Flipping Tractors for Profit?

[fusion1]

Unless you are doing it on a large scale
I would not worry about it
a person can go to a casino and make 500.00 a day and not have to report it
sell it and forget about it

 

[grandpa Love]

We buy dead Farmall Cubs. Cheap. They don't run and haven't run for years. Usually missing parts. We are fortunate to have several parts machines ( saves tons of money),we repair these Cubs, get them mechanically sounds , use them enough to know they are good then sell them. Probably don't make a dime on them if you count labor. But it's a fun hobby and helps pay for our collection. We don't restore them. And unless we are planning to keep it we don't paint them, that's just asking for problems, folks are picky about paint. 99 percent of what we sell go to folks that put them back to work. We must be doing something right, we have folks that come back and buy another one. Definitely not a get rich plan.

 

[NY 986]

From online to the auction yard everybody is paying full retail so nothing is falling through the cracks as cheap to do a flip. All the jockeys that sold used equipment here are gone. In the words of one of them the internet ended buying cheap. The internet has been a factor for over 25 years now. Another factor is used inventory is drying up in terms of volume. Less and less is going on the market as more buyers are long term holders out of necessity or desire. More specific to vintage tractors is the market has overheated due to excellent commodity prices and stimulus money among other things. As the market cools prices will recede to more historic levels meaning recent buyers will take a loss.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

You know, I can't think of any true tractor jockeys anymore. They've all died off or moved on to a different hustle.

Used to be there were several infamous tractor jockeys in the area. You didn't buy machines from them because they'd buy junk, slap a cheap paint on it, and try to sell it as good equipment.

If there was money in it, someone would be doing it.

The landscape has changed. You have to be able to buy the tractor right, fix it up enough to make it saleable without spending too much, and find a buyer.

It's a lot more difficult to buy a tractor right, because everyone wants top dollar. Hardly anyone is selling a tractor just to be rid of it these days. Auctions are much better attended and more widely accessible because they're online, so prices are higher. Deals can still be had but they are far and few between. I would not want to count on it as a primary source of income, or even a side hustle.

Parts are through the roof. Hard to fix one cheap anymore.

Buyers have access to the same "deals" as you and expect you to sell for what they can buy the "same" tractor for at an auction. You add no value.

 

[treeman53]

I don't sell them, but, I do like to fix 'em up. I figure I do good when they are worth half of what I invest in them...

 

[sotxbill]

I do pretty much that. As we ranch and farm, I am constantly buying tractors, doing minor repairs, panting them and flipping them. But they also are getting used on the farm and ranch. BUT... you make money when you BUY the tractor... by carefully looking it over, and making sure of its condition. I probably buy less the 50% of the tractors I look at due to serious condition of engine or other. The uglier the tractor, the better the buy usually. After around 3 to 4 power washes, several seal replacements, total charging system replacements, lots of electrical and instrument repairs, new seat,and finally a paint job and decals, they emerge as a nice clean, dry, and good running tractor. I can make around 70k a year doing something I enjoy. No computers, no ecus, or emission systems to mess with. DO it when I feel like it. I started out making a couple hundred a tractor, but now have pushed that margin up. I have auctioneers call me when certain tractors come into the yard. When ever I've bought one over the phone, there are usually problems, so I have lost money on a few. So after retiring from 41 years of engineering, this is/has been a fun process for over 125 tractors now.
lessons....
No one will buy an ugly tractor today. Everyone will buy a pretty tractor. Sad, but true. When it rains, tractor and shredder sells like hotcakes. When its dry, things are very slow. You cant put a $5000 engine in a tractor and make any money, so again, you must look at everything on the tractor, in person, before you buy. If it doesnt run, its a 500 dollar tractor!!!!!. I dont have dead tractors around junking up the homestead. I do occasionally do a head gasket or pull an axle trumpet, but try very hard to avoid that at my age. I try to stay between 1965 and 1996 if I can all though I have gone through 9ns and jubilees(series) many times, some on trade-ins. Again, if it can run a shredder, its a seller. I always put a copy of the lawnmowers at tractor supply that sell for $4999 or $5300 along with a picture of my tractor with a comment, you can buy this 600 hr lawnmower or buy this 10,000 hr tractor. And the tractor can be rebuilt and go again. ( on the smaller tractors. Not so much on the 100 hp tractors ) I do NOT buy compact tractors by choice. Buying on line auctions can cost you up to 15% in fees, so I dont recommend that for tractors. ALWAYS go the day before and start and run everything your bidding on. Take lots of water, some oil, and power steering fluid, spare battery,, so that you can fully check all features/defects,, and add that your your bidding prices.

So,, yes you can... flip tractors if your careful and enjoy keeping busy between other farm and ranch duties. Lots of extra tractors are great during hay season for running multiple cutters, and rakes. Everyone gets a tractor.

 

[Keith True]

Harry kind of aged out of his very active hobby/business.He and my dad are the same age,(86 or 87)so I've known him
since I was little.My neighbor bought his rollback Chevy truck,he did have diabetic issues and that means no more
DOT medical card.Very nice man,I can't remember if his primary job was union electrician or pipefitter.I've actually
bought a couple of things from him that I redid and made a little money on.I don't know if he's still around or
not.On good days I take a Model A out for a ride after supper,I'll drive by his place.I still have his phone number
in my head.

 

[jaoneill]

X2

 

[paulsamwel]

Like what TF said.The trick is to buy em cheap and know what your looking at.A few years back I bought a 1983 Deere 4250/PS with around 7k hours..paid 18k,used it to cut hay all summer then sold it for 26k at end of haying season.Didn't do a damn thing to it and the phone rang off the hook so to speak.Granted..prices for these tractors were skyrocketing and still are for clean units.Did the same thing with a low hour Deere 4230/QR.Had to put rear rubber on it but bought it for 11k and sold it for 17k.Made about 3500 on that deal.Just bought another 4230..early model,for a thousand dollars.Good rubber but engine siezed while running a manure pump.Figuered can't go wrong for 1k.

Paul

 

[Meangreen]

You're about 20 years too late. In the early to mid 2000's you could flip a tractor or repaint/restore a tractor and make some $$$ because everyone thought antique tractors were the big thing. Now I see a lot of people trying to sell tractors off for way more than they're worth to try and make up for the $$$ overspent on buying & fixing it.

 

[Dean]

There are plenty of professionals who do this.

Tough for a hobbyist to compete with the professionals, and, yes, about 20 years too late.

No, I did not say that it cannot be done.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

Can work out if your patient enough to find the diamond in the rough. I do one a year most of the time its one that came out of someones grove. At the very least it has to have a transmission appears to function hits all the gears. You dont really know what your in for till it starts. And 500 to 800 needs to be your starting price because its easy to have 3 to 5000 bucks in parts paint and decals if its really rough. The last one I did I made 1400 bucks took about 8 months of spare or fill in time. A lot of labor for that considering one paint job for someone else that only takes a week brings that in. Its pretty much just something to fill in the time.

 

[farmallboy15]

I agree with all the previous comments. Its very hard to buy cheap tractors that dont require more parts than they are worth. If considering flipping equipment, the money to be had is in small farm implements, especially tailored for horse people and people with 5 acres.

 

[michakamp]

That can be a very good business in my opinion. All you need is just some good workers and a decent marketing strategy. With the team management programs you don't need to worry about the sync process and everything goes naturally. If you need help with the business, always look for professionals which will help you and don't count only on yourself.

This post was edited by michakamp on 08/30/2023 at 01:42 pm.