JD Model M Worth.

Thinking about buying a 1950 JD M It's in pretty fair shape. Hasn't been run in probably 6-7 years but was running good prior to that time. Tires are fair to good, Paint job fair. Was painted probably 12 years but has been sitting outside since. I realize tractor values are different in different parts of our country. This is located in southern ID. What would be an educated guess what the little M would be worth. Thanks guys.
 
Sitting outside? Is the engine stuck? I would think the tires would be bad from the sun, or was it in the shade? We had an M, I fixed it up, painted it, made a nice 5 foot cultivator. When we were done with it I got 3500 for it.
 
"Running good prior to being parked" is usually a red flag. Setting outside could mean stuck engine. Tires are probably cracked from sun or you'll find dry rot when you start to use them. I'd keep looking for one that runs and has been being used. They're not rare nor scarce. Don't fall in love too quickly. Are you aware of how difficult it is to get on/off the M/MT?
 
With what I can imagine from your description I'd say no more than about $700. There's a lot you can't easily determine about a non-running tractor that's been setting outside this long until you dig into it. With a sub-$1000 purchase price you won't be out too much if it takes more than you think to get it usable.
 
I should have stated in my original post that I Know the tractor personally, It was my deceased stepfathers tractor and I am thin king of buying it from the estate. I was the last person to run it as I took it to a tractor pull and everything functioned good at that time. It has been parked under a big tree so the sun has not gotten to the tires or paint badly and I periodically turn it over a couple revolutions so it's not stuck. I'm confident that all it needs is a new battery and the carb cleaned and it will fire right up.
 
Agree.

Paid $750 for "Conroy" our 48M.
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Rear tires are in very good condition, front tires good condition.

Included complete KBL disk and 80% of M12A Cultivator.
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Put front weight on "Audie" our Model 40S.
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Motor is stuck.
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As they say on Craigslist "[i:654c4848f0]shouldn't take much to get it going[/i:654c4848f0]".
 
Knowing the history of the tractor as you do obviously helps a lot. Given that you know first-hand that the tractor was operating fine when it was parked and the fact that it isn't stuck I'd bump up my original estimate of $700 to maybe $1200-1300. Tough to go too much higher because for not a lot more you could be into one you can drive onto the trailer at the time of purchase. However, if sentimental value from the family connection is part of your decision only you can put a price tag on that. My own M was purchased by my dad 30+ years ago when I was a kid and today I wouldn't sell it for anything.
 
Yes, that makes a whole different story out of it. I once passed up on a family MT that I put a lot of hours on as a kid. I offered the guy fully twice what was current market value and he wouldn't budge. Now I often whish I'd thrown money at him till I got the tractor - or hauled a '42 Ford (maybe it was '39 - long time ago) into his yard as trading stock for he was more of a Ford than JD collector anyway.
 
With all this talk about fixing up M's you'd think someone would be interested in a replacenent front axle. Google 6449589376
 
Here in Southern Id. The entire economy is based on agriculture, but in this modern age of farming there are very few small acreages or farms any more. When I was farming 1800 acres I was considered a fairly large farmer and raising a lot of spuds, malt barley, hay, wheat, and sugar beets. but in this day and age an average farm might be 10,000 acres, some of the bigger guys are farming 50,000 and up. So the older small tractors are not worth what they would be in other parts of the country. Not too many guys like me that do antique pulling, parades, and occasional snow plowing are in the market for these types of tractors.
 
I think a non-running tractor parked outside for 12 years would be a $400 parts tractor, running it might be a $1000 to $1,500 tractor. If it has sentimental value only you can determine what it is worth to you.

Estates and dealing with family can be touchy, you don't want to end close relationships over a tractor. Determine ahead of time if relations or the tractor are most important to you. One approach is to determine the maximum price where you would be indifferent if you bought it or not, offer that and don't think twice about it. If another cousin is interested in it you might buy it together. If a younger relative is interested you might let him buy it. You and your extended family can spend many hours together helping him get it back into operating condition while swapping stories about your stepfather and the tractor's history.
 

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