Buying Advice Advice on tractor.

bocephus · Mar 11, 2005

Hey guys,
excuse my lack of knowledge, but am needing some advice on a tractor purchase. I am looking for a JD in the 25-30hp range. was looking at something like the 790 or 4300 styles. basically will be mowing 3 - 5 acres, dragging trees, pulling stuff in a cart, and snow removal.
as for snow removal, i definately want to use a plow and not a front loader. my family owns a gas station and i will be taking the chore of plowing the lot when it snows. we dont get that much, averaging around 6 inch or so when we get snow.
I definately dont want to buy new. am looking to spend between 5,000$ and 10,000$. i would like to keep the cost down as much as possible, however i live my life by "buying one quality thing, one time."
my questions are:
what discontinued models should i be looking at in this range?
do they have gas motors in this range?
is it possible to mount a plow on tractor of this range?

thanks for any and all advice.

John

Mark4510 · Mar 11, 2005

Hello John.
First off....welcome to TBN. I think you will find that there are a lot of very experienced knowledgable folks here who can guide you on the best JD for you.

You might get a few more replies in the purchasing section of the JD forum but lets give it a shot here. Maybe, if appropriate, one of the moderators can move this.

First off I think JD is a great choice in an older tractor. Parts are available for a very reasonable price and JD really supports them.

In terms of price, JD's tend to hold thier value very well for a reason. Not sure what the market is like in your area but where I am good tractors in that price range were hard to find.

Gas models will be harder to find as they are older but they are out there. You might find a really good deal on one not quite so old.

I think you are on the right track to buy something of JD's quality although I cannot speak to a snow plow. I am sure that some of the folks that deal with snow will jump in here.

Hope this helps....
Mark

jcmseven · Mar 11, 2005

John,
I am by no means the expert on this topic, but I thought I would continue hopefully helpful discussion about your tractor. I think it will be difficult to find what you are looking for in the price range described. The 4300 tractors, unless they have A LOT of hours on them, will exceed your price range. The "90" series tractors may fit in a used format, but are very popular and durable: there just are not a lot around. Your best bet to me would be to look at the small frame 4000 series. Although they are a little lower on h.p. than your criteria, they have four wheel drive and this makes them perform quite well and as if they are larger. Our local dealer priced out a 4110 with a 60" deck to a friend of mine for 10,500, and it was new!! (Gear). This means a 4100 or so could be had for less. This would give you a better chance of getting the attachments you want for close to your goal price. There, of course, are some older 800 series machines out there, but they are even more rare. I do not know much about those machines, so I would have to defer to one of the other posters about that. Hopefully, this helps at least some.

John M.

RoyJackson · Mar 12, 2005

It's going to be tough to find a 4300 series or even a 790 MFWD tractor below $10K. You will have better luck finding a 790 though.

Or, you can look for the 790's predecessors, the 670 or 770. Either of those would likely be in your price range.

KennedyDiesel · Mar 12, 2005

I was discussing a buddies old Kubota B8200 the other day with the dealer. I seem to recall him saying that a guy could get into new 790 and FEL for about 14k so I'd have to guess $11k-12k for the tractor itself new...

bocephus · Mar 12, 2005

thanks guys. yeah i sorta figured there would be no way to get a newer 790 or bigger 4000 series for this price range. im still entertaining the idea of buying a fairly new 790 rig, but would like to really find tractors like it in an earlier model.

as for the plow, i also will add that the deal is, im buying the tractor. my father will be buying the plow to go on it. i will most likely be moving within the next couple years and will probably have a long driveway as well.

I was on the Deere site and couldnt find info on tractors like the 855 or 755... does anyone have anyplace i can look for this? i do see these tractors definately hold their value. see, im used to working on cars all day long, and seeing brand new 30,000$ cars depreciate to 15,000 in a couple or 3 years.

and sorry for posting this in the wrong forum... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

thanks much guys...

dmp437 · Mar 12, 2005

Also consider the John Deere 850, 950, and 1050 in your search. To get up to speed on the 850 & 950 check out the February 2005 issue of "Green Power" usually available at TSC stores. The 850 comes in at 22 HP and the 950 has 27 HP.

RoyJackson · Mar 12, 2005

"I was on the Deere site and couldn't find info on tractors like the 855 or 755"

Try Machine Finder for pricing info. You'll see quite a few 855's and lesser numbers of 755's and 955's on there. You can search for the x70 series (670, 770, 870, 970) as well.

The older Deere's sure do hold their value. It appears the maximum depreciation is the first three or four years, since sellers are competing against new machines (and better financing, warranties). After that, the prices seem to stay pretty steady.

Good luck on your search!

bocephus · Mar 17, 2005

thanks again guys, i have been eyeing up something like an 870 or 770.
another question, do most dealers use "machine finder" like site? or if i ride out to my local dealer is there still a chance of finding something that i want?

also, as for the 870 and 770, i have seen 770's with real small tires and 770s almost the size of an 870. can you beef up tires like this on a tractor?

thanks again from a newbie...