As the guy who has spent more than three-and-a-half decades compiling hard cash auction sale price data points on what all types of used farm and construction equipment sold for, purchasing with a purpose speaks to me.
Here are a few Machinery Pete Pointers when it comes to putting this into practice:
1. Have a Price Point Game Plan. Buying and selling can be emotional. You have your eye set on a piece of equipment. You’ve invested significant time researching it. Now, it’s sale day. The bidding rolls along, but it has crept above what you were hoping to pay. OK, you bid once more. Twice. Well, you’re this close, once more. My suggestion for approaching auctions has remained the same for decades: Be prepared to buy anything but commit to buy nothing. There are bargains on every auction, usually on unexpected items. Those buyers get the deals. If the item you’re after goes too high, let it go.
2. Sometimes the Best Deal Isn’t What You Bought. It’s what you didn’t buy.
3. You Can’t Put a Price on Buying Smiles. Life is short. When I started out, collector tractors were A’s, B’s and H’s. Times change. Now collector models often are 1970s and 1980s vintage. If you’re older and your financial house is in strong shape, the siren call of buying that favorite tractor from when you were a kid can be strong. Here’s my advice: Buy It. Our world is too full of stress and frowns. If you can buy something that makes you smile, that’s winning in my book. Like the beautiful Massey Ferguson 1150 tractor from Danny Kuhn’s collection in Arthur, Ill., that sold for $51,500 on Aug. 19.There are many years of smiles ahead with that one.
4. Buy Extended Warranty Protection. Not much new equipment has been sold the past 18-plus months. Equipment fleets are collectively being pushed to run another year or two. One truth I know is no matter the cycle, farmers want and need reliable equipment to minimize downtime. Our Machinery Pete auction price data continually proves extended warranties add value when it’s time to sell or trade. And in this tight ag economy, insuring your farm against unforeseen repairs is priceless.
5. The 10-Year-Old With Low Hours Factor. You’ve heard me say it many times. What buyers have always wanted, and likely always will, is the nicest condition used tractor, combine, sprayer, skid steer or truck that is more than 10 years old. The rising cost of new equipment is so high that it works to make the nicest 10-year-old stuff super desirable. So, why not be a smart, aggressive buyer of the nicest 3-, 5- or 7-year-old item? This is where the value buy has always been in my book. In a few years, you will own what everyone wants: a sharp, low-hour, 10-year-old unit. That puts you in the catbird seat when selling or trading.
