How to Check the Numbers on a John Deere Gator to See if It Is Stolen

Texas leads all other states in farm and construction equipment thefts.
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Construction and farm equipment, like the John Deere XUV Gator, is often referred to as "off-road" or "yellow iron" equipment. And as with any farm or construction equipment, Gators are susceptible to theft because they only can be identified by part identification numbers (PINs) and can't be titled by the department of motor vehicles. Interestingly enough, the National Equipment Register (NER), reports that 40% of all farm and construction equipment theft occurs in only five states: Texas, California, Florida, Missouri and South Carolina. And since no one wants to end up being the owner of stolen equipment, tracking farm and construction equipment like John Deere Gators is possible and often necessary.

Run an IRONcheck search powered by the NER. The search will verify that the serial number actually matches back to the model, make and year submitted. Additionally, the search provides a report of the equipment's history, which contains any theft reports in the NER database.

At the time of publication, an IRONcheck basic search, which provides information on any thefts, was $10. An expedited theft request, typically provided back within an hour Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. EDT, is $20. A full search, which includes model, make, and year verification, theft searches, UCC filings, insurance claims, auction records and high/low price averages, is $60.

Contact your local authorities. They can search their databases to determine if a PIN has come up as stolen based on police reports filed or from previously seized farm equipment.

Read More: How to Verify There Are No Liens on Used Manufacturing Equipment

Read the NER theft alerts regularly. Go to the NER webage, and scroll down to the bottom of the page. Read all theft alerts, organized in regional categories. The alerts contain pictures, PINs, make and model and contact information for local authorities.

Warnings

  • While it's not a requirement to register farm or construction equipment, including your Gator, many insurance companies do provide deductible waivers, premium discounts and other considerations for registering the equipment.

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