I am looking to buy a used compact tractor, and I've learned that the stolen farm/homestead equipment is quite the large industry. I saw on Craigslist a decently priced JD; just the size, price range, and condition I'm looking for. I phoned the seller. Not a dealership, he said; He just buys and sells tractors. He was vague about where HE purchased it.

• Stolen John Deere Serial Numbers Lookup

Stolen John Deere Serial Numbers Lookup

Concern is, the tractor is 7 to 11 years old and with just 94 hours! QUESTION: How can I be assured the tractor was not stolen 7 or so years ago, been in a barn somewhere, and is now being sold? And if it IS stolen, how can the thief be brought to justice, and maybe the victim get return of his/her property? I am looking to buy a used compact tractor, and I've learned that the stolen farm/homestead equipment is quite the large industry. I saw on Craigslist a decently priced JD; just the size, price range, and condition I'm looking for. I phoned the seller. Not a dealership, he said; He just buys and sells tractors.

He was vague about where HE purchased it. Concern is, the tractor is 7 to 11 years old and with just 94 hours!

QUESTION: How can I be assured the tractor was not stolen 7 or so years ago, been in a barn somewhere, and is now being sold? And if it IS stolen, how can the thief be brought to justice, and maybe the victim get return of his/her property?All you can do is get the S/N and contact the local authority, tell him your concerns and give him the number. If he's not worried about it then I wouldn't either. I would consider that due diligence on your part. Robert, your reaponse appears to make good sense, and perhaps that is all I can really do. I'm wondering, if the local authorities have access to tracking S/Ns of stolen compact tractors?

It seems from my readings that not much has been done (perhaps some more recently) on tracking numbers of this kind of equipment.Every LE agency in this country has access to NCIC. Asio4all 2.15. A national database of stolen property such as vehicles, boats, machinery, computers and anything else that has ever had a serial number stamped on it. Get the serial number on the tractor and ask your local LEO to run it for you. If it's stolen, they can find out where it was stolen from and get it back to them. If it's clean, then you may want to purchase it.