Looking to buy my first tractor

   / Looking to buy my first tractor #32  
Asking price for each? Years and hours? Attachments included?
 
   / Looking to buy my first tractor #33  
It is a 4wd, and the locations are about 20 minutes and 40 minutes respectively

No brainer. Massey Ferguson if the service department has a good reputation.
 
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   / Looking to buy my first tractor
  • Thread Starter
#34  
Zetor 4341 has 880 hours, 2002. Includes bucket (102H) and cab. Has snow blower and Cat I Grader Blade for an additional cost (20k)

Ferguson has unknown hours (still waiting to hear back from the dealer ) Includes 1070 bucket and cab. (22.5k)
 
   / Looking to buy my first tractor #35  
Zetor 4341 has 880 hours, 2002. Includes bucket (102H) and cab. Has snow blower and Cat I Grader Blade for an additional cost (20k)

How close is your nearest authorized Zetor dealer?
 
   / Looking to buy my first tractor #37  
about an hour and its across the border

Transporting a tractor for service is expensive and inconvenient, whether you trailer it or the dealer trailers it.

So, to pick up and return tractor (2 segments to dealer, 2 segments return) at least four hours of driver/mechanic time + one hour of loading, chaining and discussing service = 5 hours @ $80/hour, 4 X 45 miles = 180 miles of a HD truck pulling an HD trailer with commercial insurance. Fuel at 9 miles per gallon = 20 gallons. I will speculate Zetor transportation would be $500 to $700 per service.

Can you afford the tractor operating expense of $30 per engine hour, assuming dealer service, as a hobby? I speculate you might clock 150 engine hours per year working five (5) acres plus your woods.
 
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   / Looking to buy my first tractor #38  
Given your tractor experience and your line of questions regarding maintenance. I'm concerned I may have given you bad advice on the 75hp tractor. I'm not saying you can't learn on that large of a tractor, you certainly can, but it isn't the best idea to learn on something that large.

I'm thinking 40 - 50 hp. Like the size of a MF 1740M or Kubota L4701. When/if you do decide to farm the 35, you could use it or trade up. Tractors really don't lose very much value when used 200 - 300 hours a year. Especially in this market. You could run the smaller tractor a couple years and trade up. If you buy slightly used you probably won't lose much money if any. I have bought used tractors and kept them for 5 years and sold them for what I paid for them since I didn't put that many hours on them (100 a year avg.). I put more hours on now since I have more implements but you get my point.

Also, Cab tractors are not good in a woods. I won't even take our cab tractor into the woods, you are really blind to tree limbs and other things in a cab.

You need to consider the transmission type also (Hydrostat, Gear or Shuttle Shift). Do your research on that and drive each one.

I strongly recommend just going and sitting on tractors for perspective. Don't get in a hurry and shop and talk to other farmers if you have access to them. But keep in mind, they will be talking from a farmers perspective, not a hobby farmers.
 
   / Looking to buy my first tractor #39  
In my personal experience most tractor maintenance is related to operator error.

Most tractor owners follow a pretty precise maintenance schedule Not errors.
Commercial concerns will keep track of all time and hours when a piece of equipment is serviced and parts replaced. They also keep in close contact with the manufacturer.
 
   / Looking to buy my first tractor
  • Thread Starter
#40  
Thanks for the reply yander.


A lot to consider and I would agree that I wouldn't want a cab in the woods either. I am still leaning towards something to grow into. I will talk to my friend who farms 1500+ acres with his big boy john deeres and see If I can drive them when they come to harvest the buckwheat.


I was also thinking of getting a standard 2wd tractor, like a white for the fields and a smaller 4wd for the woods. This seems like a reasonable route to go since I wouldn't have to mess with attachments as much, and could stay within the price range if I got an older 4wd unit
 

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