PJL, Thanks for posting that link. Just a few days before I had searched gsaauctions.gov and used "tucker". Nothing came up.
I bid on that machine... and once again was a bride’s maid and not the bride (I didn’t “win”). My snowcat buddy, Scott and I studied the incomplete photos and the similarly incomplete description. Like sleddogracer, we thought it looked to be in unusually nice condition, but without more photos and a better description, we were making assumptions, and if wrong - they can be costly.
Last winter we spent one evening "spit-balling" about Tucker valuations; the idea being to come up with a guide to asses what a particular machine was worth. Essentially a Blue Book for different machine configurations and options. These numbers are not scientific at all. Really it’s more what a couple of knuckleheads think add value to a machine, and make it more attractive to buyers in a monetary way. For example, we think a two door cab is the least functional from the perspective of most buyers, and a three door or four door is more desirable and thus makes a machine worth more. Three door Tuckers are the rarest in the rubber-belted Tucker world, and four doors are a bit more common. Either way though, we think a three door or four door configuration adds $5K in value. We came up with values for various common options and configurations.
The Idaho machine is a 1544; four door cab with mid length tracks. It has a four headlight grille. No information on powertrain, so we assumed the standard 318/manual transmission. It does not have long tracks, damper wheels, no factory winch, no six-way blade, etc. Our analysis showed the options to add $6,100 in value to the machine. Truthfully, we don’t sell many Tuckers, but when we do we want to be able to look a prospective buyer in the eye and confidently tell them the machine works well and should be reliable without exception. To be able to do that we have to fully inspect the machine and make repairs and adjustments as necessary, in addition to a complete service of fluids, filters, engine tune-up, wiper blades, etc, etc. Cosmetically it needs to be nice. No excuses, no under-dash or under-hood wiring buffoonery, no upholstery coming apart, etc.
We thought that machine, in no-excuses and fully serviced condition, is worth about $24K. It gets a significant premium for the overall condition, but even so, that’s it. Scott and I were only interested in this Tucker if we could buy it, make the required repairs and servicing and sell it at a profit. With so many assumptions on mechanical condition, we needed to have room in the budget for contingencies and decided we needed a gross margin of $4K. My max was therefore $20K, and it sold for one bid increment above that.
My opinion is one has to do their homework and research in formulating a maximum bid. There's a natural temptation to increase your bid "just a little" to win, but you must have the discipline to stick with your analysis. If you win; great. But if you don’t, you should be confident in your numbers to the point that you’re perfectly fine with “losing”. That’s exactly how I feel.