Another rant about buying used

[Lastkidpicked]

Knowing the kind hearted folks on here, I'm not the only one who has gone the other way.

We had a really cool Trans Am. It was fun, T-tops and everything. Spend all day Saturday getting it running so we can drive it to a Barbecue on Sunday.

A young guy came to look at it and while talking, I discovered this would be his only car and his daily driver.

I BEGGED the kid not to buy it. Explained, "It's one thing to vapor lock on a nice Sunday drive. Quite another to vapor lock when you are late for work." I told him I'd hold it for a day so he could sleep on it.

Next day, he comes back and had his dad with him. I was relieved he would get a second opinion, and they did buy the Trans Am.

Best part of the story? I still have their phone number and when I clean out the garage and find a random part for the car, I call them and they come for the part, always driving that Trans Am.

Good times. . .

 

[sixdogs]

One common denominator of the good deals I have found on used stuff, is that I know the history of the item. The last one is a good example. There was a 1950’s Farmall Cub parked in the back of the factory where I have worked the last 20 years. It had a snowplow on it. I saw it used one time, my first year, and not once since then.

The factory maintenance guy told me that his father (who had the same job before him), had bought it with a sickle bar, to mow along the perimeter fence line. That attachment had been scrapped years before. The snowplow didn’t work so well around the factory, as everyone preferred moving snow around with a bobcat type loader machine instead.

New management came in and decided to “clean out the junk”. I was high bidder on the Cub at the silent auction last fall. I bid, to the penny, what I thought it was worth ($783.17). The tractor looked to me like it had less than 400 hours on it, based on observable wear.

I winched it onto a trailer I borrowed from my favorite Farmall mechanic, and dropped it off at his shop on my way home. He took his time over the winter, changing all the fluids, tuned it up, and replaced thee We’d radiator hoses and carburetor (charged me $445).

This thing runs and works like a new tractor now:
View attachment 817342
View attachment 817343

My favorite thing about it is that I can haul it around in my old pickup truck.

That old pickup was another sweet deal. It was owned by an uncle who kept it in Florida in the winter and it don’t have a spot of rust on it (cost me $5k with 60k miles on it).

Great buy and even better it fits in the back of your pickup. Any pic of the ramps you use?

 

[JESSE1]

I've been wanting to buy a new generation John Deere to take to shows and use around the farm. Found a one owner '72 gas 1020 on FB Marketplace only a few hours away. Excellent shape, only needed to buff the hood, probably won't paint it.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Reading this thread reminds me why I have a building full of unsold stuff, I hate dealing with people .
I use this one once a year.

 

[Deleted member 371759]

Reading this thread reminds me why I have a building full of unsold stuff, I hate dealing with people .
I use this one once a year.

I was going to say the same thing. Once it comes here its here forever. The wife is worse than I am. Her famous saying is "I didn't buy it to sell it"

 

[gstrom99]

Buying stuff is ALWAYS easier than selling.

 

[tacticalturnip]

Decided to get rid of an older air compressor; I don't know if it works, I don't care. I've set it by the road, it's not worth being asked questions I don't have answers to.

 

[Deleted member 371759]

Decided to get rid of an older air compressor; I don't know if it works, I don't care. I've set it by the road, it's not worth being asked questions I don't have answers to.

My new compressor should be here the 25th. Already came once but it was covered in oil an had a huge dent in it. It had obviously tipped over. When I saw the driver open the truck and saw it was not tied down.. Here we go again

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Knowing the kind hearted folks on here, I'm not the only one who has gone the other way.

We had a really cool Trans Am. It was fun, T-tops and everything. Spend all day Saturday getting it running so we can drive it to a Barbecue on Sunday.

A young guy came to look at it and while talking, I discovered this would be his only car and his daily driver.

I BEGGED the kid not to buy it. Explained, "It's one thing to vapor lock on a nice Sunday drive. Quite another to vapor lock when you are late for work." I told him I'd hold it for a day so he could sleep on it.

Next day, he comes back and had his dad with him. I was relieved he would get a second opinion, and they did buy the Trans Am.

Best part of the story? I still have their phone number and when I clean out the garage and find a random part for the car, I call them and they come for the part, always driving that Trans Am.

Good times. . .

More than 30 years ago, I put up my '66 Barracuda for sale in the car trader. Had a couple young guys show up to look at it one night. Older (20's) and younger (teens) brother. Older brother told me it would be the younger one's first car. He just got his license. I told them right then on the spot that this was NOT the car for them...

This car would top end at 165 mph (yes, I'd done it), but it had 8" manual drum brakes. 273 "commando" motor, highway gears in rear end, would rev to 7 grand no problemo'.

They still wanted it. I started talking to the "older" brother, they were both Mopar fans (as I was), and he started going on about how responsible his younger brother was. Uh-huh. I told them I wouldn't let either of them test drive it, but that I would take them for a ride. I took them up Carefree Highway to the town of Carefree, and turned around and made a "pass" on the way back. One section of the road had really nice pavement and I turned to the older brother in the front seat and said, THIS is why it's a bad first car... And proceeded to bury the gas pedal. Wound it up to 165, and above the roar of the engine I shouted, "Stopping, NOW!" And just lifted my foot off of the gas... Once the car decelerated to about 85, I used the brake pedal and pulled over and stopped on the side of the road. "Let's get out and talk". I showed them that took almost 5 miles to stop the car. If you pressed the brake pedal at anything over 100, not only would the car not stop (at all), but you would overheat the brakes and they would be worthless. I told them I wouldn't sell the car to them until after they went home and talked about it for a week. I also told them the price was non-negotiable. Next week came and they were at my door to buy the car.

I didn't see hide nor hair of the car for over a year, which I thought was odd. I was still going to shows and cruise runs during that time, as I still had my '67 Coronet with the big block in it.

One night at work, a buddy of mine said he thought he saw my car sitting in a driveway with the whole front clip off. I went by after work, and yeah, that was my little 'cuda, sitting there with a pile of wadded up sheet metal laying next to it. Looked like everything north of the firewall was trash. I never saw it again.

Another one bit the dust. RIP little 'cuda.

 

[big bubba]

OP: given the nature of market (& society in general today), you trust others too much for remote purchases, best regards

 

[goeduck]

Buying stuff is ALWAYS easier than selling.

True. Trouble is that by the time I do sell it has lost value. Not so much tractors, but time passes other things by (think tools) and they become obsolete.

 

[koshari]

True. Trouble is that by the time I do sell it has lost value. Not so much tractors, but time passes other things by (think tools) and they become obsolete.

some do , i just bought a non working 1945 drill press, will be putting a 3 phase motor on it and a vsd.

 

[koshari]

When I see something I already know I want, a lot of times I stop the seller from talking. Then I say... I'm going to buy this, I dont care whats wrong, please now just be 100% with me about what is going on. It works almost every time.

some times its advantageous to buy equipment that needs attention in your stronger areas, i bought an excavator recently from a bloke who literally had zero electrical aptitude, he was pretty honest with his description however. he obviously had a reasonable level of mechanical aptitude as he could answer any mechanical queries i had quite comfortably.

long story short the machine had to be started by shorting the starter solenoid and had been that way for some time due to electrical issues, the battery was shot as well so you also needed to jumper it to start, turned out it was the yanmar safety relay that had failed. it didnt take me a lot of time to firstly bypass it, replace the battery and get it to start from the key, and then without a lot of drama source and replace said relay, after a bit more attention where i found a few other electrical gremlins i got a decent machine with a significant discount,

whilst bargaining with him in good faith i stated one would have to take into account what it would cost the layman to pay someone with electrical skills to remedy the issues. he reluctantly came down and we agreed on a price point to enable the purchase.

 

[goeduck]

some do , i just bought a non working 1945 drill press, will be putting a 3 phase motor on it and a vsd.

Nice. Old drill presses like that are also an exception, they retain their value. Vises as well, not much has changed technology-wise. I was thinking more hand tools.

 

[rScotty]

True. Trouble is that by the time I do sell it has lost value. Not so much tractors, but time passes other things by (think tools) and they become obsolete.

some do , i just bought a non working 1945 drill press, will be putting a 3 phase motor on it and a vsd.

And after awhile we learn the difference. One BIG difference is that the good older equipment - all the way from construction machinery to machine tools were all built with the expectation that the company would endure, their machines would be rebuildable forever, and that the reputation gained by making that process convenient was the best very best advertising they could do.

rScotty

 

[dodge man]

Ideally when I buy something used I have a lot of time to look for it and wait for a good price. I bought a better log splitter and sold my old one and came out good. I wanted a box blade for about 3 years and found one at about half price. In both cases I bought the item immediately, if you wait you’ll probably lose out. It’s when you have to get an item that you have to pay more or not get exactly what you want.

 

[goeduck]

Ideally when I buy something used I have a lot of time to look for it and wait for a good price. I bought a better log splitter and sold my old one and came out good. I wanted a box blade for about 3 years and found one at about half price. In both cases I bought the item immediately, if you wait you’ll probably lose out. It’s when you have to get an item that you have to pay more or not get exactly what you want.

Exactly. That is what I found as well. Good deals are not going to last long. As an aside, I aways study the background in the pictures if I am buying from a private party to get a feel for the type of person I might be dealing with. I look for a good orderly shop, clean looking vehicles etc. Things that indicate the equipment might have been cared for.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Reading this thread reminds me why I have a building full of unsold stuff, I hate dealing with people .

If you have an auction house in your town, that is a good way to sell.

You won't get as much money, but there is almost zero hassle.

 

[two_bit_score]

Needless to say, the engine oil was black, transmission and hydraulics were all low, and I highly doubt he changed those filters. And now I just checked the engine coolant and it's nothing but p!$$ water. Don't even register in my hydrometer.

You must have got a real low price on that tractor. ANTHING is worth it if the price is low enough. Sometimes "low enough" means they have to pay me to take it.

 

[two_bit_score]

Every trader knows their first offer is their best offer.

"I'll be a buyer at $XXX".