Abilene Machine horror story

Friend of mine bought the 1966 2510 High Crop off the Abilene Auction in December. SO FAR it will need a full resto, it was advertised as a "PRO RESTROATION" all that they did was leave the sheet metal on and paint over it, the motor still has all the grease and dirt under the light coat of paint, underside of the hood was not painted, the clamps on the breather tube was missing as well as half the bottom half of the cup which explains the large mud build up in the breather tube, oh yeah and it arrived 3 quarts low on oil and burnt another 4 after 20 mins of running. Sleeves and connecting rods are scored, found a lock washer and large metal shavings in the oil pan, exhaust ports where 33 percent clogged with sot and sludge, as well as the ears broken. 3 point cyl flows nicely onto the ground, the syncro pack is loose to the point its hard to shift into the high side.
We have emailed them hopefully they respond with something other than to bad so sad. if that's the case maybe a hand full of phone calls from everyone might help change their business ethics a little. its a dang shame, that it turned out like this because it's a really cool old tractor.

















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Did he buy it with out looking at it??

Was this one of those 2520s that sold on auctiontime last december? If so, you might tell him to contact auctiontime and get them involved. They should be willing to help out if they want to keep their selling prices up.

well sad to say when the values go up the crooks come out of the woodwork.
Cavet em tor ? Buyer beware !

That is a great idea, thank you for your input, This is the main reason for me putting this up here. I wanted to get ideas on how to correct things. I understand that this was an auction and you get what you get, we all know that, what bugs me is that when a man represents something that it is not, that is immoral. The add said right away in the description that it was a professional restoration, and clearly it was not, that's what the problem is. The tractor is currently at the local Deere dealership where it is getting an engine overhaul and giving the tractor the attention it deserves to ensure the pride of ownership that was expected to my friend is restored

Just to clarify Abilene Machine had an online auction and your friend bought a 2510 HiCrop that was misrepresented.There were 106 Diesel syngros made so it is a rare tractor if you like Hi Crops.I buy several tractors and if I am not comfortable I have someone look at them, for me.I usually call the nearest JD dealer and tell them the situation and every time one of the salesmen or a technician will look at it and most times they don't even want anything.It appears Ray Charles could have spotted this one.Problem is they don't have to do anything but I would guess if it truly Abilene Machine they sure dont need bad P.R.

ok to clear the air, this tractor was not purchased blind, nor was it his first buy, he has purchased tractors all over the country and knows this dance routine. my friend spoke to them several time before the sale did his research and this is still how the outcome turned out. im tring to help him out and get insight if anyone else has ran into issue like this

There's this thing called e-mail now-a-days and it's the best CYA medium out there other than a written contract as far as holding up in court. One can cite mis-representation all day long but documentation is what they want to see. E-mail is as good as $$$ if you are calling foul. Misrepresentation happens all too often and I believe that he was a victim but one just has to protect themselves ahead of time. The old saying "get it in writing" has a brother...e-mail. If they refuse just don't buy it. One can blame the crook all day long but you still got robbed.

(quoted from post at 18:38:32 03/02/15) There's this thing called e-mail now-a-days and it's the best CYA medium out there other than a written contract as far as holding up in court. One can cite mis-representation all day long but documentation is what they want to see. E-mail is as good as $$$ if you are calling foul. Misrepresentation happens all too often and I believe that he was a victim but one just has to protect themselves ahead of time. The old saying "get it in writing" has a brother...e-mail. If they refuse just don't buy it. One can blame the crook all day long but you still got robbed.

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If this was an auctiontime sale, he can go on their website and print off the terms of the sale. If it is billed as a "professional restoration", but also as an as-is sale, he's gonna have trouble.

I've only bought a couple pieces of equipment off online auctions. Neither of them were tractors, and I bid low on both items. I can't see paying a premium price on a piece of equipment like a tractor without putting my hand on it. Maybe I'm just an untrusting guy, but everytime I hear a story like this, I feel I make the right decision.

I usually don't get into these conversations but I feel the
auctioneers have to start doing a little more to protect the
buyer it seems they are getting to the point they just want to
make an easy buck I was at an auction (that is reputable)
won't mention no names but a friend of mine bought 2 rear
tractor tires n he had a bad back so he ask me if I would help
him haul them home if he bought them I said sure so he got
them n when we went to load them the bottom one had a huge
cut he paid $1100 dollars for 1 good one n you know the
runner up bidder didn't realize it either so he said something to
the auctioneer n he told him he should have look eked them
over now the auctioneer could have held the money n told the
guy that brought them in it was no sale n don't ever pull a stunt
like that again or I won't let you bring anything else back

The word restoration seems to show up a lot and there are many different meanings.Too me a good running driving tractor that has excellent paint and new rubber is cosmetically restored.Tractors are only new once and even complete nut and bolt restorations are not new.I have seen supposedly restorations that were the same caliber as your friends tractor and the people in charge of the auction should be held accountable.One thing I like about tractor people as most are honest its that 2% that hurt everyone.

This would be the time to run the serial number plate with the Two Cylinder Club. Who knows what maybe cobbled together.

Update

The buyer and seller of this came to agreeable terms and the
tractor is being sent back with full refund. We did contact
auction time and they were willing to step in and help, however
it wasn't needed. Thank yous for your input