Buying from out of state?

[Perplexed]

I can't imagine it's any different than buying a car from out of state sight unseen, but I saw a comment in a thread on here where buying a used tractor out of state and having it shipped can save you some money. I looked into that, and sure enough, the savings realized can easily run into the hundreds of dollars as opposed to buying from a local dealer and paying the sales tax. Not only that, but I see in Tractor House and other tractor classifieds sites that shipping is a featured option. I see a fair number of tractors for sale in nearby states that would fit the bill for my needs...

But I got to wondering - do people actually buy tractors sight unseen, and have them shipped? I'd think that would be a risky venture - what if you receive a lemon, what do you do then? If you take the plunge, how is shipping arranged - to a local dealer, or straight to your house? I'd guess the latter, but maybe there's a reason to have it go to a local dealer?

Learning as I go here, so your thoughts and comments would be appreciated!

 

[RoyJackson]

I bought my 790 from a dealer in SW Virginia (about 350 miles from where I live in PA). It was a dealer (wouldn't buy sight unseen unless from a dealer...even that can be risky). In my case, it was a big Deere dealer with multiple locations in VA and who did a lot of internet sales. The name of the Dealer was James Rivers Company.

I had no complaints...price was fair for a very low hour (24 hours on the meter) tractor (sold used). I kept that machine for 6 years (traded it for a Deere 4400 with a reverser transmission).

I would buy out of state again...just do your homework.

 

[crazyal]

I almost bought a used tractor from a dealer 500 miles away. They had a very low hour tractor that was a little bigger than I needed but the salesman dragged his feet for a little over a week getting me a price on adding a mid PTO and new front snow blower and then when he go serious they said it was sold. I was kind of turned off by the dealer, wasn't sure if they were just trying to get me to buy new or if the salesman had someone else on the hook and was just stringing me along in case it fell through.

Not sure if the story was true but he said it came from Kubota Credit. It only had 21 hours and TnT so I'm guessing it was from a construction company for maintaining a road that couldn't pay the bill. He said they get a list and can pick and choose tractors from it that get repo'd.

I asked for several extra picture of the tractor and felt pretty comfortable buying on-line. If it had a lot of hours I may not be so willing.

 

[TnWV]

Anytime you purchase something sight unseen, there will be risk. I did it. Bought my tractor from a dealer 500 miles away. I used Uship.com to ship it. It was a fantastic transaction. I couldn't find anything local that I could afford so I took the risk and it worked out. I talked to the dealer a bunch of times over several weeks to get comfortable with them. I recommend doing that if you choose to go this route. If you do your homework, you can save some money and get the deal you want . Just be careful and have fun shopping.

 

[charleyfarmall]

You can avoid sales tax buying out of state, just like buying over the internet. However, read your state laws. Most states make it your responsibility to pay the sales tax that you owe when you do that. Technically it is illegal to buy across state lines and not pay taxes when you bring it home.

 

[TnWV]

Forgot to mention my tractor was used, so no warranty. I did however check with a local dealer to make sure they would work on the tractor if I had problems. Of course no pronblem there because I would be paying like any other customer. If your buying new, you may want to make sure a local dealer will be willing to work on it. Otherwise your savings my be lost in excess waiting times at the local dealer or hauling it out of state for warranty work. Everyone will have a different opinion on whether they would buy long distance, but only you can decide if it is worth it to you. I had a good experience but I'm sure there are plenty with horror stories.

 

[AKfish]

I've bought a couple of tractors that were "just across the border"... No regrets - at all.

If you want to hear "horror stories" and the buyers were right there lookin' at the machines - think about auctions!

Get lot's of pics and the serial number - you can get a repair/warranty history from a brand dealership with the SN.

Some dealers will offer a short warranty period on a used tractor - 90 days, etc. - especially if the machine is a fairly new model.

With everything on the Internet these days - livestock auctions, real estate, etc. etc. buying "sight unseen" is getting to be the norm.

AKfish

 

[Gary Fowler]

Also dont fall for the Craigslist deal of the century. Any deal with free shipping is usually a scam. I would never buy sight unseen from an individual and probably not a dealer either, but of the two, go to a dealer. A listing on Craigslist in your home town for a tractor several hundred miles away is suspicious and I would avoid it for sure. If they are willing to have a third party inspect it, then you may be ok. I would always be afraid of laying down cash money prior to delivery. I just wouldnt do it and if the seller wouldnt risk a delivery fee with you paying cash on delivery, then why should he expect you to pay cash up front and wait on delivery. Just a risky proposition all the way around. If the deal is that good, it is worth your time to take off and go get the deal done in person even if you have to hire it shipped.

 

[boggen]

sigh un-seen is a very bad deal.

a couple years ago i was looking for a backhoe. 3pt hitch, tow behind backhoe (like a wood spliter tow behind but was a backhoe) or loader/backhoe.

boy oh boy. i could of swore on my life some of the tractors just looking at the photos then asking for more. these tractors looked bran new. and taken well care of in there years. and then just looking at photo's and talking to dealer or person selling them. some of them like ugly and i do mean ugly, paint chipped away, the rust look no longer like surface rust but rusted all the way through.

ended up spending a fully and very very long day driving around. to look at about 15 different loader/backhoes. some of them look good in photo's and sounded like the ran good over the phone. but boy, once ya looked at them up front and personal, and then ran them yourself. boy talk about a completely different story. it was pure black and pure white difference on some of them. front loader so loose in the pins, ya drop it down and it would bounce up some. backhoe was way loose go to swing it, and it would keep on swinging. tread on tires. functioning lights (head lights, taillights, work lights) nocking of the engines, cracking hydrualic lines with outter coatings missing. possible tranmission problems. extra liquids leaking after everything got warmed up (15minutes to 30 minutes test driving to get things warmed up)

if you are buying bran spanking new just off the manufacturing line. i wouldn't see a difference of in or out of state. as long as you had a local dealer that did warranty work for the given type of tractor.

but if going used. sight un-seen *is a very scary venture* at least to me. if i did it. i wouldn't of ended up with scrap metal.

i will say this, www.tractorhouse.com and there companion websites helped tons in locating things. but for me lost day of work plus gas and food for the day. was well worth it. if ya only talking about $2000 to $7000 dollar tractor i would stay home. and wait things out till ya find something with a couple hundered miles. away. and then go physically take a look at it. anything over, $7000 if it were me, i would possibly venture out further and out of state, but i would still check it out up front and personally, but this is just me.

 

[AKfish]

You have to be sensible and certainly cautious when you're buying any equipment without seeing it up close or knowing the person that's selling the machinery.

Questions, questions and more questions. One owner or 2nd, etc., maintainance records, model, year, why selling, any problems, what dealer worked on it, how long currently owned????

Do some research on the particular model and find out what that model may have had fail. Some equipment has a history of certain failures i.e.; the early GM Duramax's had bad injectors.

Ask if the equipment ever had those kind of problems.

Contact the original dealer - if equipment reasonably new. Ask for history.

That said --- if you're not comfortable working on stuff --- only buy new. 'Cause no matter how good your research and no matter how honest the seller is; something is gonna fail! It's used and it might be 1 hour or 1 year. But, you're eventually gonna have to fix it..

AKfish