If you were on a tight budget?

slowrev · Nov 3, 2003

Interesting concept of saving money. I bought a 1968 IH 2444 with IH 2050 loader, 2,050 hours for 4,000. A very good tractor and very reliable. Using your payment scheme mine is paid for in about 1 year and I save about 7,200 worth of payments for 2 years. Can buy another tractor or 2 with that /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Newer tractors are not as reliable as the older simpler ones. Much more complicated electronics and such. The more complex a machine is the more it will break. Also the metal in some areas on the newer ones is not as heavy duty.
Don't take this entirely the wrong way, pretty and new is NICE, but always costs more in the long run.

slowzuki · Nov 3, 2003

I use an older tractor (1979 internatial 484 4wd) because it is free (lucky for me!) but I wouldn't want to own it. The hour meter broke ages ago but it must have 3000 hours on it.

I'm mechanically inclined but my time and $ add up quick when your going though starters, hoses, throughout/pilot bearings, knobs/switches, shift linkages, u-joints, batteries, water pumps, etc.

It is not abused, just old, it is owned by a farmer who cares about his equipment.

I am starting to more highly value my time since finishing university, 40 hrs/ wk in an office leaves little time for work at home, so I don't want to be fixing stuff!

Ken

SteveM · Nov 4, 2003

Lots of good advice so far, really would like to know your range. I am a firm believer in buying older, main brand japanese tractors. Especially if your needs run small, not large. There are always a few low hour, 10-15 yr old Kubota or deeres out there that may only have faded paint to show for their age. I have owned 3 old compacts with minimal repair, and all parts were dealer available. I also currenlty own a Ford 9n...which is REALLY cheap, but requires a certain patience for endless tinkering. If you want to go that route, I will chime back in.

Hambone · Nov 4, 2003

<font color="red">pretty and new is NICE, but always costs more in the long run Newer tractors are not as reliable as the older simpler ones. Much more complicated electronics and such. The more complex a machine is the more it will break</font>

This is strange advice coming from a software engineer....
If everyone thought this 30 years ago, we would all have old tractors.

When you bought the '68 model did guys that have 40's model tractors tell you how bad that new stuff is??

rockyridgefarm · Nov 4, 2003

FWIW, I just got a Northern Catalog. Lot's of nice stuff in there, but I saw a surprising thing. Their Nortrac tractor with loader and backhoe costs more than my tractor (if I had gotten the gear version) Of course, there are numerous differences, like, my backhoe goes on or off in a few minutes, I got a full warranty, resale value, etc.

Point is, if you are on a budget, price several options, don't assume that brandX is cheaper than brandY... And consider total cost of ownership. How much will maintenance be, etc...

SteveM · Nov 4, 2003

Forgive me if I am wrong, but didnt you recently buy an Iseki TS2205? If so has it given you trouble....thinking of another route?

Maybe I have the wrong name in my head.

chim · Nov 4, 2003

I was on a tight budget twice when I wanted a tractor. The first time was right after we moved into our new house. With 2 acres of mowing and a 100 yard driveway, it was more than I wanted to tackle with our 38" rider and a snow shovel. A dealer just happened to have an old Cub 154 LoBoy with a MMM, front blade and chains. Just what we needed. It was in decent shape and served for a few years. Yes, I really wanted 4WD (Cub went NOWHERE with the 2WD and turfs), and it was a royal pain to switch between the MMM and blade. You couldn't have both mounted at the same time.

A few years later, I went shopping for a small farm-type tractor. The main goal was to get something with a 3PH to make implement swaps easier. While running around to different dealers, the one I bought the Cub from had a small 2WD on the lot that I was interested in. When I asked about it, the salesman told me it was sold. Another salesman overheard the conversation and suggested I look at the Ford 1210 they had "upstairs". Turns out they did have an "upstairs" in the old industrial-type building. We went up and looked it over. The salesman drove it to the freight elevator, and we rode down with it. A couple days later they delivered it. Next trip was to Central Tractor for a 5' Caroni deck and a 5' store-brand rear blade.

Ponit is, if you have time to look around, you can find bargains. I borrowed a phrase from my Grandad when we were looking for a car for #2 Son. When the salesman asked what we wanted and what we wanted to pay, he said "You won't find a lot of them at that price", to which I responded "We only need to find one".................chim

Soundguy · Nov 4, 2003

Too bad your blade and mower didn't fit like the setup on my 66 IH cub.. heres a pic.. works great.. hyd liftsone/lowers the other.

Soundguy

chim · Nov 4, 2003

That's a nice unit. Mine looked like a Cub Cadet on steroids. The rockshaft was in front of my feet, and operated both the deck and the blade. If I recall, the "L" shaped pieces of steel on the ends of the rockshaft had holes at the top of the L for the blade and the bottom leg for the deck. The blade had a large/heavy/ungainly steel frame that took quite a bit of finesse to install and remove................chim

slowrev · Nov 5, 2003

I am a software engineer, However that does not blind me to the realities of the mixed bag of tricks/blessings that technology brings to us. A basic built tractor from a manufacturer will always be more reliable than a more complex hydroized, computerized tractor from the same manufacturer. Simple reliability analysis.