Tractor Salvage: I kind of find this funny.

Inno · Jun 23, 2010

So yesterday I emailed a tractor salvage company to inquire about some steering parts for my 202 because I saw on their website that they had scrapped a 204 recently and the parts are the same.
Here is the response I got:

Good afternoon.
We have salvaged a 204 forklift but the cylinders have been sold. The Steering box is available for $1200.00. We can supply new cylinders for $387.00 each.

:shock: :shock: :shock:
So I wrote back and told them that I apologize, I thought they were selling USED parts with regard to the steering box. I'm assuming that is just how it comes off the tractor, not cleaned or reconditioned/tested. And the cylinders he speaks of are readily available for about $210 a piece all over the internet.
What experiences have you had in dealing with salvage places?

CWL · Jun 23, 2010

We have a large salvage yard in Wichita that has almost anything you can think of for pickups. Sometimes the prices are the same as or higher than new though. I bought a used electric transfer case shift motor assembly for a ford ranger from them once. When I put it on it didn't work. I checked it out and discovered that the position switch was bad in it. I took it back and they didn't have another one. After looking at the one that was on the ranger before I discovered that the motor was the problem on it. I called the salvage yard to see if they would sell me just the motor for less money. They had already resold the entire unit to someone else. Made me wonder how many times they had sold the same faulty part just to get it back and sell it again.

NCWayne · Jun 23, 2010

Just bought a piece for a tractor for $850 that from everyone else I talked to was less than $500. The problem is the ones everyone else were able to find were wrong or broke when they finally got them off of the machines and cleaned up. In the end I guess it came down to the law of supply and demand. Like my customer said when I told him the price and that there were no others to be found, 'we didn't buy the expensive one, we bought the only one'. At the same time though I got a new steering cylinder rod and seal kit for it from the same guy and the rod was nearly $300 less than it was from our local dealer and the seal kit was about $20 cheaper. In the end it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 23, 2010

I've had similar experiences from the local pawn shops. It pays to check and know availability and price range before commiting to a purchase.

Inno · Jun 23, 2010

I just figured that at that price, and if I had to replace much more, I would be better off buying a newer tractor! I'm sure they paid next to nothing for the tractor to start with. Maybe I'm in the wrong business, I dunno.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 23, 2010

I"m wondering what the price they paid for the salvage forklift has to do with the price of the parts?

Patsdeere · Jun 23, 2010

They have to recoup their cost and still make a profit. Thus a $2000 tractor will have to be able to recoup that money plus the cost of parting it out. If they only paid $100, then they don't have to have such high prices to make their money back with a fair profit.

Inno · Jun 23, 2010

(quoted from post at 12:49:36 06/23/10) I"m wondering what the price they paid for the salvage forklift has to do with the price of the parts?

I know where you are going with this and the answer is technically nothing.
I do not object to a company making a profit, if they didn't then they wouldn't be in business. What I do object to is someone trying to make an obscene profit based on the fact that some people who were not internet savvy might actually pay their price.
Guessing they wouldn't have paid more than $500 for the whole tractor. Can't see them spending any more than that. If he is selling the steering box for $1200 and lets say the engine for $2000, the tin work for $500-800, that to me is making an obscene profit. Salvage yards aren't exactly paying a premium price for the tractors they dismantle, in fact in many cases folks just want them out of their yard and have no use for them. Odds are with a simple newspaper add they could have got some money for them.
In addition to all this, I really don't see that steering box as being worth $1200, especially in used and unknown condition. New or rebuilt maybe but certainly not old and worn out.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 23, 2010

Following that line of reasoning,if you found a 20 dollar bill on the sidewalk,you could sell it to someone for $5.00 and still do good.

Inno · Jun 23, 2010

Not sure I follow that logic. Selling a $20 for $5 is not the same as selling parts off a $500 tractor for $1200.
In your example it is a loss, in my example it is a gain.

Edit: after re-reading I kind of see your point. Even if he only paid $500 for the tractor it is technically WORTH more than that to the right person.
But if that right person never comes along or they deem your price too high then you are still stuck with the parts and no $$ in your pocket! Therefore it is worth less than you paid. If it were a rarer tractor then the price might be higher but you'd be waiting longer. If it were a more common tractor you might wait less time for a buyer but you would likely have to settle for a lower price as there would be more available.

IOWA NORTHEAST · Jun 23, 2010

A local farmer gave a C Farmal to the local tractor salvage a number of years ago--something to do with a wife complaining. A week later his other C went for a joy ride down a slope and in to a barn cleaner. It broke off the front pedistal, so he went down and took the parts off his old tractor. The bill was over three hundred if I remember correctly.

It was probably worth the money just to tell his wife to lay off the nagging next time! Results may vary, and this opinion does not necesaraly reflect the poster of this reply.

Inno · Jun 23, 2010

Good lesson there! lol
When I find my parts tractor it's gettin' put way out back where she can't see it. Out of site, out of mind.........until she wants more horses hence more horse pasture.

Paul in MN · Jun 23, 2010

I haven't bought salvage yard parts recently, but when I did maybe 10 years ago, the price quoted was often 50% of the dealer new cost. The salvage yards were as happy as hogs in fresh mud when the tractor manufacturers sent out new price lists to their dealers. All the stuff in their yard just became more expensive, and they could take it to the bank. The common exceptions to this "rule" were really rarely needed parts like big castings, or parts that were being marketed by aftermarket manufacturers. Then the scrapper had to get competitive in order to sell his stuff. One yard I dealt with would scrap the parts they couldn't get "their" price for. I heard one former yard owner bemoaning the fact that he had shipped so much to the metal recyclers when he could be selling it now. His own greed for immediate $$ and attitude that he had to get top dollar or else he wouldn't sell it to the customer cost him his business that would have provided for his family until he passes away. We all lost!!

Paul in MN

CoopertownBob · Jun 24, 2010

(quoted from post at 19:21:45 06/23/10) I haven't bought salvage yard parts recently, but when I did maybe 10 years ago, the price quoted was often 50% of the dealer new cost. The salvage yards were as happy as hogs in fresh mud when the tractor manufacturers sent out new price lists to their dealers. All the stuff in their yard just became more expensive, and they could take it to the bank. The common exceptions to this "rule" were really rarely needed parts like big castings, or parts that were being marketed by aftermarket manufacturers. Then the scrapper had to get competitive in order to sell his stuff. One yard I dealt with would scrap the parts they couldn't get "their" price for. I heard one former yard owner bemoaning the fact that he had shipped so much to the metal recyclers when he could be selling it now. His own greed for immediate $$ and attitude that he had to get top dollar or else he wouldn't sell it to the customer cost him his business that would have provided for his family until he passes away. We all lost!!

Paul in MN

There was a local kid around here that [b:2cf79d315c]inherited[/b:2cf79d315c] a burned out combine that had been left sitting by the side of the road, where it had burned, and later pushed off the shoulder into a field his father left him in his will. The kid offered the combine for sale for [b:2cf79d315c]10 years[/b:2cf79d315c] while trying to get "his" price for it. He told my father-n-law once that he had a fellow within $100 of what he wanted for it, but couldn't get any closer, so he didn't sell! My father-n-law scolded him good, (having been good friends with the kids father for many years) and told him to call that fellow back and take $500 off the man's prior best offer, as he was tired of seeing that burned out hulk on the side of the road every time he went somewhere. The kid finally did so, [b:2cf79d315c]almost two years later[/b:2cf79d315c]! Fortunately, the guy was still interested, and for the new,lower price, he took it.

Tractor Salvage: I kind of find this funny.

Inno

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CWL

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NCWayne

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Anonymous-0

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Inno

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Anonymous-0

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Patsdeere

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Inno

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Anonymous-0

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Inno

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IOWA NORTHEAST

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Inno

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Paul in MN

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CoopertownBob

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