The model year of a piece of farm machinery should be a black-and-white issue.
But it’s not uncommon for farmers to find they’ve bought equipment older than they thought.
Provincial governments across the Prairies are inconsistent in how they deal with the issue.
Terry Keller, president of the Canada West Equipment Dealers Association, was not surprised to hear that a Manitoba farm couple found it hard to pin down the model year of their combine.
“It happens all the time,” said Keller, who owns AgriPower Equipment Ltd., a John Deere dealership at Kindersley, Sask. “That’s been going on for ages and ages and ages.”
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Different manufacturers start and stop runs of equipment at different times, explained Keller.
The manufacturers supply the details about their equipment, including model years, to a publication called the Western Canada Official Guide.
Dealers and banks subscribe to the publication to help them determine the value of machinery.
Since 1983, Alberta Farm Equipment Act inspectors have also followed the guide to determine model year.
But inspector Dennis Budney said he still gets 10 to 12 calls from farmers each year who find they have bought an older-than-expected piece of equipment.
“It is buyer beware, unfortunately,” said Budney. “You have to do a lot of legwork to cover your investment.”
Budney encourages farmers to take the serial number of equipment they are considering to a third-party dealer, and ask the dealer to check the model year in the official guide.
Farmers should also ensure the model year is written on the sales contract, said Budney.
But farm equipment boards in Manitoba and Saskatchewan interpret the model year in different ways.
Both governments require dealers or manufacturers to stamp the model year on or near the serial number plate.
But most don’t do it. That’s because the two provinces are “islands in North America” about the practice, said John Schmeiser, executive vice-president of the dealers’ association.
Date-stamping requires extra time, effort and cost and the laws are not enforced, he said. It would be simpler if everyone used the official guide.
“All (date-stamping) has done is create problems and misunderstandings,” said Schmeiser.
The Saskatchewan board is considering changing the law to make it more like Alberta’s, said Al Dwyer, registrar of Saskatchewan’s consumer protection branch.
He didn’t know how many dealers are following the date-stamping rule, nor did he know what a date stamp looks like.
But farmers haven’t been complaining to the board about model year disputes, he said.
“If it’s a problem, we’ll hear about it,” said Dwyer. “I don’t think it’s a major issue.”
Under Manitoba’s law, equipment built after Sept. 1 is considered to be the next year’s model, said Randy Ozunko, who administers the law.
With this in mind, manufacturers or dealers are supposed to stamp the model year on or near the serial number plate.
The law was recently amended, noted Ozunko, although the amendments have not yet been proclaimed.
Under the new law, manufacturers can determine the model year, but still must stamp the equipment. If they don’t, the Sept. 1 cut-off still applies.
Ozunko admitted there could be “inconsistencies,” like the situation experienced by Leonard and Cathy Arnal, under the revised law.
However, he said he has only received two complaints in the past two years about model year.
Most dealers will resolve trade-in problems arising from the grey area between the laws and the guide because it makes good business sense, said Keller.
“Maybe we avoid the issue by being honest.”
Model year isn’t the main factor in determining the value of a trade-in, Keller added. The condition of the equipment is far more important and the guide is simply a place to start negotiations.
