Ask Pete: What's an International Harvester 7488 Tractor Worth?

MP Twitter follower:Hey Pete, what are IHC 7488 tractors worth?

Great question. Only 16 ever made. I’ve only seen 4 sold during my 32+ years tracking auction sale prices daily all over North America. The answer to the question is…7488’s are worth more and more $$ as the years have rolled by. See for yourself - auction price report from our www.MachineryPete.com web site:

AUCTION PRICES ON IHC 7488 TRACTORS

Here’s Machinery Pete Youtube video of the record high price selling 7488 on November 10, 2018 Mecum Gone Farmin’ collector auction in Davenport, IA…selling for $120,750:

Amazingly, one of the other 16 IHC 7488’s ever made sold at auction that same day, November 10, 2018, but on a different sale in a different state. It was a 1985 model with 5439 hours in original condition and sold for $100,000 on a Luverne, MN farm sale by our good friends at Wieman Land & Auction. Here’s a picture of it:

Any time I get talking about IHC 7488’s, I also of course think 7288’s. And that makes me think of a Machinery Pete Youtube video I posted back in October 2016 from Galva, IL of the famous ALL THINGS IHC collection of Jerry and Connie Kuster who happen to own the 1st 7288, 3588 and 1568 tractors made by IHC. Here’s that video…such a special treat to do that walk & talk with Jerry through their amazing IHC collection:

And as long as we’re talking IHC 7488’s and 7288’s here, we may as well loop the even more rare IHC 7388, 7588 and 7788 models, only 2 made of each. Here’s Machinery Pete Youtube video many of you will remember from an August 16, 2017 farm auction by Fraser Auction of former IHC dealer Alan McIntosh in Ochre River, Manitoba where SN# 501 IHC 7788 with only 2517 actual original hours sold for $140,632 (U.S) and the 1st 7388 made, with just 1909 original actual hours, sold for $95,075 (U.S):

And then there’s the 7588…

What a story here. Paul Harvey type “Rest of the Story”. Watching the Machinery Pete Youtube video of the 1st IHC 7788 and 1st 7388 selling on the 8/16/17 Ochre River, MB farm auction was my good friend Dan Sullivan with Sullivan Auctioneers out of Hamilton, IL (www.sullivanauctioneers.com). Dan was in Iowa visiting a farmer that day. Happened to look over yonder along the guy’s fence row…and what did he see?

1 of only 2 IHC 7588’s ever made. The 1st one made.

Sullivan Auctioneers had that farmer’s auction 4 months later, on December 15, 2017 in Moravia, IA. Do you recall what the IHC 7588 from the fence row sold for?

$151,000.

Here’s link to the Machinery Pete blog I posted that day after the auction wrapped up:

So Thanks Twitterverse for the “Hey Pete, what’s an IHC 7488 tractor worth?” question today. Stirred up lots of Happy Big Red Rare 4WD Memories :slight_smile:

View Machinery Pete Auction Prices here, FREE, updated daily: www.MachineryPete.com/auction_results

Pete
Machinery Pete

I would love to have one of each of those tractors