anyone have some experience with buying off of iron planet? dont know if i like the idea of not being able to test the machine myself. do the tests seem to be a accurate description of the machines? thks
I've never purchased off iron planet, but i kind of got burnt on a similar purchase through ebay. The machine had a pile of pictures, a couple videos, and a report card of sorts. Everything on the machine was exactly as described when it showed up, but, after about 6 hours of use it broke a con rod and wiped out the motor. After taking it apart, the motor was in absolute terrible shape inside. Heavy, heavy scoring on just about all the internals. Now, i'm not saying that i would have caught it had i inspected it myself, but, in hind sight, i'd should have payed to get a 3rd party heavy duty mechanic take a good look at it for me. Now i got a good enough deal on the machine, where even after putting a reman in, the price is still in my favor, but i was lucky for that.
Friend has bought several Cement Trucks off Iron Planet.Price was cheap.Out of six one went down.Soft cam shaft.But that was after a years use.Like gambling when you buy used.Make sure not to bid to high.Leave some money for repairs.If you will notice most of Iron Planets iron clad reports are with a cold and not moving item.So a good Mechanic might be worth paying to look at it if the money is high.
Iron Planet inspectors thoroughly go over each piece. Oil samples are also taken. I have never bought from Iron Planet but wouldn't be scared to purchase something from them for the right price.
I have bought 2 machines from Ironplanet. A backhoe which was a good buy , and a 850D Case dozer . The dozer had been converted to hydraulic drive , a pump mounted on the back of the motor and a drive motor mounted on the front of the transmission. When I got it home a discovered this I called for a return as it had the inclad assurance. They sent a guy out to reinspect the machine. He confirmed the problem and I got my money back plus 400$ for transport. It had been converted to a bron cable plow. The blade had a reel carrier mounted to it , it still had factory paint on it. At 2200 hours it would have been a steal at 22,000. I try them every time I look for a piece. Now they are popular the good buy days are gone.
thanks guys, ya Dickjr. i found that out yesterday on a dozer, it went to Nigeria. oh well, good to know for the future. thks again
I have bought several machines and have had good luck. Use your experience to read the inspection reports and scrutinize the pictures. It is not quite the same as looking yourself, but better than looking yourself if you don't have the experience. I have been to auctions and seen people looking at equipment that had obvious (to me) problems and thinking they were getting a good buy. Experience is the best teacher. I would not even compare anything found on e-bay to Ironplanet. Ironplanet has real mechanics check things out. They are not perfect, but you have recourse if it is not in the condition they say it is. Just like the guy above who got his money back. Try that at any other auction. You will get laughed out of the place.
Had a good run buying and bringen machines to oz from ironplanet, i find there discription is very fair and is 95% accreate Very happy.Leroy
Hi all, I realize this is an older thread, but it did answer most of my questions about Iron Planet and eased my fears. But I did have a couple of more questions concerning the final sell price. First, does anyone know if the final sell price is listed so that you can see how much the item in which you were interested finally sold for? Second, I would imagine the opening bid price is considerably lower than the final sell price.Would that assumption be correct? From what I've read in the FAQs, it works just like eBay. You enter the highest price you're willing to pay and they handle entering your bid in the required increments up to your max amount. I'm looking at a Cat 420D in Michigan, very near my home listed $!5 to open. It's a 2002 and looks in great condition. When I compare that one to a 1986 Cat 416 also out near me that's priced at $19, I have to think the 420 would eventually go for around $25. Am I close Thanks rc
if you put the item in your watch list you can go back to that and find the final sales price, also you can search previously sold items with there full reports still available. i have had three items in my watch list that did not get bids at opening price, one they relisted that day three times dropping the price each time until it finally sold (of course i was not in cell coverage area and did not get those calls), another they relisted the following week with a lower price and then it sold for more than the original opening price, the third was i can't recall, it all depends on if the owner agreed to have it liquidated that day regardless or how the contract is set up..the proxy bidding works the best for purchasing... as for the 420d run your comps using machinerytrader.com, rbauction.com, ironplanet.com or whatever equipment sales info you can find
Click on the "Auctions Results" at the bottom left hand corner of their home page. They used to have the last 3 or 4 previous auction results listed but now you have to search for what you are looking for. Depending on how the 420D you are looking for is equipped, it could go from $20K to $50K. It just depends on who's buying and what kind of machine it is.
Thanks very much for the information. I appreciate it. I have been poking around and learning things and have been watching some of the auctions to get a feel for what goes on. It is kinda fun to watch things as they go, get extended and what not. It does seem a lot like eBay. Take care all. r