I'm getting older but still haven't learned enough to avoid getting bit every now & then.
In looking back I could have avoided the problems & very costly repairs if I had actually used the tractor/implements under a good load for a while or checked 'ALL' the fluid levels properly.
One big problem is the willingness of 'supposedly good' people to purposely lie or not disclose information about problems with what they are selling. It is so prevalent now that it seems that a lot of people seem to think that it is OK to deceive or cheat someone.
If they do make a claim about it's good condition, have them put it in writing, and try to check it out under load for a while.
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One 120hp tractor didn't have brakes when the hydraulic fluid was cold. Wasn't a problem once I knew about it. But the first time I went to use it on my property, it was in neutral & started to roll down a long hill, brakes didn't work, couldn't get it gear because it was moving, luckily there was a bridge going across the creek down below.
Turns out the old Massey's have really good Perkins engines (smooth & good fuel economy) but seem to have 'weak' hydraulics after a few thousand hours of run time. The seller had started it & let it warm up before I looked at it & test drove it.
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One Ford 3000 would automatically raise & then 'slam' the brush hog to the ground 'repeatedly' after the hydraulic fluid got warmed up. It would actually raise the front wheels off of the ground when it would start the cycle over. The same tractor had steering shaft & steering gear corrosion problems from sitting out in the rain most of it's life. Water had run down into the housing, ruined the power steering fluid seal, & finally settled in the steering gear box causing more corrosion. Found out later that the seller knew about the problems but didn't disclose them.
--------------------------
One old Kubota I bought, I picked up from a Kubota dealer, supposedly after it had been serviced. I didn't have any problems with it during the few hours I used it, but the fellow I sold it to called me about a week after he bought it. Said the front axle was giving problems. After looking at it I found the front axle was completely empty of oil, a few bearings had failed.
Total run time after picking up from Kubota dealer was less than 8 hours.
I had not checked the front axle oil level. I paid a friend to do the repair & that cost about $450.
-------------------------
One John Deere triple gear box brush hog appeared to function well until trying to mow grass. The main shaft splines finished stripping out on two of the gear boxes & left little metal particles on top of the deck. Turns out the previous owner had 'shimmed' the shaft couplings enough to catch a little of the remaining splines. That repair cost about $2500.
The seller was about 80 years old and said everything was in a great useable condition, but he had 'shimmed' the bushings to make them 'appear' to be functional. He didn't want to spend $500 per shaft & buy new couplings and bearings for it.
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One of the worst stories I've been told about what seller's will do was told by the owner of the front end loader that I purchased for my Kubota 2250.
He had owned the same model Kubota and had replaced a cylinder sleeve. After putting in the new sleeve he found that the new piston would not fit. Kubota told him that he should have had a machine shop bore the sleeve to fit the piston.
He said he didn't want to go to all the expense & trouble of having that done, so he had a 'friend' use a metal lathe to 'turn down' the piston so it would fit into the new sleeve. He said he nipped off the rings enough to fit.
Put it all back together & it started & ran without any noticeable problems.
So he took it to an auction near Corsicana Texas about five months ago & sold it.
---------------------
I was at a dealer a couple of years ago & bought a Mahindra 75hp 4wd (touted as a one year old model with 2 years of remaining warranty).
Turns out it only had about a month of warranty remaining. Luckily I caught it the day after I bought it. The dealer didn't want to refund the money until I showed him an ad he had placed on the internet a month before that stated what the actual year model was.
------------------------
I let a neighbor use my John Deere backhoe for a week. Seemingly good guy but he decided to let his son and their friends operate the unit digging out tree roots. They damaged part of it & he wouldn't even help do the minor repair.
------------------------
That's just a few of my experiences.
I've come up with a term I use to describe the personality of the people that I've regrettably believed. I say they have a 'country club personality'. Very nice to be around, lots of smiles, good stories, they'll buy you lunch every now & then, invite you to go fishing, golfing, hunting, whatever..... but beware when they want to sell something or have you invest in something.
I've started sort of rating the people I meet or have known for a while. Most of them are about 70 % good. Very few are above 90 %. The one's I try not to associate with are at 50 % or below.
But I have lost more money with the one's I had seemingly rated above 90% for a while. I trusted them pretty much completely.
In looking back I could have avoided the problems & very costly repairs if I had actually used the tractor/implements under a good load for a while or checked 'ALL' the fluid levels properly.
One big problem is the willingness of 'supposedly good' people to purposely lie or not disclose information about problems with what they are selling. It is so prevalent now that it seems that a lot of people seem to think that it is OK to deceive or cheat someone.
If they do make a claim about it's good condition, have them put it in writing, and try to check it out under load for a while.
------------------------
One 120hp tractor didn't have brakes when the hydraulic fluid was cold. Wasn't a problem once I knew about it. But the first time I went to use it on my property, it was in neutral & started to roll down a long hill, brakes didn't work, couldn't get it gear because it was moving, luckily there was a bridge going across the creek down below.
Turns out the old Massey's have really good Perkins engines (smooth & good fuel economy) but seem to have 'weak' hydraulics after a few thousand hours of run time. The seller had started it & let it warm up before I looked at it & test drove it.
--------------------------
One Ford 3000 would automatically raise & then 'slam' the brush hog to the ground 'repeatedly' after the hydraulic fluid got warmed up. It would actually raise the front wheels off of the ground when it would start the cycle over. The same tractor had steering shaft & steering gear corrosion problems from sitting out in the rain most of it's life. Water had run down into the housing, ruined the power steering fluid seal, & finally settled in the steering gear box causing more corrosion. Found out later that the seller knew about the problems but didn't disclose them.
--------------------------
One old Kubota I bought, I picked up from a Kubota dealer, supposedly after it had been serviced. I didn't have any problems with it during the few hours I used it, but the fellow I sold it to called me about a week after he bought it. Said the front axle was giving problems. After looking at it I found the front axle was completely empty of oil, a few bearings had failed.
Total run time after picking up from Kubota dealer was less than 8 hours.
I had not checked the front axle oil level. I paid a friend to do the repair & that cost about $450.
-------------------------
One John Deere triple gear box brush hog appeared to function well until trying to mow grass. The main shaft splines finished stripping out on two of the gear boxes & left little metal particles on top of the deck. Turns out the previous owner had 'shimmed' the shaft couplings enough to catch a little of the remaining splines. That repair cost about $2500.
The seller was about 80 years old and said everything was in a great useable condition, but he had 'shimmed' the bushings to make them 'appear' to be functional. He didn't want to spend $500 per shaft & buy new couplings and bearings for it.
-------------------------
One of the worst stories I've been told about what seller's will do was told by the owner of the front end loader that I purchased for my Kubota 2250.
He had owned the same model Kubota and had replaced a cylinder sleeve. After putting in the new sleeve he found that the new piston would not fit. Kubota told him that he should have had a machine shop bore the sleeve to fit the piston.
He said he didn't want to go to all the expense & trouble of having that done, so he had a 'friend' use a metal lathe to 'turn down' the piston so it would fit into the new sleeve. He said he nipped off the rings enough to fit.
Put it all back together & it started & ran without any noticeable problems.
So he took it to an auction near Corsicana Texas about five months ago & sold it.
---------------------
I was at a dealer a couple of years ago & bought a Mahindra 75hp 4wd (touted as a one year old model with 2 years of remaining warranty).
Turns out it only had about a month of warranty remaining. Luckily I caught it the day after I bought it. The dealer didn't want to refund the money until I showed him an ad he had placed on the internet a month before that stated what the actual year model was.
------------------------
I let a neighbor use my John Deere backhoe for a week. Seemingly good guy but he decided to let his son and their friends operate the unit digging out tree roots. They damaged part of it & he wouldn't even help do the minor repair.
------------------------
That's just a few of my experiences.
I've come up with a term I use to describe the personality of the people that I've regrettably believed. I say they have a 'country club personality'. Very nice to be around, lots of smiles, good stories, they'll buy you lunch every now & then, invite you to go fishing, golfing, hunting, whatever..... but beware when they want to sell something or have you invest in something.
I've started sort of rating the people I meet or have known for a while. Most of them are about 70 % good. Very few are above 90 %. The one's I try not to associate with are at 50 % or below.
But I have lost more money with the one's I had seemingly rated above 90% for a while. I trusted them pretty much completely.
