I'm looking at a nice 283, two owner 2200 actual hours. I would have already bought it but the serial number says Brazilian production and not English. Will this be an issue in the future? Are parts interchangeable? Equilivant build quality.? I used Google but got conflicting answers. Thanks
JWR
Elite Member
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I bought a 2010 MF 2660 low profile open station brand new in early 2011 which was made in Brazil. I had some major "infant mortality" issues which my US dealers eventually got fixed. After that it has been a great tractor with no problems (other than last year it had minor smoking issues and I had the valve seals replaced. That was on a good, otherwise solid, Perkins diesel made in the UK so has nothing to do with Brazil.) I assume your 283 has a Perkins 4 cyl diesel and none are a lot better.
My impression is that AGCO/Massey had some sort of quality control issue down there, mainly with defects or adjustments getting out of the factory that should never have left a factory. Put a nasty and undeserved load on dealers and warrantee "repairs" being paid for by Massey. I have not heard whether they kept the Brazil factory going or not.
Parts, design, compatibility, interchange, build quality, robust strength etc. are all every bit as good as machines made in Europe or the US for that matter. All good. In fact, by considering a tractor with 2200 hours on it, you know darn well the bugs that came out of the Brazilian factory and had to be fixed have been fixed long ago. Better than it would have been with 50 hours on it for sure other than wear.
All that said, any tractor with 2200 hrs on it inherently has some wear and tear. That would be true of any you buy no matter where they were made. The condition now will be mainly based on how well it was taken care of/maintained. Worry about those things, not that it was made in Brazil.
Thanks. Ha, I have a 150 with 5,300 hours and a 165 with who knows how many hours...a bunch. I owned a French built 130 years ago and the general consensus was to get rid of it. 2,200 hours is just broken in. Tractor is two owner with no leaks. So the engine was assembled in the UK then the tractor built/assembled in Brazil? I was concerned that the parts manufactured in Brazil may be inferior quality. I'm also looking at another 150 with 4200 hours at my neighbors. He's had it and maintained it for 25 years. No multipower. Thanks for the reply
cdaigle430
Veteran Member
I visited the plant in Canoas Brazil-it was a state of the art plant built by South Brazilians. Alot of the model tractors are made in kit form and sold to be assembled elsewhere.
There are several other MF plants in Brazil I cant vouch for.
Canoas
There are several other MF plants in Brazil I cant vouch for.
Canoas
RayIN
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Many parts are interchangeable. MF has a habit of designing some common parts for universal use among models.