Sell outright or trade in my current tractor?

[Dukslayr]

For those of you who have bought and sold several tractors, I have a question. Assuming that you are buying a tractor from the dealership and you’re not planning on keeping your current tractor (or one of them), do you generally trade your tractor in to the dealership or sell it outright yourself? I’m guessing some of the this depends on the size of the tractor but curious your thoughts. As I get ready to pull the trigger on a different tractor I’m trying to figure out what to do with mine. It’s a 38 hp Kubota w/ loaded and attachments so I would think there should be a pretty good resale market for tractors in that size range. I haven’t gotten any trade quotes from dealers yet nor have I posted it for sale. Any specific pros or cons you’ve had either way? Obviously it’s a hell of a lot easier to just give it to the dealership and let them deal with selling it...but I’m assuming I won’t get the return I would by selling it myself. Not sure if dealers offer any special incentives for trade in tractors (like car delarships), like extra cash back, deals on attachments, etc.

Thomas

 

[swat1018]

Around my home in Indiana, tractors like that go for high dollar. All of the urban farmers and horse lovers pay way more than they're worth to anyone else at auction. I'd stick it on Facebook marketplace or CL and see what happens.

 

[kl9]

Talk to your dealership about incentives. Ask them what they would give to you on trade for your tractor. Then post it on Facebook and craigslist and see if you can get more.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dukslayr]

My other dilemma is that I live an hour from my farm where all my equipment is. I would hate to have to drive back and forth a half dozen times to show it to folks just wanting to kick the the tires. Hopefully if this type of tractor is bringing good money around here (which I think they are) then the dealership would be interested in making me a good deal. Guess I won’t find out till I ask them. Planning my three dealership (Case, JD, Kubota) run for after the New Year.

 

[buckdeer1]

Wish you were closer to SC Kansas,you may just have to bring everything to a central location .What attachments do you have

 

[Dukslayr]

Wish you were closer to SC Kansas,you may just have to bring everything to a central location .What attachments do you have

I’ll probably sell it with a 5’ brush cutter, pallet forks and bucket, new post hole digger, 1 or 2 field cultivators, and at least one 3 pt disc. I’ve probably got more stuff i bought with my current farm that could go with it, but that’s all of the stuff I previously bought that’s in very good condition.

I’ll be getting larger versions of some of this same stuff for the new tractor.

 

[Apple Junkie]

Another option you might want to consider is to put your stuff in a farm equipment auction. My guess is they are being run on a regular basis in your area. You will have to pony up 10% of the sale price to the auction house, but my guess is a dealer is going to want to make more than that, and his offer is likely to reflect the higher margin he needs to get. I'm on the other end, looking for a good used tractor, and I'm thinking my best option is to pick one up at an auction. I know it's a pain selling it outright, even if it is in your backyard. Either way, good luck.

 

[Tree Spud]

I’ll probably sell it with a 5’ brush cutter, pallet forks and bucket, new post hole digger, 1 or 2 field cultivators, and at least one 3 pt disc. I’ve probably got more stuff i bought with my current farm that could go with it, but that’s all of the stuff I previously bought that’s in very good condition.

I’ll be getting larger versions of some of this same stuff for the new tractor.

I got an amazing trade in value as the dealer was looking for specific tractor sizes, he also had incentives from the mftr that he wanted to use to help his inventory purchase for the following year ... probably saved 20-23% on the purchase of a much larger tractor. Was able to move into the 75 hp plus class.

He also gave me a credit toward a future purchase as I wanted a smaller more maneuverable tractor ... wanted to balance his inventory with a bit of a commitment.

Kinda feel like I got 2 for 1 ... was very pleased.

 

[Dukslayr]

Out of curiosity, does anyone know (by best guess) what percent off you would generally expect to pay at a dealer for the same tractor that you build via their online tractor quote page? For example if you go to JD website and build a 5065E and the MSRP it spits out is 46,500...how much off do you generally find at the dealer for that same new tractor? I know some of this is subject to incentives and local guys needing to move tractors or whatever other influences might be at play, but I assume the online build price isn’t what you would expect to pay at the dealer? I’m assuming if there’s something on their lot they are much more willing to make a deal on it as well.

 

[swat1018]

https://www.tractorhouse.com/listings/farm-equipment/for-sale/29735587/2018-john-deere-5065e

 

[Dukslayr]

https://www.tractorhouse.com/listings/farm-equipment/for-sale/29735587/2018-john-deere-5065e

I’ve been scouring tractor house for months...just curious about dealer costs relative to new tractors.

 

[swat1018]

I’ve been scouring tractor house for months...just curious about dealer costs relative to new tractors.

There are several on tractor house with 1 or 2 hours at dealers, that I thought would give you an idea. Not sure what you are asking, I guess.

 

[Dukslayr]

There are several on tractor house with 1 or 2 hours at dealers, that I thought would give you an idea. Not sure what you are asking, I guess.

If I walk into dealer and order a tractor from them the same way I “built it” online, hoe much difference is there between the online price that’s created vs what you pay on real life when you order a new tractor. The difference between what I’m asking and what you’re suggesting is that those are tractors they have already taken delivery of, and this likely more motivated to sell than me “custom” ordering a tractor through them. Kind of like ordering a truck from the dealership (factory) set up the way you want it vs buying something out of their current inventory. Does that make sense?

 

[Maddog3355]

They don’t call them stealerships for nothing. Figure out what you want for your used tractor. Go to the dealer and get to dealing on a new tractor and when they ask you if you have a trade in tell them no your buying outright. When you all figure out a price tell them you will give them so much and then your used tractor and go from there. It works better this way because if you bring up the trade in first they are going to quote you a higher price so they can give you a better trade in price to make you feel like you really done good!!!!

 

[Jim Timber]

There's two issues here - you have a tractor with good resale value, and then you have a bunch of stuff that goes with it. Bundled packages work great for dealers selling them because all the "extras" only add 30-50 bucks a month. Cut out the free financing and most used tractor guys are going to buy the bare machine and if the deal's good enough they'll get the extras.

Dealership is going to offer pennies on your "used" implements. If it's not the newest wizbang whatever, it might as well be scrap to most of them (at least until it's time for Them to sell).

My advice: get a good idea what your tractor is worth via the comps on the ag specific machinery sites, see if the dealer will come close enough (within 15%) of your comps, and then sell the implements via an online auction who caters to small/hobby farm gear.

 

[chummer]

Out of curiosity, does anyone know (by best guess) what percent off you would generally expect to pay at a dealer for the same tractor that you build via their online tractor quote page? For example if you go to JD website and build a 5065E and the MSRP it spits out is 46,500...how much off do you generally find at the dealer for that same new tractor? I know some of this is subject to incentives and local guys needing to move tractors or whatever other influences might be at play, but I assume the online build price isn’t what you would expect to pay at the dealer? I’m assuming if there’s something on their lot they are much more willing to make a deal on it as well.

I don’t know a % but they are definitely more inclined to sell you stock units. I work for an equipment company and we have a 40 million dollar floor plan. That means we are locked into taking that much from the manufacture. These are slotted for delivery throughout the year. Next year another 40 million plus whatever % increase the manufacturer feels our market can handle. It puts us in a position that we have to move the stock units or they start to pile up from year to year then we have older machines. If you came in and placed a special order we would be happy to sell it to you but it doesn’t help us in moving the 40 million we are on the hook for. We make sure we push every stock unit and will take less to get you to not order. The million dollar question is how much less the dealer takes and you save. I would look at the difference in what you want compared to their stock units. We have a company meeting once a year to go over specs on new machines to make sure we are bringing them in with what the majority of people are going to want.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

I had much better luck selling out right. I bought and sold 3 tractors over 5 yr period all using craigslist and FB. Got trade in quotes on a couple of them. Always sold for thousands more. Had a Massey 231 quoted 5K sold for 6500. Kabota mu 3500 quoted 4500 sold for 7.
FB is one powerful tool. Literally sold my house in 2wks by owner with it. If you dont have an account make one!

 

[j-bird]

I think you will get a better price for your machine selling it out right. Now...that doesn't mean you will sell it quickly. Trade-in means the place you are working with will be trying to make some money when they re-sell it and that means that money will come out of your pocket, but it happens quickly, so it may help address a cash-flow issue if there is one. All depends on the situation and if you think your getting a fair price if you trade it in.

 

[Dukslayr]

I don’t know a % but they are definitely more inclined to sell you stock units. I work for an equipment company and we have a 40 million dollar floor plan. That means we are locked into taking that much from the manufacture. These are slotted for delivery throughout the year. Next year another 40 million plus whatever % increase the manufacturer feels our market can handle. It puts us in a position that we have to move the stock units or they start to pile up from year to year then we have older machines. If you came in and placed a special order we would be happy to sell it to you but it doesn’t help us in moving the 40 million we are on the hook for. We make sure we push every stock unit and will take less to get you to not order. The million dollar question is how much less the dealer takes and you save. I would look at the difference in what you want compared to their stock units. We have a company meeting once a year to go over specs on new machines to make sure we are bringing them in with what the majority of people are going to want.

Good info. Thank you.

 

[Dukslayr]

I

I had much better luck selling out right. I bought and sold 3 tractors over 5 yr period all using craigslist and FB. Got trade in quotes on a couple of them. Always sold for thousands more. Had a Massey 231 quoted 5K sold for 6500. Kabota mu 3500 quoted 4500 sold for 7.
FB is one powerful tool. Literally sold my house in 2wks by owner with it. If you dont have an account make one!

I definitely have an account. I sold my second house on CL and have sold a ton of stuff on both FB and CL. I listed my tractor yesterday on FB just to drip some water on the market. And see how much interest there is.