Pete’s Pick: 40-Year-Old John Deere 4850 Shatters Record

Estate and retirement auctions keep equipment on the move during the busiest month of the year

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(Machinery Pete)

Just as temperatures are shattering records across the country, used tractor prices are heating up. At a sale hosted by Polk Auction Company on March 21, in Rantoul, Ill., a John Deere tractor set a new auction record. This Machinery Pete’s Pick of the Week comes from the Albert Warren living estate auction, where a 1986 John Deere 4850 with 4,100 hours sold for $80,500 - beating the previous record by almost $15,000.

BigIron Auctions also saw record-breaking results during the Tom Keig Estate Auction out of Auburn, Neb., on on March 18:

  • 2003 John Deere 9320 with 1,837 hours sold for $212,500 - the last record at $193,000 held for 15 years.
  • 2013 John Deere 8360R with 1,226 hours sold for $227,500 - the highest auction price in 13 months.
  • 2019 John Deere S770 HILCO Sidehill combine with 478 engine hours sold for $396,250, the second-highest auction price ever.

On March 19, coming in at the second highest auction price on record, a 2017 Versatile 260 with 733 hours sold for $103,400. The online farm retirement auction was hosted by Schmid Auction.

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