Buying Advice Kubota L3430 advice

freereinexecdirector · Feb 21, 2015

I am the executive director for a non profit therapeutic equine program in Spokane Washington. We use horses to help disabled children, adults and veterans. I have 8-10 horses at any time in my program. We manage about 8 acres, using a tractor for grooming the arenas, moving hay, maintaining dirt/gravel roads, snow plowing, etc.

I looked at a used L3430 HST today. A local farmer bought two from a mine operation and refurbished them over the winter. He looks to have done a quality job. This one has new tires, new loader, new seat, new hydraulic hoses, paint re done, etc. all in good working order. He is asking $14,000 and figures he is cutting me a deal. It does have 3,400 hours on it.

Any concerns or advice? Money is something we manage very closely being a small non profit and I want to make a good investment.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

TomSeller · Feb 21, 2015

freereinexecdirector said:
I am the executive director for a non profit therapeutic equine program in Spokane Washington. We use horses to help disabled children, adults and veterans. I have 8-10 horses at any time in my program. We manage about 8 acres, using a tractor for grooming the arenas, moving hay, maintaining dirt/gravel roads, snow plowing, etc.

I looked at a used L3430 HST today. A local farmer bought two from a mine operation and refurbished them over the winter. He looks to have done a quality job. This one has new tires, new loader, new seat, new hydraulic hoses, paint re done, etc. all in good working order. He is asking $14,000 and figures he is cutting me a deal. It does have 3,400 hours on it.

Any concerns or advice? Money is something we manage very closely being a small non profit and I want to make a good investment.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

In general they are good tractors, but what kind of mining operation was it used in? Do you know what it was use for while at the mine? When you say refurbished, is that on the exterior side or engine/transmission side?

mddorange · Feb 21, 2015

:welcome:
To TBN. Are all the manuals and maintenance records with it? The mine would have a record of all maintenance done on it.

PapaPerk · Feb 21, 2015

freereinexecdirector said:
I am the executive director for a non profit therapeutic equine program in Spokane Washington. We use horses to help disabled children, adults and veterans. I have 8-10 horses at any time in my program. We manage about 8 acres, using a tractor for grooming the arenas, moving hay, maintaining dirt/gravel roads, snow plowing, etc. I looked at a used L3430 HST today. A local farmer bought two from a mine operation and refurbished them over the winter. He looks to have done a quality job. This one has new tires, new loader, new seat, new hydraulic hoses, paint re done, etc. all in good working order. He is asking $14,000 and figures he is cutting me a deal. It does have 3,400 hours on it. Any concerns or advice? Money is something we manage very closely being a small non profit and I want to make a good investment. Thanks in advance for any advice.

That's a lot of hours. I would keep looking. They are good tractors. But price is high for that many hours and you have no idea what that MINE used it for or if it was maintained. The fact that he has cosmetically restored it gives you a solid clue it was run hard.

By the way you say mowing hay... Are you bailing hay or just bush hogging grass and weeds? You'll want more horsepower if you plan bailing. Tractor would excel at everything else you mentioned. I have a L3830 and love it. But mine only has 780 hours. Lol

PapaPerk · Feb 21, 2015

Have you considered purchasing a new tractor from Kubota? You maybe able to find a new tractor for around 20,000 that will do your work. You are wise to consider Kubota.

If you provide more info on what your plans are for tractor we can help you. Example.... Size of mower, side of drag for area, need a loader? Etc etc.

Baby Grand · Feb 21, 2015

3400 hours in a mine sounds like a long, hard life to me.
Sounds like they plumb wore the old loader out, past the point of fixing it.
May have had multiple operators who beat on it every day to make quota.
May have been well maintained, or not.
I'd want to check pump performance, cylinder leak down and run engine & hydraulic oil analyses before I felt comfortable bringing it home to the group at the non profit.
If this purchase become a pig in a poke, it may provide a field day for hind sight critics.

teg · Feb 21, 2015

Personally, I stay away from anything that's re-painted... You can not determine if it was taken care of or abused. Like the others, I would guess it was rode hard. Does he have any "before" photos of the tractor?

Poopdeck Pappy · Feb 21, 2015

At 3,400 hours of probably very hard use and, perhaps, even neglect, that motor could be on borrowed time. It could run just fine for 10,000 hours, or something could go at any moment. It's just a crap shoot, and it sounds to me like you are not in a position to gamble on what might be an expensive repair/overhaul. In your position, I would pass. (In MY position, I would pass too.)

Be patient and keep your eyes open. A better option will come along.

k0ua · Feb 21, 2015

Pass. Too many hours for that money.. Would consider if it was 1/2 of that price. Too dubious of a past.. Pass on it.

freereinexecdirector · Feb 21, 2015

I will try and answer questions. I really appreciate the feedback and suggestions. We won't be mowing or baling. Simply moving 80 lbs bales around either with the loader a few at a time or towing a small trailer. The use will primarily be road maintenance, horse arena maintenance (6 ft. groomer), snow plowing, fence maintenance. I've got 4 yards of gravel sitting there now I could sure use a tractor to move. The tractor was used to move people in the mine. It had no loader during that time. They had mounted small platforms and carried 3-4 miners up and down the mine. I'll talk to the seller about maintenance records. I would describe the work as much more than cosmetic. New Rhino 1480 loader, tires, seat, full service mechanically. I have been working with the local Kubota dealer to identify a good used machine and could have them do a pre buy inspection on it. There are many other Korean built machines out there, Kioti, LS, etc. available with fewer hours at the same price point. Should I be considering those? Hours in and of themselves don't really scare me if something has been maintained and has many hours left. New is not affordable for us. $14,000 is pretty much my upper limit. I've thought about buying a smaller tractor but am worried about buying something undersized.

varmint · Feb 21, 2015

As a former L3130 owner (not that different, I think) I would agree that the price is high for a tractor with that many hours. I sold mine, 1000 maintained hours, with a SSQA 72" loader, LED lighting, filled rear tires, very clean, stored indoors, etc., for less money. I don't think this seller is doing you any special favors.

k0ua · Feb 21, 2015

varmint said:
As a former L3130 owner (not that different, I think) I would agree that the price is high for a tractor with that many hours. I sold mine, 1000 maintained hours, with a SSQA 72" loader, LED lighting, filled rear tires, very clean, stored indoors, etc., for less money. I don't think this seller is doing you any special favors.

Yep, agree completely. and yours had SSQA, that alone is worth $1000

RollingsFarms · Feb 21, 2015

Looks like the ROPS had been shortened a good bit. I'm guessing this was for clearance going in and out of the mine. Not sure I'd want something that's been altered like that.

Bennyjl · Feb 21, 2015

I have experienced major HST failure around this many hours on a well serviced L3430 . Pass and perhaps look at a new HST L 00 series

PapaPerk · Feb 21, 2015

freereinexecdirector said:
I will try and answer questions. I really appreciate the feedback and suggestions. We won't be mowing or baling. Simply moving 80 lbs bales around either with the loader a few at a time or towing a small trailer. The use will primarily be road maintenance, horse arena maintenance (6 ft. groomer), snow plowing, fence maintenance. I've got 4 yards of gravel sitting there now I could sure use a tractor to move. The tractor was used to move people in the mine. It had no loader during that time. They had mounted small platforms and carried 3-4 miners up and down the mine. I'll talk to the seller about maintenance records. I would describe the work as much more than cosmetic. New Rhino 1480 loader, tires, seat, full service mechanically. I have been working with the local Kubota dealer to identify a good used machine and could have them do a pre buy inspection on it. There are many other Korean built machines out there, Kioti, LS, etc. available with fewer hours at the same price point. Should I be considering those? Hours in and of themselves don't really scare me if something has been maintained and has many hours left. New is not affordable for us. $14,000 is pretty much my upper limit. I've thought about buying a smaller tractor but am worried about buying something undersized. <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/kubota-buying-pricing/413261-kubota-l3430-advice-img953930-jpg"/><img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/kubota-buying-pricing/413262-kubota-l3430-advice-img951059-jpg"/><img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/kubota-buying-pricing/413263-kubota-l3430-advice-img959824-jpg"/><img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/kubota-buying-pricing/413264-kubota-l3430-advice-img953168-jpg"/><img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/kubota-buying-pricing/413265-kubota-l3430-advice-img953056-jpg"/>

You may consider a Kubota L3800. If you buy new you can get 0% financing! Really a great deal.

I'm not impressed with the used mine tractor. If you could get for $7,000 maybe... But $14,000 is too much. My L3830 wasn't much more than that NEW!

Don't get in a hurry about getting a tractor. Do your research and choose carefully. You have made wise decision to become a member of TractorByNet.

TomSeller · Feb 21, 2015

The price is too high for that many hours. It does look good, however. Will he negotiate and do you know how long he has been trying to sell it?

PapaPerk · Feb 21, 2015

By the way I strongly recommend have a skid steer quick attach bracket on your loader. Then you can go from bucket to pallet forks in under a minute. Would be invaluable at your horse farm.

PapaPerk · Feb 21, 2015

RollingsFarms said:
Looks like the ROPS had been shortened a good bit. I'm guessing this was for clearance going in and out of the mine. Not sure I'd want something that's been altered like that.

Great catch! I agree I don't like this. Should be replaced with stock ROPS.

motownbrowne · Feb 21, 2015

I'm with everyone else. Too much money for the hours. Looks like the guy shined it up real nice, but if he has to get 14k for it, he put too much time into the machine. If they only moved miners around the mine, the loader shouldn't have needed replacement. I don't have any personal experience, but I've heard Massey Ferguson will give a pretty big discount to purchasers involved with horses. If I were you, I'd talk to as many local dealers as possible. Every brand there is within 75-100 miles. Tell them what you do and that you want a new tractor. Someone will give you a good deal on a machine that size. The korean brands are definitely worth considering. You should be able to find a 30-40 HP hydrostatic machine with a loader for under 22k. Maybe well under. The difference in price versus the 3430 will get you a machine with 3000 less hours and a warranty. Worth it in my book.