Dealerships might have a variety of equipment on their lots, but noticeable inventory gaps are starting to emerge. The sweet spot for budget-conscious buyers — high-hour, 8- to 12-year-old machinery — is thinning out rapidly, resetting expectations for what constitutes a “good” used machine.
With 8- to 12-year-old machines becoming scarce and more expensive, farmers are starting to inquire about one- and two-year-old equipment — an option that wasn’t even considered six months ago, says Casey Seymour, a machinery sector expert.
“All the cream has been taken off the top, and now you have this next baseline layer of what ‘good’ is,” he explains. “What we’re seeing is some of that value is starting to kind of bleed over into the newer machines.”
Voting With Checkbooks: Retrofit Kits Over New Iron
With the middle of the market hollowed out, buyers are split into two camps. While some are biting the bullet on nearly new machines, others are upgrading the iron they already own and turning to aftermarket upgrade kits.
Seymour explains these sprayer and planter precision packages can be a great way to adopt new technology. Rather than spending $400,000 to $700,000 on a newer sprayer, a farmer might invest $10,000 to $50,000 at a time to bring an existing machine up to factory-level performance.
“These upgrade kits really start positioning you into what autonomy looks like and how you’re going to put that on your farm,” Seymour says.
Machinery Pete is also noticing an uptick in farmer interest around retrofit options.
“In the last six weeks, we’ve had a record price on a [John Deere] 4440 and a 4430 — that’s farmers telling you what they want,” Machinery Pete explains. “They’re voting with their checkbooks on retrofitting equipment.”
Used Values Hold Steady Heading Into Auction Season
Despite a seasonal bump in auction inventory, used equipment prices have remained resilient since the summer months. Machinery Pete points to a sale by Zomer Company Realty & Auction on Oct. 15. At the auction, a 2018 John Deere S770 with 2,224 engine hours sold for $156,000. The average this year on an S770 with 2,000 to 2,500 hours is $157,250. The auction also had other impressive sales, including:
- 1972 John Deere 4020 diesel with 8,147 hours sold for $30,500.
- 1993 John Deere 4560 two-wheel drive with just over 6,600 hours sold for $47,000.
- 1976 John Deere 4630 with 6,382 hours at $23,000.
Machinery Pete emphasizes the importance of digging into a machine’s specific details before buying. At a recent DeMott Auction sale in Okeechobee, Fla., a two-year-old John Deere 335 P-Tier compact track loader with just 190 hours brought $90,750, the second-highest auction price ever recorded for that model. Machinery Pete credits the key value drivers listed in the sale catalog, including the emissions warranty that runs through October 2029 and the undercarriage coverage that is good through Oct. 7, 2027.
“That was a pretty strong sale, a little higher than I thought, but you need those details,” Machinery Pete says.
Machinery Pete adds there has been an 8.5% increase in skid steer units sold at auction from Oct. 15, 2025, to Oct. 15, 2026. In addition, there has been a 20% increase in the number of auctions from mid-September 2025 through mid-September this year.
Listen to the latest “Moving Iron” podcast for more from Machinery Pete and Seymour as they continue to follow new and used machinery sales.
