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If you are considering selling or buying a late-model, high-horsepower, front-wheel-drive (FWD) tractor, then the marketplace is in a good news/mixed news state of affairs of late.
The good news: Values of high-horsepower FWDs (250 to 400 hp.) are up from the last couple of years. Dealers have sold off the massive tractor inventories that filled their lots since 2014. This, in turn, is pushing up asking prices (5% to 15% overall compared with 2017 and 2018) for high-horsepower machines, which means your trade-in tractor is worth more.
This situation is being aided by the fact that dealers are anxious to sell brand-new tractors and, thus, are willing to make positive trade-in offers to move fresh-from-the-factory iron.
The mixed news: You are certainly going to pay more for a late-model, high-horsepower tractor than in the past four years, as large tractor prices have been at historically low levels.
This price rise is relative in that dealers are also paying more for older tractors sought out by buyers looking to upgrade tractors that are 5 to 15 years old.
The change in market values should inspire sellers and buyers to ask a lot more questions, says Greg Roberg of AgDirect Sales. “Is there equipment I should be updating? Is there equipment that has more technology that I need? Do I have equipment out of warranty that will add to my downtime or repair costs?” Roberg asks. “Many times these factors will motivate decisions to upgrade equipment even if farmers are concerned about commodity prices. Do your homework ahead of time, ask yourself these questions, and go into the dealership to really find out what options are right for you.”
A large part of that homework is putting an accurate value on the tractor you are looking to trade in or buy. The Pocket Price Guide gives you a glimpse of values in one segment of the high-horsepower market: dealer asking prices on 290- to 310-hp. tractors built in 2015.
You can get far more detailed pricing by availing yourself of a free appraisal offered by Iron Solutions (see details below). This in-depth report of dealer sales prices provides exact details on similar tractors (year, hours, accessories, etc.) based on actual dealer sales.
For a broader view of just green equipment, take a look at the prices for John Deere high-horsepower tractors below. The numbers listed in this analysis are based on 851 8000R series tractors built in 2015 and 2016.
In amassing these values from Deere’s dealer website, I set out to calculate prices based on hour ranges and found that tractors with:
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
Be sure to cash in on your two free equipment appraisals by going to Agriculture.com/whatsitworth. These free appraisals are based on actual dealer sales, auction purchases, and wholesale transactions on selected equipment built in the past 20 years. Used by banks, equipment manufacturers, and equipment dealers all over North America, the Iron Solutions equipment appraisal data is now available to you!