Let them rot away

Today I stopped at a house with about 20 combines and God only knows how many tractors and other equipment is rotting away.I talked to the guy living in the house and asked about the IH behind the barn, its been there over 10 years. I did my best, I guess it will sit there and wait for the scrap man some day. I just don't get why people would rather let something rot away until its unrepairable then let someone buy it and fix it up.
 
I'm a little surprised, also. Usually the owner will give a fancifull price based on his wishfull thinking regarding the value of what he has. It is almost always extremely high, but, they usually they do give a price.
 
Ive ran into people that want a million bucks for it or they would rather let it sit. Some say they plan on fixing it some day.

My favorite is when you get a phone number to the owner and its been sitting 20 years and you call and leave a message and they never call back and you see someone hauled it off.
 
Don't quit asking. You never know. I saw a JD 420 sitting a guys yard one day. Called to see if he was interested in selling. He said yes. Said he wanted 5 bills. I asked him what kind of bills. he said hundred dollar bills. I offered him 400 and he took it. I came home got the trailer and when I backed it in his yard he drove it on the trailer. I talked to others that had seen it sitting there. I just caught him at the right time I guess.
 
Yeah, I've heard owners tell me their peice is worth $100,000 since it was originally built in 1950. It's an antique. You got to deal with them, because until you talk to them, you can't seperate them from "Oh is that old thing still out there? If I give it to you, how long will it take to get it out of here?". I man gave me a late 1920's Brunner compressor, including the non leaking tank and original Robbin Myers electrical motor, out of a field in Lockport, NY. In enough cases, people can be reasoned with, if you have a plan that respects their sense of economy. Sometimes it was their daddy's tractor, and it isn't about money. They will never part with their memories of their daddy driving it through the fields. You'll have to respect that.
 
I knew a guy like that that died about 2 years ago. He had all kinds of good stuff and still bought more and wouldn't sell any. Some would run, most wouldn't. He loved that stuff, he would show it all to you telling where and when he got it. However it was his, he paid for it, it made him happy and I was happy for him. He bought it to make him happy, not me. I don't have a problem with that.
 
(quoted from post at 00:15:53 12/05/12) Sometimes it was their daddy's tractor, and it isn't about money. They will never part with their memories of their daddy driving it through the fields. You'll have to respect that.
I've seen this too Bob. Its still a shame though.
Their daddy wouldn't have wanted it setting there rotting away.

There was a guy not far from me that had a field full of JD 2 cylinders.
I stopped a few times (in 20 years) to ask, so did a couple other guys I know.
He was not selling any of them.
One day they were all gone.
He had passed and his wife was so tired of people stopping over the years
that she called the scrap man before anyone else could "bother" her.
 
on the other hand,why is it people think they can just buy anything they want and drive up and start asking questions...then stomp their feet and have a hissy fit when the OWNER says no.
i bet there was a no tresspassing sign on driveway too.
 
Call nephew Johnny he can anybody out of anything. Once we wanted to buy a Ford model A from this old minor who wouldn't talk to anyone. Johnny went up spent about an hour then came back and said he gave it to us.
Walt
 
Led, No one is talking about making anyone give up anything they don"t want. I respect what people own. When you see something sticking in a field for a few seasons that is rusting away, and we approach the owner to attempt to offer to buy it, provided they are willing to sell, is there really a line that we are crossing? I respect when the owner says, "No". I accept when they are simply pricing it beyond what it would ever be worth, but still I respect that it is theirs. I"ve gotten a great deal of cool stuff that others would have let rot, by simply asking if they would be willing to sell. In many instances, we agree to a price that is mutually agreeable for each of us, and sometimes they are simply happy to see it gone. Is there really a problem with that? Scrap prices aren"t alwats that high.
 
Know a lady bought a nice farm that way, saw a beautiful place, knocked on the door, and old grandma told her "No honey, we're not interesterd in selling." Left her name and mnumber. Couple years later the grandma called, told her they'd decided to sell, please come by again.
 
I guess the guy figures since he bought and paid for them he can do what he wants with them and doesn't need any 'expert' advice.Same way with land
I consider anyone grazing horses or that plant Pine trees are totally wasting doing anything useful with their property but since they bought and paid for it without my help its their business.
 
Sometime you just have to catch them in the right mood. In the late '80's I bought a 1957 Chevy 210 2 door hardtop from a old bachlor who said he had two nephews argueing over who would get it. He said I'll settle that now. Made me a price and I still own it. I know of at least five people who had tried to buy it before me and the answer was it's not for sale. I just caught him in the right mood.
 
Same thing down the road. Super M, WD45, WD and Allis G parked in the weeds beside this guys store. He"s in a wheelchair, talked with a voice synthesiser. Would he sell "em? "No, I"m gonna fix "em up." When he died, his son sold the G, the rest had been cannablized and went to the scrapman. Such a shame. Must have asked him 5 times to just think about selling me one of the WD"s.
 
While I respect the right of someone to use, sell, give away or let set to rot any of their property, it's still a shame, maybe even a sin, to let go to waste something you aren't going to do any thing with. I don't know if the good Lord ever addressed being wasteful, if not it would have been a good idea.

I know there are plenty of delusional, misinformed and just plain stupid folks out there (see last election for proof of that) but you have to know in your heart of hearts that you are never going to rise from that wheelchair, your bad heart, arthritis or cancer isn't going to get better, you will not be getting younger or richer and you WILL die and someone else WILL decide what happens to your stuff. I'd rather decide that for myself while I'm still able to do so.
 
No ones throwing a hissyfit. I drive by the place all the time, the tractor has been sitting way out back for probably close to 12 years now. Its so overgrown you can only see it now in the winter. Not to mention the probably 100 other tractors laying around there.

I respect their decision too no matter if its sell it for way to much or keep it.

I dont know the situation the owner is in, they may be hard up for money and think nobody would ever want that. They think its just a piece of junk.

I also have had people tell me its junk and refuse to sell it because they think they are doing me a favor. There was a amphibious ATV at a friends house rotting away. He said it was his uncles and wouldn't ask his uncle if he would sell it because he was doing me a favor because it would be to much work to fix. His uncle loaded it up and paid $80 to dump it at a landfill.

I would have paid for it and hauled it away.

Same with the tractors, they call a scrap man they made a lot less then what I would have paid. If they haul it in themselves then they made less and went though the trouble of loading it up and hauling it off.

There was a old bulldozer forsale near me. Been out by the road for years. I offered the guy $1000. He said it was worth $2000 in scrap. He said if you dont buy it its going in for scrap. He had the guy working for him load it up on a lowboy and hauled it to the scrapper.

I looked up the weight of the machine and called the scrapper and gave them the weight and I said its good clean cast iron. $750 in scrap. You haul in a dirt covered dozer they probably would give your 530 or 400.

Guess what happened, they hauled the dozer back and put it out to the road again. I bet he figured I would come back but never did. He was probably paying that guy $12hr to load it up and haul it in, probably spend $300 in diesel fuel and what did he get? In the end it would have been cheaper to give me it for free.

Buy asking people if they want to sell a old tractor Im just offering to help them out. I offer them the opportunity to make money and never touch the thing. It their choice, I just let them know about the option. Do you flip out when someone hands you a business card.
 
A lot of people get some kind of hoarding syndrome with stuff like that. My dad had it with scrap wood and pallets. He was going to use them for firewood someday, but never did. After I took the property over, I spend years burning the stuff for the house, the shop and general bonfires.

We had another case in our county where an old retired farmer took a sledge hammer to the engines of all his old tractors and broke the engine blocks; he told his sister he didn't want anyone else to use them.
 
After about 2 or 3 of you nosey road runners drop in uninvited,some people get very defensive and turn them into letting it rot(rust) away.Some of you have cheated(robbed)so many older people with your sob stories,that the bad word has gotten around making people more leary of strangers.
 
Grandpa sold the farm. Was advertised in the paper. When neighbors found out the place was sold they came a callin wanting the old hayin equipment that hadn"t been used in years. Grandpa said where were you before the farm sold? Wantin something for nothing and they could of had it for nothing before the place sold. New owners were hoarders who kept every piece of junk on the place. Grandpa was happy that he wouldn"t have to do any cleanup. Grandpa told the new owners that he had been burning coal for years and not to burn wood in the stove. They burnt the house down the first winter. The barn is still standing 45 years later.
 
Masey333,
How do they get cheated or robbed, its theirs to sell. If they decide to sell it then they decide the price.

The guy next door got mad at my dad because he never asked him about buying his grape vineyard. My dad didn't ask about buying it because it wasn't for sale. Some other farmer knew he didn't have a buyer and offered to buy the vineyard. Had my dad asked then it would be a different story.
 
I agree , Dave , and we all seem to forget there are all kinds out there sometimes with a few bricks less than a load. Don't mean that in a bad way as they are probably fine respectable people , just with some peculiar priorities. Some of the loudest complainers about gas prices have a woods full of scrap metal worth at least a few thousand dollars even if someone else hauls it for them. Would buy a lot of gas. Somewhere the connection just isn't made.
 
I figured out if you have a fancy new truck guys think you have money and will ask stupid prices, I don't have the fancy truck so i'm good there.


Up here in Canada if you have a non Canadian accent they think you are shipping over seas and making huge dollars and not paying enough to them, then making thousands off their Back , Some dealers from the U.K messed my buying up for my collection this way.
Ive had to get Canadian friends to go for me in the past to look at tractors.
sentimental value is always $3 a pound more than scrap price.
I will say the biggest thing I find is if a guy likes you and you can connect with him when you get on the yard. I've had some luck with some stuff, I know guys have tried to get tractors for 20 years. They have been mad when i got it for $200 and they offered $3000
 
My truck isn't fancy, its a 1992 with a IH license plate. Maybe they assume I don't have any money and that's why they wont talk price.
 
I don't know maybe guys are different in your area. up here new trucks mean loads of money even if it's on the finance plan.
Perhaps they don't like the licence plate lol.
I have my theory's on some guys and what I've found in 200 miles of my area, and in reality some of it's all luck of the day too in some cases.
Regards Robert
 
A lot of older people don't a clue what some of these things are worth and a slick person will tell them it isn't worth much and they are more then willing to take it off their hands.Local law has been warning older people about these huckters running the roads.Same as the old southern painter crews style.
 
(quoted from post at 16:22:05 12/05/12) Masey333,
How do they get cheated or robbed, its theirs to sell. If they decide to sell it then they decide the price.

Older folks aren't always thinking clearly. Not trying to offend anyone, it's a fact. Medication, health problems, residual effects from past medical procedures... It all affects the brain.

My late great aunt sold her brothers' tractors to some huckster for scrap price many years ago. These tractors were meticulously cared for, never sat outside a night in their lives. My dad had a standing offer for TWICE what the huckster paid her for all three tractors, on just one of the tractors.

She couldn't bear to part with her dear brothers' tractors, yet this huckster managed to talk her out of all three.
 

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