Buying Advice Help me spend money on a tractor

[TheMan419]

I currently have a NH Boomer 24. It is starting to nickel and dime me on repairs. I am not handy so repairs done by dealer. It is currently in the shop needing $2600 in repairs. That is shortly after $1400 in repairs. Ranges from hydraulic hoses worn out to the shaft of the cooling fan cracking. We have a leak on the seal around the HST and they say the need to split the tractor to fix that.

They will give me $8K on the trade. A new Workmaster 40 is like $31K. The WM 35 is only $1500 cheaper.

The 24-horse of the boomer is a bit underpowered for our use, which I think might be causing some of the repair bills. They will give me $8K for a trade. If I want to trade it in at another dealer I would need to pay the $2600 in repairs.

I am not wedded to blue. We have a good Kubota dealer nearby. We have a JD dealer as well, but lord Green is expensive.

Basically, we are an 18-acre horse farm. Tasks mainly include moving manure, bush hog, and plowing snow with the bucket (land of lake effect). We use small squares so the way the tractor gets used for moving hay is by throwing some small squares onto the bucket and driving from point A to B.

The Boomer 24 has a pin on bucket. A Quick Attach bucket would be nice.

Any thoughts on what Kubota, Deere, or NH would be a good match?

Thanks in advance for thoughts.

 

[scootr]

For sure go up 10-15 hp and stick with the HST drive for your use.
I don't see why you would have to make repairs to sell to other dealers and not the one where it is at?
I prefer orange.

 

[WinterDeere]

So, the dealer willing to give you $8k only sells NH? Any idea what the Kubota or Deere dealers might give you on the same machine, in current condition?

There are countless opinions and YouTube videos on Al Gore's Internet, arguing "green vs. orange", but have you noticed how few arguments about which CUT is best include blue or red? While there are many other good tractors out there, these two brands get the best resale, usually have very good dealer support, and continuous parts availability (both new and used) as the machine ages. The importance of these factors may vary with your age, expected duration of ownership, and how much you value up-front cost versus other factors.

 

[WM75Guy]

The prices for the WM35 and WM40 are in line for prices around me. The trade-in value also sounds fair to me. If you are happy with the dealer, you might consider the WM25, not the 25S, at around 21K - 23K. While the same engine and HP as your Boomer 24, it does weigh about 700 pounds more, has 400 pounds more 3PT lift capacity, and has SSQA. That may have some advantage as far as your tasks are concerned. Plus you stay out of DPF emissions troubles. Kubota and JD make good equipment, so it doesn't hurt to shop around. Unless you get the Boomer 24 repaired, they probably will low ball you on a trade, if they even offer one.

 

[rScotty]

20 years on our Kubota. Repairs so far are a throttle cable ($60) and a battery. I don't see why it won't go another 20. Everything on it works like new - which is to say no different from how it has always run. It is neither abused nor babied. Just normal work.

But frankly I would expect no less from any tractor - including the larger NH Boomers.

I say "larger" because I hear you about a larger tractor not needing to work as hard. That makes sense to me if for no other rason than larger tractors can handle weight more easily.

I'm not so sure that is mostly about HP, though. Part of being larger is that larger tractors tend to have a strurdy separate frame that supports the loader. Having that separate loader frame removes the loader stresses from being transmitted through the body of the engine, drive train, and transmission.

Another advantage of size is larger tractors have more gearing. The small Boomer has a 2 range HST, where our larger Kubota is a 3 range HST+ with high and low for each range. A total of six speeds to choose from means it can always find a comfortable speed where it isn't straining. Quieter, too.

Yes, the SSQA for the loader bucket is just as handy as you think it will be. Amazing how nice that makes it to change to the right bucket for different chores. Seats and sitting position are also more comfortable on larger tractors. That's something I never thought about until experiencing it.
rScotty

 

[WinterDeere]

Yes, the SSQA for the loader bucket is just as handy as you think it will be. Amazing how nice that makes it to change to the right bucket for different chores

Good post, rScotty. I'd extend that to say any quick-attach bucket system is going to be superior to a pinned bucket. In this day and age, I wouldn't even bother looking at new tractors with pinned buckets. We can argue JDQA vs. SSQA, both have their pros and cons, and their champions and detractors. But a removable bucket is key to being able to quickly change implements, or even to just quickly drop the bucket for zooming around the yard with a spreader or aerator, without removing the whole loader.

Seats and sitting position are also more comfortable on larger tractors. That's something I never thought about until experiencing it.

Interesting. I'm sure you experienced this, no reason to doubt it, but I wonder if this is more a "case by case" issue. I tested Deere 2-series vs. Deere 3-series, and there's no doubt that the 2-series has better ergonomics and visibility, despite being the smaller of the two. I bought the 3-series, because I wanted the extra lift capacity for moving logs, but I was really wishing it felt and drove as nice as the 2-series.

 

[Racenut]

So they're saying your tractor is worth $10,600 in running condition. That seems low. Quick look of used Boomer 24's with loaders and they are 15-17K Of course yours might have a lot more hours and general wear and tear, I don't know. But dealer could just be trying to take advantage of having a captive tractor...

 

[Yander]

Good post, rScotty. I'd extend that to say any quick-attach bucket system is going to be superior to a pinned bucket. In this day and age, I wouldn't even bother looking at new tractors with pinned buckets. We can argue JDQA vs. SSQA, both have their pros and cons, and their champions and detractors. But a removable bucket is key to being able to quickly change implements, or even to just quickly drop the bucket for zooming around the yard with a spreader or aerator, without removing the whole loader.


Interesting. I'm sure you experienced this, no reason to doubt it, but I wonder if this is more a "case by case" issue. I tested Deere 2-series vs. Deere 3-series, and there's no doubt that the 2-series has better ergonomics and visibility, despite being the smaller of the two. I bought the 3-series, because I wanted the extra lift capacity for moving logs, but I was really wishing it felt and drove as nice as the 2-series.

I don't know about all Pin on buckets but the ones on my Yanmar I Can pull and put back in in less than 30 seconds. Same amount of getting off the tractor too. One time off to unpin, back on to move to new implement, off once more to re-pin new implement. Easy and fast.

I don't have the extra weight of SSQA to lift. I don't ever have to worry about SSQA Slop. If I ever want to adapt to SSQA I can but probably never will. I only use two implements so it isn't a factor for me.

I guess if I needed a lot of loader attachments that came in SSQA it might be different.

 

[RjCorazza]

I haven't kept track of the numbers, but remember that the dealers pay wholesale or less on trades. It's almost always best to sell the machine yourself rather than trade in.
I didn't want the hassle of selling my previous tractor, so I just traded it in for $3k less than it was worth retail. Not my best decision, but it is what it is.

 

[WinterDeere]

I don't know about all Pin on buckets but the ones on my Yanmar I Can pull and put back in in less than 30 seconds. Same amount of getting off the tractor too. One time off to unpin, back on to move to new implement, off once more to re-pin new implement. Easy and fast.

I don't have the extra weight of SSQA to lift. I don't ever have to worry about SSQA Slop. If I ever want to adapt to SSQA I can but probably never will. I only use two implements so it isn't a factor for me.

I guess if I needed a lot of loader attachments that came in SSQA it might be different.

You’re fast, but not really relevant if you can’t buy other attachments with pinning to match your bucket or loader. I know I can buy everything from snow plows to pallet forks in JDQA or SSQA. Maybe not a big issue for your operation, but something to consider for others, as well as a potential resale issue.