Monday, November 07, 2011

They sold their fenders for HOW MUCH?

When Cliff bought the money pit Oliver 1855, it had decent fenders on it, no big dings or dents.  However, he had been studying pictures of Oliver tractors on the Internet and decided he wanted fuel tank fenders on his tractor; not that he could ever afford enough diesel to fill them up, and not that he'd ever need a huge load of fuel.  He simply liked the looks of them.  We went to Cook Tractor so he could look through their junk fine used equipment and parts, and found what he was looking for.  


He paid $400 for the set; this came directly out of his tractor fund, so it didn't affect me.  This is his dream tractor; let him fix it up like he wants it.  
The other day Cliff saw some fuel tank fenders sell on Ebay for $800, so I guess he got a good deal on the ones he bought. 
About a month ago, he had me list the regular fenders on Craigslist, the ones that were on the tractor when he bought it; he asked $400 for them.  We bumped the ad up a time or two, but nobody had called about them until yesterday.  It was a guy who lives less than ten miles from here, and he wanted to come and look at the fenders.  
Turns out the guy is a fairly big-time farmer and is addicted to Olivers, just like Cliff is.  He's going to Tennessee before long to pick up a 2255 he bought down there.  
The guy drooled all over Cliff's big Ollie, said he'd never seen one look so good.  
Now, when you get two tractor addicts together, they're going to be talking awhile.  The guy was here over an hour.  He didn't leave with the fenders, because he told Cliff he'd give him an extra $100 bucks to paint them.  So, $500 will go back into the tractor fund, and Cliff made a new friend.  
Not a bad deal at all.  

Now if somebody would come and buy that 1655 we have listed on Craigslist, Cliff's tractor fund would be right back where it was two years ago.  

6 comments:

  1. That is an expensive hobby Cliff has but it sounds like it is rewarding and fun for him and that is worth every penny put into it. Glad he is recouping some of the expense and made a new friend to boot. Hope your Monday is a great one there. It's to be another pretty day in northern Ohio.

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  2. Sounds like there will be another regular visitor to Cliff's workshop! Sweet! I'll bet he's at home right now trying to come up with a way of justifying adding that Ollie to his collection.

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  3. I love reading about Cliff's Oliver, that is how I first found your blog. Not surprised about the huge variance in the price of sheet metal. Here in the North because of snow & ice and salt corroding it, it gets a premium price compared to in the south where the weather is a bit better for things to be sitting outdoors. Love your new header too! Glad that Cliff is keeping his tractor fund well funded.

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  4. Sounds like Cliff got a bargain for those fuel tank fenders, expensive as they were. What's nice is he can make the money back selling the regular ones. And finding a new tractor friend is an added bonus. Great story. Take care.

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  5. Lindie5:19 PM

    Very good! Cliff is doing something he loves to do and not losing money. Priceless. Kind of like you and your Jerseys.

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  6. My husband also makes Craigslist friends like that. And you are right; tractor and big equipment buffs can talk for hours about that stuff.

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