In my opinion …

[kiwi pom]

If you're buying anything remotely complicated, I think it needs looking at but it needs to be seen by someone who can assess it properly. Paying a trusted mechanic to do it would make more sense to me.
I'd have thought with newer stuff like tractors you'd want someone who could hook it to a lap top or scan tool and check it out too

Bit of a different but I sold a car a few years ago unseen to a chap in the North Island, he had me take it to an AA service/inspection place and paid for the check himself.

 

[Kingsfarm]

Got a flail going out tomorrow. The full conversation went….

Hi. Can you do the flail delivered to me for £xxx+vat all in?

Yes no problem, can have it with you Friday.

Great thanks. Can you send me an invoice to…..
I’ll get it paid tonight.

thanks. I’ll confirm a delivery time the night before.


Man paid as he said and will get his machine tomorrow.
Entire conversation was 4 messages long.

Interested in where you advertise as I’ve a few quite old items I’m thinking of selling.

 

[ollie989898]

FFS, always view before buying.

Not quite as relevant as I only usually buy 'used' from a genuine on farm dispersal, but flew Edinburgh to Stanstead to look at a pair of NH TX6x's at a sale near the airport.
Looked clean in the pictures, but it was only when speaking to the driver who was being made redundant that he pointed out the boss told him not to bother cleaning out the bean haulm after harvest 8 months before and it was a shitshow inside, and you needed to hit the hydraulic solenoid with a hammer to get the unloading auger to move, etc. A long way to go for a coffee and a bacon roll.
Two weeks later there was another sale a couple of miles from the first sale at Matching Hall, peach of a late model TX66, made the 2nd journey worth while.

There are farmers I would always trust when buying something and probably some I would not. I know people who are seriously into kit and they wouldn't ever try to sell something unless it was 100% cleaned up/out and tidied up and ready for action- it just wouldn't be in their nature.

 

[Dave W]

Interested in where you advertise as I’ve a few quite old items I’m thinking of selling.

Everything goes on Facebook.
things usually sell in hours of it’s proved right, well photographed and wherever possible a video of it operating

 

[ollie989898]

If you're buying anything remotely complicated, I think it needs looking at but it needs to be seen by someone who can assess it properly. Paying a trusted mechanic to do it would make more sense to me.
I'd have thought with newer stuff like tractors you'd want someone who could hook it to a lap top or scan tool and check it out too

Bit of a different but I sold a car a few years ago unseen to a chap in the North Island, he had me take it to an AA service/inspection place and paid for the check himself.

Cars are quite expensive and sought after in NZ are they not?

 

[Kingsfarm]

Everything goes on Facebook.
things usually sell in hours of it’s proved right, well photographed and wherever possible a video of it operating

Just on marketplace or a specific group?

 

[ffukedfarmer]

I nearly bought a tractor unseen from the other end of the country last week but at the last minute decided to jump in the truck and go take a look. There was nothing fundamentally wrong with it but I would’ve been very disappointed when it turned up as it was just untidy - bits of trim hanging off, wobbly seat and a cab that stank of dog. Nothing which couldn’t be sorted but if the dealer couldn’t be bothered to tidy the easy things then it’s not for me.

 

[Dave W]

Just on marketplace or a specific group?

List on marketplace then once it’s on there’s the option to list in more places. Click that and it brings up all the groups you are in then you can select all the relevant ones. Can list in up to 20

 

[Martyn]

List on marketplace then once it’s on there’s the option to list in more places. Click that and it brings up all the groups you are in then you can select all the relevant ones. Can list in up to 20

That’s interesting, I’m about to sell a drill as we can’t fit it down our Cornish roads to another farm we have taken on, one of the counties biggest drill dealers has offered to sell it for a fee, but I was wondering about trying to sell ourselves.

 

[miniconnect]

slight tangent, but is anyone else turned off by anything that states 'sold as seen' now? I always read that as it's just holding together and don't phone me when it breaks?

 

[Dave W]

slight tangent, but is anyone else turned off by anything that states 'sold as seen' now? I always read that as it's just holding together and don't phone me when it breaks?

It means they bought it from a collective sale the day before and done nothing more than wipe the lot no off.

 

[Bob c]

slight tangent, but is anyone else turned off by anything that states 'sold as seen' now? I always read that as it's just holding together and don't phone me when it breaks?

when you see a item loaded on trailer saying its for sale
Where has it come from try to make a few quick ££££

 

[Dave W]

when you see a item loaded on trailer saying its for sale
Where has it come from try to make a few quick ££££

Photos taken in petrol station seen to be a favourite.
Or just been washed and all the soap suds still on floor around it.
or in the yard with ifor behind it with ramps still down having just been unloaded

 

[lloyd]

It means they bought it from a collective sale the day before and done nothing more than wipe the lot no off.

Just had a look at your many items takes some scrolling through.

 

[Bumble Bee]

I went up to Scotland from North Yorkshire to see a tractor at a well known main dealer. The photos they sent looked good, but when I got there the bonnet was dented all over (front mounted slurry reeler?) Left hand seat armrest missing, aircon button had a hole in it amongst many other things. Non of these were apparent in the photos. Then it wouldn't start!
Hard to believe that the photos were not taken with a view to not including the bad bits.

A few days later I drove down to Taunton to Parris tractors and their's was exactly as described.
So personally I'd always go and see a tractor before buying.

 

[mixedfmr]

Traded with Emyr Evans, one side of the UK to the other and never thought of going to see, phoned a couple of times to get the lie of the land, plenty of photos and the right conversation on the phone
Brought a MF 5713SL and loader near 40k and took my trade about 3 years ago
The dealer looked to have a good set up and i got good vibes from one of the sons, It seemed they had a reputation to loose, and didnt want that
On exchange the tractor was more than i expected, and has been ok since

On the other side bought a tractor from now taken over Brigstock tractors Everything looked ok, but 6 months latter when i came to use the pto in anger, no go .
Russels striped pto cover off to find a nut missing that could not be lost or come loose inside the casing , so something must have happened for the backend to be stripped for the nut to be missing
The supplying dealer would have non of it and washed his hands of me
But as has been said on here, untill you use a thing you dont know how things are

 

[john63]

I would always go to look at anything over £500. Bought a £10k tractor from a dealer in 2021. It went against the grain, as I normally buy either privately or at auctions. But felt that it was worth it in case there were any major faults in the first few months.

 

[Barleymow]

Did a 420 mile round trip day out to buy the Deutz ,took a friend who plugged his laptop in to check it over .Bought the drill from Facebook. Bought a vaderstad nz of agrilinc on photos, they have paid to have the ram repaired which leaked ,i wanted them before they had time to sort it .was told they would sort it once i had used them last autumn.

 

[daveydiesel1]

Bought 2 tractors from different auctions, never went to see them and both turned out ok but was a big relief as i was a bit worried tbh

 

[FonterraFarmer]

If you're buying anything remotely complicated, I think it needs looking at but it needs to be seen by someone who can assess it properly. Paying a trusted mechanic to do it would make more sense to me.
I'd have thought with newer stuff like tractors you'd want someone who could hook it to a lap top or scan tool and check it out too

Bit of a different but I sold a car a few years ago unseen to a chap in the North Island, he had me take it to an AA service/inspection place and paid for the check himself.

Seen some pretty average pre inspection checks, the ultimate question to as the inspector is "would they buy it, yes or no?"
That said last vehicle purchased was a non starter with flat battery and no test drive, rego or WOF.
But known history and at $5/hp you don't say no.
(Absolutely "zero" rust and no crash damage.)