A great tractor deal?

[Fuddy1952]

Granddad had a '49 Cub on 30 acres with a load of attachments. I bought a '50 Cub when I bought my place. That 4cyl...10hp...would do an amazing amount of work. Not fast, but dependable.
I got it stuck mowing grass, getting too close to the lake. We lived behind a tractor sales/service place. The owner pulled the Cub out with a large 30s John Deere 2 cylinder at what seemed running 400rpm.

 

[ultrarunner]

I think the Great Deal is finding vintage restored tractors for sale at prices well below the cost of time and material to restore...

This makes these tractors a great buy for those that desire them and/or can put them to work...

One thing to keep in mind few have ROPS... so this is a consideration that should not be overlooked if planning to work them.

 

[ovrszd]

I'm hard pressed to think of any 1968 tractor that would be worth $50K today.

Me too. So an investment in an auto has much better chance of a good return than a tractor investment.

 

[KennyG]

Me too. So an investment in an auto has much better chance of a good return than a tractor investment.

Yes, we all wish we still had the car(s) we owned in the 60s.

 

[Gem99ultra]

Collecting and restoring old tractors is strictly a personal preference thing. I had an old 1960 Fordson Dexta that had been used daily by an old gentleman friend to earn his living with it. It was beat up and worn out, for sure.
I had no interest in restoring it so I gave it to another old friend that did want to do just that. He invested $7000 into the restoration, but died before finishing it. It now sits in a barn in a pile of boxes, rotting away once again. I doubt that it'll ever be a running show piece again, but the old gentleman got many hours of pleasure in simply owning it and working on it.
Now... I did own a '55 Chevy BelAir convertible. Continental kit, V8, skirts, the whole works. Back "in the day" though, it was just an old used car when I got rid of it for about $300. I wouldn't mind having that one back.
Moral of this story is that what's a treasure for one is trash to another. Buy what makes you happy. After all Fuddy 1952 - $1800 isn't a large fortune in today money.

 

[ededic]

It’s already tripled in value since new. I wish my 1986 car I purchased new would do that!!

 

[Fuddy1952]

I'm sure there are people here way more knowledgeable than me with values, but my guess is if you buy the average new car today it loses quite a percent of value once you leave the lot, more so than a tractor.
Limited edition cars like a new Bullitt Mustang or Dodge Demon you may actually make money on.
I know stories of fairly new tractors sold cheap by a widow.

 

[ededic]

Many dream of purchasing that limited edition or muscle car new and keep it for a long time or just wish they had kept that one. I purchased the limited edition one that fell trap by the badging vs. power in the mid 80s as that was my era to purchase new.

I keep watching Barrett-Jackson and Mecum hoping for a super bird miracle story. Looks like I’ll be storing it for a while longer and patiently just waiting as some have said on this thread.

I find it hard to believe how much those 2 cyl John Deere tractors go for on Mecum. Most of the JD, MH, MD and Oliver I learned on and farmed with growing up are still in the family.

I know that the Super C that I grew up with would drag my JD 2210 around all day mainly due to weight, traction and gearing.

 

[ultrarunner]

I've kept most of my cars... and started adding tractors...

A nicely turned out restored Farmall Cub gets more attention at the Christmas tree farm then all the 100K Tesla and Mercedes G Wagons...

So far I have never lost money on a car... time will tell.

My former boss bought a brand new 2006 Ford GT off the showroom floor and enjoyed it immensely for 5 years... health issues made him decide it was time to sell... sold it for 50k more than he paid showroom new... so it can be done.