Buying Advice Buying first CUT

[Cornfed8]

I'm a newbie, but I've enjoyed reading all of your posts for quite a long time. I've wanted a CUT for quite sometime and now I'm finally able to purchase one, but I could use some opinions.

My needs:
- road maintenance on a 400ft. gravel road with 200ft being fairly step hill. Potholes and washout are bad and it's traveled on by myself and 9 other neighbors multiple times a day, this is my primary need
- re-landscaping my yard 1 acre yard (minor work for a CUT)
- snow plowing, also a primary need
- clearing brush and downed logs on 30 acres of my in laws property and preparing some hunting areas
- some finish mowing possible, but not necessary

I've looked at a number of machines (JD, Kubota, Bobcat, etc.) and narrowed it down to three I like in my area:
2003 JD 4410 - 850hrs. farm use, 430 loader and 72" belly mower, R4 tires, it's in a bit rougher shape than the others I've looked at with a leaky front axle seal and bent hydraulic lines for the loader, private sale at $15k
2004 JD 4210 - 1200hrs residential use, 420 loader and 72" belly mower, R4 Tires, this thing is immaculate and the owner kept phenomenal notes and care of the machine, dealer sale at $13.5k tax included
2014 Case IH Farmall 30c - 50hrs. residential use bank repo, comes with Farm King Y660 and Case 72" rear finish mower, Turf tires, no loader or belly mower, $13.9k tax included

I was hoping to keep my purchase under $15k so the Case is certainly going to be a stretch. I'll probably sell off the snowblower and the finish mower to get some money for the loader which is going to run around $5.5k. However, I can't find any reviews on the Case. I also thought about purchasing the 30c and trying to sell it to gain a few $$s, but that's a hassle. I plan on keeping whatever I buy for years to come and these tractors will probably see no more than 100-150hrs. of use annually once I get the road in shape. Thoughts???

Thank you!

 

[davesl708]

Hi. Welcome. Good luck with your choice. A lot of good choices out there. Others on here may know more about your specific choices.

 

[Cornfed8]

Thank you! This is a great website/forum.

Yes, there are a bunch of options out there and I've tried out quite a few. I narrowed it down but now I'm stuck between these three. I need to make a decision relatively soon so I can plow whenever we get our next snowfall. BTW, all three are hydrostatics.

 

[jaydee325]

2004 JD 4210 - 1200hrs residential use, 420 loader and 72" belly mower, R4 Tires, this thing is immaculate and the owner kept phenomenal notes and care of the machine, dealer sale at $13.5k tax included

This one is in budget. 1200 hours is not a concern for me considering the apparent care the previous owner has given it. This one would be at the top of my list for those listed. Only you know if this tractor has the capabilities you need.

 

[Cornfed8]

Thank you for your response! I think I'm leaning towards a 4210 but it's hard to pass up a bigger 50 hour machine. I just don't know much about the Case 30c. I did learn today that I can put a LS LL3105 loader (much cheaper than the Case loader) on the Case and after selling off the other attachments, I'll be within my budget. Again, my knowledge of these Case tractors is so limited so I don't know if it's worth it.

 

[varmint]

I don't know much about the three you've narrowed down to, but a larger, lower hour machine seems logical for your uses, and if you are putting a loader on it, you should be able to set it up SSQA, for a front plow and maybe a grapple or pallet forks. I presume all are 4WD? It's hard to find info on the 30C, likely because not a lot of them were sold? Most likely the dead-beat owner couldn't have done much harm to it in 50 hours, so you should be getting an almost new tractor. I'd install at least one pair of remotes, too, for plow angling or a grapple.

 

[GManBart]

Thank you for your response! I think I'm leaning towards a 4210 but it's hard to pass up a bigger 50 hour machine. I just don't know much about the Case 30c. I did learn today that I can put a LS LL3105 loader (much cheaper than the Case loader) on the Case and after selling off the other attachments, I'll be within my budget. Again, my knowledge of these Case tractors is so limited so I don't know if it's worth it.

Just FYI, but that Case isn't made by Case, it's made by LS. It's an LS XR3032 with red paint and Case decals....the only differences are cosmetic. LS uses their own loader, and Case/NH use one they source themselves.

As far as the price goes, it doesn't look that good to me. You can buy a brand new XR3032H with loader for $19,500 (around here...prices do vary slightly with locale) before taxes.

The Case/LS has the edge in weight, PTO power, hydraulic pump flow, and a huge FEL advantage (twice the weight, an extra 4-5"). There really isn't much comparison between the two and the Deere won't come with a warranty.

 

[kcflhrc]

If you are open to a new tractor John Deere has 0% financing, and yes it is a real 0% financing. I bought my 3032E, loader, blade and brush hog for $19k delivered. Plus it has a 2 year warranty. If you don't want to inherit someone else's problems it may be a good option. I cant imagine not having a loader, I use that thing for all kinds of stuff.

 

[Cornfed8]

I've wrestled with the price too, especially compared to a new machine. With the two attachments it's coming with, I'm hoping to sell them off and get an extra $3k at least which, in my mind, brings me down to paying $11k for the tractor. That doesn't seem so bad to me.

That being said, I found a XR3037 to sit on a couple days ago and found that I didn't feel that comfortable. I'm hoping after I drive the Case it will feel more comfortable. If not, looks like I'll get the 4210.

As far as the 3032e, I really hated that it didn't have many options. I looked at that one for a while but it just didn't have the appeal to me. After being on the 4210, I'm pretty confident I'd be getting someone's well cared for machine and not their mess.

 

[buickanddeere]

Go up at least one size larger than what you think you need.

 

[GManBart]

I've wrestled with the price too, especially compared to a new machine. With the two attachments it's coming with, I'm hoping to sell them off and get an extra $3k at least which, in my mind, brings me down to paying $11k for the tractor. That doesn't seem so bad to me.

I don't think you'll get $3K for the implements. That snow thrower runs around $2,200 new. The RFM is likely a house brand made for the dealer by any one of several implement companies...they slap various brand stickers on them but probably $2K or less new. You're probably looking at something like $1K for each (I just sold a 90" Sitrex RFM for $1300 in excellent condition...roughly a $3K mower new). Your best price for the thrower would be now...before the snow starts. The best price for the mower will be in early Spring.

 

[vacman]

2004 JD 4210 - 1200hrs residential use, 420 loader and 72" belly mower, R4 Tires, this thing is immaculate and the owner kept phenomenal notes and care of the machine, dealer sale at $13.5k tax included

I second the opinion that this seems to be the best value. Well cared for and already has the loader and mower so it's ready to go. That Case machine might be a good tractor, but when you consider the hoops you are going to jump through to selling some implements and buying/installing a FEL just to get it where you want it, it becomes less desirable to me.

Good luck in your purchase.

John

 

[paulfun9]

I tend to agree with the others who think you should buy one ready to work and not have to jump threw hoops selling attachments to finance the loader. Myself personally I would keep looking as I haven't been impressed with JD lately as too many people I know have had problems with them.

 

[Cornfed8]

The RFM is likely a house brand made for the dealer by any one of several implement companies...they slap various brand stickers on them but probably $2K or less new.

The RFM is actually the Case 72" (the MW172S I believe) mower which may bring more appeal upon sale as both the RFM and the Farm King Y660 have less than 50 hours on them. Both were new units with the tractor. We'll see. I fear you're probably right though that I may get less than I hope for the attachments. I get my first view of the Case 30C and attachments on Monday or Tuesday. If it's not all it's described as, I'll go take another look at the 4210. Otherwise, I may just sit a be patient for a bit as the weather continues to cooperate. If I get something, I'll post pictures.

Here's the pictures of the Case I was sent from the seller. It's sitting in a warehouse in Minnesota:

 

[GManBart]

The RFM is actually the Case 72" (the MW172S I believe) mower which may bring more appeal upon sale as both the RFM and the Farm King Y660 have less than 50 hours on them. Both were new units with the tractor. We'll see. I fear you're probably right though that I may get less than I hope for the attachments. I get my first view of the Case 30C and attachments on Monday or Tuesday. If it's not all it's described as, I'll go take another look at the 4210. Otherwise, I may just sit a be patient for a bit as the weather continues to cooperate. If I get something, I'll post pictures.

Here's the pictures of the Case I was sent from the seller. It's sitting in a warehouse in Minnesota:
View attachment 449398View attachment 449399View attachment 449400

Generally speaking, RFMs that are labelled with brands like Case, NH, LS, Kioti, etc, are made by companies that supply identical units to lots of companies. Companies like Pittsburgh/Taylor specialize in this. I've seen the same RFM on the same trailer being delivered....some had blue paint and some had orange paint....they were getting LS and Kioti stickers. They're decent mowers, but don't demand premium prices. I did a quick Google search and only found one example of that mower for sale which means they aren't common.

If it was from one of the big implement companies like Land Pride, Woods, Sicma, Caroni, etc, you might get a few more bucks for it.

Similarly, with snow throwers you're looking for brands like MK Martin, Lorenz, Erskine, Pronovost, Lucknow, and Normand to command a premium.

That's not to say the RFM and snow thrower with the Case are bad, it's just they aren't as likely to get you the extra $ when you go to sell them.

Regardless of all that, the tractor certainly looks clean, so that's a good start. Since it doesn't have a loader many of the most common problems with used CUTs aren't likely a concern (front axle issues from improper FEL use). It would be pretty hard to do much damage to that machine with just an RFM and a snow thrower, so I'd put that down in the plus column.

 

[Cornfed8]

Sorry, I was wrong, it is the RR72. The other one is the belly mower for this unit. Either way, I see your point.

 

[Cornfed8]

I was hoping to see the Case on Monday but the seller couldn't get a key until today. With my schedule this week, I won't be able to see the tractor until next week. In my meantime, I did stop by a trusted JD dealership and talked with the owner a bit. He's got a mint 955 (1000hrs, loader, MMM, snow blade) at around $12k, a 4600 (1200 hrs, loader and MMM) at around $16k, and a 2720 (unsure on the hours, loader and MMM) all coming in this week. Each of these tractors are very interesting to me. The 4600 is probably overkill, the 955 is old but a good size for my needs, and the 2720 I don't know much about. Then there's also that 4210 at another JD dealer that I can't get out of my head. I'm not going to purchase anything until I see the Case, but I'm glad to have some options. I think next week will finally be the week I purchase something!

 

[Cornfed8]

Update:
I contacted the seller with the Case on Monday to take a look at the machine and have yet to hear back from him. Something seems fishy about that.

I went back and looked at the JD 4210 again, it's in great shape but I'm starting to question it's ability to handle the gravel work on my hill. So many forum posts talk about it being underpowered. What are guys doing with these things that they don't have enough power to handle?

Another dealer says he has a JD 4400 coming in this week that's a 1 owner with 1000 hours. I'll see what that's all about.

I'm starting to think I should go back to that JD 4410 owner that had the rougher farm use and offer $14.5k. Outside of a leaky left front axle seal and bent hydraulic lines on the loader, it was a good machine with 850 hours on it. That 430 loader sure does raise up in the air higher than the 420 and seems quite a bit stronger. Plus I'm sure the higher powered engine will be enough to power a tractor of its size. It's just not in the condition the 4210 is even though it has less hours.

Thoughts?

 

[kcflhrc]

For me, first impressions are everything. If a used vehicle looks good then it has probably been taken care of. If it looks bad at first sight I will politely say no and move on. A leaky axle seal and bent hydraulic lines would be red flags to me that the machine has not been taken care of. If it were me selling that tractor I would have fixed those issues and cleaned the machine up before selling.

 

[varmint]

I agree with kcflhrc, and wonder why the seller wouldn't take care of obvious flaws before trying to sell his machine?? The 4210 should do what you want, just slower than the more powerful ones, nothing you don't know, probably. If you are the kind of owner who takes care of his equipment, then you are better off starting with something clean, IMHO.