Hi all,We are always seeing questions about tractor values on this site. My guess is that the majority of the questions are coming from folks new to this site and new to antique tractors. Although I think it's great that people are willing to help out with values, I suggest extreme caution in giving this info based on your area or expierence. A tractor, or any other antique for that matter, is worth only what someone is willing to pay! I am stating this for reasons based on two recent auctions. The first auction...1952 WD- narrow front, poor tires/rims, ok metal, classic shifter problem, noisy hydraulics, carb in need of rebuild. In other words nothing special. Two gentlemen got into a bidding war and the tractor ended up going for $1600. Great I thought- the "value" of WD's are going up.(That price is more than double what WD's in that condition generally go for around here.) Auction 2- Better shape than #1 and with a home made snow plow(worked great)... $ 675. The interesting point... I recognized the losing bidder from auction #1 and struck up a conversation with him basically to find out why he bid so high on #1. He said that he was told that a WD was an excellent tractor and would best suit his needs. He admitted knowing nothing about tractors but he did a little research on the net...HERE AT YT MAG! He said that he read on this site that a WD was worth up to and may be over $2000. However, he did not know what might make a WD worth that much. (I.E.- fresh rebuild, perfect metal, new tires/rims, etc.) NOW HERE'S THE SAD PART! The gentleman he was bidding against (auction #1) would have stopped at nothing to get that tractor. It was his recently deseased fathers first tractor. He still had the original paper work and bill of sale for the tractor. (The tractor was sold to the neighbor having the auction years ago. The tractor was listed as part of the estate and HAD to be auctioned.) Our friend did not know this of coarse. Unfortunatly, this man was forced to pay thru the nose due to ignorance (not stupidity) caused directly by a well-meaning persons comment on this site about the "value" of a particular tractor. What applies to YOUR area does not apply everywhere. This holds especially true if you live in an area where antique tractors are becoming yuppie toys. I mean no offense by saying this for it is good for the restoration folks and parts dealers. But try to keep in mind that in less rich rural areas like mine many small farms still use the old machines- Especially WD/WD45's and D 17's. We have a pretty good idea of what somthing is worth to us based on what it will take to get it into good working order or it's useability for parts. Enough said? It would be rude not to answer all the value questions but might I suggest some valid solutions. If they are looking to sell the tractor suggest they auction it off...local or E-bay. If they want to know the worth...have it appraised. Ask for an accurate description or pics of the tractor before giving any estimated values and consider doing that thru private e-mail. It's good that folks are willing to help with values but remember that good intentions sometimes have bad results. Had to get this off my chest,
Steve
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