Here is a true story with a twist. One of the local Doctors needed a new mower. He had a man who worked for him that said he had a buddy with a practically new mower for sale. Doc bought it, a nice John Deere, 20hp. lawn tractor. Well doc has a cottage down south and took the new tractor down to mow the grass. On the way home he hits a bump, the tractor not tied down, does a swan dive onto the pavement. The tractor sustains major damage and is useless. He took the tractor to a John Deere dealership for repairs. John Deere has a national computer network that they keep on the equipment they sell. When they ran that tractor through their network, the tractor was listed as stolen. The police were summoned, the tractor was confiscated, and Doc was out several thousand dollars. The police interviewed the Doctor and the investigation continued. This was the tip of a multi-state theft ring, who concentrated on compact tractors and construction equipment. Several arrest were made, hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment was recovered. It was a long road to get here but the point is, if the deal is too good to be true, it is. Tie your equipment down and know who you buy your equipment from. Thats my two cents!
