Looking hard at a 2011 LS U5030C

npaden · Mar 18, 2016

Pretty much what the title says. My 1996 Kubota L4200 is needing a new front axle and the repair price tag is close to $5k quoted by the dealer. I'm looking at closer to $2k buying a used front axle tube and differential, but I'm leaning toward fixing it and then getting rid of it.

I've been shopping new tractors, Kubota, Deere, LS, Kioti, New Holland, etc. and just can't seem to justify the prices for a new machine.

Was looking at tractor house tonight and came across this 2011 LS U5030C with 500 hours on it for $18,500.

http://www.tractorhouse.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=10271097

I'm a little hesitant with it being out of warranty and there are no LS dealers within 250 miles of me. Also a little leery of buying a used tractor from a tractor jockey as I'm pretty sure the last one I bought (my 1996 Kubota) that was supposed to only have 926 hours on it at the time actually had a lot more hours than that and they were some pretty hard hours as well.

Looking at the pictures this tractor looks clean and the hours look believable, only obvious thing to me is the smile on the loader bucket.

What else should I be looking for on a LS tractor with 500 hours on it. On the reviews section here on Tractorbynet one person posted about tempering problems.

LS has bad tempering problems in their front ends and transmissions; PTO vibrations that cause premature stress cracking.

Is this something I could look for on the tractor before I bought it?

$18,500 as an asking price seems pretty reasonable, is that a red flag too?

I'm really thinking about making a trip over to pick it up or at least look at it. It is almost a 500 mile drive one way so I would hate to get there and end up disappointed. Any tips on questions I can ask over the phone?

Thanks, Nathan

npaden · Mar 18, 2016

Anyone? Thinking about making this happen maybe tomorrow.

Didn't mean to put this in the owning/operating section, I thought I checked and didn't see the buying/pricing forum until I had already posted this.

I've pretty much read every thread on the U5030 here, I thought about buying one new a few years back but never pulled the trigger.

Thanks, Nathan

jaydee325 · Mar 18, 2016

You say this tractor is 500 miles away yet a LS dealer is within 250 miles. I'd stop at the nearest LS dealer first.

The picture looks like the bucket is tweaked. That would be a big concern for me. I'd call first and verify the pictures are accurate.

It is advertised by an auction house so the sale is probably "where is as is".

npaden · Mar 18, 2016

Thanks for the input. I've been on the phone this morning with the auction house. They say that the picture is a optical illusion because the bucket was up off the ground a little and the way the shadow is it does look like the bucket is bent but they didn't think it was. Looking at the picture it really does look tweaked, but maybe it isn't to bad.

There isn't a LS dealer within 250 miles of me, but I talked to a great LS dealer that is in the Austin area (RCO Tractors) and got a price quote on a new tractor and talked about the differences between the U5030C and the curent XU5055 and XU6158. He was actually pretty proud of the new Tier 4 engines in the new models but said that for the price difference it wouldn't be that noticeable. He said the biggest difference was probably the better fuel economy on the newer models. The price for the 2011 with the cab is a little over $10K less than what he could price a new open station tractor for and the cabs were an extra $4,500 over that. He was really helpful and even got the serial number of the used one I am looking at and is going to run it through LS and see what kind of warranty work has been done on it.

One of the best things is the used tractor dealer is going to take my Kubota L4200 as is for $6,000 trade credit. The local Kubota dealer was only going to give me $4k trade for it and they are really pricey on their new machines, close to full retail. It was going to cost me at least $2,000 to get it fixed and then there was no guarantee I would get $8,000 for it if I tried to sell it because I'm one of those guys that tells a potential buyer about ever single wart the machine has. I told the used tractor dealer about the warts and even sent him videos of the hydraulic fluid leaking out of it at the front axle and he said they could do $12,500 for the net deal.

I'm hoping the LS dealer gets back with me soon on running the serial number of the one I'm looking at. He said it sounds like a very good deal on the used one if it checks out.

Looking very much like I will be a LS owner sometime tomorrow.

Thanks, Nathan

lostcreekranch · Mar 18, 2016

You probably talked to John Ryan at RCO. John is a good guy and a straight shooter. Did you ask him about trade?

When I bought my XR4046HC, in 2014, I passed two other LS dealers to deal with John and RCO.

Good luck!

ozley · Mar 18, 2016

I have a 5030C for 4 years and have had no problems that you listed. It looks clean and about 10,000 less that new.

Underdog57 · Mar 18, 2016

Sounds like a good deal if it's in good shape, plus you'll like the simplicity of the tier 3 engine.
I'm very happy with my LS.

I'd buy it! :thumbsup:

npaden · Mar 20, 2016

Left home at 4:30 am yesterday pulling a trailer with a 20 year old broken down Kubota tractor and some cash and got home 900 miles and 14 hours later pulling the same trailer with a nearly new 5 year old tractor on it and no cash.

It does have a little bit of a smile on the bucket but that's about the only real obvious defect I could find. And I think the radio might not work. I couldn't figure out how to turn it on anyway. Lots of buttons and switches that I'm not really sure what they are. I think I have it figured out how to pretty much do everything I need to operate it, but I think I'll have to get a manual to figure out what all the different buttons are for.

Looking forward to using it some today.

Gary Fowler · Mar 20, 2016

npaden said:
Left home at 4:30 am yesterday pulling a trailer with a 20 year old broken down Kubota tractor and some cash and got home 900 miles and 14 hours later pulling the same trailer with a nearly new 5 year old tractor on it and no cash.

It does have a little bit of a smile on the bucket but that's about the only real obvious defect I could find. And I think the radio might not work. I couldn't figure out how to turn it on anyway. Lots of buttons and switches that I'm not really sure what they are. I think I have it figured out how to pretty much do everything I need to operate it, but I think I'll have to get a manual to figure out what all the different buttons are for.

Looking forward to using it some today.

Heck I have the manual on mine and still have trouble turning on the radio. Good luck with your "new " tractor. That seemed to be a good deal on the price.

Gary Fowler · Mar 20, 2016

npaden said:
Left home at 4:30 am yesterday pulling a trailer with a 20 year old broken down Kubota tractor and some cash and got home 900 miles and 14 hours later pulling the same trailer with a nearly new 5 year old tractor on it and no cash.

It does have a little bit of a smile on the bucket but that's about the only real obvious defect I could find. And I think the radio might not work. I couldn't figure out how to turn it on anyway. Lots of buttons and switches that I'm not really sure what they are. I think I have it figured out how to pretty much do everything I need to operate it, but I think I'll have to get a manual to figure out what all the different buttons are for.

Looking forward to using it some today.

As for all the buttons and switches, even the manual doesn't really show the location of all the buttons, just have to set in the cab and push buttons to see what happens on many of them. THe OEM is not really that great at location of some controls but you do need to order a manual from your "Local Dealer".