Regarding Distant Equipment Companies That "Restore&quo

radara4077 · Jul 5, 2018

I don't want to stir anything up, but...

Sometime in the possibly near future, I plan on investing in a new-to-me tractor to add to the menagerie. We currently farm with a 2550 Deere and an 841 Ford. I have always wanted a 50 or 55 series Deere with MFWD and SoundGard (2950, 3255, 4050, 4255, etc.). Spent many hours daydreaming on Tractor House, but almost everything that sells is hours or days from me.

Looking for something in the 80 to 110 HP range.

Unfortunately, I don't have the resources or the time to head off across multiple states every time a listing piques my interest. But I have seen a few different places that seem to take in used tractors, give them a run-through, "restore" them, and then put them out on their lot to sell.

Anyone on here familiar with any of these places? To me, that seems like the route to take, as long as I could be relatively certain I was dealing with someone honest. I also know that a fresh coat of paint and a good can of de-greaser can hide a lot of issues, so I would want to take my business to someone who is the "real deal" and doesn't cut corners.

I spoke to one gentleman in particular who seemed "above board" (of course, you can never know for sure), but I'll save his name for now.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Adirondack case guy · Jul 5, 2018

Have you ever looked in a local CNH-JD, or other mainline dealer yards???? That is what they DO. There more places than Auctions to buy used tractors.
Loren

radara4077 · Jul 5, 2018

It's rare to see a 50 or 55 series Deere for sale around here. Most local farmers keep their stuff until it falls apart.

In any case, most dealers around here do a quick once-over and put their trades back on the lot (for too much $$$). No major overhauls, no paint jobs.

showcrop · Jul 5, 2018

A fresh coat of paint is a ALWAYS, ALWAYS! ALWAYS!!! a huge red flag when looking at a used tractor.

showcrop · Jul 5, 2018

A fresh coat of paint is a ALWAYS, ALWAYS! ALWAYS!!! a huge red flag when looking at a used tractor.

blue_tractor_man · Jul 5, 2018

I bought my JD 2755 from an Ebay ad. Guy
lost his tobacco contract and had one too
many tractors. I flew 800 miles, looked at
the tractor, handed him a check and flew
home. Hired a truck to bring it home. Not a
bargain, but I got the tractor I wanted.

tomstractorsandtoys · Jul 5, 2018

I do some of what you are talking about. I buy tractors with problems and run them thru the shop use them some on the farm then paint and sell them. I work mainly on 10 and 20 series Deere tractors as well as some 30 and 40 series utilities. The problem with a tractor is you never find everything. You can go to the doctor today and still have a heart attack tomorrow. Years ago I bought a nice original low hour 706 IH diesel. We had it on a fertlizer buggy when a rod broke and went thru the side of the block. I also feel that no matter how much you spend that you can not take a rough high hour tractor and make it as good as a low hour original. Tom

JD Farmer · Jul 5, 2018

My neighbor up the road (here in SE Ohio) bought one of those this spring. Had a nice paint job on it, and he spent the next month in his free time rebuilding most of the mechanicals and still doesn't have a functioning PTO. Soon as he told me it came from Pa. I knew right where he got it. I had talked to that crook on the phone 3 years ago, soon figured out what was going on and stayed away. He should have known better, but for whatever reason, trusted them to tell the truth. JD 2030 was the tractor.

JD Seller · Jul 5, 2018

Well I would buy good original paint any day over repainted. I do not care if the hours are higher than I really would like. Fresh paint is a huge turn off to me. Almost NO one and I do mean no one is going to be able to restore/rebuild a tractor like your talking about and be able to sell it and make any money. The cost up front plus the repairs will just about always be more than the market will stand on the tractor when it sells.

So your just going to have to look harder for the tractor like your looking for. Truthfully I have never bought a tractor that was listed on Tractorhouse. Just about everything on there is prices at retail plus. So mostly over valued stuff.

There are a bunch of good fellows on here. YOU need to develop some relationships with some of these fellows. YTers are spread all over the US. So if we kind of know what your looking for we can watch locally for some thing like it. Maybe even go and look for you. But your going to have to close the deal so to speak. I have driven or even flown long distances to look at equipment. I very rarely buy with out seeing it in person. I know of maybe 4-5 guys I would buy from sight unseen. 3-4 of them post on here.

So refine what you want. Then look at your budget and see if the two meet. (Mine usually does not. LOL) Then starter bird dogging for the one you want.

Thomasthetankengine · Jul 5, 2018

Agree totally. I always avoid anything that has been
repainted. ?A good coat of paint covers up a lot of sins? my
Grandmother used to say.

flying belgian · Jul 5, 2018

Yes, you can find something close that will do the job, or, you can drive for 2 days and get exactly what you want. Since your going to have this tractor for 15 yrs., 2 days time
seams like a small price to pay for exactly what you want.

notjustair · Jul 5, 2018

I bought a chore/haying tractor off Craig?s List that was in another state. I had been looking for a good while for this exact model. I wasn?t willing
to compromise and get one that had spindle welds or leaks everywhere. I finally found a low hour machine with the original owner. I drove down
on a Saturday, it was everything it was touted to be, I handed him a check, and went back the next day in the semi to get it. I just spent 10
hours in it today and it is one good machine.

Don?t buy something someone has fixed and try to farm with it. Look high and low for a good well cared for machine that is still working each
day. You won?t regret it. I?d never sell it, but the 4440 that has been here since it was two years old just rolled 10,000 hours. Doesn?t use a drop
of oil and has never been in the shop. It would make you ten times the tractor than a rebuilder can do. Trust me, there is someone out there as
picky as you about their equipment that has the tractor you want.

dairyman · Jul 6, 2018

Look up Mifflin equipment on Facebook it?s run by
the cousin of a good friend of mine. Chris is
meticulous about what he?ll sell. I would have no
trouble buying sight unseen from him but he?ll tell
you he wants you to look at the machine yourself
before buying. He specializes in John Deere so if he
doesn?t have what you?re looking for likely can get it.
Dave

radara4077 · Jul 6, 2018

(quoted from post at 21:38:55 07/05/18) My neighbor up the road (here in SE Ohio) bought one of those this spring. Had a nice paint job on it, and he spent the next month in his free time rebuilding most of the mechanicals and still doesn't have a functioning PTO. Soon as he told me it came from Pa. I knew right where he got it. I had talked to that crook on the phone 3 years ago, soon figured out what was going on and stayed away. He should have known better, but for whatever reason, trusted them to tell the truth. JD 2030 was the tractor.

This place doesn't happen to start with a C, does it?

radara4077 · Jul 6, 2018

(quoted from post at 23:17:57 07/05/18) Well I would buy good original paint any day over repainted. I do not care if the hours are higher than I really would like. Fresh paint is a huge turn off to me. Almost NO one and I do mean no one is going to be able to restore/rebuild a tractor like your talking about and be able to sell it and make any money. The cost up front plus the repairs will just about always be more than the market will stand on the tractor when it sells.

So your just going to have to look harder for the tractor like your looking for. Truthfully I have never bought a tractor that was listed on Tractorhouse. Just about everything on there is prices at retail plus. So mostly over valued stuff.

There are a bunch of good fellows on here. YOU need to develop some relationships with some of these fellows. YTers are spread all over the US. So if we kind of know what your looking for we can watch locally for some thing like it. Maybe even go and look for you. But your going to have to close the deal so to speak. I have driven or even flown long distances to look at equipment. I very rarely buy with out seeing it in person. I know of maybe 4-5 guys I would buy from sight unseen. 3-4 of them post on here.

So refine what you want. Then look at your budget and see if the two meet. (Mine usually does not. LOL) Then starter bird dogging for the one you want.

Sound advice. I kinda had a feeling finding a "restored" tractor for close to "market value" was too good to be true.

Right now, I'm just testing the waters, so to speak. My current budget *might* buy me a 4050 pedal tractor haha! But it's something to look at for the future, and I'd like to have all my ducks in a row and know where to look when the time comes.

As I said, our current work horse is a 2550, and based on what I've read on here about the Mannheim tractors, it's a ticking time bomb hehehe!

radara4077 · Jul 6, 2018

(quoted from post at 21:15:27 07/05/18) I do some of what you are talking about. I buy tractors with problems and run them thru the shop use them some on the farm then paint and sell them. I work mainly on 10 and 20 series Deere tractors as well as some 30 and 40 series utilities. The problem with a tractor is you never find everything. You can go to the doctor today and still have a heart attack tomorrow. Years ago I bought a nice original low hour 706 IH diesel. We had it on a fertlizer buggy when a rod broke and went thru the side of the block. I also feel that no matter how much you spend that you can not take a rough high hour tractor and make it as good as a low hour original. Tom

Tom, I understand what you're saying--buying *anything* used is always a risk. I suppose that's why the coveted "low hours" machines almost always go for a premium; the odds go up with every work hour that something major will go wrong.

It's a gamble, with the buyer trying to beat the odds.

Ever overhaul a 50 series Deere?

Destroked 450 · Jul 7, 2018

I'm not a JD owner but have friends that are.
One friend has a 2950 MFWD, he only works his small acreage with it but it still spends a good amount of time in our local JD dealers shop.
Another friend has owned his 2955 for years, I replaced the muffler about 10 years ago and recently he had the original clutch replaced.

If I ever decided to go JD a 2955 would be at the top of my list.

radara4077 · Jul 9, 2018

The 2950/2955 are close to the top of the list for me, too...

I would love to have a 4050/4055, but I am concerned I won't find one anywhere close to my budget.

BarnyardEngineering · Jul 9, 2018

(quoted from post at 15:43:55 07/05/18) Have you ever looked in a local CNH-JD, or other mainline dealer yards???? That is what they DO. There more places than Auctions to buy used tractors.
Loren

What is "what they DO?"

Dealers, at least around here, are not in the business of selling USED tractors. Any they take in on trade, MAYBE get a bath with the Steam Jenny, then get parked on the lot priced at 4X what they allowed the guy who traded it in, on paper. They don't put any money into them. They don't have any money in them.

Anything they sell for is icing on the cake, but they don't want people buying those old tractors. They want them to see how expensive the old tractor is, and buy a NEW one.

showcrop · Jul 9, 2018

(quoted from post at 09:01:20 07/09/18)

(quoted from post at 15:43:55 07/05/18) Have you ever looked in a local CNH-JD, or other mainline dealer yards???? That is what they DO. There more places than Auctions to buy used tractors.
Loren

Click to expand...

What is "what they DO?"

Dealers, at least around here, are not in the business of selling USED tractors. Any they take in on trade, MAYBE get a bath with the Steam Jenny, then get parked on the lot priced at 4X what they allowed the guy who traded it in, on paper. They don't put any money into them. They don't have any money in them.

Anything they sell for is icing on the cake, but they don't want people buying those old tractors. They want them to see how expensive the old tractor is, and buy a NEW one.

That's strange. I got an excellent allowance when I traded a tractor a few years ago and the dealer had it gone in a few days with the buyer tickled pink with the deal that he got.

radara4077 · Jul 15, 2018

Gonna have to go with BarnyardEngineering on this one. Is it possible that you just took great care of the tractor you traded, showcrop?

showcrop · Jul 16, 2018

(quoted from post at 20:01:40 07/15/18) Gonna have to go with BarnyardEngineering on this one. Is it possible that you just took great care of the tractor you traded, showcrop?

So don't believe me radar I don't care. These forum pages are full of stories about the high resale value of Kubotas just look. I didn't do anything special in the care of mine. I did take it to the auto body repair shop when a friend ran his rake into the front of it turning too sharply.

BarnyardEngineering · Jul 16, 2018

I don't know, but around here nobody trades in a perfectly good used tractor. If they get traded, it's because there's so much wrong with them that fixing will cost more than they're worth.

showcrop · Jul 16, 2018

(quoted from post at 07:01:55 07/16/18) I don't know, but around here nobody trades in a perfectly good used tractor. If they get traded, it's because there's so much wrong with them that fixing will cost more than they're worth.

Barnyard, around here people trade them in all the time in order to upgrade and keep a reliable machine on hand. No need keeping something that doesn't fit anymore, in order to be able to have rust pictures in another twenty years.

radara4077 · Jul 16, 2018

(quoted from post at 11:22:58 07/16/18)

(quoted from post at 07:01:55 07/16/18) I don't know, but around here nobody trades in a perfectly good used tractor. If they get traded, it's because there's so much wrong with them that fixing will cost more than they're worth.

Click to expand...

Barnyard, around here people trade them in all the time in order to upgrade and keep a reliable machine on hand. No need keeping something that doesn't fit anymore, in order to be able to have rust pictures in another twenty years.

Different strokes for different folks, I reckon. But, in my area, it seems that what Barnyard is saying is the norm. I have been looking at Gen II Deeres at local dealerships for 10+ years -- you just simply don't find one that isn't worn out.

Destroked 450 · Jul 16, 2018

I'm not a JD man but the Gen 2 Deeres are 25-40+ years old and much sought after, folk that have good ones keep them so yes the ones you'll find on a lot are pretty much used up.
Retirement or estate auctions are about the only place you might find a good Gen 2 and your going to pay for it.

I've had my eye out for a good Ford 7710 with at lease 3 remotes, found one last year with less than 2000 hours, but the guy was firm on $20k, guess I should have bought it.
Guess I'll just stay with my 6610, it's a little short on power at times but it's paid for.

Regarding Distant Equipment Companies That "Restore&quo

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