Dollars are definitely flowing to pre-emission-era machines. No, I’m not just talking tractors. The past six months I’ve seen a surge in buyer interest and rising prices paid for older, pre-emission semis in good condition at farm auctions.
Perhaps nothing proves the point better than a social media post I made on March 28. I highlighted an amazing 2007 Peterbilt 379 with only 2,444 miles for sale in Caledonia, Wis. Asking price: $179,900. It was the last truck purchased by a well-known Allis-Chalmers tractor collector before he passed away years ago.
Within a day, I had more than 7,600 clicks from Twitter and Facebook and tons of comments on my blog about the Peterbilt 379. The consensus was we’d found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow; something folks have dreamed about finding.
The trend started to gather momentum in November 2018. Note below the 1996 Peterbilt 377 with only 57,332 miles sold by my friends at Jeff Boston Auction Service. The previous high auction price was $43,250, which occurred seven years prior when a 1988 Peterbilt 377 with 380,000 miles sold at a consignment auction on Dec. 28, 2011.
The 2000 Kenworth T800 listed below, sold by Sullivan Auctioneers, is another good example. The $68,000 sale price was the fourth-highest auction price in the past 13.5 years on a 1998 to 2002 Kenworth T800.
Another example, not on the table, is a 2006 Peterbilt 385 with 278,000 miles that sold for $51,500 at a Nov. 17, 2018 farm auction in northwest Iowa. That’s the second-highest price in 19 years for that model.
Looking for a semi? There are 280 listed at www.MachineryPete.com.
