Meet Tom Ray — The Honest Dealer
Hi, I'm Tom Ray.
My journey in agriculture started back in 2006, when I set up my own agricultural contracting business. For nearly ten years I was out in tractors and machinery every single day — long days, all weathers, all seasons. That's where I learned what farmers and contractors actually need from a machine, because I was relying on mine to earn a living just the same as you are.
There's a difference between someone who sells machinery and someone who has spent ten years working it. When I tell you a tractor will do a job, it's because I've done that job.
Stepping away, and coming back
After the contracting years I stepped away from the industry for a while. I thought that was that.
It wasn't. I found myself drawn back to it — reading the trade adverts, going to sales, keeping an eye on what was making money and what wasn't. Just before COVID, I bought and sold my first few machines almost as an experiment, to see whether I could still spot a good one.
Turns out I could. What started as a small venture on the side has grown into Tom Ray Tractors & Plant Machinery.
Finding what we're actually good at
Along the way we expanded into machinery hire, and we still hire out a small, carefully chosen selection today.
But growing a business teaches you as much about what to stop doing as what to start. I realised our real passion — and our real expertise — is in sourcing, preparing and selling quality used machinery. Not spreading ourselves across a dozen services and doing all of them at seventy per cent.
Narrowing the focus means every customer gets the time, the attention and the honest advice they deserve. I'd rather sell fewer machines properly than more machines badly.
Why I do it differently
The business has grown for one reason, and it isn't clever marketing.
I think buyers deserve honest descriptions, clear photographs, detailed walk-round videos and a straightforward assessment of every machine. That's it. That's the whole strategy.
If there's a fault, I'll tell you. If something needs attention, I'll say so. If the air-con's packed up or there's a weep off a ram, you'll hear it from me before you part with a penny — not discover it yourself on a wet Tuesday three weeks later.
I'd far rather answer the difficult questions before a sale than deal with a disappointed customer afterwards. A machine sold on a half-truth might make me money once. A customer who trusts me comes back for the next one, and sends his neighbour.
That's where "The Honest Dealer" came from. I didn't invent it as a slogan — enough people said it to me that it stuck.
The part people don't see
Running a machinery business isn't as straightforward as it might look from the outside.
Behind every machine sitting in the yard there's a lot of hard work, a lot of investment and a lot of responsibility. There's the buying decision, the money tied up, the preparation, the bits that turn out to need more doing than you thought. Some weeks it tests you.
But I genuinely enjoy it. I enjoy finding a good machine, getting it properly ready, and matching it to the right customer — someone who's going to get years of work out of it. That never gets old.
What you get from me
Whether you're buying your first tractor, adding to an existing fleet, or looking to sell quality machinery on, you'll get the same honest, straightforward service from start to finish:
- A truthful description — the good and the bad, written down before you ask
- Clear photographs of the actual machine, not a stock image
- A detailed walk-round video, so you can inspect it from your own kitchen table
- A straight answer to any question you put to me
- Finance available to spread the cost, subject to status
- Delivery arranged anywhere in the UK
No pressure and no sales patter. When you ring, you'll get me.
The Honest Dealer — because trust is worth more than any sale
If you'd rather buy machinery from a person than a pitch, you know where I am.
- See what's in stock: tomraytractorsales.co.uk/search
- Give me a ring: 07881 563571
- Email: tom-ray@hotmail.co.uk
- Where we are: West Dorset, between Bridport and Axminster — selling nationwide
Tom Ray — The Honest Dealer