How on earth do I find a good deal?

Been looking for a while now and its proving harder than I thought finding a B,C or CA. Anyways between people not returning emails or phone calls, misrepresented machines and missing what appear to be good deals because I can't get there in the first 2 minutes I'm becoming a little discouraged. Seem to be a lot that sell for what seems like a fair price but then magically  reappear at a higher price from a new owner. Heck, sometimes they just use the same photos a previous owner used. Its hard for me to point out problems to people for fear of hurting their feelings but when they get mad at me for being realistic or accuse me of trying to steal it from them I take it to heart, and to be honest it bothers me. I read low to fair prices that people claim they pay, but I have no idea how to find a good deal. I try to monitor the local kiji thing. All my friends and family have orders to report any orange tractor sightings to me immediately. haha Heck I even ask strangers who look like they might be farmers if they know of any. I can't afford to be upside down price wise on a tractor. The ones I see usually are really expensive and look beautiful (not affordable for me), won't start so they are a huge gamble I couldn't risk paying much for,  or they need so much work that even if someone gave it to you I'm not sure I could justify fixing it. I really didn't want a major project at this point in my life, but I'm starting to think the only way I'll get a good machine that will be reliable for years to come, is to rebuild a rough one. Problem is that old tractor parts in Canada or even just a new set of tires here have gotten silly expensive mainly due to our dollar value. Add in some expensive shipping and taxes brokerage fees etc. we sometimes pay double for parts, and a lot of us older guys make a fraction of what we made 30 years ago due to the economy. God I hate that economy excuse. Looks like I'm complaining again. LOL  How did you guys find your deals? Is there a secret magical chant or something I need to learn ? Just getting anxious to get something. Didn't think it would take so long. Thanks

Come down south! Our old tractors don't rust up, and usually you can pick 'em up stright outta the barn or pasture for cheap. Heck, a buddy of mine has a mix of 5 B's and C's. He said he'd sell me however many I wanted for $100 each. They run and have good tires. If you were interested, I could see how much he'd want to sell one to a stranger for. You probably wouldn't want to come clear to central Oklahoma, though. 

Edited by CrestonM - 11 May 2017 at 5:19pm

CrestonM wrote: Come down south! Our old tractors don't rust up, and usually you can pick 'em up stright outta the barn or pasture for cheap. Heck, a buddy of mine has a mix of 5 B's and C's. He said he'd sell me however many I wanted for $100 each. They run and have good tires. If you were interested, I could see how much he'd want to sell one to a stranger for. You probably wouldn't want to come clear to central Oklahoma, though.  Another buddy of mine has a great running earlier B with a Woods L59 mower. It's a sweet running little thing for $1,600 I believe was what he was asking. Wasn't the prettiest, but there are definitely worse out there. It's an older repaint.

Wife says you can have one or more of my D-14s......yeah, over my dead...oops, don't wanna give her ideas.....
You're right about prices though, a $1000 US$ B WILL be $2000 Canucks, it's why I haven't bought anything from south of the 49th ,even though I've got a Michgan 'dropoff' address and free shipping from there.
I use Kijiji all the time, have an 'Allis-Chalmers' search for all of Ontario and I look 6-10 times a day,as you say some are 'misrepresented'....others just plain silly. Gicen the choice, I'd by another CA...4 speed...just where to hide it though....

Jay

I just found out you can get email notifications if your looking for something on kijii. I don't have data on my phone (I may be the last one who doesn't lol) but that may be helpful to anyone that didn't know and has a proper cellular plan.

A good deal is something you buy and are happy with what you bought, even if you think you paid more than you should have at time of purchase.

PS: hardest part is writing the check, afterwards, you forget the amount as you now are using what you bought and happy with it!!

"don't want to be upside down on a tractor"???? whether anyone buys a new or a used machine...they/we are usually always gonna be upside down on it if we plan to keep it! I believe that the older tractors will out live the newer ones by 2X's or better. but not without upkeep and repairs. there are deals out there, I can't speak for Canada, but like Creston and others say....keep a watchful eye out locally and regionally, good ones do come up cheap sometimes. 

Makes a big difference in the area and how many of the models you want are in the area
you're looking in.Mostly I'm just looking for good deals no special model or brand.Guess that's why I have several different brands here.When you want cheap you can't get picky

Calvin Schmidt wrote: Deals are out there. Good contacts are key.  Just had a big payoff today!  More on that later. Are you looking for a tractor to restore ? Non runner, runner etc??  Have a B that I will sell. Western Ontario

For me it seems like the bargains show up when, 1. I don't have the money to buy it or 2. I just paid twice as much for one in not as good condition!

I have met many folks that ask about buying a tractor; what do you want do with it is the first question I have. If you find something that seems to fit the bill for your needs, and you are sure it will suffice on power, weight to do what you want, available attachments (or ability to easily convert), trailering ability, etc., then you can really start the research to make sure the model you are considering will be practical, safe, have parts available down the road and most importantly, what you need to look for when viewing a unit for sale.
Many use TractorHouse for "comparable prices" but I find most units are listed a tad higher (sometimes far higher) than I can find from a private seller as dealers usually leave some "dicker room", plus they can leave inventory sit on the lot where a private seller may just be more motivated. Freshly painted usually gives me pause as we have all seen a "krylon rebuild" and I prefer something in it's work clothes. Some folks are willing to talk history of the unit and you quickly find out if they are "flipping" it or actually know the history because they had it for some time.
If driving by a unit I see for sale, lucky me as I usually get to see a cold start. If I let someone know I want to come by, I actually ask them to NOT start the unit until I arrive and a simple touch of the hand tells you if they did.
The best deals I have picked up on advertised units is to call and ask about the history, serial number, rubber, etc. as photos can lie!
If an hour or two away from me and I have to drag my gooseneck for something that has caught my eye (a model I know from experience), I simply state that I will be coming through their area on a return trip and would like to know if I could stop to check it out. This way they seem to be more flexible if the price is not firm and it usually follows me home. I have also helped folks out by advising them of a few facts that may help them sell their unit as some have listed it far too high and cannot understand why it has not sold.
Good example is a SFW D15 that I test drove and the older gentleman did not like it when I advised it jumped both 2nd and 3rd gear after running it down a grade, working the throttle and the high/low. He then asked me what the handle on the right side of the tractor was that I kept working? It followed me home, for far less than advertised and I only wanted the SFW assembly any way.
Once you figure out what model A-C you want, ask questions on this site as there is no better place to do so.