WH prices???

[SAM58 30]

Sparky is spot on in how I used to and still do buy worker machines that I wanted to flip. I always figure if I can sell all the attachments it comes with for what I paid for the package then I got a tractor for free. Honestly when I first started to get into this hobby that is exactly how I was able to build up my collection.

What kills me is those same people asking 2 to 3 times what the tractor is worth will keep re listing it on craigslist at the same price. There is a 3 series in my home town that has been listed several times over the past year for $1800 and another one a few towns away for $1300+ also listed for close to a year!

Make them an offer of what the tractor is really worth, and when it's still for sale after a year or so they might catch on...

I will pay the money for something I really want, but for a restore tractor, it has to be a bargain or I don't buy. :)

[546cowboy 301]

One of the problems is there a way too many people buying these tractors, stripping them and getting outrageous prices for parts. In turn that drives the prices up on tractors.

I am retired and I buy tractors to keep them away from strippers and scrap yards. Besides enjoying working on Wheel Horses, I can supplement my income to some extent. I fix them and sometimes I do get carried away and do way more cosmetic work than I should. But when I get done with one it will do what it was built to do and look good.

When I sell them I have to account for what I paid for it, how much gas I used to go get it, how much the parts I used cost me, paint, decals, stripper and everything else I used. I have never been able to add the time I spent on one since I would never find anyone to buy it.

The thing I have found is that if you can wait long enough you'll find what you're looking for at a decent price. I have waited a year to find the part I needed. But when you do find a deal you have to get there FIRST! You can't delay or ask someone to hold it for you. MONEY TALKS.

[copperhead 38]

One of the problems is there a way too many people buying these tractors, stripping them and getting outrageous prices for parts. In turn that drives the prices up on tractors.

I am retired and I buy tractors to keep them away from strippers and scrap yards. Besides enjoying working on Wheel Horses, I can supplement my income to some extent. I fix them and sometimes I do get carried away and do way more cosmetic work than I should. But when I get done with one it will do what it was built to do and look good.

When I sell them I have to account for what I paid for it, how much gas I used to go get it, how much the parts I used cost me, paint, decals, stripper and everything else I used. I have never been able to add the time I spent on one since I would never find anyone to buy it.

The thing I have found is that if you can wait long enough you'll find what you're looking for at a decent price. I have waited a year to find the part I needed. But when you do find a deal you have to get there FIRST! You can't delay or ask someone to hold it for you. MONEY TALKS.

I'm inclined to agree with you on the first part.....As for the reason for why folks are buying them....I could probably blame the avid collector for driving up prices just as much as the stripper.....It didn't take long when I first started my search for a WH to figure out there were lots of folks.....be it flippers, strippers or collectors who I had to compete against...While my reason for looking to purchase a few machines doesn't fall into any of those catagories....I'm not going to begrudge anyone for trying to make a few bucks.....or for pursuing their hobby...

Personally, I could care less how much someone wants to ask for their tractor...supply and demand will prevail in the end....But when any decent deal is gone with an hour or so of being posted on CL....it's easy to see how folks might want to try testing the waters with higher asking prices......JMO

[WheelHorseSteve 56]

I have been looking for a nice clean original worker for quite some time now. I'm willing to pay the price for the right one but nothing has come along in a very long time. I've seen all the tractors you are talking about on C/L in CT. Truth be told, in most cases I wouldn't even give them half that much. In most cases people are dreaming.

I don't know if this will work with most sellers but I saw a really beautiful original C-100 8-speed advertised for twice what it was worth and I explained to the seller the same and he was agreeable to selling it at that price. The tractor had a blown engine (rod through the crankcase and all) but with some creative piecing together of engines and selling of extra parts I have really nice C-100 (w/ k241s) for $350. So, if you are quick to reply to ads yet are patient I think you can generally get the deals that you want.

At the end of the day, it's economics 101 -- supply and demand. The "market" is how far you're willing to drive to get a tractor. And if more people are getting into the hobby then yes... the prices will naturally go up. But again, that also benefits those of us who have a number of tractors already! (think about those trying to get into the hobby)

[IthacaJeff 151]

Not to be a too forward here, but the rising prices are likely a direct result of collectors and flippers,

who create demand, increase perception of what the tractors are worth, and likely decrease supply

by "hording." No indictment, just an observation of the economics of supply and demand.

A 416 was for sale around here recently for $100 -- very rusty -- but I'm sure it had at least $100

worth of parts.

Jeff

[squonk 41,171]

Not to be a too forward here, but the rising prices are likely a direct result of collectors and flippers,

who create demand, increase perception of what the tractors are worth, and likely decrease supply

by "hording." No indictment, just an observation of the economics of supply and demand.

A 416 was for sale around here recently for $100 -- very rusty -- but I'm sure it had at least $100

worth of parts.

Jeff

I saw that one. 2 guys at work inquired about it. 1 who is a collector like me needed the coil off of it. The other wanted the motor to replace the blown one on his ford. They both E-mailed him several times. They figured one would buy it and both would get what they needed. The guy never replied and the ad was still up . He finally contaced them to tell them it's gone and stop bothering him.

[Ken B 3,164]

Steve, I remember seeing that C-100 you bought. I was gonna pounce on that one as well, you snarfed it up pretty quick. I was happy to see you nabbed it, it has a nice home now. It would have been a shame to see that one parted. Let it be known, I have no problem whatsoever with guys that part tractors but that C-100 was wicked clean.

I know how the game works, no whining here from me. If its one thing I have no problem doing it is getting in my truck and going on an 8 hr. road trip for something I want, many times only because I'm bored and I'm looking for something exciting to do. You can't always expect something to fall in your lap, though if you are patient chances are that sooner or later it will.

At the end of the day, if there is one thing I have learned (and proven) in my 25 plus yrs. of playing with tractors it is that there ain't no tractor in this world that I can't live without.

[grnlark 487]

Lord knows I've bought and sold my fair share of tractors, but for me it's to make a little cash here and there, to then buy tractors I want to keep. Most of the tractors in my "collection" I've aquired with little to no personal cash outlay. The one thing I always ask myself before I buy anything is, "Can I get out from under this tractor and AT LEAST break even if I want to?" If the answer is no, then more than likely I won't go any further. BUT, a few of my machines I would have bought regardless of how stupid the price was. It's a matter of how badly you want it.

[stevasaurus 22,769]

One more thing that is upping the price of the WH tractors...the dang Toro Dealers, and what they are asking for those hard to get parts. I think they would rather sell that plastic Toro to you, rather then help you keep something worth while running. :bow-blue:

[can whlvr 993]

around me we dont see too many horses go up for sale,maybe one a week in the big selling paper kijiji(like craigs list,which we have too,but not very many tractors on it,mostly hookers lol)so as said when a deal pops up you gotta be fast,i work for myself so i can up and leave work to get a deal,but they dont come along that often

[Rollerman 290]

When I seen this thread come up...at first I thought it had the potential to flame up, thanks to all for not letting it go that way.

A lot of us on here have a differant price ranges in mind when it comes to buying or haggling on Horses or other GT's.

No matter if we buy to keep, flip, or part out the prices are up.

I think along the lines of some of the other posters in this thread.

It's cheaper to buy a used GT, fix it up, maintain it than go buy a store brand rider that after a few years of moderate use is in poor shape.

On top of that the vintage GT hobby has grown, demand is up, supply is dwindling.

Sellers see that trend & price accordingly.

I have two mowers in my shop, both my dads.

A Craftsman LT 2000 he bought new 5 years ago.

And an 85 310-8 with the K241 Kohler I bought used about 5 years ago for him to plow snow with.

Since then he has been useing the Horse with a 42" deck to mow with too (his preferance).

For comparisons the Deck on the LT has broken hangers, blades are bent. valve cover gasket leaks & so does the seal at the base of the dipstick tube.

The steering has play in it that I can't fix.

Needless to say this expensive LT with minimal use has just sits with an expired warranty.

His 310-8 keeps running & running & running!

I've even fixed a few things he's rigged (governor), he's hit trees with the deck, scalped over roots...(no damage to the tractor or deck).

Recentley he hit the pontoon boat with it (stored in the drive for winter), did a number on the hood.

So I guess what I'm saying it whats the better value...a brand new store brand LT that cost a couple thousand with a warranty & now just sets waiting for repairs this winter.

Or the 310-8 I picked up used of a another WheelHorse friend for $300 that keeps running even with the abused life it's having.

Potential buyers are seeing the value in buying a used machine & putting some money in it.

Sellers are priceing accordingly & your seeing more of us fixing old GT's up to sell to these potential buyers.

Thats my thoughts & ramblings...

[IthacaJeff 151]

Rollerman has some interesting thoughts, but my experience is a bit different. I see fewer and fewer people

willing and able to fix things. I got my 1988 310-8 some 10 years ago for $100. I've done the normal maintenance

but also swapped belts, had the mower deck welded, made a home-made cable lift, gerry-rigged a number

of attachments and hitches, fixed the lighting, rewired the ignition/solenoid (but I'm now back to hot-wiring),

rebuilt the carb, and a million other little things. I've done even more with my beat up 416. How many people,

other than those on this and similar forums, would do that? I learned a lot from my dad, mostly though about

having the determination and passion to fix things rather than replace. As a kid I worked on my bicycle nearly

every week just to keep it and my paper route running. Took auto, wood, and metal shop in high school. Many,

if not most, high schools no longer offer such courses.

Now, on the other hand, I no longer work on my vehicles. Can't beat the price of a lube and oil change, and

don't want to fuss with the electronics! That's why the mechanicals of a WH are so appealing!

Jeff

[can whlvr 993]

i agree with jeff,its an acquired talent to keep these machines going,my neighbour wont even change the oil in his tractor,he sends it to t he shop,so some people arnt into doing mechanical stuff,others love it like me

[WheelHorseSteve 56]

i agree with jeff,its an acquired talent to keep these machines going,my neighbour wont even change the oil in his tractor,he sends it to t he shop,so some people arnt into doing mechanical stuff,others love it like me

It's definitely a disposable society now. Seems that we're in the minority... so many people don't even want to mow their lawn anymore... let alone change their tractor's oil.

Steve, I remember seeing that C-100 you bought. I was gonna pounce on that one as well, you snarfed it up pretty quick. I was happy to see you nabbed it, it has a nice home now.

Thanks Ken! Loving those Economy tractors you've gotten recently... I can only imagine how stout / strong those must be! (hard to beat a traditional tractor setup... engine directly coupled to transmission... sans belt) I wish I built a bigger shed... :)

[zeedubbya 18]

Nice thread everyone--I think everyone is right about this--a lot of people are trying to find the "gold mine" and aren't truly collectors. I visited a fellow RS members stable the other day, and I really really liked what he had--I may buy a C120 from him in fact. The difference is the feeling of nostalgia or the feeling of hitting the jackpot. The reason prices have went so high is because of the people seeing $$$$ not a piece of history or a worker. By the way anyone want to buy my 500 special for $40,000!! Comes with a dozer blade, and I'll deliver it!! Ha ha!! OBO of course ;-)

[SPINJIM 1,981]

I'm an antique furniture dealer as well as a Wheel Horse collector. I know that in the antique business in general, sellers have some items that they really don't want to sell, but if someone pays them enough, they'll let it go. So they put a ridiculous price on that item, hoping that no one buys it. Everything has it's price, even the tractors we love, and don't want to sell. I'd let any of my tractors go for $2000 each, but I only really want to sell two of the eleven I own. With the $2000, I'd go buy four more old tractors, and have enough leftover to take my wife out to dinner for putting up with my hobby.

Jim

[mrc 818]

hi sean, i'm with rollerman on this. what will $1000. get you for a riding mower at a big box store??? not a heck of a lot IMO. if someone is o.k. with a wrench and is willing to put a little money and time into an old wheelhorse he can have a great quality, hard working machine that will probably last another 30-40 years! also remember that in 2006-2007 when wh/toro stopped making the 315-8 that the tractor retailed for $4000-4500. with a deck. regards. mike in mass.