Has The Market For Cubs Collapsed?

Inspectorjoe

Inspectorjoe

Active member
I've had Cub #808 for sale on FB Marketplace for five weeks and got a grand total of two inquiries. The first guy asked if the price was negotiable, and I answered yes it is. I never heard back from him. The second guy asked if I could transport it. I said no I couldn't, but pretty much any towing company could move it on a rollback. I never heard back from him.

At $1,550, I don't think I overpriced it. I know it's not the best time of year to be selling a tractor but I thought the blade might help it sell during winter. It could be that it doesn't fit into a nice niche. For a collector, the fact that it doesn't have the original engine block would be a turnoff. For someone wanting to work it, the fact that it doesn't have touch control would be a turnoff, but honestly, the manual lift is not at all difficult to use

I bought it thinking I'd get a small trailer and take it to shows, but I'm so backed up with projects around the house, that I don't see that happening. The only real use I'd have for it would be plowing snow a few times a year, but since it's original paint, I wouldn't want to take it out in sloppy conditions. As much as I like it, it's taking up valuable space in my garage.

I'm in Pennsylvania. I've never sold a Cub before. I did sell two 1942 H's. The first sold in a few weeks for what I paid for it two years earlier. The second sold within six hours of listing it for exactly twice what I paid for it a few months earlier. So the lack of any interest in the Cub has me puzzled. I don't want to give it away a a fire sale price. I'm wondering if I should just sit on it until warmer weather. I welcome thoughts from people experienced in selling.
 

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Quite a few around my area that seem to be slow to move too. Not sure it isn’t lack of knowledge or that everybody wants a $20,000 Kubota. People seem to have more money than ever…2 SUVs SxS, and orange tractors…and nobody wants to change implements. I was just telling my neighbor how I need to buy a third…so I can leave the cultivators on the 63😀
 
Location, time of year, and condition versus price will play a lot into a potential buyer's thought process. The sub compact and compact tractor has taken over much of the market that a Cub will fit into, and with the category one 3 point hitches available on those models, diesel engines plus availability of hydrostatic transmission, easy on and off loaders, hydraulics, etc. make them attracted to buyers.
 
They seem to be slow moving up here too or at least they seem to be listed for a long time. Your price is pretty fair with a blade included, but no TC is probably not appealing. I use the lift handle for the rear of my cub and the TC for the front and I don't find it a pain at all.

But for people with limited time and want the quick implement changes on a variety of implements, rotary equipment with live hydraulics, and most of all a loader...and unless you like the history and coolness of old tractors, then cubs just aren't that appealing. I think the group demanding cubs is shrinking
 
This time of year is never a good time to buy anything because people are paying for the holidays and heating costs are still very high so discretionary spending (Cubs are recreation use) is kept to a minimum. Finally Cubs are a niche market and most people have Zero use for them so it is a limited marketplace. I don’t own my three cubs for investments I own them for purpose and entertainment. Maybe as years go by and I go bye-bye as well the Cub will be an investment but certainly not at this time. 500 to 2500 is the range for your average cub in the USA.
 
IMO, in your case the replacement block hurts it. To be honest, if it had the original block, I would have already been to see you.....😁

I don't follow Cubs quite as close as Super As, but it doesn't seem like asking prices have softened at all. I know asking vs. selling can be two different things, but still.....

Al
 
The Cub is basically a lawn mowing / garden tractor. Zero turns have taken over the "big" lawn mowing market and subcompact tractors have taken over the garden tractor market. The cubs are for collectors or people that can't afford zero turn/compact tractors.

Everything from Kubota to Hinomoto is competing against the Farmall cubs and they have gotten quite a bit cheaper as they have aged and become more common.

Some people like the idea of this:
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Over this:

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3 point, independent hydraulics, modern PTO, more HP.
 
Around here Cubs seem to be getting more difficult to sell. I used to buy delinquent Cubs do repairs on them and resell them to make a few bucks to add to my tractor fund. I've moved away from Cubs because they are getting very hard to sell in my area. Now I lean towards buying high end John Deere garden tractors to repair and sell and I do much better with them. Everyone needs a good garden tractor/lawn mower and most I've redone have sold on the first day I offer them for sale.
 
I agree with many of the comments, many people have moved to more modern equipment, zero turns and compact tractors. I know I have for everyday use, I have a diesel orange zero turn and loader tractor. I still love my Cubs, but mostly use for "playing" and the grandkids love riding them around.
I think this limits the customer base. I don’t think the market has collapsed, just not grown like the more modern options. I think Cubs sell for around what they did when I got into them, around 15 years ago. I think it compares to the Ford N's, there's still a market for them, but they sell for around what they did 30+ years ago. (I also have an 8n that I love)
The people who are willing to do the necessary maintenance to keep older equipment going is also shrinking. I don’t think there's as many new enthusiasts as the "old timers" that we're losing, just my take.
I also honestly think the replacement engine detracts from the appeal of having a low number Cub, but I think your asking price is reasonable for a working, potential project tractor.
Best of luck with your sale,
David
 
The biggest saving grace of the cub is how small it is. - even smaller than Ford 8N. Basically, you can store one about anywhere you can store a riding mower - even easier than storing an 9N, 2N or 8N.
 
I bought my 1957 Cub in October 2005, so almost 20 years ago when it was only 48 years old. It is now 68 years old. At the time, I could go to almost any Case/IH dealer, TM Tractor, Ralph's, JP Tractor, and even eBay to get parts. Columbia Tractor (now Salem Farm Supply, but still a Case/IH dealer) carried all kinds of brand new Case/IH branded Cub parts. There were even quite a few places to purchase N.O.S. parts. At some point we will run out of aftermarket maintenance parts and we will be left with "yard art".
With the Fast Hitch, I also have a moldboard plow, disc harrow, rear grader blade, and sickle bar mower to go along with the snowblade.

Until then, I plow a 500' driveway that I can get within inches of the edges because I can see the corners of the plow.
The grandkids love going for rides and my 4 year old granddaughter "drove" it for the first time this fall. 1st gear, lowest throttle setting, and me within arms length of the ignition switch...crawling along at a snails pace while she was grinning from ear-to-ear.
I have a 2002ish Mahindra 3505DI 35hp 3-cylinder diesel with a 4-speed manual (8 with Hi-Lo) and power steering. It has a bucket loader, the reason I bought it. Parts are still available, but can get pricey. Glow plug is $193, Dual Clutch Assembly $597, Fuel Injector $142, Fuel Injector Pump $2,400, etc. For what I paid for the tractor, I would have to think real hard about spending money to fix it, and only if my son Aron was available to help.
With the Cub, there isn't much that I would be afraid to tackle, maybe the Touch Control, but there are enough people on the forum that have done this rebuild, so not too concerned.
 
I just bought mine a few months ago. Both needed a little work but did run and drive and they were under $700.00 each as they would only sell both together. I don't know if that really hurt the price. One has a C2 Mower i believe under it and the other came with 2 discs, cultivators and the whole setup for the cultivators on the cub. The seller had them for sale for months before I called.
 
I think the bottom has fell out of the cub market. I see some great deals on marketplace, and they're still there with the prices dropping. It will probably come back up again. Inflation, food prices, interest rates, etc over the last few years have slowed a lot of things down. The cub prices were pretty good a couple years ago partly because everyone was sitting at home making $900 a week on unemployment. With food in short supply at the stores, everyone was going to start gardening. Cubs were a good option then. Now they're all for sale since their owners went back to work and retired from gardening. I'm sure the cub market will come back up. It always does.
 
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I appreciate everyone's replies. Thanks for taking the time to give your thoughts. They really widened my perspective.

Yesterday, I got the first offer since I listed it 5 weeks ago. The guy said he has restored cars and trucks for many years, and was thinking about restoring a tractor. The most he could offer was $1,000. I told him I couldn't sell it for $1,000, It really didn't need mechanical restoration and it would be a crime to repaint it. We then had a nice back and forth conversation (but no sale).

I'll just bide my time, and eventually the right person might come along. And in the meantime, I have a cool OLD Cub in my garage. I can make do with the crowded conditions until spring. and if it doesn't sell, maybe it was meant to be. I can always sell a few garden tractors to make a permanent home for the Cub!
 
Since buying my subcompact Massey Ferguson, I sold one of my Cubs and have barely used the other. Being equipped with a loader, Cat 1 three-point, and being able to quickly swap out to front frame-mounted snow blade (with power angle), my subcompact has completely changed how I approach outdoor work.
 
I use one cub to pull my manure spreader,
Another to plow the garden,
another to disk it,
another to knock down the clumps the disk misses,
and another to cultivate.

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Other than that, I have extras for parts and such.
 
Other thing we haven't talked about is location. It seems to me like that all Culti-Vision IHs are still bringing good/crazy money in the southeast.

Al
 
Urbish said:
Since buying my subcompact Massey Ferguson, I sold one of my Cubs and have barely used the other. Being equipped with a loader, Cat 1 three-point, and being able to quickly swap out to front frame-mounted snow blade (with power angle), my subcompact has completely changed how I approach outdoor work.
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Along that same thought: If money was no object, I would love to own a 40-ish HP new tractor with a loader. I wouldn't put a huge number of hours per year on it, but it would be handier than a good pocketknife.

Al
 
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