Help with pricing a BCS 850 with attachments

[mainerr]

Hi Folks.

I've been speaking with a guy in New Hampshire about buying his BCS 850. We are working on coming to terms on a price and I was wondering if I could get some input on what's fair.

It was used in a residential location only.

BCS 850
Sweeper (don't know size yet)
Snow thrower 28"
Tiller, 26
Mower, 38"


New retail value for all of this is ~ $9,820.00 plus tax. I'm thinking about 90% off due to it being used so about $900.

What do you think?

 

[Ford850]

When I asked about value of my BCS 605, someone posted the bluebook link and suggested 70% of MSRP as a selling point. I think that might be on the high end but probably fair if the tractor was stored inside and had no weather wear. Grounds Maintenance(R) Equipment Blue Book(R) - Rotary Tillers - Bcs America
If you can get all of what you listed for $900 it would be a steal in my opinion.

 

[mainerr]

Hey Ford850.

I just spoke with a BCS dealership in Brunswick Maine and they suggested if the machine and implements are over 5 years old, that a 50% discount is reasonable. Of course, the stipulation of hours / usage applies.

Anyone else have experience? I dont' want to lowball, seems like $900 bucks is too low now?

 

[mikelandis721]

I'd start off asking if the price is firm and even if he says yes. ho hum a bit and say you'd give 7k, he might say no right off the bat but then you can negotiate, maybe up to $7,500. Really depends on how hold it is, regular maintenance, etc.
Check the sweeper, if the "bristles" are all torn up you can point out that, etc.

 

[farmerboybill]

Assuming an nice machine with no repairs needed, $900 should barely buy the 850 by itself. I'd say $1100 for the power unit. It's easily worth $1500 in the spring.

Sweeper is going to be 40" Caravaggi with BCS stickers on it. $300 for it, they're hard to sell.
Snow thrower is likely a 28" - $500. They're still making them very similar & they're a good thrower
Everyone has a tiller, so they're not terribly valuable for resale - $200
38" mowers are very expensive and somewhat sought after. It should be worth over $800

$2800 is a pretty safe price for both you and him. He could get more and you could pay less, so it's fair for both.

When you go look at it, be sure to spin the handlebars. I've have many machines that were used in tractor or pusher mode only, and they froze in that position. My current 850 required disassembly , a torch, and a 50 ton press to break it loose. BCS didn't think it was necessary to buricate the pivot. If you're handy with a welder, you can drill a hole in the outer pipe and weld a nut on the hole to install a grease zerk.

 

[mikelandis721]

I miss read the post. thought it was 900 off retail. My bad.

 

[cmyoung2]

I tink FBBill is probably close. I bought a 850 with bio100 chipper, 38"mower, 48'"sickle bar, 30"tiller, sulky, 30"combo mower(for sale).
Bought it maybe 2 years ago, maybe $5000, and had to drive 800 miles to get it, but I had looked for quite a while to find it. No regrets.
With some of this hard to find stuff, 50% of retail might be ok if it is in good shape.

 

[mainerr]

Assuming an nice machine with no repairs needed, $900 should barely buy the 850 by itself. I'd say $1100 for the power unit. It's easily worth $1500 in the spring.

Sweeper is going to be 40" Caravaggi with BCS stickers on it. $300 for it, they're hard to sell.
Snow thrower is likely a 28" - $500. They're still making them very similar & they're a good thrower
Everyone has a tiller, so they're not terribly valuable for resale - $200
38" mowers are very expensive and somewhat sought after. It should be worth over $800

$2800 is a pretty safe price for both you and him. He could get more and you could pay less, so it's fair for both.

When you go look at it, be sure to spin the handlebars. I've have many machines that were used in tractor or pusher mode only, and they froze in that position. My current 850 required disassembly , a torch, and a 50 ton press to break it loose. BCS didn't think it was necessary to buricate the pivot. If you're handy with a welder, you can drill a hole in the outer pipe and weld a nut on the hole to install a grease zerk.

Thanks for the post.

Today we agreed upon $2,300 if I take a look at it and it's all in great operating condition. I will be seeing it this weekend.

Here are some photos of it.

 

[mainerr]

I miss read the post. thought it was 900 off retail. My bad.

No problem Mike, I appreciated you taking the time to offer your advice.

 

[mainerr]

I tink FBBill is probably close. I bought a 850 with bio100 chipper, 38"mower, 48'"sickle bar, 30"tiller, sulky, 30"combo mower(for sale).
Bought it maybe 2 years ago, maybe $5000, and had to drive 800 miles to get it, but I had looked for quite a while to find it. No regrets.
With some of this hard to find stuff, 50% of retail might be ok if it is in good shape.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I think 'no regrets' is ultimately where I will end up when I can replace my 25+ year old snowblower (no complaints, still a great machine) and 15 year old garden tractor (hydrostatic transmission is on the way out) and wind up with a machine that can suit me for a long, long time.