How important is resale value when buying for long term private use?

[newbury]

From another thread discussing buying a tractor for private, non-commercial use:

Yeah, I agree. I actually think the final result will be a system without DEF. If/when that happens it will be hard to get rid of a DEF machine without a serious financial hit.

<snip>
Buy the L3800 and get a ton of used implements and you'd be hard-pressed to end up with 20k. Should be an easy sell when you get ready.
<snip>

I'm just wondering how many TBN'ers are concerned with resale value? I compared my tractor costs to what it would take to rent comparable equipment, disregarding resale value. I don't plan on selling them, I plan on maintenance and continued use. I've tasks I need to do.

 

[PJSprog]

That topic comes up a lot in various threads. Like you, I didn't buy with the intent of selling down the road. At 50 years old, I'm hoping I don't have to go tractor shopping again in this lifetime. So frankly, I couldn't care less about resale value.

It does seem an important factor to some, though.

 

[davesl708]

When owning a piece of equipment long term resale value is of no concern. Predicting the value of a piece of equipment 10 to 20 years down the road is nothing more than a guess.

If using the equipment for a specific purpose or short term then resale is critical in determining buy vs rent. Renting a backhoe for six months would be costly. May be worth buying used and resale to save cost.

Resale is at best an educated guess.

Personally I don't consider resale value when buying equipment.

 

[orezok]

You take the biggest hit the first year. A lesser amount each year for the next couple of years. At some point in the "long run", the tractor will probably start appreciating in current dollars due to inflation.

 

[Deere Dude]

I would be a little concerned because sometimes we buy something with the intention keeping it forever, but then two years down the road we want it gone. Buying something with a known higher resale value will in all likely hood keep the original price higher also.

 

[adventure bob]

If your a hobby user, resale or trade value matters. If your commercial, the only thing that matters is depreciated value at liquidation. I'm a hobby user; I use my tractor for my own purposes and it does not contribute to a business operation. I always have the "what's my tractor worth" concern in the back of my head, primarily if I start thinking about trading it in for another tractor. If I had to value the estate the tractor has a value and that matters at least to me.

 

[varmint]

You might approach this by thinking not that you will use a particular machine for x-years (until I die...) but rather, maybe I will decide I want to upgrade, or have different attributes now that I have some serious experience and more knowledge about my needs. Flexibility? Consider that perhaps some tractors have strong resale value because... they are quality?

 

[Shaneard]

I bought a 1989 Case 1845C skidsteer in 2003 with a few attachments. I bought a few more attachments to use with it. It had <2,500 hours on it when I bought it. I sold it last July with >3,000 hours on it for $3,500 more than I had in it and I made a lot of money with it. I didn't intend to sell it when I bought it but life changes. I sold it and bought a 1993 Ford 4630 tractor with a loader on it. It has 1,040 hours on it now. I won't put many hours on it for years unless we move. I think the market for older tractors will continue to get stronger with all the emissions stuff taking place. I would rather have a pre 2000 year model tractor than a new one any day. Unless you make your living with it you will lose money on a new one. My dad bought a new John Deere 1020 in 1970, it has over 6,000 hours on it now and he could sell it for more than he paid for it. He has always taken good care of it and it's been in the shed when not in use.

 

[ovrszd]

I'm with Varmint.

I don't consider resale value because I plan to sell. I consider resale value as an indicator of quality.

If you plan to never sell, then quality should be your first consideration, not purchase price.

Buy poor quality to save a few bucks and you might be an example of what Deere Dude was talking, you just want it gone.

 

[teg]

I didn't think of resale... actually, I didn't think much about the tractor when I bought it. My wife said it was fine to buy and I basically just bought the first and only model I was shown. I did shop around for a much better price... but I never looked at other models. Have not regret it at all.