How and why I bought a tractor in about 10 minutes

[RoMad]

My wife and I go to a lot of yard sales. We support a local charity by buying bicycles, tents, towels etc. , but we also always seem to end up buying things for us and our three sons.
Two weekends ago we went to a sale that was supposed to start at 0930 and we got there a little after 0830 because we know that lots of people show up early and good deals don't last.
As soon as we pulled up I saw a Kubota L2900 sitting under the side of a nice barn. The sale was in the barn. I went straight for the tractor and my wife headed into the barn. I asked her to find out if the tractor was for sale.
Beside the tractor I saw a pretty fair looking trailer with dual axles and 4" channel construction and good looking tires and a surge brake coupler on it.
I also noticed two old guys about 75 feet behind the tractor looking at a belly mower that was Kubota orange and looked pretty good from where I was.
My wife came right back out of the barn and said there was a sign that said the tractor was for sale.
By then I was sitting on the tractor and I asked her to go get the guy.
She did and the guy came out and I asked him if I could start the tractor. He got the key out of his pocket, started it and went back into the barn, I guess to take care of his other customers as they were coming in pretty fast.
I let it idle about a minute then I ran the loader up and down a few times, moved it forward and backward a little.
About then the guy came back out and asked me what I thought. (the two men looking at the mower had walked back past the tractor and were hanging back about 30 feet talking to each other and looking at me, and another guy was standing back watching too)
I asked him if it has any issues and he said he had rebuilt the front hubs and a couple of years ago he put a water pump on it. I also had noticed the glow plug light didn't come on, and that the engine sounded great and smooth, no smoke, and it had 1972 hrs on the meter.
By now we were at about minute 9 or 10 and I asked him how much he wanted for it. He gave me a price for the tractor / loader, box blade, mower, trailer, and root rake. I made him a counter offer of considerably less money,in 100 dollar bills, and he looked at the tractor, looked at me, rubbed his chin, then stuck out his hand and said sold. I did not officially time the transaction but not more that 10 to 12 minutes tops.

 

[hawkeye08]

sounds like a fair price was had, both for seller and buyer..

 

[RoMad]

Now part 2 of the story:
We gave him cash deposit and he gave us a reciept. I could not come back with the rest of the cash until Monday so I spent the rest of the weekend wondering if I screwed up and bought a piece of junk or something.
I found out when I went back that it was a divorce sale and he actually liked the tractor, but they were letting the house go back and he didn't need it anymore.
I changed the oil in the tractor and checked the hydraulic fluid. I pressure washed it as it had grease everywhere from lots of greasing.
I worked it pretty good over the weekend and it did just fine. I dug a big deep burn pit in hot weather and it never heated up a bit. The loader works fine, the clutch and brakes seem fine.
I have sold the root rake, the trailer, and the belly mower, all on Craigslist and got 1/3 of my investment back.
I made a very quick decision on a bit of a risk, but so far I am good with it.
The only problem I have encountered so far is my business partner / wife. She says I only need one tractor and I now have two. I am shining up the CK20 and getting it ready for Craigslist, but I think I will wait at least one more weekend of testing out the Kubota.

 

[GManBart]

Everybody needs two tractors....minimum! You have to be able to pull yourself out when stuck, or lift heavy things to do repairs on one of them. You might want to let Mrs. RoMad see that

 

[kneedeep]

Having 2 tractors is like having 2 skill saw blades or 2 chainsaw blades or 2 shovels or 2 hammers or 2 coffee cups or 2 doors on the house or 2 automobiles or 2 lamps or 2 TV sets or (should I continue??)

:thumbsup::tractor::tractor::thumbsup:

 

[scoutcub]

And 3 is definitely better than 2....!l:thumbsup:

 

[Andrew73]

You can never have too many tractors. :laughing:

 

[texasjohn]

You bought a Kubota...that's good, and have a good story, that's good...it's all good.

 

[k0ua]

I was thinking the same thing, if you got "into the Kubota right" why can't you just keep it and the CK20? I am sure the CK20 being a little smaller can get into some areas a little better, and it is newer, but having 2 tractors appeals to me. I just can't afford it right now. But If I could, I would. Of course I don't know anything about your finances either, and maybe you can't keep both, but it sounds like you got a good deal on the Kubota.

James K0UA

 

[DKCDKC]

I'd love to have 2 tractors, but just can't afford that luxury. If I get stuck, I call a neighbor. If I need a backhoe, more power, tracks, or anything else, I call a neighbor. If they need a smaller tractor to get in and around a barn or something, they call me. System works fine, and costs a lot less. But waiting to really get to know your new purchase would make sense. I'd wait a month or two.

Had a friend from the local farmer's market who bought a small Kubota at an estate sale on a whim - great price - and has found it paid for itself in the first few months.