After much debate and web browsing, the Forester decided that an Argocat was the ideal vehicle for use in the woodland which we bought last year. He really fancied a tractor and I’d always wanted a little grey Fergie but the nature of the ground - pretty rough and steep in parts - meant an Argo seemed the best choice.
He then spent long hours tracking Ebay auctions and other sale sites, getting an idea of prices and different models. Living in Highland Scotland meant that the available options were limited. So when he spotted that there were two Argos for sale at Dingwall Auction Mart on 10 March, it was definitely worth a visit. We went up on the Friday to have a look round and were greeted with a vast array of tools, implements, machinery and fascinating, miscellaneous stuff. There were in fact three Argos: one looking very rusty and neglected, one which had the advantage of a trailer but had a 6 inch gash in the front of its hull, and the third which seemed OK - not pristine but definitely worth returning for and we registered with the office before leaving.
We used to be regulars at furniture auctions in the Central Belt - great fun and a very cheap day out if you manage to resist buying. But this was our first experience of a large scale open air event and so we planned to arrive early on the Saturday to get the measure of it before actually having to bid. The car park was already full when we arrived but we were directed to park in a field. The place was swarming with folk: it had a real sense of occasion and it was great for eavesdropping on varied conversations of farming, estate work and country life in general. At one stage there were three different auctions taking place in different areas of the yard. We followed the implement sale and resisted bidding on some Argo tracks which went for an amazing £10. The Forester complemented the buyer on his bargain - the guy was very pleased.
In the byres, small tools and equipment were being sold with prices often starting at £1. By contrast when the machinery sale started at 12 noon, there were cattle floats going for over £12K and many other items at similar prices. The auctioneer worked his way along the line of tractors, diggers, vans and cars, accompanied by one man carrying a labelled board with keys hanging on it and another who started each vehicle in turn before the bidding commenced. The Argos were packed in to a tight space against the shed together with a Scot-track Glencoe, a tracked dumper truck and several mules, all of which were attracting a lot of interest. We had agreed on two top prices: one including VAT and one without.. Before each lot, the auctioneer announced whether there was VAT payable on it - this presumably depended on whether the seller was VAT registered so couldn’t be predicted in advance.
The Forester positioned himself by the Argo early as we wanted a good 10 minutes before the auctioneer and his entourage reached that section. The auctioneer asked for £1500, £1000, £500 and someone started the bidding at that point. The Forester put in an answering bid with a head nod and kept going to £1500. At that point another bidder joined in but not long after, we’d got it and well below our top price.
It took a while to sink in - we weren’t really expecting to get one at the first attempt - but we were really pleased. The only snag was it didn’t have a trailer, and neither did we, but we knew several men who did it. We set off home to make a few phone calls.
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