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Your bad experiance on buying a tractor or item

J

JOCCO

Well-known Member
Wanted to do a thread on bad days buying an item like used tractor. Example told it run good got there and it did not start. Told it was in good shape and turned out bad tires no sheet metal!!! Got there and the guy changed the price!!! I have seen quite a few over the years would like to hear yours.
 
Drove two hours to look at an Oliver 77. I was told over the phone that it should start right up with a good battery. he said he drove it in the barn a coupla years ago. It had original paint and the tin and side panels were like new.

When I drove in he was removing gas from the tank and it stunk real bad. Rust holes in the hood and the outside of the wheels front and back along with the grill was brush painted house paint white, The inside of the wheels were red.
I said have a nice day and backed out of the drive. I didn't feel it was worth my time to even comment. If he didn't know the difference in original paint he wouldn't understand anything I would have liked to say.
 
I traveled a long distance one time to buy a classic car with "no rust". A refrigerator magnet run down the rockers dropped off at all four locations. There were holes as large as a softball under the paint. Seller knew that I was coming a long distance. I had even had a local guy check it out for me before I made the trip.
 
Believe it or not this tractor started at the auction and I drove it across the road to a field and loaded on my trailer. After hauling it over seven hours to get home its true personality emerged. My hat is off the group of neighbors and friends that got a large collection of tractors ready to sell for the family of the owner.
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This past fall I went with a friend to look at a 3 point finish mower. Nice older fellow told my friend how little use it had. It was old enough I had not seen one like it. The closer we looked, the worse it got. A piece that connected the deck under the discharge opening was gone, allowing the deck to sag there. Someone had repaired/plated parts of the deck where it had rotted through! The other end of the deck didn't sag because an angle iron had been welded to it! One wheel mount was bent. As my friend started to point out the deficiencies, the nice older fellow suddenly got snotty and said he wasn't going to get chewed down, and had someone else coming that afternoon. We left. Big waste of time and fuel.
 
jocco,
Buying used means AS IS. Regardless what you are told, unless seller puts it in writing giving you have a warranty, IT'S AS IS. If you want a warranty, pay more and buy it from a dealer. Suck it up. Live and learn, Don't complain. That's what Judge Judy will tell you. When I buy a used tractor I know it's going to need work. Geo
 
Drove past a car trailer parked along the road for a week, 4sale sign.

Driving by looked like the owner was getting the mail so I pulled up.

We chatted a while, I looked the trailer over, we chatted some more.

And chatted some more.

Finally had to ask on the trailer as we weren't getting anywhere and I had run out of things to say a half hour ago.

Oh, well, m son in law is kinda interested in it I guess, not really sure what I should ask for it.

So, I stood there a moment. Really didnt know what to say. He wasn't interested in shooting me a price, or hearing an offer from me, or taking my number, or nothing.

Drove past that trailer for two more weeks, same sign still on it.

Im still confused on what that was all about.

Paul
 
I traveled 4 hours from home to buy my Case 930 . Got there ,like the tractor made the deal , delivery included in the price.This fella was a White dealer. I paid cash in full, and went home to await my tractors arrival ,in about 1 week to 10 days. two weeks later I called the dealer. Said he was getting a load together coming my way, and would ship the tractor next week. I waited , the week , it never came . I called , only got answering machine . Few more days go by , and I find out the guy blew his head off !! He had gone broke , and the folks handling the bankruptcy where going to auction off all of his stuff, including my tractor. Had to get a lawyer after them . Got my tractor , but I had to pick it up . You just never know what is next.
 
I have been buying and selling tractors for many years and I have seen many as you described. Once I went to see an Allis Chalmers d 17 with a hydraulic loader. On the phone the owner said it ran good and had good tires. When I got to his place there was no one around and a mean looking dog was chained near the tractor. I could tell from the brush growing around the tractor that it had not been moved in a long time and one tire was flat and I could see a lot of welding on the loader. As I was leaving a truck was approaching and the driver was trying to wave me down but I continued on my way. Better to not comment as I had driven several miles to see his junk.

Once I went to see some equipment that the owner had asked me to look at and make him an offer. I went on the day and time that we had agreed on but there was no one home. After waiting for a while and looking at his stuff I started to leave and after I left his drive and was heading down the road a truck suddenly went by me and and made a skidding stop in front of me and a man jumped out and asked what business I had at his father's place. He had a pen in his hand and wrote down my plate number and said he was going to check with his father and the police. I told him that my name was on the side of my truck and if he didn't move his truck right then I would call the police for him. Later his father called to apologize and ask me to come back. I said ok and made an appointment to go back but I never did.
 
A brand name machinery dealer had a 1/4 page ad in the paper with all of his new and used machinery listed. He had a late model, low houred Case 730 COM diesel on the list. He didn't know how to email pictures back in those days which was common then. Talked it up real nice and said it wouldn't sit long so I didn't want to wait for him to mail me pictures. I drove 200 miles with a trailer to buy it. It wasn't a bad tractor at all but it was the first diesel tractor I've ever seen in my life with a CARBURETOR ???????? I had mentioned twice on the phone about looking for a diesel so when I jumped him about it he stammered a bit then shrugged his shoulders and said well its a nice tractor. That was a long ------ off ride back home.
 
I had my Silver King at a show, a family was looking it over, said they had one like it, it ran good, and it was for sale. We drove several hours to look it over. When we got there, they said It's out behind the barn, we walked back ....there it was.... lying on it's side.... missing part of the final drive and the wheel & tire. Their story was, that they were raking hay, driving fast, and hit a groundhog hole, that's what broke the side off. I don't know how long it was there, but the engine was locked up too. I was still interested in the tractor, thinking of the parts I had at home. But their FIRM price was for a good/working tractor.... so we made the loonnnggg drive home.
 

Case made darned good tractors but once in awhile a lemon comes out of the factory. I got one of those lemons when I bought a new 1070 in the fall of '74. Ran it 1800 hours and traded it off for another brand. The primary reason for switching to the other brand was because the red dealer was closer to home. I know every different way to the town I bought that Case in because I was taking the tractor back to the dealer so many times. Hated to leave the Case dealer because they were such nice down to earth folks. Now I kind of wish I had a 1070 for yard work.
 
Bought a tractor at a sale started for home and about 3 miles from the sale it quits turns out it broke the points . Never had trouble after that.
At my dad's sale auctioneer announced that the baler had only been used on a small farm. We actually filled 4 barns plus stacks on 3 farm's ever year working with uncles and neighbors. It was so shot we had to borrow a baler to get done the last year. Didn't mention that the cows were hand stripped either.
 
Bought an item once the guy said he would deliver it. Few days later he called and said would not fit on his truck. I had to go get it but of course he was not there.
 
Calm down I am not complaining!!! Read Bob Bancrofts post that was the intent of this thread!!!!
 
I bought a "rebuilt" hx35 turbocharger for my truck from a guy that I found a reference for from a diesel website. I had a couple of talks with him over the phone and he seemed like a stand up guy. He even offered a 1 year warranty. He only accepted checks though but seemed like a good guy. The turbo showed up and it looked like it had been sitting on the bottom of the ocean for a year. Long story short, he would not refund my money and from everything I looked up, it seemed like I had no good recourse other than a good lesson learned. Still pisses me off when I think about it 2 years later.
 
I bought a 1996 MF from a guy on CL and I had it almost a year. Sheriff showes up, the guy before him had not payed for it and I was stupid enough to not check with Secertary of State on UCC filing. Lost tractor and all I had in it!
 
Wasn't that big of a deal, actually we laughed about it.

About 30 years ago, I bought a full sized Chevy Blazer from a used truck dealer I was buddies with. I test drove it for several miles down the open road, etc. and it drove great. Went back to his lot, made a deal, and paid for it.

I left his lot, drove three blocks down the street, and a universal joint in the front drive shaft broke. Just plain fell apart. The simple front u joint, not the big CV by the transfer case. I got my trailer and hauled it to my shop and fixed it. I called him and gave him a hard time about it, but I insisted I'd bought the vehicle "AS IS" and I didn't expect him to fix it. I wasn't going to wreck a friendship over a $10 u joint kit.

He picked up the tab the next time we had coffee together.
 
I bough a JD 430 over the phone from a JVS school teacher at paris ky. Left at 4 am to be down there by 9am to meet him. When I got there his wife said he was called into school to teach because someone called in sick. I sat in the parking lot of a grocery store for 3 hours waiting for him. He shows up and says he decided not to sell the tractor. He was bigger than me and I didn't want to be in jail in ky so I left. He sold the tractor the next day at a consignment auction.
 
Bought a 1030 case knowing the engine was bad, but was surprised to find the factory original air filter in it. You can see the date on the top of the filter. I know the guy who sold it to me told me at leadt one true word, I just haven't figured out which one it was yet.
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Like the time I drove two hours for one on CL and it was gone when I got there? So was the owner. His brother said "Ya,he said he had two guys coming. He wondered which one would get here first.".
 
Bid off a 792 JD excavator at a local drive over the block auction. I knew the motor was noisy but I had another complete engine. Before they got the machine parked it threw a rod through the side of the block. I went to the owner of the auction and tried to negotiate a price to buy the machine like it was. He thought that taking $1500 off the price was fair. I passed..
Ron
 
About 25 years ago bought a David Brown (forget the model) from an estate that was connected with the Pittsburgh Forge company. Got the tractor home and started using it a couple weeks later while plowing it made some black smoke and went BOOM. Found out the tractor was used for years in the equipment factory and the oil had NEVER been changed.
 
Went with a friend to look at a combine at a dealer west Tn.when we got there and looked it over it was a very well kept machine.Told him he would take it but had a trade in when they came out to look at his trade a mistake was made in the price.The combine price went up exactly what they were going to give as a trade.No sale here.
 
Hey Bruce that's sounds like Shedden farm Equipment? They were fairly close to me and I know that's what happened there.
 
Bought a sharp 1855 at a sale one time and they drove it thru the ring and i bought it under the reject price so i bought it to love it . Had a pedigree on it from the owner ( first mistake ) . Well i owned it now. So when i was done stimulating the economy for the day i paid my bill and went to load the tractor and OH the new batterys were dead and the starting crew was now engaged in loading . So it is pouring rain but i wanted it on the trailer and one of the lot dogs came by with the loader and i flagged him down and we put the chains on it and he picked it up and off to my trailer and set it down and i hung two chains on it and unhooked the loader chains and put two more chains on it and out the road i went. It was late when i got home so i just dropped the trailer and went home . Next day i tried to get it going with no joy on my part . The starter was junk . So i coasted it off the trailer and pulled the starter and had it rebuilt . Got it back on and after charging the batterys for a day i tried once again to start it . The NEW batterys were toast , so ok two new batterys and it started so let see what we have , Found out real fast as the trans was junk and the rear end was shot . SOOOOOoooo before i get buried in this prime piece of ag equipment it gose back on the trailer and takes a 30 mile drive to the next sale , I am more honest as i put a pedigree on it sayen this tractor is JUNK buy it as JUNK. One of the guys i know that worked for a Old oliver dealer buys it and come up to me and asked what is wrong with it and i tell him what i know about the tractor and he is OK with that as they have a complete rear end trans and all setting . So i only lost around 1200 bucks but hey that is tuition payment in tractor jockying . So they make the rearend switch and sell the tractor and the new buyer tells then to change all fluids and filters before they haul it to his farm. That is when they found all the antifreeze in the pan. Crank is scrap cam is junk and the block is junk. Well they made the deal and so they had to eat the rest of the repairs and only lost as Clem told me just short of 4 grand. Hey they did not have to rebuild the starter or put batterys in it.
 
Guess guys like me might be the cause of some of your bad days. Saw an ad for a tractor that looked seriously under-priced one Friday evening- Called the guy (about 4 hours away), he said he had had some calls, had a guy coming at 10 the next morning, it was first-come, first served. I made sure I got there with cash and my trailer at 9:00, and had it bought and gone by 10. I'm sure the other guy was not happy. Seller probably should have made me wait around to give the other guy first crack at it, but he didn't.
 
I bought a 335 MM, with a loader on it, and screwed myself. I really can't blame the PO (shyster), tho it was evident that he was fortunate, that I didn't test drive it. He told me that it worked good, and he had finished the work that he had for it, and didn't need it any more. He offered to deliver it free, and I was happy to do that, being as it was a 80 mile round trip. I was working for the Boeing Co, on 2nd shift, and had to leave home by 2:00 in the afternoon, to be on time at work. I expected him around noon, and he showed up at 1:30, with it on his trailer. I was in a rush, so I told him to start it up, and turn on the PTO, and lift and lower the loader. It started right up, sounded ok, and both loader functions worked, and the PTO went round. I paid him the $2500. asking price, and told him to run it off the trailer, and left for work. He had parked it in the way , blocking my wrap around drive, and I went to move it the next morning. It started right up and ran well, so I raised the loader and found out in less than 20 yards, that it wouldn't turn to the right, but would turn left ok, and also the 3 pt didn't raise or lower. It turned out to have a ford truck Power steering pump, and pitman arm, scabbed on to it, and the pitman arm hit the oil pan , when trying to turn right. It's not easy to find MM parts in the Puget Sound area, and had to order used parts from Texas. Thanks to this forum, I was able to find some parts.
 
Hi i Find every tractor I ever brought to sell was a pain by the time I never owned it anymore. You go look at them figure out what's wrong from a drive round and check over. Then get it home and start fixing what you knew and find out another $2000 plus of suprises turn up.

It don't matter if it's a 1500 or $15.000 tractor either. I quit doing them, Then got offered a deal last week. I had the tractor sold before I got it, thats why i took the chance. Found out the oil leak the guy fixed was only half the issue. He never tested it before he put it back together, so had to go back and do the rest of the job properly,tightening loose fittings he missed. The new battery's he fitted were junk when the sun went behind the clouds. Then a couple other surprises.

The tractor left my yard with my good battery's on, I'm waiting for the warranty to get settled on the new ones! thats about $300 I might get back in new battery's for my tractor. yeah I made a few $ but in reality I paid my self shop rate per hour for fixing it, just like any other customer unit.
I just basically refreshed my bad memory of why I quit doing them 5 years ago from the whole experience L.O.L.
regards Robert
 
Hi Jocco I find your post real interesting, how can a guy buy a tractor and not figure out it was way past a service until it went bang. surely you must of checked the oils/ filters and such when you got it. if that oil was that bad in the motor it would of been obvious when a guy checked fluid levels and things. First thing many of us do is a full service on a new to us machine, or after seeing some dealer serviced used units not done right, I will double check them and verify it was actually done properly to, and they didn't cut corners to save a few $ when they sell them off the lot.
Regards Robert
 
had a bad 85 ford truck , a bad 14 t jd baler , a massey 12 baler that insists it is junk , a jaguar , junkwire,..and had a time with a sc case , carb ,. and a 300 maassey carb,,. and a 4020 jd that is problematic,. I could write a book
 
I called on an early Cub Cadet one time, maybe a 127?. It was still for sale. Went to look at it. It was very clean and shiny original owner CC. He said a man had looked at it but did not buy it and it was still for sale. I started it up and was running it and trying it out a little when another man arrived. I said whats up? The owner said "him?" "he's the guy from earlier that bought the cadet. Here to pick it up". I said why did you tell me it was still for sale and waste my time?! He couldn't figure out why I was mad. Must've been nuts.
 
I have bought so many lemons that I think I was running a lemonade stand rather than trading tractor. LOL

The best one I have ever had pulled on me was on a JD 2520. It was a diesel with a wide front end. It ran well and sounded good. I paid top dollar for it. I took it home and actually used it for several days making hay. Light work, raking and such. Then I was using in it away from home. It started making a hammering noise and I shut it right down. That tractor had a spun main bearing. The seller had replaced the bearing with a hard piece of oil soaked leather. It ran for 10-15 hours that way. The block and crankshaft where both junk. So I had to find both used and then do a complete overhaul.
 
I have worked through it, and have used it for 14 years, and it doesn't owe me anything at this point, so I have tried to forget- but............

I bought a Ryder "road ready truck". The first thing I did was shorten the wheelbase. I found the rear axle housings had been welded. I used it that way for years, before I found used ones and had them replaced. I got that done just in time, as the forward housing had cracked enough one wheel ran crooked- when taken apart the differential needed rebuilding.

One of the "new" recaps on the back blew out, fortunately close to home. When my tire man looked at it, he commented on how he could never get away with capping a tire that old.

Upon draining the engine oil, I got flakes of metal. The bearings were falling apart! I measured one of the worst ones when replacing them, and in one spot there was .017" material gone! My VERY experienced Cummins man said he had never seen bearings that bad come out of an engine still running. He said they had some trouble with British bearings. Sure enough- they were made in England.

The head gasket blew, away from home, loaded. I got towed home. Took the head to the engine shop. The said they had never seen a head with that many cracks! Said it looked like a spider web.
 
I sold a 1950 Oliver at an auction back in the 90s the mennonite who bought it thought he got a bad deal when he put a couple of boys on it and sent them home. It started right up, they took off down the road and within a 1/4 mile it died. You should have seen every one standing around watching that show. It sure didn't look good. My oldest son drove down and pushed the emergency cut off knob back in fired it up and sent them on their way.They probably didn't play with any of the rest of the controls til they got home.
 
About 20 years ago I bought an IH 766 on a farm auction. There was no opportunity to really check it out as it was the first item to be auctioned. That is highly unusual and should have rung an alarm for me. It was only about 20 miles away so I went to drive it home. Well, it seemed to me that something was not right--yeah, the TA was going out. (Also had a flat front tire bringing it home!) Well, the price was good if the tractor had been. So, I put about $3,000 more into it and had a good tractor. About 6 months later, out of the blue, I get a call from a finance company (Maybe the PCA, I don't remember) they said they had a lien on the tractor and wanted to resolve the matter. I told them exactly the whole story up to that point, and felt totally beaten until a few days later they called again and said they had resolved the matter and had no further interest in the tractor. Whew!!! I still have the tractor and it's done me well.
 
You are right on my friend . Old Ken from Shedden left a few folks with a bad taste in their mouths. I came out not to bad, but I did have to drive back down there and drive the tractor off of the lot to get it. Bruce
 
JD no tmuch I haven't seen (although more so years ago). YES on leather bearing, sawdust in noisy rear end, Welded shafts in tranny or gearboxes!!! Plus many more.
 
Known as "..fairly honest Ken" they sure had a pile of junk there; I bought a corn planter from him; I also waited weeks for it to come, but it did....eventually.

Ben
 
I bought a JD 5020 some years back. The first problem was the transmission input shaft seal started leaking. I Had to split that thing to replace the seal. The next disaster the right set of duals pulled out of the final drive. Took forever to just get the wheel hubs loose. Then I had to have the injection pump rebuilt a year or so later. That is my bad tractor story. Stan
 
A brand new 1963 Bel Air 4 door sedan. Worst car I ever even heard of. You name it and it failed several times over. I sold it to a mechanic who wanted it so bad he could taste it a year later and took a vow to never own anything that said "Chevrolet" on it again. Never have, never will.
 
Thats ironic Bruce, I was reading that post and thought "that sounds like......". The next couple of posts confirmed my suspicion. I bought a 6 row scuffler from him, the only deal I ever made with him.....it turned out OK
 
I buy a few dead tractors a year. Have to winch them on the trailer. Just about every one is worst then what owner says is wrong with it. My best buy was a Ford 881 that I bought for parts. Bought it on the phone, went about 175 miles to pick it. He had it covered with a tarp, when he took that tarp off, I said to myself, that thing was to nice to part out. The rear engine main seal was leaking bad. I drove it on the trailer. Had power-steering, superior loader and nice set of pie-weights. Replaced the rear seal and the torque clutch on the S.O.S. and adjusted the bands. I really liked that tractor.
 
Went to buy JD 2020 seller wanted to sell by appt. I was first to call and was supposed to see it first at 8am.. Told him if it ran I would buy it. went rented a trailer got cash. next morning at 740am 5 miles from his house he calls and says someone showed up early and bought it. I was polite but hoped the guys check bounced.
 
I don't know whether you're coming at that in a negative or positive way. I never knew anyone who had one although I remember seeing them around. By that time I wasn't interested in anything that said Chevrolet on it. I do remember the Vega. What a disaster that was. Inexcusable!
 
We bought a touting 4 star Tedder for $1,200.00. After bush hogging the pasture my brother decided to ted the clippings. The out side beatter didn't work, one roll pin and countless hours later it still works like a charm. I don't think the guy was trying to lie to us as we bought a Hesston round baler and it worked perfect from day one.
 
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