The Real Value Of A Cub

ricky racer

ricky racer

501 Club
I know there have been several threads in the last months discussing the lower resale value and the lack of desirability of our Cub tractors and it is true. The market for a good used Cub has really diminished over the last decade. I used to enjoy buying Cubs that either didn't run or had issues that caused their owners to sell them cheap. I'd buy them up, haul them home and do all the required repairs making sure everything worked as it should so the new owners would have a nice tractor when I sold them and I'd make a few dollars to put towards the next project. I can't tell you how many I've done over the years but I've stopped doing that. The value of the Cub has dropped to the point that even a nice one is hard to sell.

Each of us know how much we enjoy the Cubs we own and how well they perform, taking into consideration what a Cub is. I purchased mine nearly twenty years ago. It was a non-runner when I purchased it and I knew I was going to keep the tractor to use around the house for years so I went through the whole tractor, from front to back rebuilding or repairing everything as I went. That Cub has never and I mean never given me a moment of trouble since I completed it. It will start within seconds even when it's -20 degrees out. I really like the 6 volt system because it's so robust. Throughout the good weather here in Michigan I enjoy taking the Cub for a ride down our lane and through the woods on my tractor trails nearly every day. I tell my wife that I'm going to take the tractor for a walk. ;)

My wife and I only have one child, a daughter. She's married with a family and lives in Dayton, Ohio. She knows that when her mom and I are gone everything is hers, however she's only brought up a request for one thing that she want's when we're gone. She asked me a few months ago, if something were to happen to me, she asked if she could have my Cub. 🥲 I know she knows how much I enjoy my Cub and the joy it's brought me over the years and she's enjoyed it too when she was younger and still at home. Anyway, my Cub might not have much value as far as the world is concerned but in our family I think it will be a legacy that will live beyond me and I can see her and my grandkids taking it for a walk with a smile on their face long after I'm gone. It's hard to put a dollar amount on that!
 
The area of Michigan I’m located I can’t even find any cub for sale. On Craigslist he closest in a straight line is in Milwaukee suburbs for a cub that “needs work, needs new tires, hasn’t run in a few years” that is $3,000. I would love a second cub. That way I don’t have to take off the chains and plow and put on the mower. The ones I see the owners are very proud of.
 
offrink said:
The area of Michigan I’m located I can’t even find any cub for sale. On Craigslist he closest in a straight line is in Milwaukee suburbs for a cub that “needs work, needs new tires, hasn’t run in a few years” that is $3,000. I would love a second cub. That way I don’t have to take off the chains and plow and put on the mower. The ones I see the owners are very proud of.
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There is one on marketplace in Orleans but it does not have the hydraulic unit on it. There is pretty slim pickins right now in West Michigan. I'm not too far from you.
 
offrink said:
The area of Michigan I’m located I can’t even find any cub for sale. On Craigslist he closest in a straight line is in Milwaukee suburbs for a cub that “needs work, needs new tires, hasn’t run in a few years” that is $3,000. I would love a second cub. That way I don’t have to take off the chains and plow and put on the mower. The ones I see the owners are very proud of.
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My neighbor sold his last year, a nice running '49 with hydraulics and a really nice belly mounted Woods 42" brush chopper. I don't remember the price he started at but ended up selling it for around $850. It was a good tractor, I know, I did a lot of work on it for him. It took him weeks to sell it.
 
it has slowed down but I have found a good clean turn key machine will still sell in my area , main thing wanted for them is mower, snow plow, cultivators, box farms here still use em all the time
 
They're getting cheap around me here in Missouri. There's a running one with mower and cultivators for $1200 within a couple hours of me
 
Here in the Deep South of Indiana they have been all over the map, but if you run across one with the stuff you need, you’re at $2500 or more. You can still get unknown condition ones for a grand. Ricky, you are quite the cub saver. 👍.
 
ntrenn said:
Here in the Deep South of Indiana they have been all over the map, but if you run across one with the stuff you need, you’re at $2500 or more. You can still get unknown condition ones for a grand. Ricky, you are quite the cub saver. 👍.
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Same here in the actual deep south. I had trouble finding any near me when I was looking, except for a few with a belly mower or bare and I knew I'd have to spend to get it like I wanted for cultivating. Lots of ads 3-5 hour drive north. I was concerned more about running condition than appearance. I didn't want one with a fresh paint job. I'd rather see what I was getting. Lots of ads with fresh paint and overspray on the tires or other parts. Also lots of "ran when parked" ads. I wanted one ready to work, but didn't need a show piece.

I think the OP is correct that it is probably hard to get your time and money back if put some work into it. The man I bought mine from had folks offering him 50% of his asking price after they drove two hours to look at it. He had all the p/w for what he had put into it over the past few years. I don't know what the price has been historically since I haven't had mine long, but there are some things I don't try to put a market price on. I like stuff that works and isn't made anymore.
 
They seem to be regaining popularity on YouTube. Vegetable growers, homesteaders, preppers etc are kind of rediscovering them. I realize they wouldn't necessarily appeal to your average person looking for a modern 4wd compact tractor but they are still serve a purpose for many. I'm not sure you can just find a nice one for $1000.
 
Like Offrink l started looking for a 2nd Cub a few years ago as my original needed some work, and since l use it year round, l couldn't afford to be without. Got one at auction for $800. I put $800 into it just on basics really, but l now have 2 hard working Cubs. They are only 5000 apart in serial numbers. One set up for mowing in the summer, the other for snowplowing. I got too old to be wrestling attachments around especially here in Mi where right after you put your mower deck on you get hit with 8" of snow.
Like Ricky, my oldest daughter has put in bid for my original when l'm gone, that's priceless.
 
k hutchins said:
Like Ricky, my oldest daughter has put in bid for my original when l'm gone, that's priceless.
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That's great and that's was also my intent with my original post. The fact that is, the Cubs don't command a high price, however they've created a legacy within our families transcending beyond just a simple tractor to an extension of us Cub owners. The connection our children see between us as parents and our Cubs that they know we greatly admire, once we are gone, having that Cub will forever be their connection with us.
 
Seeing some Cubs here in Mi..
One at auction coming up this weekend if I recall right. Yep. Sparta Mi Sat. Art Smith auctioneer.
Both mine need work again.. Selling one prior isn't going to earn a premium. But getting short on space here and it's already mid May.

Value?
I ran the 48 like a rented mule.
Brush hogging and cultivating and general mayhem. Compared to what I paid an equipment operator to do work on the same hunting property ; I made out big time running Cubs for other work.

Thing about a Cub for me is firstly ; clutch on the right side. Having smucked a door with clutch on the left of another tractor due to my not having a left leg...The Internationals clutch on right is a niche I applaud for value. Oh I put a rod on a foot clutch to use as a hand clutch on another tractor before. An engineering deficiency arose that turned out to be rework after an exciting delay in clutch activity one day . My Kubota has brake on right. Models that followed have it on the left.

Next is size and weight. Yes get a tractor to match the work or else take smaller bites. I work with close horizons so I don't need to run a great wingspan or be done with a spot in five minutes.
 
Yes I also spent more on mine than I should have but it was the only one in as nice condition and was only 25 minutes from my house and the guy delivered it. Plus I put more money into it on top of all that. However, I don't ever plan on selling it and it has already came in handy more than I thought it would. This winter is where it will earn it's keep with plowing snow, hauling firewood to my house and using my Carryall I made for hauling deer out of the woods. Money is money and everything has no set price, everything is only worth what someone is willing to pay. These cubs should last many many more years with the proper maintenance and care. Work them like they are designed and you shouldn't have any problems. I was working on the old woman on getting another Farmall maybe a Super A or 140 this time. No need for it I just like old machinery for my own gratification.
 
Yeah, there is a lot of value in them for what they are. They are a small 1500 to 1800 pound tractor that is built like an actual farm tractor. They can do stuff that modern machines in their weight class might not hold up doing. I don't doubt the modern stuff has the power but I don't think it was necessarily built for tugging on things that take it to the limit of wheel slippage all day. I've heard that modern compact tractors will pull a mold board plow but the hydrostat systems don't like it. I don't doubt a side by side could drag logs out of the woods but I wonder how it would hold up doing it all day. Even when the Cub engine is working at its limit it seems comfortable doing it in long intervals. The Super A takes it to another level without taking up much more space.
 
I'm in favor of dropping cub prices! Just need to have the prices of parts and fluids start dropping too and we'll be cooking with gas! lol
 
In Kansas a running Farmall Cub in any condition (as long as its running) is $1000 - with no attachments. A nice condition unit with a deck is usually in the $1800 to $2500 range. Nonrunning cubs - even with a locked-up engine - have a floor of $500-$600. The top end cubs with new paint, new tires, and in obviously good running condition are in the $2500 to $3000 range. Getting a cub to "top condition" is expensive and the return just isn't there when compared to just getting it running and presentable is fetching a price just $500 less.
 
offrink said:
The area of Michigan I’m located I can’t even find any cub for sale. On Craigslist he closest in a straight line is in Milwaukee suburbs for a cub that “needs work, needs new tires, hasn’t run in a few years” that is $3,000. I would love a second cub. That way I don’t have to take off the chains and plow and put on the mower. The ones I see the owners are very proud of.
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Not everyone cub that could be bought is advertised. You didn't say how far you would drive. I do know of a couple of "running when parked" tractors. Owner died. But they have been sitting. Another that has been sitting for years. Do you use facebook? It is used more than Cragislist these days. Keep looking they are around here or be willing to drive a ways. Good Luck. Vern
 
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