combining, so even with dairy they could get 400 acres of corn and beans through an F here. Is what I was trying to say.

Paul
 
Paul, I got my corn planted today! Went pretty well actually considering I have never used a planter before and started with an 8 row, no till monster. Things are getting serious now!!!
 

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