Buying Advice buying my first real tractor

cheeselander · Dec 15, 2015

Ok so I have a JD 314 to get the lawn mowed, but I have gravel to spread, a driveway to grade, a garden to till and two acres to get the burdock under control. I'm looking at a used kubota being sold at auction soon. I've driven it, it has a fel, and a nice 72" rototiller, I'll have to buy a bushog later, but here's the rub...Its a GL260 grandel, and that was sold in Japan. Am I going to have parts issues or not? Internet wisdom says no, but I've talked to two dealers and the local one has never heard of it, and one on the west coast identified it as gray market, and therefore suspect. I've already read plenty about the gray market ban, but if I can't get parts, sooner or later I'm gonna be unhappy. I also wonder this: the tractor is rated 28 hp and 25 hp at the pto, will it run a 72" tiller?....Just because it comes with the tractor doesn't mean it ever ran with the tractor, right? I can't even figure out the equivalent model in the US market, so I'm all ears..Anybody that has wisdom on where the bidding should stop, I will take your advice. It has about 900 hrs, and its missing the nose cone, all else seems good, but that will need to be replaced for lights...I'm thinking anything around 5 K would be a good deal, unless parts will be a problem, then it doesn't matter what the price is. :confused2: any help would be appreciated..

Citydude · Dec 15, 2015

cheeselander said:
Ok so I have a JD 314 to get the lawn mowed, but I have gravel to spread, a driveway to grade, a garden to till and two acres to get the burdock under control. I'm looking at a used kubota being sold at auction soon. I've driven it, it has a fel, and a nice 72" rototiller, I'll have to buy a bushog later, but here's the rub...Its a GL260 grandel, and that was sold in Japan. Am I going to have parts issues or not? Internet wisdom says no, but I've talked to two dealers and the local one has never heard of it, and one on the west coast identified it as gray market, and therefore suspect. I've already read plenty about the gray market ban, but if I can't get parts, sooner or later I'm gonna be unhappy. I also wonder this: the tractor is rated 28 hp and 25 hp at the pto, will it run a 72" tiller?....Just because it comes with the tractor doesn't mean it ever ran with the tractor, right? I can't even figure out the equivalent model in the US market, so I'm all ears..Anybody that has wisdom on where the bidding should stop, I will take your advice. It has about 900 hrs, and its missing the nose cone, all else seems good, but that will need to be replaced for lights...I'm thinking anything around 5 K would be a good deal, unless parts will be a problem, then it doesn't matter what the price is. :confused2: any help would be appreciated..

900 hour gray market tractor. Personally, I'd pass on that one.

motownbrowne · Dec 16, 2015

Cheeselander (love the name) welcome aboard. I'm right down the road from you about 5 miles east of River Falls. We sell vegetables to Shady Grove in Beldenville. Personally, I'd pass on that Kubota. First off, the gray market thing is kind of a deal killer. If the local dealer, I assume Value in Ellsworth hasn't heard of it, that's a bad sign as far as parts are concerned. And being that this tractor is between 40-46 years old, I'd think parts are gonna be needed sooner or later. Secondly, it's 2wd, which is gonna be less than ideal with a loader. Sure, you can make it work, but a 4wd is gonna make you much much happier. Lastly, the tiller is gonna be on the large side for that much HP. I suppose that you can make multiple passes if need be, but I'm thinking that a 60" model is more of the right size for that much HP. If it were hydrostatic you'd have a little more forgiveness because you could go slower than with a gear machine, but I don't think the l260 had a hydro option.

What's your maximum budget? Do you want to pay cash, or would you look at financing? Unfortunately, tractors don't depreciate like cars/trucks. Most of the used low hour machines with names like Kubota and Deere on them go for pretty close to their selling price, as crazy as that seems. Of course, deals can be had, but they're the exception not the rule. Depending on your budget, though there's always options. If you're looking to keep it around $5k, there's old American iron to be had. Old Fords or internationals can be bought with a loader, live power, power steering for around that price. Of course, they'll also have random oil leaks, and will require tinkering. On the other end of the situation, you can sign on the dotted line and bring home a really sweet new Kubota that'll start every time, and do everything you're looking for. In the middle, 8-12 grand will buy something modern and relatively nice (depending on what size you want) with 4wd, loader and hydrostatic transmission. Unfortunately, there's usually less financing available and there's the potential of ending up with someone else's abused machine. Here's just one example, though.

KUBOTA L2800 COMPACT TRACTOR W/ LOADER

I don't think it's a particularly good deal, just giving an example.

ultrarunner · Dec 16, 2015

The people that go grey market usually only do so because they can buy it right and not adverse to doing their own repairs/modifications/adaptations...

4wd has made the small tractor market... in my opinion.

I have done a ton of work with my BX23 that I bought new in 2004... small but very capable and a back saver.

oosik · Dec 16, 2015

I, also, would pass on the tractor. As has been said - being that old & grey market WILL make parts difficult to obtain. Plus without 4WD most of the tasks you mention will be much more difficult. IE - you will spend a lot of time getting the tractor out of tough situations and will find that certain jobs, using FEL, may not be so easy.

You may also find that any dealer service could be next to impossible to obtain because of its grey market status and difficulty obtaining parts.

cheeselander · Dec 16, 2015

Thanks guys for all the great advice, the jury sounds unanimous. I am going to look again with a friend who knows tractors better than I, and for the record it is 4WD. Do you all feel the same about other Japanese tractors that would be equally old? Ive seen a Yanmar, and a Bolens (iskei i beleive) that are in the same age range of 40 years, with lots of attachments, 4WD, FEL bushogs, tillers etc. for around 10K. At least that's what they are asking, who knows what they are getting. At least these machines show up in a model search, but it sounds like most of you would look for something newer, and probably spend more? Thanks again for any replies...

cheeselander · Dec 16, 2015

Thanks Motown, I'm on the other side of the Rush in beautiful El Paso, and the Shady Grove is my go to when I owe someone a nice dinner....We're gonna give the GL another look tonight with a guy that knows tractors, and the dealer in Hastings is supposed to be researching parts. It is 4wd, but after all the other posts, I'm more bear than bull with this one. There are two other machines of equal age with lots of goodies one a bolens and one a Yanmar for around 10K. I'm just wondering about the wisdom of buying old. It does seem that no one is scared of buying even older Fords, Internationals, JD's etc. I guess I'm going to have to be sure about the parts stream no matter what I buy, unless I stay under twenty years...

varmint · Dec 16, 2015

It's on Tractorhouse... doesn't look too exotic, just like an 80's Kubota B series. Why not bid low, and maybe you'll get lucky (or, unlucky, if parts prove to be unavailable). The original grille and headlights would be better replaced with some LED lighting on the ROPS and whatever you can cobble for a front screen. For $500 you have a fun project. For $5000, it ain't worth it. Kubota's website specifically states that importation of these gray market tractors is illegal, so getting parts might prove next to impossible, unless you have connections with Osaka. Filters and such should be available, and the manuals are as well...

CCWKen · Dec 16, 2015

As already mentioned, a grey market tractor COULD pose a problem for parts. Kubota and it's dealers will not help you find parts even though they may have the parts in stock and know the part number. Kubota has instructed it's dealers not to deal with the tractors. It will be up to YOU to provide a part number of the equivalent USA model and don't mention that it is a grey market tractor. If they ask, give them the USA equivalent model. And don't give the serial number!

It's been illegal to import Kubota grey market tractors to the US since 1997 so any that are in the country now are at least that old. As with any old tractor, getting parts is a challenge. Common and universal parts are usually available but hard-parts are more difficult to obtain. And no-doubt the tractors may be due for hard parts.

It's best to pass on the GM tractors for that reason alone.

motownbrowne · Dec 16, 2015

Sorry for assuming it's a 2wd, I looked up l260 instead of gl. On the other hand, if the tiller is in good shape and is a standard 3 point/540 PTO model, that's worth a grand. So, if you could get the whole package for say 4000, you'd only have 3000 into a 4wd Kubota with a loader. Not too bad.

The used tractor game is tough. I have never personally bought a new vehicle or any piece of equipment. Not even a chainsaw. But when we needed a new tractor, it seemed like the only choice. Now everyone's situation is a little different, but in our case, all of the used options we were looking at (35-50 hp 4wd with FEL) were only 20% discounted or had tons of hours. Also, they all had r4 industrial tires instead of the ag tires we needed. So, we bought a new machine for not much more money than a nice used one. We got it set up how we needed (your needs may not be as specific) and it came with a warranty. I also have personal knowledge that it's never been abused. And, I know that in ten years it'll be worth almost what I paid for it if I should need to sell it.

Also, it should be mentioned that if you are considering newer or new tractors, the Korean brands are very well regarded (to the point that New Holland and Bobcat sold Korean tractors with their name on them). LS, Kioti, and TYM all make good machines with impressive warranties that usually cost around 20% less than an equivalent Kubota or Deere. Finding a dealer might not be as easy, but it's still an option.

Also, I'm going to PM you my phone number. Let me know if you can retrieve it. If there's anything I can do to help in your search or if you want to stop by and talk tractors, just let me know.