Projects and the raising costs of doing them!!!!

JD Seller · Feb 1, 2017

I have been doing tax paperwork the last week or so. So I have the final totals on some things I completed last year. The numbers back up what I already knew. That is repairing/restoring things is getting more costly.

As example is how if your going to do a JD Sound Guard cab right, without cheaper/lower quality parts, your going to spend in the $2000-2500 range. This is NOT using all JD stuff either but interior stuff from like K&M and better after market parts providers. This is with a working AC system. IF that is shot just add another $1000-1500 to the total. So you can easily get into the $3500-4000 range real easily on what starts out as just a cab kit. LOL Then you have a real sharp cab and the rest of the tractor looks bad with the current paint. So you decide to repaint the tractor. So there goes another $1000 if you do it yourself and very little sheet metal work is needed. If you hire it done $2500-4000 can easily be spent depending on the quality of the job you want. So that "Just needs a cab interior" can creep into a larger number real easy.

So the point is that making wise decisions on what to do and not to do is harder than ever. There are fellows posting on YT every week wanting know if they should do this or that to their tractors. Many of them are trying to make a buck fixing up a tractor to sell. The market is widely variable right now. The same model of tractors can bring a wide range of prices for very similar tractors.

So just make sure you think long and hard about what your trying to achieve. IF your going to try and resell the tractor then make it functional but limit your repairs to just that. Doing expensive things like engine overhauls, new tires, or new paint will be real hard to recoup your money on. If your planning to keep the tractor then just make yourself a budget on what your willing/able to spend and enjoy the adventure of making your tractor truly "YOURS".

P.S. If you doing a project post how it is going so that us fellow Yters can enjoy your journey too.

tomstractorsandtoys · Feb 1, 2017

I run into the same thing. I bought a late model 2640 that needs all the steering parts replaced and brake work as well. I can't believe what all the parts for the steering are going to cost and I am an A&I parts dealer so we get parts at cost. Another project was a 1520 with water in the oil that ended up being a cracked head as well so an inexpensive overhaul got lots more expensive. Bought a 1065 Deere wagon to put under a bale wagon that had a poor light wagon on it. Four tires,all new wheel bearings and seals along with new tongue bolt and bushings and paint along with a few decals and the final bill is overwhelming.But I sure do like to see nice stuff leave the shop for either my farm or a new owner to use and enjoy. Tom

JayinNY · Feb 1, 2017

Unless something breaks this summer no projects for me, my ford 4610 needed a rear tire last summer, and my ford 1720 needed a starter, the farmall h got pulled out if the machine shed, so I could see if I could get it running, it's still sitting there. One thing I really want to do is go to the tractor salvage yard and get a rollbar and canopy I saw on two junked fords, I have to go out and see what he wants for one, the roll bar and canopy. I can't stand baling in the heat with no shade roof.

wisbaker · Feb 1, 2017

Just remember buying one whole is cheaper than buying one piece by piece. More and more equipment is becoming like cars and light trucks, if you don't keep after them and repair and maintain them to the standards you want them to be before to long the backlog of repairs will exceed the value of the item. If it costs 5 times more to buy the parts to assemble something (tractor baler or whatever) than to buy a whole one than any time you're replace 20% of the something it should cost the same to buy another one, and you haven't dealt with labor. It would also mean if you bought a good one and could sell every part you should in theory get 5 times your money back. The price and complexity of new equipment has driven some folks to want to keep the old stuff going, driving up the demand for parts. Add the increased cost of doing business (labor, external_linkcare, taxes, regulatory costs, environmental costs, energy) you're paying a larger percentage of your parts dollar for overhead and a smaller percentage for the actual part. Some of it might be economies of scale if back in the day you were going to make parts for tractors like Farmall H's and M's, Ford 8ns and John Deere A's and B's there were several hundred thousand units made, the potential market was a bit larger so R&D and tooling costs could be amortized across more parts sold, don't think we're ever going to see anyone make 500,000 units of the same model tractor again. But again JD you look at things like a business, to many farmers don't and make decisions based on the need to keep doing what they were doing, to stay with what they know or to keep the family farm operating somewhat like the previous generations did.

Eldon (WA) · Feb 1, 2017

(quoted from post at 20:14:34 02/01/17) I have been doing tax paperwork the last week or so. So I have the final totals on some things I completed last year. The numbers back up what I already knew. That is repairing/restoring things is getting more costly.

As example is how if your going to do a JD Sound Guard cab right, without cheaper/lower quality parts, your going to spend in the $2000-2500 range. This is NOT using all JD stuff either but interior stuff from like K&M and better after market parts providers. This is with a working AC system. IF that is shot just add another $1000-1500 to the total. So you can easily get into the $3500-4000 range real easily on what starts out as just a cab kit. LOL Then you have a real sharp cab and the rest of the tractor looks bad with the current paint. So you decide to repaint the tractor. So there goes another $1000 if you do it yourself and very little sheet metal work is needed. If you hire it done $2500-4000 can easily be spent depending on the quality of the job you want. So that "Just needs a cab interior" can creep into a larger number real easy.

So the point is that making wise decisions on what to do and not to do is harder than ever. There are fellows posting on YT every week wanting know if they should do this or that to their tractors. Many of them are trying to make a buck fixing up a tractor to sell. The market is widely variable right now. The same model of tractors can bring a wide range of prices for very similar tractors.

So just make sure you think long and hard about what your trying to achieve. IF your going to try and resell the tractor then make it functional but limit your repairs to just that. Doing expensive things like engine overhauls, new tires, or new paint will be real hard to recoup your money on. If your planning to keep the tractor then just make yourself a budget on what your willing/able to spend and enjoy the adventure of making your tractor truly "YOURS".

P.S. If you doing a project post how it is going so that us fellow Yters can enjoy your journey too.

Dang, and I complain about spending $300 for a wire harness...guess I am spoiled. I use a tractor for a few years and sell it for more than I bought it for. Looking at last years records I show $1266 in repairs for the year....

wisbaker · Feb 1, 2017

Just remember buying one whole is cheaper than buying one piece by piece. More and more equipment is becoming like cars and light trucks, if you don't keep after them and repair and maintain them to the standards you want them to be before to long the backlog of repairs will exceed the value of the item. If it costs 5 times more to buy the parts to assemble something (tractor baler or whatever) than to buy a whole one than any time you're replace 20% of the something it should cost the same to buy another one, and you haven't dealt with labor. It would also mean if you bought a good one and could sell every part you should in theory get 5 times your money back. The price and complexity of new equipment has driven some folks to want to keep the old stuff going, driving up the demand for parts. Add the increased cost of doing business (labor, healthcare, taxes, regulatory costs, environmental costs, energy) you're paying a larger percentage of your parts dollar for overhead and a smaller percentage for the actual part. Some of it might be economies of scale if back in the day you were going to make parts for tractors like Farmall H's and M's, Ford 8ns and John Deere A's and B's there were several hundred thousand units made, the potential market was a bit larger so R&D and tooling costs could be amortized across more parts sold, don't think we're ever going to see anyone make 500,000 units of the same model tractor again. But again JD you look at things like a business, to many farmers don't and make decisions based on the need to keep doing what they were doing, to stay with what they know or to keep the family farm operating somewhat like the previous generations did.

JD Seller · Feb 1, 2017

Eldon you have to have equipment that is in good condition already to keep your repairs that cheap. Also I would bet that your not putting the hours on each tractor that many do.

Eldon (WA) · Feb 1, 2017

(quoted from post at 21:42:35 02/01/17) Eldon you have to have equipment that is in good condition already to keep your repairs that cheap. Also I would bet that your not putting the hours on each tractor that many do.

Nothing but oil changes this year on my main tractor (1971 AC 175D), around 400 hours bushhogging. Deere 7775 skidsteer has had a lot of hours also...probably could stick some $$$ in it to get the electronics to work, but has done fine in "service" mode for the last 4 years. This year fingers are crossed since I will have the Deere 6100D :wink:

Bob · Feb 2, 2017

What's new?

Has it EVER paid to completely restore/correctly repair a worn tractor and try to sell it at a profit?

And if it's a family tractor, or your "dream tractor", while the cost doesn't seem to make sense, it won't matter, never has.

Don't see a new issue here, at all.

sms · Feb 2, 2017

Found a winch for my JD 450, needed some work from sitting. This is an $80 bearing, $125 some places.

Part Time Pete · Feb 2, 2017

Last year I had a sleeve cavitate in my 1755, letting coolant in to the oil, wiping out all the bearings. I spent $1,000 for head work, and another $2000 in parts to rebuild it. That's really not a lot of money for a motor job, but when you only do 5k to 10k bales a year, it kind of bites into the profit
Pete

Tracy Brown · Feb 2, 2017

As a hobby, I buy old dead tractors and either part them out or wake them up. If I wake them up, I get them functioning and let the new owner dress it out. If I part it out, I tell them all the time, It better be sentimental or a labor of love. I've seen too many times when someone has $4k in a $1200 tractor. I know I could make more money per tractor to finish out the runners but I can flip my money so many more time during a given period to make a little and send them on down the road. No different than antique cars or most other things for that matter. Besides, I think for me, it's the thrill of the hunt.

Goose · Feb 2, 2017

A cousin of mine who has about 150 old tractors told me 20 years ago you couldn't make money restoring and reselling them. He just maintains them as is and hopes they appreciate in value. He also owns a construction company that has the majority of the earth moving business in the area, so he can afford to do that.

He told me recently that if he dies before his wife, she'll have a funeral one day and an auction the next.

Traditional Farmer · Feb 2, 2017

That's why I buy older cheap tractors and run them until they have a major break down then move onto the next one down the line and keep the broken one for parts.Always looking
to buy similar models,I run 3 basic models of tractors.

BarnyardEngineering · Feb 2, 2017

Really, the "cost" hasn't changed a bit. The numbers just keep getting bigger, due to inflation.

It was a financial sacrifice to repair something 50 years ago, and it is now. Only hamburgers were 10 cents back then and $5 now.

MN Scott · Feb 2, 2017

Still a LOT cheaper to rebuild/repair/refurbish a older machine that you earn money with than it is to buy new. For example, if you bought a nice 4450 and totally went thru it you would have a fraction of the money in it as you would for a new 150 hp model. While it may not have the creature comforts the new have I would bet it would be more reliable and cheaper to run than the new one with all its electronic gadgets. Have to balance things out I guess.

moresmoke · Feb 2, 2017

I'm in the camp that buys high and sells low. Keeps me from worrying about my profits.

ss55 · Feb 2, 2017

If you are going to use the tractor for ten or twenty years, your improved comfort may be worth the high cost. If you plan to sell the tractor soon, it's throwing money into a money pit.

Donald Lehman · Feb 2, 2017

I've never did a major repair on a tractor in my life that I didn't spend more than the tractor would bring if sold. Usually a lot more. Since we use our tractors with no intention of resale, and whatever I spend on repairs is always a lot less than buying a new tractor (or anything even resembling new) it's still a good deal. And you know what you have when you are done. At least that's the way I look at it, JD.

An example would be the money I spent rebuilding my OC-4 dozer. To a man, everyone said: "I'd never spend that kind of money fixing up that old thing". Yeah well, I've got a basically new dozer for 1/4 of what I could buy a new one for, and you don't have any dozer at all, do you? It's all perspective, I guess.

Projects and the raising costs of doing them!!!!

JD Seller

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tomstractorsandtoys

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JayinNY

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wisbaker

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Eldon (WA)

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wisbaker

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JD Seller

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Eldon (WA)

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Bob

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sms

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Part Time Pete

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Tracy Brown

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Goose

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Traditional Farmer

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BarnyardEngineering

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MN Scott

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moresmoke

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ss55

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Donald Lehman

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