Let me throw an example...you decide....look at FB for cubs,they're all over the East coast at what I think are reasonable prices (most of the time) but in Mi. there are far less and it seems most guys think they're gold plated and pictures never show the "real" condition...I would only advise someone to look up auction sold prices....ask your ins. agent what they would cover it for that ought to start something....
Gary - I lived in CT (on the east coast) for 14 years. Lots of people there thought their Cubs were made of gold (not plated), and lots of people never sold them (at least to me). I agree there seem to be alot of Cubs in many of the east coast states, but I also had the impression that there were alot more of them in MI, IL, WI and prices in these 3 states were alot less than the east coast. How did I get this impression? Well, I bought alot of cubs in CT for asking prices that were higher than what I saw posted in MI, IL and WI (mostly looking at Craig's List, but some dealer sites too).
And you're right about pictures. Fresh paint makes things look really good in pictures - but when you see it for real with brush marks, well the story changes.
And the other thing is, I found most sellers hardly knew anything about their Cubs. Yup, the clutch makes a little noise but seems to work fine. And don't move that hydro lever to much or she'll jump away from you. That hole in the deck doesn't effect the way it cuts grass. The lights don't work? Geez, I never used them and didn't know. The engine only smokes if the tractor isn't moving. I don't know what model it is, but the 3 numbers on the side say 149.
I still think if we discussed what Cubs might be worth we could go along way towards helping people, especially those that don't really know anything about their Cubs. We don't have to discuss "exact" prices, just price ranges. I really hate to see that guy with an Original sell it for $300 not knowing since it had an M&W 9-speed option that it was probably worth somewhere between $3k-$10k.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.