Prices all over the map

[B.C.C. Lapp]

I've been looking for a small skidder lately.   The JD 540D I'm running isn't mine and and I'm kind of glad because while I like how it pulls and its a tight machine but climbing up and down wears me out.
I really miss my old Timber Jacks.
So Ive been watching for a good one.   And Ive found a few.   Of course some  were wore out beyond what I want to repair.   Yes I could get them cheap but even dumping $10,000 into them they would still be in sad shape.
And I've found a few TJ's in fair shape considering their age.   I looking for a 225 mainly and the 225D is what I had and really liked.  
So I have one on the hook about two and a half hours away.   The owner and I have talked three times now.   We are about $2,500  apart on what he wants and what I want to pay.   Its going to cost me $1,000 or more to get it here.  
Small skidders are harder and harder to come by and nobody is making them.   TJ's are, I think, the easiest to get parts for.  
Is a something around 40 year old machine worth $23,000?    I have seen them as low as $12,500 but I admit those were beat up junk.    When I started looking I was thinking $18,000 to $20,000.    
Whats funny is that the last timber jack I did buy was in 2010 an I paid $9,000 for it.   And it was a great skidder.   I changed the fluids and filters and took it straight to the woods.   Very foolishly I sold that machine in 2018 for almost twice that.   Bad move but I like cutting better than skidding and was mainly cutting for other guys that had skidders. All I had to maintain was my saws and a pick up truck.  My skidders were mostly parked.   So when someone made me an offer I sold them one at a time.  Wished I had not.
So whats a 225D worth guys?   One that's in decent shape, tires about 50%,  center pins good, a few minor leaks and of course the dents and repair welds from decades of logging, but in what seems like usable shape.   You never really know till you run it in the woods a few days.
Do I stick to my offer and maybe pass on it, or pony up what he wants?     We started $5,000 apart and have narrowed it to $2500 apart.  And I think that's where we will stay unless I give in.
The thing is if I pay that much, then the cost of trucking it up here I wont have much left for any repairs I find are needed. And there will likely be some. Id be cutting it real close with the budget.   That makes me nervous.

[C5C Tree Farmer]

Here is a 225A in your neck of the woods.
Online auction currently 5100.00.
Engine seems a bit smokey for a Duetz.


https://www.equipmentfacts.com/listings/construction-equipment/auctions/217819333/timberjack-225a?gtmlt=1&_ga=2.44371748.1268969106.16663

[tacks Y]

I paid 11 for my 225D a few years ago. It had good bones and no weld, risers and blade straight, I repined center and cradle.  That being said I have worked on most things, including an Isuzu engine.

23 does seem on the high end. Have you looked at it in person? The 2.5k difference might go away if you can lay your hands on it and see the bad. Or it might make more sense for you.

Have you been watching FB market place?

[B.C.C. Lapp]

Seems very smokey.   I did register to bid.   Watching it.   Thanks C5C

[B.C.C. Lapp]

Tacks I have been watching market place and other listings.   Yeah the price MAY come down if I find a problem but I'm reluctant to spend a whole day getting there and back before we decided what he will sell for if I want it.   

[tacks Y]

I know what you mean about coming to terms on price, but not so sure on a skidder. Could be a lot of unseen issues.

The smoke in the pic of the A looks mostly like burning slabs maybe?

[tacks Y]

Sorry, just watched the video, that is some smoke. Also maybe cold engine.

[Dom]

Price varies alot by region too. Over 20K would be premium pricing around here. 
Parts can be found, but not as common as they used to be. 
I'd keep looking, and would keep tabs on that machine. The seller may change their mind in a few days/weeks. It's not like you desparitly need it. 
I'd be looking for a set of steps for the 540, and let somebody else own the machine for now. 😊

[dustyhat]

I gave 15000 for one just like in the video, took it straight to the woods , but mine dont smoke that bad ,and my chokers arent wrapped around the drum like his is now lol  yea i would bid on it . timberjack smoke dont hurt nothen.

[barbender]

The first skidder I ever ran was an old Timberjack. I hated how you could only enter it from one side. Then I got my Pettibone with 18.4x34 tires, I was sure missing how easy it was to slide into that TJ, even if it was only from one side. My Pettibone can really only be practically entered on the one side anyways because of control levers in the way.

[Dom]

Tree Farmer were liked for ability to access for both side of cabs.

[C5C Tree Farmer]

The smokey TJ 225A sold for $19,000. If the 15% buyers premium applies that would make it almost $22,000.

[Firewoodjoe]

Nothing is cheap right now. What seams cheap is still the normal high. 

[dustyhat]

I figure anything with a good set of tires like the one that sold ,would fetch better money nowdays seems to make a deference. Most of the small timberjacks around here sale for about that general price most guys like them here because different engine swaps Deutz, Cummins, Detroit and probably others, i even know a guy with a 292 chevy 6 in one ,so if you blow a motor theres one laying around somwhere.  

[BargeMonkey]

 Some of that stuff will always retain a certain value, doesn't matter how clapped or out in the weeds. 99% of people listing iron don't know how to SELL iron it's disgusting. 


 someone needs to get this guy a drug test. I'm seeing stuff coming around again, decent 640G3 in NC can be bought right now for 34k, I know of a 380A in Maine for 17k with the Deere winch, gotta hunt for it. 

[B.C.C. Lapp]

Well, the guy with the 225D contacted me and agreed to sell it for my offer.   I'm going down Wed. to run it and really look it over.  If its what he says it is I'm buying it.  I'm going with the check in my pocket.   

By the time I pay for trucking to get it here I'll be in for $21,000.  I can live with that.   

[tacks Y]

Well, the guy with the 225D contacted me and agreed to sell it for my offer.   I'm going down Wed. to run it and really look it over.  If its what he says it is I'm buying it.  I'm going with the check in my pocket.    

By the time I pay for trucking to get it here I'll be in for $21,000.  I can live with that.  

Hope it checks out for you. Where are you at, I am in Warren? It does not matter what it is worth as much as what it is worth to you. I have looked at machinery for sale and tell them it might be worth what you are asking but, this is what it is worth to me.

[B.C.C. Lapp]

tacks Y I'm about an hour south of you in Venango County.

[ehp]

skidders are selling for good money , some guys are just plain crazy for what they are asking thou . Small skidders in good shape are hard to find and are bringing more money now than when they were brandnew . They do not make them any more and its hard to believe that one of the big companies has not started to build new ones again . There is alot of country that its select cut and the big machines will not work

[B.C.C. Lapp]

Well, I bought it.  8) She needs front tires and a few odds and ends but over all in great shape.   The guy that I bought it from did his maintenance.   Shes going straight into the garage for some fluid and filter changes and then to a 165,000 board feet job with a side hill that's near to being a cliff. I'm going into this with no illusions and eyes wide open.  I been down this road before more than a few times.  Happiest days are the day you bought it, and the day you sold it. Can't wait to get started.   

[Jeff]

It's been decades now since I pulled a main line around snatching up trees in the chokers then smoking through the woods with a skid hauled by a Detroit powered Timberjack. I can still close my eyes, and hear it, and smell it and wish I could do it again.  

Have fun!

[B.C.C. Lapp]

Thanks Jeff. When I sold my last TJ I thought I'd never buy one again.   I was happy logging with my forestry tractor and arch set up,  or just cutting for other guys or running somebody else's  skidder.   But that got old.   This one I keep till I'm done in the woods.   I'm at a stage in life where I don't HAVE to sell things any more.   

The guy that sold it to me seemed a good egg.   He couldn't make it work making a living in the woods for a few real reasons.  I thought to myself, if we lived closer together I'd have hired him to run the skidder while I cut.   He was 61 but still able to skid logs no problem.   He just couldn't get and keep a decent log cutter and was way to slow with out one.   But we live over 100 miles apart.  

[thecfarm]

I'm no skidder guy, but it looks good. 

[Walnut Beast]

Congratulations! It looks pretty nice 👍 

[Bert]

Nice! I'm a couple hours south of you apparently. Good luck with the TJ. We have a 225 that's seen more than its fair share of work. Currently in the same boat and needing new shoes.