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Mechanically Sound

B

Bill from Scotland

Member
Just looking for opionons. Bought a tractor a couple of weeks ago. Described as mechanically sound but rusty cab, I have no problems with the rusty cab. Phoned the guy and asked lots of questions and asked for pictures about tractor before I decided to buy. Tractor arrived with oil pressure warnings activated on dash, costly sender unit needed to fix. 3point linkage wasnt fitted but seller said all parts would be placed in the cab, on arrival these turned out to be from a completely different manufacturer and will needs lots of engineering to make fit and operational, slew blocks and pins missing. Brakes were supposed to be good, only one works the other pedal has absolutely no resistence and goes to the floor. Tyres were supposedly free of cracks, cuts etc on arrival they have two or three nasty splits/tears and numerous nails in them.
When I contacted him about the descrepencies he says Im just pulling the tractor apart and I knew it was 25 years old before I bought it. I think he is being unreasonable but you guys may not agree, opinions please.
 
If he seriously misrepresented the tractor you might be able take him to court. Personally, I would never buy a piece of equipment without seeing it in person and going over it, unless I knew the particular piece or the owner. Too many dishonest shysters to trust anyone anymore.
 
This is a lesson I have learnt while buying equipment, cattle, vehicles, property and everything else-----Use your own judgement and everything else that is told to you needs to go in one ear and out the other. As for buying something without looking----The buyer will end up on the short end of the stick almost always. I bet if you would have looked at this tractor there is no way you would have bought it. I always told my son as he was growing up and learning to do business that the lessons that cost you money would stay with you for a lifetime. Sorry for your misfortune, but I bet you will remember this for the rest of your life.
 
Funny.... I've seen 25 year old tractors in really good condition.. Sounds as if there are "shisters" over there too.. I wouldn't buy anything without seeing it before hand , unless I figured for the worst anyhow.... I recently bought a Chevy S-10 pick-up truck.. I didn't look at it either.. Well, I figured it had a blown engine as he said it needed a head gasket.. Turns out it was a rod knocker.. I bought it cheap enough to be able to replace the engine with a good used one...The rest of the truck was ok...
 
Thinking about it, how did you pay? On Paypal and I think some credit cards you can cancel the payment if something was seriously misrepresented.
 
You didn't marry your wife with out seeing, and getting to know her did you? Why in the world anyone buy anything without looking at it is beyond me.
 
Thinking about this, and I realize I have purchased four major machines(each has at least an engine) long distance! I figured on some fixing. But no major surprises.
What are the odds of that? I think I'm done doing that. I guess a good gambler knows when to quit!
 
I never buy a tractor anymore without looking at it myself or a person I trust looking at it.

There are too many guys that think that they can be tractor jockeys and make money. They find out there is usually not that much profit anymore. So they resort to "tricks/lies" to make money.

I would eat the shipping cost and asked for my money back. If he balks I would pursue legal action.

You have a tractor that is basically a salvage tractor as it does not have the correct hitch. How are you to use the tractor???? Put a Ford hitch on a Oliver/Massey??? IF I see one that is doctored up that way I will not buy it for any money.

You have already taken the beating. So You need to decide how you are going to proceed. Myself I would quit throwing good money after bad.
 
And people wonder why I never buy anything like that sight unseen. I won't sell to anybody either until they've seen it with their own eyes.
 
That's another equipment jockey term that goes along with the "ran when parked", "just through the shop", "Needs cosmetics","local one owner".......
 
With the exception of tires (and even those, really), none of those items are show stoppers. It is mechanically sound. To me that means the trans works without obvious issues and the engine runs like it should. With a 25 year old machine I figure I will need to fix 25 things before it is up to the standards of a machine I would use everyday. Sure, some of those are things like replacing burned out bulbs, but some of those are brakes as well. I would consider all of the tractors I have purchased to be mechanically sound, but way more than half of them needed brake work to function like they should. If the previous owner(s) botched one repair a year (which is realistic for some people!) you aren't bad off.

I've purchased things sight unseen but I always plan on getting something that is going to bust my butt in one way or another. I am always pleasantly surprised that way. The part of that I would hate the most is the tires. You can't get a good deal on decent ones anymore. All of them crack in a short time, so if they are supple I would run them until they scare me. I'm not sure I have any tractor here without cracked tires to some degree - field tractors included.
 
We went and looked at a wd45 one time and with a straight face the seller told me he had just changed rear end oil,, I asked him how he filled it without cracking the grease off the fill plug ! price got cheaper real quick. Point is never buy without looking.
 
To me, mechanically sound means it wil, with a little effort start and drive onto trailer to be hauled to repair shop. It doesn't mean that anything other than the drive train works. It means, to me, that no frills work, and that beyond being able to drive it a short distance, it needs a lot of work. If the tractor is in good condition, the owner will quickly claim that it is in good condition. To some, Mechanically sound means that the engine isn't seized and can be rebuilt. Basically, it doesn't work, but will manually turn and has all the parts, allbeit in a box next to the tractor. If he charged you for a project tractor, you were not ripped off, yet, if he charged you for a well running tractor, well.

About ten years ago, I had an old Jimmy to sell that ran, but needed a lot of work to be road worthy. I was only asking $400 and was honest that it needed lots of work. The first person to call was a single mother. I informed her what the overall condition was and that it wasn't something she could rely on as it was. The second person said he owned a body shop. After I told him what I knew was wrong and that plenty more would likely also need work, he said he would be overhauling it and using it for a second vehicle for his wife. The Jimmy had everything including 4 wheel drive. I brought it to his shop. He signed the "AS IS" bill of sale and we exchanged the keys for my $400. Later that day, he called complaining because one of the electric windows would not roll down. Sometimes a vehicle is sound enough to be worth repairing, yet it isn't without need for repairs. The price is how we determine if it was a reasonable deal. If the price was what is paid for a good running tractor, I'ld be furious.
 
To me mechanically sound means something that I can hook to and go out to the field and work. A tractor with oil pressure warnings on you cannot do that. It also means that the lights work so you can do that after dark., And that includes brakes working. Tires free of cracks-cuts mean tires you could go to field with, not something that might blow before you get to field. If you go to buy a car that is the same thing you expect, not something you have to get repaired to be able to drive it. It may mean using a quart of oil every 1,000 mile but not hurting the operation, using 3 quart of oil every 500 mile is not mechanically sound. It may be getting rust holes in that will not hinder the safty of it or perhaps no paint left byt those things do not keep it from working. He completely lied.
 
25 years old? That's a new machine on my farm.

Of course he's lied through his teeth to you about the condition - the question is what do you do about it?
 
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder (seller maybe in this case). Never buy anything without looking at it. Don't waste money and time on legal action. Chalk it up to tuition for a lesson learned.
 
I guess It'll go under the "Live and Learn" category.Sure sounds like he lied but opinions on what 'good condition' or 'works' mean varies widely.Unless it was out of the question or super cheap I'd of made the trip to check it out before buying or gotten (paid) a mechanic near him to check the tractor out for me.Usually just mentioning that I'm going to line up a mechanic to come look usually means the seller will 'remember' a few more things he'd 'forgotten' to mention it needed.
 
Hi Bill
All I will say is i'm sorry to here of your problems . C D's cousin must still be alive and well in the U.K. You know what I mean "Wink""Wink"

Gonna find/ take ya some more pictures and do another email for you this week. With Christmas and work commitments It's been pretty hectic round here, and I expect you've had the outside temps here up on ya Iphone , so been cold to go out and take pictures, just been outside doing chores and in the workshop, the last few days.
Happy new year to you guys
Regards Robert
 
I always ask before I buy " and what needs to be fixed on this tractor". Its like horse trading if you ask they should give you an honest answer.
 
chalk it up to live and learn
While I don't usually buy anything sight unseen,
if I do, I consider it junk and bid same.
exception is a model I just 'have' to have.
then I figure that in and tell myself I will
have to fix Everything. come up with a fair bid and hope I get lucky.(not top dollar, for those I have to look)

I do a lot of trading, and I stick firm to my one rule.
"Never look back"
What is.....is
 
One get still get stung even when he did all the right things like going to to look 3 times and inspecting and test drive.

I was a couple years looking to buy a CTL, went to a dealer, dealer had none but knew one (with said dealer installed brand new engine 600 hrs ago) for sale by a guy that the dealer said was maintaining his equipment religiously and they said you can't go wrong buying a used machine from him.
I looked this thing over on 3 diff occasions and talked to his mechanic as well before purchasing it.

Wel, after less than 50 hrs of use it threw a track cause of a bearing gone in the normally oil filled front idler which was dry as bone.
upon inspecting the entire undercarriage i found out of the 18 boogie axles there was only one that held oil , all the rest were wore till the hilt and dry as bone.( something one can only find out by taking the tracks off)( manual says check oil level off the boogies every 500 hrs)
When i contacted both seller and dealer about this none took responsebillity. Dealer said sorry, seller did not want to take the machine back either but offered an incomplete parts machine as compensation after i threatened to take him to court.
I was able between the 2 machines and some new bearings to get the undercarriage back together.
After going trough the entire machine i found out among other things that the hydraulic and engine oil and filters never had been changed since new(2200 hr on machine) and there was a open hole in the intake post filter were the dealer had forgotten to install a dirty air filter indicator. And this machine was used running a mulcher head!

PO maintenance schedule,...Fix only what breaks when it breaks.:roll:
 
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