Blue Book Value for John Deere D140

[Mr Mower Man]

This isn't the best topic for a technical forum, but I need a little information.

My Grounds Maintenance Equipment Blue Book is outdated (2013) and the new one is backordered through my Oregon suppliers. I need to know ASAP what the current values are for a 2014 John Deere D140 lawn tractor. I'm trying to sell it for someone, and if I'm successful, I'll get to sell him a new ZTR! But I need to know a good resale price to put on it first. I'd also like to know what the trade-in value range is, and what the original retail price was.

This particular model is a 48" cut with a 22HP Briggs engine. It looks great and has only 56 hours on it.

I'm doing my best guesswork with the 2013 blue book. I just looked at the D140 from 2011 (two years old, just like 2014 is today), and it looks like the original retail value was $1,999. Average resale price for the two year old mower comes in at $1,360, with the trade-in range at $1,020 - $1,140. I see on Home Depot's website that the D140 is still at the same retail price, so I would guess the depreciation for this 2014 mower will follow the same pattern.

Any insight would be helpful. Thanks!

[bgsengine]

I would tend to think blue book values are just a guideline - they are pretty much a national average but you can weight it depending on your regional demand - That Deere I could probably put out for $1500 and sell it in a matter of days around here.. but go to a big city area and that same deere, you'd have a hard time selling it at $600 All depends on supply and demand - if there is enough demand and not enough supply you can get higher prices (and thus offer higher trade-in) but if the market is weak (as in you can buy a discounted on-sale riding mower at Home Depot for $999, a comparable "cheap market" model might go for $250)

[KE4AVB]

I always get a kick out of those here that think they got a really good buy on a $250 mower to find out they got 200-300 in repairs most times to get it back in good working condition. I get the impression they think we still in the 1930's.

Last week I had guy said I was too high on a YM 42" @ 425 and he was going to buy one down the road for 250. Well he did but it wasn't running. He brings it in for to repair to see whats wrong. I had to give the bad news about that shiny mower. It had a totaled engine (ran without oil and had broken rod) and was going to be about 600 for me to drop in a new engine. On top of that one of the spindles was broken and had a bent blade. He was going back to see if he could get his money back. Well I don't think so as he brought it as is according to bill of sale he had.

My area is one those areas where everyone wants to sell everything high and pay nothing for you got or for repairs. I got to where I part out most of the equipment and don't even bother trying to sell any whole goods.

I even had a guy that thought he could buy 2009 Cam Am ATV from a customer of mine for a couple thousand when the average book valve was nearly 6000. He got so mad about it that he wouldn't even come get the equipment that I have repaired for him.

[Mr Mower Man]

I would tend to think blue book values are just a guideline - they are pretty much a national average but you can weight it depending on your regional demand - That Deere I could probably put out for $1500 and sell it in a matter of days around here.. but go to a big city area and that same deere, you'd have a hard time selling it at $600 All depends on supply and demand - if there is enough demand and not enough supply you can get higher prices (and thus offer higher trade-in) but if the market is weak (as in you can buy a discounted on-sale riding mower at Home Depot for $999, a comparable "cheap market" model might go for $250)

I'm not really up on the characteristics of my specific market. I've been selling new wholegoods for just 2-1/2 years now, and I haven't been doing so very successfully up to this point. Used equipment is something I don't have much experience in, but a lot of people around here seem to be looking for used riding mowers for $300. I don't even mess with that stuff, since it's a big waste of time.

I'm just trying to sell this for a guy so he'll buy one of my new units, which is what he said he'll do if I can sell his. A couple of competitors have offered him $1500 trade-in for it. I'm having a hard time understanding this, since a brand new one, complete with manufacturers' warranties, can be had for $1,999. I think $1500 retail for it would be a big stretch, but evidently these other dealers think they could sell it for a near-new price. Maybe they know something about the market in this area I don't, but I sure wouldn't offer that much for the trade-in, even if I did trade-ins (which I don't).

[bgsengine]

I'm just trying to sell this for a guy so he'll buy one of my new units, which is what he said he'll do if I can sell his. A couple of competitors have offered him $1500 trade-in for it. I'm having a hard time understanding this, since a brand new one, complete with manufacturers' warranties, can be had for $1,999. I think $1500 retail for it would be a big stretch, but evidently these other dealers think they could sell it for a near-new price. Maybe they know something about the market in this area I don't, but I sure wouldn't offer that much for the trade-in, even if I did trade-ins (which I don't).

No what they do is they will mark up the retail price a hundred or so, then they make the price deal (Sell price less trade-in) and then a pushy salesman will push add-ons, accessories, extended service contracts, and more at vastly inflated markups - so they can give 1500 trade in off the agreed sales price - but if the new machine they sell is priced at 1500 over their cost they break even on the new machine and the used machine is pure profit

Look at it like this..

New Machine dealer cost 1300 MSRP 1599.95 (razor thin margin) then the dealer has add-on for Truck Freight (Say it is a share of the freight cost to ship it in, even if it goes free freight on a booking program) then there's setup and delivery (after all we have to pay an employee to set up the machine) for another $100 (even if they are only paying a $9/hour hardware store flunky to slap em together) so now they are looking at $499.95 profit - so they essentially "lose" a grand on the trade in - but then they sell the new buyer an accessory bumper at $99.95 (even though the bumper was actually originally included from the factory) extended warranty ($99 contract that almost never pays out) and "never go flat" tire treatment guaranteed for 10 years (a few shots of tire seal) at $20 per tire or loaded tires at $99/tire .. or ag tires at $150 a pop... or snow plow accessory (at say 2x dealer cost).. or grass bagger accessory ($399.99) and so on - they nickel and dime it all and before you know it the customer has spent another $1500 of which the dealer might profit $750-$800 off it (instead of $299 off the original machine), then they clean up the trade in, basic service, and flip it for $1600 and they now have a tidy profit of a little over 2 grand off the deal.. and then if the trade-in sale results in another trade-in (under-valued at that) - there's even more profit to be made.. Rinse and repeat 3 to 5 times a day (at a major shop) or even twice a week (at a smaller place) and there ya go.

[Luffydog]

a few weeks ago I came across a cub cadet for $150. so here I am thinking about it. then I thought I better buy it. so I did I have a partner who looks for things so we had $75 a piece in it. after new spindles and blades oil change and grease which wasn't a lot there I flipped it over for $1000 yes that's not a mistake lol. so I paid him a kick of 100 and his 75. then I added that to the sell and the rest is history!!!!! not a dealer just look for good deals to flip. not to bad for a sell at home. at the dealer I do work for I couldn't tell you anything think about it but I can tell u this he doesn't loose anything much if any he is tighter than bark on a tree........................................

[KE4AVB]

If your in the game long enough you will find out they don't lose money either way. It like taking a trade in that you can not sell as whole but you can part it out and get 3x or more selling the parts instead. This is what I do with what few units I do buy. Its like the Craftsman I brought this week and didn't give much for it. Now I have a 6sp Dana/Splicer that is NLA and in is demand, I sold one for $200 last year plus labor to install it. Then there is the wheels, tires, spindles, and engine parts are in good demand so I will get closed to $400 or more; not bad for a $30 purchase with blown engine. I already sold the front wheels and tires plus new tubes for more than I paid for the whole mower and supposedly I have the hood sold this weekend.

Its the same way with that JD depending on how slick it is it could be sold as a whole good or as parts either way those dealers are not going to lose money on the deal. And with JD's they are easier to sell too as customers will buy based John Deere rep. and pay a little more than they are worth sometimes. Then there's machines like my Bolens that I couldn't even sell as a whole good for $200 so I keep it for my personal use. Customers didn't want because it was a Bolens. It has run rings around some of those high price mowers and has out lasted several of customer mowers and I cutting 6 ac every couple weeks with it. I am wearing out a set of blades every year.

Also one other thing of note here too that is customer do tend inflate what they have been offered at other places for trade-ins too. You probably have experience something similar where they will deflate a repair estimate just to see if you will lower your price. This where knowing your customer comes into play.

[bgsengine]

Also one other thing of note here too that is customer do tend inflate what they have been offered at other places for trade-ins too. You probably have experience something similar where they will deflate a repair estimate just to see if you will lower your price. This where knowing your customer comes into play.

AND.. if you are in business for any length of time, you really need to bone up on your competitors and figure out how they operate first hand.. realizing that Husqvarna gives one of the better margins in the business, their machine that sells at MSRP of 1899 might have a dealer cost of under 1200 (I have no idea what husqvarna's equipment margins are - no one has told me yet) and commercial grade equipment tends to have better margins as well, I believe.. Then you got to try and visit (or have someone do a mystery shop) your local dealers, and buy a couple different parts a couple different times and see if they play with their parts margins (make sure you know the current MSRP on a part, which can be hard if you are not a dealer for them) - some dealers may low-ball their equipment sales and make razor thin margins as an investment in future repair work (they usually have a service shop priced high) and some may depend on the markups on accessories and the like (see how hard they push accessory and add-on sales) but with a little study you can figure out how any dealership makes their money..... So, you really gotta do your homework - if you know how your competitors operate you can figure out how to effectively market YOUR business to your market area more effectively - fill a niche or do something better than the other guy... also you have to decide if you are gonna be a "price point" dealer (best price) or a "5-star" dealer (quality, reputation) or some other type - We used to try to compete on price alone.. long time ago... huge mistake.. you'll never beat the box stores - in fact sometimes you can find the same machine in different paint/stickers for less money at Amazon or Wal-Mart than you can buy the same thing in your brand from your distributor - even at the best margins.. if you happen to sell Husqvarna or Cub Cadet...

- in short, there's always gonna be somebody cheaper than you.. I wouldn't bend too far backwards trying to make a sale to someone who says they get a better deal from the other guy.