Dealerships lying about hours.

The Famous Grouse · Dec 16, 2020

Just had it happen to me AGAIN. Second time in a week.

I called on a nice used tractor listed on the interweb. The machine looks decent. Listed at 662 hours. It goes on an auction next week.

In the course of the conversation, I ask the standard question: Do you believe the hours are correct?

And the sales guy says, "Well, now, I guess now that you mention it, the tach doesn't work on that machine, so I guess that might not be right."

You don't freaking say! So when you put 662 hours in the ad, you just kinda forgot to say that there was no way that was accurate?

I feel kind of bad, but guys, I kind of lost my sh!t on the guy. I told him that was BS to be putting hours in an ad when he knew full well they were inaccurate. I said that was BS and that info should be in the auction listing.

It's a nice tractor but no freaking way am I going to even look at it now that these fraudsters have tried to pull this BS.

Last week on an auction same thing happened. Machine had 800 hours listed in the auction listing and seconds before the auction started the auctioneer said, aw shucks, the tach don't work... Oh well, let's sell 'er...

Is this kind of misrepresentation illegal or considered fraud in most states?

Grouse

SDE · Dec 16, 2020

Farmall 300 had sat since the owner had died about 8 years ago. Auctioneer said they think the starter is bad and so they can not start it. I wish I had asked him if he wanted to make a $100 bet on whether the engine was locked up. I bet he would have said no. I went $1700 on it and I am sure the other guy was clueless about the engine.

Mike M · Dec 16, 2020

They should of said this hour meter has 662 hours on it. Hard telling how many hour meters it has had installed ? Never ever believe an hour meter !

jm. · Dec 16, 2020

Around here if the statement is HOUR MEETER READS and then post the reading they have not lied, now
is it ethical , I,ll leave that to you to decide. Sometime at auction they will say no working tach
or something but certainly not all time.

flying belgian · Dec 16, 2020

Usually they say--hour meter shows X hours---or X actual hours. Big difference.

moresmoke · Dec 16, 2020

From my experience shopping for a loader backhoe earlier this year, Cat has very unreliable hour meters. Most of them have been replaced.

I wonder why?

mhb@ufe · Dec 16, 2020

Early compact tractors only had 3 digits on the hour meter. if it read 950 it could 1950, 2250, 3350 and so on. I do agree that the proper thing to do is disclose all known information and not try to be misleading.

Mark

Traditional Farmer · Dec 16, 2020

Does anyone really trust the hour meter on an old tractor unless they have known that tractor since new?

fixerupper · Dec 16, 2020

It seems strange the hourmeter was not fixed on the new of a tractor.

fixerupper · Dec 16, 2020

It seems strange the hourmeter was not fixed on the new of a tractor.

fastfarmall · Dec 16, 2020

I knew a guy he bought it or was trying it out, a White Tractor, the dealer said it was 1 year old, well as he was using it, the battery went bad,, so they took it out , the battery was 4=5 yrs older than what the dealer said the tractor was, i don't know what ever happened their, but it couldn't been good, Like old Barnaby Jones said, you have to try too cover up one lie with another!

DoubleO7 · Dec 16, 2020

(quoted from post at 21:30:17 12/16/20) I knew a guy he bought it or was trying it out, a White Tractor, the dealer said it was 1 year old, well as he was using it, the battery went bad,, so they took it out , the battery was 4=5 yrs older than what the dealer said the tractor was, i don't know what ever happened their, but it couldn't been good, Like old Barnaby Jones said, you have to try too cover up one lie with another!

You mean when you trade in a vehicle with a nearly new battery, you do not switch it with your other vehicles battery that is ten years old?

Robert (ID) · Dec 16, 2020

Around dealerships here there is always some kid (you know the computer nerd kid that looks like he is 13 in skinny jeans that spends more money on hair product per day then I would lunch) roaming around with a camera!! I asked the parts man one day who/what the deal was.. His reply was " that's the Internet sales Poster!" Hes the what?? " that's the kid who put the stuff on the internet to sell." OK!!!

So you have to realize that the person posting the ad sometimes doesn't know a thing about a tractor and your lucky if they can open the door and start it..

Royse · Dec 16, 2020

If it's a mechanical/cable driven tach, most are not accurate except at PTO speed
and they've probably been replaced before, so they're pretty much meaningless.
I base my purchase decisions on condition and price, rather than hours.

Russ from MN · Dec 16, 2020

Anyone serious about buying it would of turned the fan to see if it was locked up, or put it in gear and rock a rear tire, otherwise they deserve whatever they got.

SVcummins · Dec 16, 2020

No and not even the tach cable breaks and doesn’t get replaced for 30 years or the hour meter quits and never gets fixed

Briar Hill Brittanys · Dec 16, 2020

Caveat emptor.
""Without a warranty, the buyer must take the risk" is the basic meaning of the phrase caveat emptor. In the days when buying and selling was carried on in the local marketplace, the rule was a practical one. Buyer and seller knew each other and were on equal footing. The nature of modern commerce and technology placed the buyer at a disadvantage, however, so a stack of regulations have been written by federal, state, and local agencies to protect the consumer against dangerous or defective products, fraudulent practices, and the like. But the principle that a buyer needs a warranty if he is to avoid risk remains an important legal concept. Note that a caveat is a small warning or explanation intended to avoid misinterpretation."

Janicholson · Dec 16, 2020

Several things tell the tale
How egg shaped is the hitch hole?
does the drawbar show wear 1/4 of its thickness where it swings on the fixed support?
Do the pedal grip texture show wear to their roots?
Is the notch in the throttle positioner washer worn in 5 places? (IH thing)
do the pedals wobble side to side?
does the PTO lever stops show pawl wear
worn flanges and lips on the fuel cap to tank surfaces.
These are pretty fair hour meters. Jim

TractorTucker · Dec 16, 2020

Also check wear on the pedal surface, if all the traction is worn off it probably has a few hours on it. The pedals on this tractor are worn smooth and the drawbar is severely worn.

showcrop · Dec 17, 2020

Grouse, I think that you were way out of line.

BarnyardEngineering · Dec 17, 2020

It may be "illegal" and/or "immoral" and/or "unethical" but you're going to have a hard time proving that it was INTENTIONAL.

There is a lot of work preparing for a typical auction. A lot of details to keep track of. Many hands involved. Left hand doesn't always know what the right hand is doing. They're not familiar with the equipment and only operated it getting ready for the auction. The only know what they've been told by the owner, if it's not an estate sale.

In a nutshell, you try getting ready for an auction and remembering every little detail about every piece that's being sold.

Literally 100 different excuses, both real and contrived.

Dealerships lying about hours.

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Similar threads