It is amazing how naive some people are!!! Long rant.

[JDseller]

I have a customer that is a real nice guy but is totally mechanically illiterate. He has had trouble changing his motor oil. HE is a genius with computer network systems. He makes a six digit salary doing that. I do a lot of repair work from him. He has a small farm and likes to play around.

He has been looking for a 100 hp plus cab tractor. I told him I would go look at any tractor he was interested in within easy driving distance. FREE just friends enjoying a day off. I did not want him to get took to the cleaners.

He found this JD 4440 in southern Missouri. It was kind of far away but we could drive down and back in a long day. I told him to get the serial number so I could run it and find out what I could on the ownership trail of this tractor. He did that. This tractor has had ten different recorded owners. Plus who knows how many more. It started out in Arkansas rice country. Then it went to a sugar cane plantation in Florida. Then to Mississippi on a cotton farm. Could not track who owned it in the last ten years but it did migrate to Missouri. I told him I would pass on this tractor if it where me. Too many owners and many of them in farming areas known for rough equipment.

Well guess what??? He and the wife went down last week so he could look at the tractor. They wanted to spend the night in St. Louis and see the sites. That is fine. He drove the tractor and just thought it was the greatest thing and a real "STEAL". The only thing he could see wrong was it would not stay in "D" range and would pop out of reverse in all gears. (Quad range tractor) The tractor jockey who owned it told him it just needed adjusting and he would knock off $500 so my guy could just have it done locally. My guy jumped all over this "DEAL". He paid $13000 and some change for this 1979 JD 4440 with unknown hours and history. ( Real clean local few owner JD 4440s are bringing $20k-22K). He even paid the jockey $1500 to deliver it 300 miles. What a good friendly guy!!! NOT

So this jem was delivered last Thursday while my guy was at work. His wife had the truck driver park it in their machinery shed. My guy called and said he would bring it over to me Saturday morning. He called me at 11 am Sat. told me he could not get the tractor to start. Asked me to come over.

Well here is what I have found so far:

1) Reason for not starting: one battery not two.
2) Small car battery cables not even close to enough for a diesel motor.
3) Stater motor has the lead melted out of the armature and the brushes are worn clear into the holders.
4) No engine air filter in the canister. Smell of ether is strong.
5) No AC compressor or lines from the cab. They have been cut off right behind the starter. Did not even bother looking on the cab top.
6) Wood block jambed under the rock shaft to keep the three point arms up. No hydraulic pressure or flow to the rear of the tractor. Steering and brakes only. Checked pressure/flow in front of the priority valve. 900 psi and 5 gpm flow.
7) Drained the hydraulic fluid(stuff)out. Looks like used motor oil to me. It is BLACK as coal and smells like diesel fuel. No hydraulic filter or sump screen in the tractor. So what ever was in the sump is going straight to the hydraulic pump.
8) Removed the rock shaft housing so I could look down into the transmission. "D" range shift collar and gear are shot. These gears are on the pinion shaft. Reverse collar is cracked. So to fix it right you have to take the whole transmission apart. Including both final drives.
9) Almost forgot: Engine has low compression on all cylinders. Rod and main bearing all are showing copper.

The good things about this JD 4440:
1) One of the best paint jobs I have ever seen. Does not seem to be any Bondo used either.
2) Brand new cab interior and seat cushions. (does have a wooden block under the seat to hold it up. No hydraulic pressure to work the seat)
3) Good tires. They are mates and have 80% tread.

So I had my guy bring his purchase agreement over. Guess how it is worded?? States clear as a bell that the tractor is sold AS-IS with transmission/hydraulic trouble. Plus non-working AC system. I asked my guy about this. He said the seller told him that was how he had to do it because the transmission adjustment was a transmission repair issue. Was told the AC just needed topped off come spring. My guy signed it with two witnesses to that fact. I found that unusual too but seller told my guy it was how Missouri law made him do it.

I just did a rough estimate on the engine/transmission/hydraulic repairs. It could easily get to 15-20K. Even then I am not sure if everything would be right. This tractor to me should have been a parts tractor.

My guys is sick over his. His wife is furious at him and the seller. He is going to talk to a lawyer tomorrow morning. I think he is out of luck as he signed a purchase agreement that clearly states that it was sold with problems and was AS-IS. It has been a long time since I have seen a con job this bad on someone. I am mystified how a guy as smart as this could not see any of the red flags that where there to be seen???

I am afraid he is going to be out a lot of money either way. If he tries to fix all that is wrong I am not sure what it would cost. The hydraulic system could be totally shot. The AC system is just about total junk. The engine overhaul could get real bad if the cam is bad and injection system need totally rebuilt. I really don't want to tackle all of these problems this late in the winter. This could take a month of solid work to get going. Any of you guys want a Shiny JD 4440???? LOL

 

[rustred]

it dont suprise me, was just talking about some school teachers. they may be book smart but just stupid at everyday life.

 

[Chris(WA)]

He sounds screwed without even a kiss...

 

[OH - 961]

(quoted from post at 01:59:50 02/27/12) I have a customer that is a real nice guy but is totally mechanically illiterate. He has had trouble changing his motor oil. HE is a genius with computer network systems. He makes a six digit salary doing that. I do a lot of repair work from him. He has a small farm and likes to play around.

He has been looking for a 100 hp plus cab tractor. I told him I would go look at any tractor he was interested in within easy driving distance. FREE just friends enjoying a day off. I did not want him to get took to the cleaners.

He found this JD 4440 in southern Missouri. It was kind of far away but we could drive down and back in a long day. I told him to get the serial number so I could run it and find out what I could on the ownership trail of this tractor. He did that. This tractor has had ten different recorded owners. Plus who knows how many more. It started out in Arkansas rice country. Then it went to a sugar cane plantation in Florida. Then to Mississippi on a cotton farm. Could not track who owned it in the last ten years but it did migrate to Missouri. I told him I would pass on this tractor if it where me. Too many owners and many of them in farming areas known for rough equipment.

Well guess what??? He and the wife went down last week so he could look at the tractor. They wanted to spend the night in St. Louis and see the sites. That is fine. He drove the tractor and just thought it was the greatest thing and a real "STEAL". The only thing he could see wrong was it would not stay in "D" range and would pop out of reverse in all gears. (Quad range tractor) The tractor jockey who owned it told him it just needed adjusting and he would knock off $500 so my guy could just have it done locally. My guy jumped all over this "DEAL". He paid $13000 and some change for this 1979 JD 4440 with unknown hours and history. ( Real clean local few owner JD 4440s are bringing $20k-22K). He even paid the jockey $1500 to deliver it 300 miles. What a good friendly guy!!! NOT

So this jem was delivered last Thursday while my guy was at work. His wife had the truck driver park it in their machinery shed. My guy called and said he would bring it over to me Saturday morning. He called me at 11 am Sat. told me he could not get the tractor to start. Asked me to come over.

Well here is what I have found so far:

1) Reason for not starting: one battery not two.
2) Small car battery cables not even close to enough for a diesel motor.
3) Stater motor has the lead melted out of the armature and the brushes are worn clear into the holders.
4) No engine air filter in the canister. Smell of ether is strong.
5) No AC compressor or lines from the cab. They have been cut off right behind the starter. Did not even bother looking on the cab top.
6) Wood block jambed under the rock shaft to keep the three point arms up. No hydraulic pressure or flow to the rear of the tractor. Steering and brakes only. Checked pressure/flow in front of the priority valve. 900 psi and 5 gpm flow.
7) Drained the hydraulic fluid(stuff)out. Looks like used motor oil to me. It is BLACK as coal and smells like diesel fuel. No hydraulic filter or sump screen in the tractor. So what ever was in the sump is going straight to the hydraulic pump.
8) Removed the rock shaft housing so I could look down into the transmission. "D" range shift collar and gear are shot. These gears are on the pinion shaft. Reverse collar is cracked. So to fix it right you have to take the whole transmission apart. Including both final drives.
9) Almost forgot: Engine has low compression on all cylinders. Rod and main bearing all are showing copper.

The good things about this JD 4440:
1) One of the best paint jobs I have ever seen. Does not seem to be any Bondo used either.
2) Brand new cab interior and seat cushions. (does have a wooden block under the seat to hold it up. No hydraulic pressure to work the seat)
3) Good tires. They are mates and have 80% tread.

So I had my guy bring his purchase agreement over. Guess how it is worded?? States clear as a bell that the tractor is sold AS-IS with transmission/hydraulic trouble. Plus non-working AC system. I asked my guy about this. He said the seller told him that was how he had to do it because the transmission adjustment was a transmission repair issue. Was told the AC just needed topped off come spring. My guy signed it with two witnesses to that fact. I found that unusual too but seller told my guy it was how Missouri law made him do it.

I just did a rough estimate on the engine/transmission/hydraulic repairs. It could easily get to 15-20K. Even then I am not sure if everything would be right. This tractor to me should have been a parts tractor.

My guys is sick over his. His wife is furious at him and the seller. He is going to talk to a lawyer tomorrow morning. I think he is out of luck as he signed a purchase agreement that clearly states that it was sold with problems and was AS-IS. It has been a long time since I have seen a con job this bad on someone. I am mystified how a guy as smart as this could not see any of the red flags that where there to be seen???

I am afraid he is going to be out a lot of money either way. If he tries to fix all that is wrong I am not sure what it would cost. The hydraulic system could be totally shot. The AC system is just about total junk. The engine overhaul could get real bad if the cam is bad and injection system need totally rebuilt. I really don't want to tackle all of these problems this late in the winter. This could take a month of solid work to get going. Any of you guys want a Shiny JD 4440???? LOL

JDseller,

Since most states do not require a title or record of sales on farm equipment, how would one track the history of a tractor? Seems that if they passed ownership at auction or private sale, there would be no way to track them, and even if they were traded through dealers, how would you get the info?
I'm just new to tractor buying and would like to know.

Myron

 

[Anonymous-0]

Other than I don't think the ether smell would stick around, the seller didn't do anything wrong. If he would have totally mislead your guy is another story but it clearly states right on the bill of sale there's trans. problems. The AC issue is minor in comparison. With the current economy I'd bet there are lots of really good deals on quality used tractors.

It's kind of the same when someone buys a crawler tractor without knowing much about them but in this case, your customer has no one to blame but himself. You offered to go with him to look at the tractor and he passed on your offer. Not only that, you would have done it as a favor for free. Money unfortunately does not buy brains. Why is his wife mad at the seller? Unless the seller put a gun to his head to buy it, maybe the wife should have suggested you go along as well. I agree that I think he's out of luck and it's is own darn fault. Maybe he can find a decent 4440 and use this one for parts or make a good tractor out of 2?

 

[JMOR]

Nothing new.....the naive buy "paint jobs" all the time! Me, I walk by fresh paint and chuckle.

 

[John_PA]

did they buy him dinner or flowers first? Did they at least use some vasoline or other lubricant?


I bet he feels dirty.

 

[JDseller]

I only know about how John Deere company tracks their equipment. When the tractor is sold the first time there is an owner registered with the company. Then while the tractor is under warranty any change of ownership is tracked by the company. The dealer must do this to get paid for the warranty service they provided. Then after the original warranty period the tractor is tracked during any PIPs (product improvement program)or safety recalls. Then after that if the equipment is traded or sold through a JD dealer they are supposed to report/register the new owner. This is the issue. Some dealers do it on every piece of JD equipment they sell even older stuff. Others only do it on newer equipment. So if a tractor that is this old shows multiple owners that is usual in its self. That means it was handled through several JD dealers.

This tractor was really moved around. That tells me that there where problems with it long ago. Good tractors usually don't change hands that often. Lemons do.

 

[Errin OH]

Personally I wouldn't give it another thought. If he's willing to pay to have it fixed, fix it. But do not short change yourself in the process.

I had a simular experance. Buddy called and asked my opinion about a skid steer. I would have went and looked at it but I was heading out for a week on a job. Just from what he described on the phone I told him it was under powered for his needs, smoke meant an overhual soon, pretty paint means nothing, and its priced about five times what its worth. "PASS"

Got back and found a message on the phone from him askin me to come by and see why it will not start. After seriously considering to pass myself, I went by to see if it might be something simple. Here the dist came loose and fell off the engine (Wisconson 4cly). We got it back together but it seemed like every other time he went to use it he had to fix something on it.

Needles to say it wasn't around long and he probably didn't put 30 hours on it before he sold it for a tenth of what he paid for it.

 

[JDseller]

I don't know where you are located but the general economy doe not effect the AG economy directly all of the time. We have had three years of record grain prices. That has made the Ag economy red hot in grain producing areas. The values of good equipment, that is not just a collector item, are sky high. A real clean JD 4440 can go as high a 30K. I saw just an average JD 4020 late model go for $17,500 last Saturday. Ten year old JD 7810 that sold new for 65K are now bring that or more used. Part of the demand is guys wanting tractors with out all of the pollution stuff on them. That same pollution stuff has added 10-15K on the new larger tractors. So that just raises the resale value of the late used.

 

[OH - 961]

OK - Now I see how the tracking can occur. Probably doesn't happen with most brands unless warranty issues are involved. Implements probably not so much.

Would kinda like to see the history of my Ford 961, but probably would be impossible to do, especially since most of it was probably through private sales.

Myron

 

[JMS/.MN]

So what is the issue? He bought something as is, where is? He could have hired a mechanic to check it out....he did not....he bought it...naivete has a price- it"s called the learning curve! ok, in simple terms, that was really dumb, but he was the buyer, it was his PERSONAL responsibility....lociento mucho! He wants to talk to a lawyer over his stupidity, when the contract clearly says.....as is, where is?

 

[Anonymous-0]

I'm just saying that there are some good used tractors for reasonable prices if someone is willing to look around. Impulse buying without knowing a thing about tractors is a recipe for disaster.

 

[LarryT]

Those rattle can restorations can really suck in the ignorant. I want to see the leaks and seeps and I have never allowed someone to hoodwink me like that. But he did tell him there were problems but the guy with the money was mesmerized by the paint. Sorry

 

[the tractor vet]

Nope , BTDT . Back many years ago had a guy and his dad come to me wanting a 1066 . Told them that i would find them a GO TO THE FIELD one for 85-8750 and have it setting on my lot in a week as it was a off week for any sales . His dad said that that was way over priced and they would keep looking , ok fine by me as i could use that money i would have to spend to buy , haul and check over and fix anything that was needed and spend it on stuff that would turn a buck. So i watched some nice 1066's go thru the sales and never bid on any of them . and sorta forgot about Randy and his dad. Well one day they both showed up at the shop and wanted me to put a clutch and T/a in a 1066 that they had found . when it came in i about fell over . I knew the tractor . This 1066 has sat since 1974 or 75 in three pieces from being hit by a semi dump loaded with coal . Way back shortly after this happened i tried to buy it myself till i looked the tractor over and walked away . well someone had end up buying it and did a hack job of putting it back together then left it set out for god only knows how long. They micky moused the dash support back together with flat strap and 1/4 inch bolts and welded the mangled up fenders to the deck plate . Now they want me to fix this piece of junk . Hey it is there money so i start and that is when the fun began Every bolt twisted off , and that was the start of the fun . Each and every gear was junk plus both the top and bottom shafts all the bearings were toast and that was just in the speed transmission. There was NO wiring harness Non anywhere on the tractor other then one wire from the battery to the starter button the key switch was just for looks. No brakes bald tires and rusty paint no seat back and all that was left was the seat pan. When i got into the transmission and saw what was there i stopped and called them to come and look BEFORE i went any feather and made them come and look . I asked them well now what do you want to do . i about fell on the floor when they said FIX it and make it wright 100% So for over the next three weeks we did everything and when i had my part done the tire guys show up and put all new rubber on it , then my one buddy did a paint job on it between the two of us not counting the tire guys the bill was just shy of 21000 buck. But the 1066 that i would have sold them was at most 8750. Yep they could find one cheaper .

 

[Bob Huntress]

JD, I have found that telling a customer they were striaght ripped off is rough. I would tell him that he could have bought one closer to where you folks are for the 20-25k you mentioned, but would only need have needed to spend 10k for repairs. This one that you bought for 13k will need up to 20k in repairs, meaning that it is slightly more overall, but by having you do these repairs and they are extensive, he will ultimately end up with a more reliable tractor, as his mechanic does the most reliable work around. For the extra three thousand he gets a more reliable tractor, because you will have personally rebuilt more of it. I would throw in something about how he should have done so earlier if he wants it ready by planting, though, you'll do what you can to have it online in time. Believe me, as he isn't getting his money back, putting the situation in the best light will do wonders to maintain his confidence. The message that you want to send is that while his decision may not have been great, you have it under controll. We both know that even the 20,000 to 25,000 tractor would still likely need some repairs, though not an engine rebuild. The faster he realizes that you have control of the situation, the more confidence he retains in your ability to keep his tractor in service.

 

[larryanderson]

It is too late now but I have found the best way to buy a tractor of questionable heritage is to ask the seller to take it to reputable JD dealer and have it inspected.A good service center will report even the smallest detail and not charge that much as they are hoping to be able to get the job.I would have stopped the check as there are laws that protect the consumer as there is a difference even if he signed a paper as the seller in question knew what he was selling.I would take him to court and be my own lawyer as that is the same as stealing.Might not win but might help the next victim of scondrels like that.

 

[Bob Huntress]

I've learned that my smart people don't have my experience. First the seller appears to be an expereinced sales proffessional, the kind that could sell ice to eskimos. He shouldn't feel that personally stupid. That guy has probably made a living selling what no one eles would buy, and not even lowering the price. It sounds like he was set up by a sales man with all the works.

 

[Tx Jim]

(quoted from post at 23:59:50 02/26/12) 8) Removed the rock shaft housing so I could look down into the transmission. "D" range shift collar and gear are shot.

JDselleder
It been a long time since I looked down in a Quad-Range trans but I thought this cover not the rock shaft housing is what a person removed to see the trans gear. Is my memory incorrect???

 

[El Toro]

My late grandma said you need good common sense to go along with a good education. Sounds like he didn't have the common sense to walk away even after you did a search on the tractor. Now he may be sleeping by himself. Hal

 

[ss55]

What is the salvage value of the tractor as-is, around $5000?

Your friend may be better off not to try to fix the tractor, especially if if will only make him sick again every time he or his wife look at the tractor. It will be hard for him to accept taking a $10,000 loss on the tractor, but everyone learns that lesson sometime. At least he can afford it.

If you want to keep him as a friend I'd ask him to get estimates from other shops before you start any big work on the tractor.

Good luck.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

A friend who is an aircraft mechanic was the first to voice to me the idea that electrical(electronics)? geniuses are lacking something somewhere else.
The two people I know who might fit the elec. genius category fit that description.

 

[fixerupper]

He might take less of a loss by selling it to a scrapper and considering it an educational expense.
The machinery jockey probably bought it for $6000 and doubled his money. Jim

 

[Greenday]

I believe he got just what he deserved for not listening to you. Its a common case of someone thinking they know more than the people that work on them every day. Sounds like he has learned a valuable lesson. Its to bad there are people out there to take advantage of someone nice like your friend.

 

[donjr]

Darwin is alive and well, and walks among us!!!

 

[Traditional Farmer]

Education these days is expensive.Plenty around just like him computer/book smarts but would starve to death in a year on a 200 acre farm stocked with livestock.Oh well he can afford it.

 

[ChrisinMO]

I am in southern MO myself. Just for my info, did he buy it from a dealer or what? If a dealer, who did the deed? If you can drop me an email if you have this information, I'd appreciate it. Good luck with that tractor.

Christopher

 

[JayinNY]

Good example of more money than brains! He should have listened to you., at least you were looking out for him.

 

[El Toro]

We had them at work, but they didn't know you could charge the battery in the car. They sure knew their electronics. Hal

 

[JDseller]

TX Jim you are right that this cover lets you look at the transmission gears. I wanted to see the ring and pinion as well. Plus I have stands and a lift made to remove the rock shaft housing while holding the cab up. I can have the rock shaft housing out in less than an hour. Then you have much more room to look at the transmission/rear end. I really wanted to see as much as I could since there had been no filter or screen in the transmission. So I removed both.

I also removed the transmission charge pump this morning. It is shot. I am really trying to get the guy to just take his lumps and sell this money pit. You would have to take every single hydraulic component off and clean/rebuild them. Plus with the engine problems and AC issues, you would have the whole tractor stripped to the frame/block/housings. With planting 35-45 days away and three other tractors already here needing work, I am not sure I could get it repaired correctly in time for him to use it this spring.

How are getting the parts catalog pages to copy to here??? I use jdparts and can get them to copy to my computer and print out but they will not post to this site. It keeps saying file not found when I try to up load it.

 

[buickanddeere]

The man was out of his element making decisions in an area where he lacked expertise. All of here if in a similar situation would make errors. Last Saturday I continued to find out how little I know about horses and riding. The fellow's fault was letting himself be too emotional, eager, proud to follow your advice. Just about everybody here made the same mistakes purchasing thier first vehicle, tractor or wife/girlfriend.

 

[flyingace]

It would be easy to pile on this guy, but we've all made mistakes of this sort.
Sounds like he 'just had to have it now', and got taken advantage of. I'm sure he is punishing himself enough and doesn't need my help.

I just hope he has learned a couple of things:
1. When you're green, start out small to reduce your risks.
2. Listen to the experts.

 

[Billy Shafer]

The idiots are every where.
I had a guy call me about a genajunk generator for his house. Told him don't buy it. He bought it. Two months later it stops working. Stator shorted out. Company he bought it from doesn't do repairs.Factory says company he bought it from is not a dealer. So no warranty. Company is listed as a dealer. One year later it is in the barn and new Onan is powering the house. One costly mistake.

 

[massey333]

I know JD has one of the best tracking records of all companys,however it also has a lot of holes in it also.I know of 3 or 4(2 and 4 maybe the same)that JD has NO KNOWAGE or record other then mfg.date,no dealer sale or what dealer even got the tractor new.These are or were all family owned(bought new except ??4).One has no serial plate(since new)and Deere has no record of that dealer ever getting such a tractor in that time frame.

 

[mb58]

I would at least publish the name on this post of the guy who SOLD the tractor. May help somebody else later.

 

[RedRoundhead]

Oh man, that sucks.

Bet he will listen to you better next time, though. May be money well spent for the lesson.

Best of luck with that one. Charge him sternly but fairly for the repairs!

 

[JDseller]

The older the piece of equipment the more holes in the records. The customer registration was done on post cards in years past. So it really depended on the dealer. Some never registered anything unless they had a warranty claim on it. Plus the equipment was paid for by checks to the branch. Now with the settlements being done with computer and electronic money transfers the records are better. When you settle for each piece you have to enter the customer information. Plus the value of trade-in is so high that most dealers today have floor plan notes through JD finance for much of their used inventory. This makes the equipment easier to track because when it is sold and the dealer pays JD back for it. The settlement process asks for the new customer's information.

 

[MSD]

Had a friend that was looking at buying a house one time. He wanted me to do an inspection of it before he bought. I knew he had been looking for an acreage for some time so was a little concerned about giving him the bad news on what he was looking at. The seller was a true cobbler when he built it and I tried to point it all out to him. His wife got upset that I was running the place down but they bought it anyway. Was nothing but problems for them and after years of repairs it might be worth what he paid for it originally. Sometimes your further ahead to just stay out of friends business.

 

[NY 986]

There is no shortage of junk locally and little of quality within a couple hundred miles of me. I would like to get a couple tractors within the next few years but this raises my fears of getting took. A 8430 or 8440 with a 50 series re-power interests me but anything with a high degree of quality is not out there. I'll have to wait for a retirement auction where the quality of the equipment can be more readily assessed.
If this guy is like any of the tech genius' I have met your guy thought he was incapable of making a bad decision. Not that I want to see anybody took but at least at the worst it was an expensive lesson. It would have been real bad if he had to borrow money for it and have it needed immediately to feed the animals or haul manure.

 

[KCTractors]

I would say if he is making a six digit income, that $13,000 will not hurt him that much, just get rid of it for parts (salvage parts dealer) and start over!

 

[massey333]

What you say is all well and true,however we don't have many left but that they still do a cash business with the Mfg.(no Co.floor plan and no Mfg.fiancing of sales)record of dealer buying piece,but nothing beyond that.Same as a "farmer" ordering equip.but never seeing it because dealer needed a name to get the piece.So where the equip goes(ends up)the Mfg.never knows.A lot of older dealers that got burned on Co.repo's in the 80s don't do any Mfg.fiancing any more.

 

[JDseller]

Well guys I just went out and bought a "good" local one owner JD 4450 2wd. I have talked to a bone yard I deal with all of the time. They will give me $8500 for what he has.( Less the good tires. I am going to keep them) The cab and sheet metal will let the yard come out on it. I don't want this thing sold to another person in one piece.

It looks like I can sell him the JD 4450 trading in his JD 4440 for under 20K more. This is about 5-6K cheaper than I think the repairs are going to be. He will have a model newer tractor that I have known since new. I tried to get him on this tractor months ago but he did not want to spend that much money. He is going to be spending it now, one way or the other. I am showing him exactly what all the numbers are going to be. I am only gaining the tires for about half the value.

I just had his wife come over. (She was sick with worrying about this). I set her down and showed her what I could do to help. I showed her all the numbers. Even a faxed offer for their JD 4440. I also showed her that the JD 4450 would be worth more down the road. They will only be a little above high value on the JD 4450 but that is better to me than double the value on the JD 4440. This way they will have something that should be trouble free for a long time. She is going to meet her husband for lunch. They both are real nice people. I just want them to get this behind them without a lot of worry. I think that this will do that job.

As for naming the seller. Well I did not talk to the fellow myself. So I don't know for sure what he told my guy. He very well could have told him that it needed work. I have seen guys get new paint fever and do stupid things. Most of you guys are smart enough to walk away from a basket case like this one.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Proof of JD resale value, paid 2x what the thing was worth.

 

[JDseller]

You are right. If I was buying a computer network system I could be had real easy as I might know where the on switch was. LOL

I have boughten things I was not real proud of after the fact.

 

[bobs old iron]

just goes to show you that when you work for a genius that makes six figures, you can't suggest what to/not do, he wanted to show you that you don't know a good deal when you see one,lol,, well now the genius can spend two figures on the p.o.s. that you said to pass on,,job security for you i guess.

 

[JDseller]

massey333 you are right about a lot of Dealers getting burned on Company repos. John Deere Finance notes are not full recourse to the dealer like International, Case, and White where. With JD 1% of every note goes into a recourse fund for each dealer. When this fund get to certain size then the dealer will get his full loan amount but until then he will only get 99% of the amount. So when repo happens the costs are subtracted from the recourse fund of the selling dealer. When lot of repos happen like in the early 1980s the loss to the JD dealers was limited to what they had in their recousre fund. This difference was a big reason many JD dealers where able to stay in business when other brands had to shut their doors.

I have a friend that was a White dealer. Two repoed combines, that he had to pay the 18-20% interest on, forced him out of business. The cash flow just was not there. A real large Case dealer I traded with lost his personal farms when a bunch of Repos happened to him.

 

[jason, NW Ontario]

You're awfully decent to be helping that much. I'd like to think there are nice guys around here that might help that much, but just don't know.

Jay

 

[larryanderson]

JD seller sounds like a good solution.You cant make an old horse young.The seller should receive at least some recognition for his part.Theres a sucker born every minute and two to take him.It is amazing how fast parts sell especially the cab etc.By putting the thing to the kill yard you are doing everyone a favor.I have feeling that might be where it came from.

 

[TVB]

Your customer is a computer expert maybe he should have sent a picture text or e-mailed you a short walk-around video of the machine then went and had lunch while you looked it over. May not have reveiled some of the internal problems, but a skilled mechanic such as yourself may have seen some red flags and saved him some money. A picture is worth a thousand words (if the photographer is honest).

 

[Anonymous-0]

You are a heck of a good guy to go to that length for a customer/friend. Wish there were lots more like you. ON the other hand I do have some equipment in the gully (oops) back lot that would go well with his new horse, so have him send me a check and i'll deliver instead of taking it to the scrap yard.

 

[crotchity]

Had a dealer with two 8n Fords on his lot. One had bad engine one like new engine. Paint shop screwed up and painted bad engine tractor.Told a prospective buyer engine wasn't good,but he insisted that was the tractor he wanted.Customer bought a paint job????

 

[Bret4207]

You're a good guy to help him. People, especially people who have no experience, tend to buy shiny, brand name and status. Cars, tractors, guns, houses, livestock. It's the same everywhere.