Farms and Farm Machinery – September 2019

40 TradeFarmMachinery.com.au THE TRACTOR YOU WANT IS NOW EASIER TO FIND

HARVESTERS

N

ick Rouhan, who runs agricultural machinery brokers

Growth Equipment out of a base in Gunnedah, NSW, has a

blunt opening statement for all his sellers at the moment.

While in a normal situation harvesters would be sold to a buyer

who lived within 500km of its home base, Rouhan says that in

the current market, buyers are going to be located twice the

normal distance away.

“The first thing I say to a vendor is whatever you want for it,

take $10,000 off,” he says.

“Because it is going to end up in SA and Victoria, and by the

time you transport an oversize header and a header front down

there it is going to cost the buyer $10k, so they are going to

want that off the buy price straight away.”

Andrew Lewis of Murrumbidgee Machinery Brokers says it

is important to remember that a harvester is only going to be

worth what someone is prepared to pay.

“It is an opportunist’s market at the moment, because seasonal

conditions in northern NSW aren’t looking that good... Fair

enough, there’s nothing wrong with that, and if dealers and

vendors are happy to make a deal and let a machine go for what

the deal is – so be it,” he says.

The brokers agree on these five factors that will help any

individual looking to buy, and to help any seller make sure their

harvester stands out from the crowd.

PURPOSE

It might sound simple, but Rouhan says the most common

mistake he sees with buyers is a failure to plan properly before

going out and buying.

“They need to ask themselves why they are updating the

header... are they updating because they want a newer

machine, a bigger machine or are they updating because they

want to swap their farm practices to controlled traffic farming,

which is really taking off?

“If you are buying because you want to strip more crop, then

you are probably going to have to buy a newer, bigger header

than you have already got.”

This also applies when considering the header front, he says,

noting that the header will only do as good a job as the front

that is there.

“Anything over five years old, if you want to go to a front that

is 40 foot or over, and they are going into 50 or 60 foot now, you

need to ask: is the header actually going to be able to lift that

front?” he says.

“Usually in private sale they won’t split them up, usually, but

at a dealer, definitely ask the question – can I buy the header

without the front, or if they have a front there you want ask to

do a deal... There is always a deal to be done.”

QUALITY

Both Rouhan and Lewis are in the business of appraising and

preparing reports on harvesters that are up for sale – and both

say that farmers can easily spend $30,000 on repair before the

harvest season even starts.

To help reduce this cost, Lewis recommends a potential buyer

should consider bringing a harvester mechanic along with them

to inspect the vehicle.

“At the end of the day people have to remember they are used

harvesters, they are not new harvesters, so things are going to

be a bit worn,” he says.

“But a mechanic will pick up mechanical faults... there are

a lot of moving parts in a harvester, and if you are unsure

mechanically yourself, take a mechanic with you.”

Rouhan agrees, saying even experienced buyers can become

overwhelmed when looking at a big, expensive machine, and

forget they key points they planned to look at.

“If you can’t [get a mechanic], ask the seller for any invoices for

previous work done in the leadup to the past couple of harvests,

and that will give you a pretty good idea of the condition of it,”

he says.

READINESS

Lewis says most people wanting to buy a harvester –

particularly those who have got good crops coming in and

who want to harvest quickly – will want their machine to be

crop ready.

“It is another year where crucial rainfall at the end of the

season will make a difference – and a lot of the header buyers

then will become impulse buyers... they know that it is going to

be worth a good premium so they will spend the money to get it

off quick.”

To ensure that the machine is ready to go, many dealers

will conduct their own pre-season checks which a buyer can

consider, Lewis says, though he adds that some dealers will

prefer to hedge their bets.

“Any machines they can get away with getting through the

season without doing major repairs, they will sit it out the front,

discount it a fraction but it will get it through this season,” he

says.

For Rouhan, it is also important to consider the cleanliness of a

header when looking to buy it.

“If you go and inspect the header and there is still grain in the

grain tank and straw all over it, chances are it is going to have

some damage from mice, when being stored,” he says.

SUPPORT

Rouhan adds that despite the fact that the harvester is being

bought second hand, having access to a dealer support network

is still important.

“It is still worth looking around to see who is a good local

dealer for headers, because in the end every piece of machinery

breaks down and you are going to need to buy parts and service

for it,” he says.

“There is no point in buying a John Deere if there is no dealer

for 300–400km. When there is a Case dealer locally, maybe that

is something to consider.”

TESTDRIVE

Finally, both brokers say buyers should get in the cabin and get

the machine running before signing on the dotted line, even if

the mechanic is coming.

“Don’t just look at it,” Rouhan says.

“At least start the engine, have the engine running and ask to

engage the threshing mechanism so you can hear it all and see

it all running.”

Lewis agrees, saying that turning the engine over would help

mechanics know if any further attention was needed.

“It is all very well to run the harvester in the shed, but unless

you pull it out, put the front on it and run it you don’t know what

is going on,” Lewis says.

Andrew Hobbs chats

with machinery brokers

to check on what buyers

and sellers should expect

when buying a combine

harvester second-hand

The most common

mistake with buyers is a

failure to plan properly

before going out and

buying.

The PQRST of harvester buying

It is still worth looking around to see

who is a good local dealer for headers.

Image courtesy of Getty images.